About MTNTBK

Hello, I’m Trailrunny, the author of these pages. I wrote the Muay Thai Notebook (MTNTBK) from the perspective of an enthusiastic learner—a nerd of the art—not an expert or teacher (Kru). These were initially my own private notes, in which I wanted to organize the huge amount of information I was getting from practicing, reading about, and watching Muay Thai. Later, I started using the notes to make my training more systematic: to motivate myself, to reflect on the more obscure aspects of the art, and learn new things. I hope they can do the same for you!

I currently train at Fightlab in Fort Lee, NJ with Coaches Fitz and Felson and occasionally at Lucky’s Muay Thai in Miami with coach Jacob. Before COVID, I was at Coban’s in Manhattan. Coban used to cook tripe for us on a hotplate after practice. And in another lifetime, I did some old-school American kickboxing with the local legend and champ, Kerry Roop of Rochester, Michigan. Someday soon, I am planning a training camp in Thailand.

My approach to sports writing comes from Soviet-era boxing manuals such as M.I. Romanenko’s The Mastery of Boxing (1960), Y.B. Nikifirov’s A Boxer’s Feel for Distance (1971), and Romanov’s Boxing in Long, Middle, and Close Ranges (1979). I also love the more philosophically-inclined English-language authors like Jack Slack, Joyce Carol Oates (she wrote a great book of essays On Boxing in 1987 with the photographer John Ranard), John Updike, Norman Mailer, and David Foster Wallace.

Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu and her husband Kevin deserve a special mention in gratitude of their work on the Muay Thai Library project.

Please feel free to reach out with your comments or suggestions here.