As we all know, Muaythai is a highly emotional sport. Everyone involved commits so much to the aspects of the sport they are involved in. Athlete’s lives revolve around training, nutrition and their recovery while in fight camp. Coaches spend hours behind the pads prepping their athletes physically, mentally and emotionally, and officials are constantly learning, reading and discussing rules and regulations. So, with so much of ourselves committed to the various parts of the sport its understandable that relationships between us all can be strained at times.
The coach is the link between the official and the athlete, it is a coach’s responsibility to ensure their athletes know the rules. The referee is responsible for ensuring that athletes then adhere to these rules. On some occasions there can be misunderstandings with rules that have been conveyed, that is why its important to have a good basis between all who participate to clarify any misinterpretations.
I believe we all do the best we can in our fields and sometimes the cause of conflict happens when we can’t see the situation from the other’s perspective. We are lucky that Muaythai is considered one big family and we can have friendships with one another, but we also must respect each another enough that when it comes time to do our duty (whether its compete, coach or officiate) that our professional hat is on so to speak and we all behave in a professional manner.
By: Abby Nelson
