Lady goes looking for fights

Updated: 2009-04-18 07:48

By Joyce Woo(HK Edition)

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Lady goes looking for fights

Joey Lee is one of the few female professional Muay Thai fighters in Hong Kong. Courtesy of Joey Lee

HONG KONG: Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, makes Western boxing look tame. An elbow in the ribs or a kick to the head is not only allowed, it's the style. For close to eight years, Joey Lee has been training in Muay Thai, a form of combat fighting that really allows her to get her ya-ya's out. Any more aggressive forms of release might be criminal.

"We can punch/kick/knee/elbow one another, its all within the rules. Only the back of the head and groin area are prohibited," she said, taking a break from preparations for next week's I-1 Asian Championships.

"I was introduced to Muay Thai after college and I became intrigued. It's intense - you're alone in the ring and left to your own defenses. You can rely on no one but yourself," she added.

It is really quite remarkable how the Taiwan-born Hong Kong resident has never had a significant injury. "I consider myself quite lucky in that I don't think I've gained that fear of being injured yet," she admitted.

Lee had her first fight in 2002 after just eight months of training, and won her title three years later in 2005, becoming a World Kickboxing Association British Columbia welterweight champion.

Although Muay Thai involves going after an object with hands, knees and anything else you've got, Lee insists that the sport is about more than just letting loose.

"The sport is much more than hitting things, it's a very strategic game. Its about learning proper technique, reaction and thinking. It is a unique sport that challenges not only your physical but mental strength."

Knowing how to pull nice, clean dodges is just as important as knowing how to throw a good punch, said Lee.

"It has as much to do with defense as being on the offense. You never want to be into a fight that takes too much hits," she pointed out.

Lee is one of the few female professional Muay Thai fighters in Hong Kong. Although the sport has been slowly creeping into city as a fitness regimen, it remains largely male-dominated.

Lee said: "It is difficult to get fights often enough to keep me busy throughout the year. Especially in a place like Hong Kong, there aren't many girls at my weight (57-60 kilograms) so it's tough to find opponents that would be suitable for me."

She trains up to six times a week, packing in everything from spinning, skipping, shadow boxing, bag work to one-on-one pad work with her trainers.

Asked if there will be a time she'll be calling it quits, the fierce fighter said: "My ultimate goal is to win a world title. Every person I fight takes me one step closer to that. After that, I may want to do something else. But before I do, I kinda want to climb the biggest mountain."

Lee will take on Thailand's Rosalie "Scorpion Girl" Berghuis on April 21 at the I-1 Asian Championships to be held at Star Hall, Hong Kong Trade & Exhibition Centre.

(HK Edition 04/18/2009 page1)