Junior Benjamin Rudisch goes into the gym for hours a week to train his craft: Muay Thai. He violently punches and kicks pads his coach holds up until he can’t go any longer. 

Rudisch thought that he too could try his hand in a fighting sport after seeing a multitude of videos online.

“I kind of got myself into it because I thought it would be fun,” Rudisch said. “I also saw videos online. I thought that looked really cool. So I was like, ‘I might as well try it.’ ”

Anthony Minh Nguyen, Rudisch’s coach, who has been training Muay Thai for 23 years, has not just helped Rudisch with Muay Thai but with his social skills and his experiences.

“When I first met Ben, I found him to be pretty shy, pretty reserved, and then I noticed, like over the months, as he continued to train, I noticed that he started to become more confident,” Nguyen said. “I noticed he was smiling more. I noticed he was connecting and making friends or talking more with the people in the class, which was different from when he had first started.”

Rudisch finds that sparring is his favorite part of Muay Thai as it benefits his technique and gives him ample practice.

“I’ll probably say, it [sparring with classmates] improves my physical health,” Rudisch said. “ Last year, I wasn’t in the greatest shape, but it got me into a lot better shape. My favorite part of Muay Thai, just sparring with people.”

Junior Eli Stepakoff, One of Rudisch’s friends and former gym partner, noticed a difference in Rudisch’s demeanor when he switched to Muay Thai.

“After he switched from the gym to Muay Thai I think he’s handled himself a lot more maturely,” Stepakoff said. “He [Rudisch] joined because he wasn’t happy with who he was. Now I see him and he’s just a lot happier.”

Rudisch doesn’t just love the sport, but loves the feeling he gets while sparring.

“When you are sparring with someone and you get in a flow state, the feeling is almost euphoric,” Rudisch said. “You’re slipping all the punches, countering everything and not getting hit at all. Every shot you throw lands clean and you feel like you can’t miss. That feeling is something that I chase every time I go to training.”

Nguyen’s personal Muay Thai journey is similar to Rudisch’s passion in martial arts.

“I became obsessed. I was training three times a week, religiously, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for at least two hours,” Nguyen said. “And that obsession just turned into a hobby, which allowed me to turn into a career. Now I’ve been training in Muay Thai since 2001.. It’s been a journey.”

Even though Muay Thai brought many benefits to Nguyen’s life, he doesn’t think it is made for just anybody.

“It really depends on the individual,” Nguyen said. “I think different people are drawn to different sports or different activities for their own personal reasons, and I think it’s great that everybody tries it [Muay Thai] at least, or exposes themselves to it, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s meant for everybody if I have to keep it real.”

Rudisch agrees with Nguyen’s sentiments.

“Muay Thai is also extremely physically and mentally taxing,” Rudisch said. “One day, you’ll be fighting amazing and the next day you can’t even land a single shot. Every time I have a session with my coach, I feel like I want to die. He pushes me to the max and when I think I’m done, he puts the pads up again for another combination. I feel like I want to give up, but I have to keep pushing. It’s definitely not for everyone.”

For Nguyen, Muay Thai has saved him and made him who he is today.

“Personally, Muay Thai was my Savior,” Nguyen said. “When I was in my early 20s, I’d already started losing my hair, and so that had a huge impact on my self confidence. And so after starting martial arts, I found an outlet that made me learn how to love myself better, learn how to take care of myself better. 

Recently, Nguyen has seen massive improvements not only to Rudisch’s social life and relates to his story.

“I’ve also noticed that he’s improved in his technique and his strength, his power, and his endurance,” Nguyen said. “But the biggest thing that really stood out for me, for Ben, was really his self esteem and self confidence, kind of similar to my story.”