After attempts at soccer, basketball, cross country, tennis, volleyball, and almost any sport that first comes to mind, East senior Emily Baker landed on martial arts as her sport, specifically Muay Thai.
At first, Baker did not want to go into Muay Thai, due to the COVID-19 conditions and wanting to focus on her academics. However, her parents wanted her to get involved with a sport once the pandemic ended. Baker started with boxing, and although it interested her, there was something missing.
With boxing, the main focus is using hands, but something that caught Baker’s attention was when the instructor mentioned there was another class that incorporated the use of legs. With legs being more of Baker’s strong suit she went to give that class a try.
“Once [Emily] started Muay Thai, she slowly but surely became more confident in herself,” Baker’s younger sister, Sophia Baker, told Spark. “She became more outgoing and willing to participate in group activities, she opened up to more people and found a group that enjoyed her for who she is.”
Wrestling is another one of Emily’s interests that was formed from her love of Muay Thai. Emily joined the East Girls Wrestling team when it was first introduced during her junior year, 2023. Initially, her thoughts on wrestling was that it was a demanding sport. It was much more than just being physically capable but also being mentally disciplined.
Emily was one of the 12 girls who started the first girls wrestling team at East and is also a returning wrestler this season. Similarities to Muay Thai made it more intriguing, specifically the fact that both are combat sports. Emily liked Muay Thai’s stances and the freer movements more in comparison to wrestling.
“Wrestling is a bit more contracted, you have to keep your body close together, versus Muay Thai [you are] able to move more freely and I like that,” Emily told Spark.
Due to her rigorous academic schedule of six classes including Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry and AP Statistics, Emily makes sure to dedicate proper time and studying to her schoolwork, shifting around her schedule to maintain her grades.
East senior and a friend of Emily, Minna Odeh, describes Emily as hardworking, disciplined, and sweet, and has never met someone so devoted to her priorities with being a model student and athlete.
“Once she commits to something, she will see it through no matter what,” Odeh told Spark. “She does well in all of those fields.”
Emily and Odeh used to play on the same basketball team and have known each other for five years, continuing to be friends from their middle school years.
“I want to keep [Muay Thai] as a hobby,” said Emily. “Otherwise, I think that will ruin its importance to me.”
After competing and participating in Muay Thai for almost five years and wrestling for two years, Emily maintains that competing for any reason other than herself is not something she has looked into.
Muay Thai is built off the basic skills of combat sports, like footwork. For sports like Muay Thai that require a strong sense of confidence in oneself, it is important to continue to grow those skills. This is why people who have been practicing for years go back to their basics to refresh.
“When we first introduce an individual into Muay Thai we only let them work on their footwork and jabs to get into the order ‘foot, hips, hand’, which is the base of movement when doing Muay Thai. We repeat this sequence over and over until it becomes second nature,” said Emily.
Other than showing the other students how to properly execute skill sets, Emily also hopes to show others how fun Muay Thai can be, outside of the kicking and punching. Whether it is learning self-protection or life skills, finding enjoyment in the sport, or simply just learning more and growing a passion, Emily wants to shed light on this other side of Muay Thai to other students at her dojo.
Sophia said that Emily has changed a lot with taking up Muay Thai. Emily gained confidence and also became more outgoing.
“Muay Thai also increased her overall mood and motivation,” Sophia told Spark. “It gave her a space to relax and express herself while doing something she came to enjoy.”
Emily has learned more about her mind and body, like how to take care of herself and learning the different mindsets of discipline and commitment. With all the effort she has put into building her skills, the outcomes are through her work.
