Sermsak Sor Sermpong may not be a well-known muaythai figure in Thailand, but to the muaythai fans in the Chinese city of Guangzhao, where Sermsak has been a muaythai trainer for seven years, he is a celebrity. Sermsak, known in Guangzhao as “Kru Noi”, has trained numerous students there and his famous Sor Sermpong training camp has been invited to perform muaythai shows all over China. The Thai fighter did not speak a single word of Chinese when he first arrived in China, but now he is fluent in the Cantonese dialect. The following excerpt is from the interview with Sermsak about the story behind his overseas success.

Can you tell us about the time when you were in Thailand?

“I was a muaythai fighter from the beginning. I started fighting when I was about 15 or 16 years old, coming to fight in Bangkok from my home town at Phitsanulok. I was fighting for about 20 years and called it quit at 36. You name the stadium and I will tell you I have fought there, especially those in the provinces. I have fought for more than 300 bouts. I was a trainer for young fighters too. Then someone asked me to work as a bodyguard in Macao.”

Don’t a muaythai fighter and a bodyguard have very different responsibilities?

“My employer in Macao wanted someone with a large stature. I was there for two months and was paid about 5,000-6,000 of the local currency. But the living cost there was high, and I was not able to save much. After two months, my visa expired and I could not manage to have it extended. My boss told me to return home but he also asked me what I would do, which I told him I would continue to teach muaythai. So, he contacted some people in Guangzhao because he had heard the people here wanted muaythai trainers. They offered me a job with a salary of 6,000 Yuan, which was about 30,000 Baht. So I told them I was interested and I came here.”

You were an employee back them?

“Their job was to find a trainer and make money from the commission. I was teaching in the gyms and fitness facilities for about six months before I started to get homesick. So I quit and had been living at home for 3-4 months when a student in Guangzhao called. He was a cop and wanted to open a training camp with me teaching on weekends. I got a salary of a little bit over 10,000 Baht.”

Is it true that at first you did not speak Mandarin or Cantonese at all?

“I could not speak the language at all”

How did you communicate then?

“I mostly relied on the hand language. Then I met some Thai students in Guangzhao. I asked them how to say ‘punching’, ‘kicking’, ‘eating’, ‘shopping’, ‘money change’, and names of places, those kinds of stuff. Eventually I was able to speak. Now I’m fluent.”

Besides teaching, I heard you do muaythai shows.

“Yes. We started to get more show jobs, but later the owner disband the camp, saying he was busy and did not have time to take care of the camp. So I took jobs at the fitness clubs, getting paid about 500 Baht per hour, three to four hours a day. Some students wanted to get better fast so they had me teach on the weekends as well which they paid some extra. I was doing that for a while when someone wanted to hire me as a trainer for 5,000 Yuan per month, which I agreed.”

By that time, were you famous?

“Probably. Now I can recruit my own trainers. When my students in Thailand could not find a job, I hired them here, at 10-20 people a time. So I have become a bit influential in Guangzhao.”

How do you gain people’s trust in this society?

“Usually they would test me first before they decided whether they would take the class. They probably wanted to know if I was really that good. So, they tested.”

How did they test you?

“We sparred. They used Chinese martial arts styles, which I am somewhat familiar with. I knew they would grab my leg if I kicked them. So I would counter that with a punch which was a knockout one time. The next day that person came back with gifts asking to be my muaythai student. Once they regarded me as their teacher, they would tell other people. Now as Buakaw Por Pramuk is really famous as the Tewan champion, the people here want to be as good as him. So, many are taking the classes. There are some very large groups.”

Do they learn muaythai as a hobby or for a fighting career?

“Not for career. They just wanted to learn it as self defense. The students here arrive in Mercedes-Benz and other fancy cars and already have jobs, mostly as businessmen. They like to take me out for dinner after class. I never asked them for anything, but they like to give things to me. Some people send their kids to study muaythai with me during school breaks. The parents drop them off by themselves. Some send their daughters because we have female teachers too. And two weeks later, the mother joined the class too.”

Do you make enough earning to pay the rent?

“At first, it wasn’t enough. But now it’s all right. I rent the gym from a student and hire about seven teachers. I pay 25,000 for a new teacher. Now mine is the only muaythai camp in Guangzhao, but sometimes the camps of my friends in Thailand send their people to work with me too. And sometimes I send my people to work as bodyguards in Macao. I am lucky as a Hong Kong friend let me stay at his place. I don’t have to pay rent or utility fees or anything, but I help taking care of the house and watering the plants. When there’s a class, I would take a bus to the camp, which is only two Yuan and takes about half an hour.”

How is your lifestyle here?

“It’s a simple one. Usually I buy groceries and cook myself. If there is a class at noon, I would have coffee at nine. After class, my students always take me out for lunch. Sometimes I have to teach three to four classes per day, which is exhausting but I need to make money.”

Can you elaborate on the differences of the competitive fighting and the muaythai show, in term of determination or training?

“We don’t need to script the moves for the real fighting. It’s real and you attack whatever you have, for real. But for the show, you need to prepare what you are going to show. You have to focus on the beauty but you also need to make it fierce like a real fighting. You also have to agree with your partner on what to do in the show.”

Are there some mistakes or injuries in the show?

“That’s common. As long as it is a show, there is always a chance for mistakes. But we don’t get hurt much. We have been fighting for so long our skin became hard. But for the Chinese, they are easier to get hurt and their flesh becomes purple with a single strike. But for us, we just feel a bit of tension at the skin.”

How often do you do the show?

“Most of the jobs are away in the other areas. I have been all around China and was as far as Inner Mongolia. So, I have to extend my visa every year.”

Do you have to adjust your personality living in China?

“Definitely. When I was in Thailand, I was just me. But here I am a teacher, so I need to behave. If people ask me to go out in the night or to smoke or to drink, I would decline. Sometimes there are young and pretty girls taking classes, but I will never flirt with them or take advantages of them. Perhaps, because I behave, the people here trust and respect me. The fighters here will call me ‘Sifu’ which in Cantonese means teacher.”

Can you tell us something about Guangzhao?

Guangzhao is a very large city. I was wondering if millions of people would die if there is an earthquake as it is so crowded. There are many types of people here. I was familiar with the mafia type too, like those loan sharks. They are as scary as what we see in movies with all those car smashing, assaulting, and uses of guns and knives. People know that they are safe when they travel with me as some of those gangsters are my students too. But I have to keep distance and not get too close. The mafia members are actually not from local, but from other places.

If I asked random people in Guangzhao about you, would they know who you are?

“Yes, they would. It’s not that I’m famous or anything, but I was the first who started it. I was the first Thai person who pioneered the business here. So, it is not possible for people here to not know me. I even told the Thai consulate to send any Thai person who has troubles with Guangzhao to me, I will be glad to help them.”

How is your family in Thailand?

“My wife is a teacher and my daughter is in a university. I am working here so that I can send money back home. Each month I earn about 10,000 Yuan, or about 50,000 Baht. I would spend a little bit and send about 40,000 Baht home. My daughter is now in the third year at Srinakharinwirot University, while my son is studying at Rajabhat Institute in Phitsanulok.”

So you are really “raising the kids with legs”?

“We started from nothing. My parents-in-law paid for my wedding. When I had the chance to work here, I took it. Now I can build a house for my family at Phitsanulok. My oldest child is about to graduate. She said once she finished school, I would not have to fight anymore as it would be her turn to support me.”

Do you go back home often?

“Yes, quite often. I used the trips home to buy things too, like boxing equipments such as shoes and pants. I go to Lumpini Stadium which has everything. I buy goods in according to the orders of the people here. I marked up the price when I resold them which are worth the plane ticket. For example, an item may be sold for 1,200 Baht at Lumpini, but I would resell it for 2,500 Baht here.”

Don’t the buyers complain that they are too expensive?

“Actually they would fight each others for the goods once they arrive.”

Have you ever thought of retiring?

“At a time I told me friends at I would return home, but the students asked me to stay. They said I did not have to teach and can assign other people to do the task. But I want all my students to be good. I am not fooling them with a fake teaching method because that is not good. So, I first teach the basic punch, like the one-two combination, then, I teach them the kneeing and the kicking techniques. Once they can do all of these, I teach them the combinations. If they are not following the methods, they will not be good. Some smart students take only one month to become good. I will teach them until they know how to fight, but how much they can learn will depend on the individual potential. Now, I’m 48 and still able to make earning, which I would do so. At early 50s, I might retire, but might keep managing from afar. I would go back and forth between Thailand and Guangzhao, so that I can finally spend time with my family.”

Can you talk about your favorite boxing gloves?

“For a fighter like me, the gloves are my life partner. Muaythai is my career that has allowed me to establish myself. When I went abroad, it was these gloves that helped me make earning. So I am very proud of them.”

News: bangkokbiznews