Thank You for Considering to Support My Content

If you are here to get access to my Patreon Muay Thai Library, you can read about that here. Every patron gets immediate access to a growing list of long form videos that document the subtle techniques of Thailand. In joining you not only can study these videos, but you are supporting the continuing process of finding, filming and detailing these masters of technique. The suggested pledge is $5. Below is a more general introduction to me, my Muay Thai fighting, blogging and videography, and why I need your support.

5% of all all pledges is added to my Kru Fund, sent to the krus and ex-fighters who have made my Muay Thai Library possible. Read about the Kru Fund here.

After several years of writing out of pure passion I have transition to becoming a professional Muay Thai writer and to make my journalist efforts sustainable. Without this change my 8limbs.us writing would have likely come to an end. I've needed to start writing for my readers. The response has been pretty incredible, and sponsors have stepped up in support - and at this point 8limbs.us, all of my writing, filming and fighting has become sustainable through my patron pledges.

Most know me already because you've been following me for a while now. For those that don't, I began blogging about 7 years ago, around the same time I started putting up videos of my training on YouTube. My hope has always been to just share with others what I'm experiencing, and to pass on the contact I was having with my teachers. But the YouTube channel grew, as did my blogging, and I eventually saved up enough money to move to Thailand to train and fight full time. And I started a small website as a home for my blogging and shares: 8limbs.us.

If you’ll prefer on the other hand to contribute directly to keep my fighting and writing on 8LimbsUs going you can send via PayPal under the address: sylvie8limbs[AT]outlook.com.

I hit the ground running since I came to Thailand, and as you can see above I've pushed everything to the limit. I've fought 170+ times in that period (updated), more in Thailand than any other westerner in history, man or woman. The entire time I've pushed myself to write and video share as much as I possibility could, to help make things more clear, more imaginable for those back home. I know that before I came to Thailand there was very little I could find about what it is like to train and fight full time here, especially for women - I wanted to change that. And it may be fair to say that I've shared more in English on Muay Thai and Thai Muay Thai culture than anyone previously has, and hopefully I have inspired others to write and video share as well. The hope is that each fighter, each person, will put their story out there, create more ripples in the pond.

What Do I Create?

I like to write about the history of Muay Thai, and cover the female Muay Thai fighting scene in Thailand closely. I'm interested in contemporary Muay Thai gym culture, and how western women fit in it. I share a lot of my training experiences, and technical tips that I have discovered from my various instructors, or that I have improvised. I vlog often. I also have been, in a larger sense a reporter and advocate of female Thai fighters in Thailand. Those that subscribe to my blog receive a constant stream of varied information from Thailand, on average more than 3 posts a week since 2012. Nearly 20,000 follow the video content on my YouTube channel which has been documenting my training since the early days in Master K's basement (now almost 3,000 videos posted). It has been a full time job, but a labor of love. Some of my best posts can be found here. If you haven't, you can subscribe to my blog posts here.

Supporting fight history: I am reaching for a historic 200 fights fought in Thailand, trying to set a benchmark that will open the imagination of what is possible as a fighter in Thailand. This is all in the dream of becoming fluent in Muay Thai as a sport and art, and I record every bit of it that I think will help inspire others to follow their own Muay Thai dream. You have to be able to see, to imagine where you want to be in order to pursue it, so I try to open a window for others, across the world here in Thailand. Monthly pledges not only enable all this content, but make my training and constant fighting across the country possible. You are sponsoring not only a journalist, but also Thailand's most active fighter.

Among all else I've also, with my fellow female fighter friend Emma Thomas, established a Muay Thai internet forum: The Muay Thai Roundtable. This is a one of a kind internet space, designed for the sharing of knowledge, far from the argument-driven sites that are more common in the fighting arts. In fact, the forum also has a Women Only section where women can find fellow female athletes to turn to for support or as knowledge sources, as women often can find themselves isolated in gym spaces. And I produce a monthly podcast with my fellow fight-friend Emma Thomas, Two Ladies in the Kingdom, covering female Muay Thai in Thailand, and other aspects of the Thailand life.

And Last But Not Least, you are supporting the filming of my Muay Thai Library documentary project. This is the most comprehensive long form documentation of Muay Thai technique effort in history. The aim is to film at least 100 krus and ex-fighters, as they teach their Muay, each completed with audio commentary to make explicit many subtle things that might be hidden from viewers. Unlike many documentary projects this one allows you to see the Library in progress, as each session is published. Patron pledges make this project possible as I search out legends and lessor known krus across Thailand, hopefully preserving not only their techniques, many of them at the edge of being lost, but also the energies of these men who have given themselves to Muay Thai. 5% of all pledges go into my Kru Fund.

A Book in the Works

Choosing to support my content here through Patreon means not only choosing to help me produce the writing and videos that I already have been creating, and maintaining the Roundtable forum, but also to support the writing of a book. I often have been told that I need to write a book about my experience here, but first I have another book in mind. Emma Thomas and I have been planning to co-author a Female Guide to Training and Fighting in Thailand. We feel that this is a really important book, and it will cover everything from the social hurdles that western women in face in Thai gym settings, how to identify a female supportive gym, body, health/hygiene concerns, different training regimens, and how to beat Thai female opponents - to name a few. It will be comprehensive and is really exciting project. Supporting my content through Patreon will help make this book possible.

After the writing of the Female Fighter's Guide, I'd like to sit down and write my own story as a book.

Why Support My Content?

This answer is simple. Support it because you value it. I have made it for the last several years free of charge, really just for the joy of it. And I have benefited immensely from the connections to people I've made around the world through the sharing. I've come upon rough times, and the reality is that without support I very well may have to stop producing what I write and film. If it is meaningful to you to help give me a leg up to help make sure it continues, I appreciate the aid to no end.

But there is another reason as well. I'm now producing regular content only for Patreon supporters: personal journey video blogs, technical videos and long form training sessions with top trainers with audio commentary. When you join Patreon you receive the benefit of all that. And, you are able to join the Facebook Group Patreon Supporters of Sylvie which is open only to Patreon supporters. Not only is Patreon only content there, but also a chance to be closer to my fight process and inside looks into what I am doing.

For more and very different content check out the Patreon of Lawrence Kenshin
photo credit above: Warriors of the Mongkon

If you would prefer to donate directly to 8limbs.us with Bitcoin, you can do so with this address: 1BhaVE4A1uBTPnw5V6TWtGnHRT5E41cHSF