Chinese woman cycles 4,000 kilometres to Thailand from China to train Muay Thai

A Chinese woman went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo when she embarked on a journey of cycling 4,000 kilometres from China to Thailand to train with famous Muay Thai boxer Sombat “Buakaw” Banchamek.

Muay Thai has captured the imagination of others outside of Thailand recently, as highlighted in the case of a teenager in the United States.

The teenage American boy announced on his Instagram account, @reed_harringron23, that he would undertake a task suggested by one of his followers, once his follower count hit the magic 200,000 mark.

The teenage boy successfully hit the target and the follower, who received the most likes for a suggested task, asked him to learn Muay Thai in Thailand, win a competition in the Land of Smiles and return to the US to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Muay Thai idol Buakaw commented on the boy’s post and offered to take care of him during his training in Thailand. The boy is now raising funds for his tickets to Thailand.

Following the viral challenge, a 33 year old Chinese woman, Li Zhenxiang, took to social media to announce her commitment to Muay Thai training.

Cycling challenge

Li revealed that she planned to spend 40 days cycling from Muanyang City in Sichuan province to Chaing Mai province in northern Thailand, practice boxing skills with Buakaw, and find a Muay Thai gym in Bangkok to continue her training for another six months in preparation for competing in five to six Muay Thai tournaments.

Li revealed in an interview with Chinese media agency Chengdu Daily Star News that she likes martial arts, especially Muay Thai. Her passion for this art form ignited three years ago, inspired by the film Million Dollar Baby.

“This time I will ride a bicycle alone to my destination in Thailand. I will undoubtedly encounter challenges due to weather conditions, language barriers, different lifestyles and intensive training.

Buakaw shared her story on Facebook three days ago.

“Let’s cheer her up! Do not hesitate to smile and greet her as good hosts. We will welcome her as one of the Muay Thai lovers. We should be proud that foreigners are fascinated by Muay Thai, which is the national martial art.”

Buakaw added that he was happy to have the two foreigners join his Muay Thai training and looked forward to seeing them.

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