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Webmaster Joffrey Hion
© Copyright 2007
Frank Hofstetter
During the summer I had the privilege to interview Frank Hofstetter from Sweden, he came 3rd place in the Muay Thai World Championship in Bangkok 2004. He is also the Champion of Sweden 2001,2004 and 2005.
Despite training for some very big competitions he kindly enough cut his training short to sit and talk with me about his trainings and competitions. Here you have the interview as i gave it:
Q:
Tell me about yourself
A: Well, my name is Frank Hofstetter, I am 27 years old, and fought about 26
fights.
Q:
How long exactly have you trained MT?
A: I have trained for about 6 years altogether, but for about 1 and a half
years I stopped my training , but soon got back onto it again. The last 1,5
years have been very serious .
Q:
Do you only train here in Sweden or do you sometimes go to Thailand or other
countries to train?
A: I sometimes go to Thailand and train in local training camps. When I go I
usually stay
for about 1 or 2 weeks. I wish I could go a bit µmore often. But I also need
my training here in Sweden, cause in Thailand they concentrate a lot on the
kicking , so I tend to ‘forget’ my punches.
Q:
Have you ever had the need to use Martial Art in any situation outside the
ring?
A: Yes quite a few times actually, not that I actually intended to use it
but it was a reflex when I was bothered by others.
Q:
How old were you the first time you competed?
A: 20.
Q:
Have you trained any other martial art such as Shoot Wrestling, or Brazilian
jiu jitsu?
A: No. But I did Shoot Wrestling for a while, but then I thought it would be
better I focused on one thing at a time.
Q:
Would you ever consider fighting in K-1 or any other similar competitions
like UFC?
A: Yes, I have been thinking of joining K-1 Nordic for a while but I haven't
really decided yet.
Q:
How long before the competition do you start to make you training more
intense?
A: At least 6 weeks before. I then train 3 times a day and rest 2 days every
week.
Q:
What does your food intake look like?
A: Regular food with a lot of carbs, protein, and vitamins. Too bad I have a
sweet tooth because that makes things really hard when I’m on a diet.
Q:
Do you run a lot?
A: Yes, running is a big part of your training. It was because of my stamina
level that i came third place in the world championship. My opponent,
Kasenov from Kazakstan, was a lot taller than I was and had very strong and
hard punches, but after 2 rounds I had enough, I increased the tempo and he
was to tired to follow.
Q:
We know the next championship is in Bangkok, so how long before the
championship
to you go to Thailand to get used to the heat?
A: about five or six weeks.
Q:
What at is the best piece of advice you can give to someone who is training
Muay Thai
at the moment?
A: NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!
Q: Do you know the Wai Kru ceremony ?
A: Yes, I won an award for the best Wai Kru dance at the Championships.
Thank you Frank for this Interview.
When we came to their Gym to talk to Frank we were lost at first. Here we were standing in a Gas station not knowing where to go , but the friendly girl working there she showed us the door that took us downstairs under the gas station. Here in a room with no windows and no mirrors they train. Some old worn kicking bags and mats, here they spend most of their time training. Fightgym was chosen Swedens best club last year due to the big successes they have had. If you want a glitzy club you have come to the wrong place. It started with a few friends wanting to train MT a few years ago, and nowadays they are about 50 people in total training there.
On the day we came to have a look, Frank and 2 other men were preparing for the WC in Bangkok (that now unfortunately was moved to spring -06 ). They started with the warm-up , 2 km running and then 15 min running up and down a hill, a steep one - at high speed and some of it with a partner sitting on your back !!!!!!!!! Then we went back inside and training started. Each person had his own ‘coach’ holding the pads and now a gruesome hour started. No rest , no holding the pads for anyone else. Full speed and full force used in every kick and punch., elbow and knee. 3 min then 1,5 min rest. No water breaks, it was full speed ahead. You could clearly feel and see the smiles and camaraderie you find at this club. I think that is also very important factor on the path to success.
We wish Frank and all the others Good Luck in the future , and thank you very much for the nice T-shirts that we got.
Daniel, Filip and Bee.