Phil Nurse is an English former
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
kickboxer
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...
and an undefeated European Light Welterweight Champion, Double British Champion, and British All Styles Super Light Welterweight Champion. He is the owner and senior instructor at The Wat in Manhattan.
Biography and career
Born in Northern England to
Barbadian parents, Phil naturally became enamoured with Football. He was a very promising player until a leg injury forced him to seek other active ways to rehabilitate itself. At the age of 17, he began using
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
aka Thai Boxing to strengthen his injury and found the sport addictive. He began his training with Sken Kaewpadung, who is largely credited with bringing Muay Thai to the UK.
Through dedication and hard training, Phil rose through the ranks of Thai Boxing becoming European and British Welterweight Champion. Phil's record to date is 32-3-0, with 15 fights by way of knock out. Though currently retired, He has held and never lost 3 title belts: European Light Welterweight Champion, Double British Champion, and British All Styles Super Light Welterweight Champion. Phil has successfully defended both his European Light Welterweight and his British Super Light Welterweight Titles twice.
After drawing so much attention to his abilities in the
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
circles around the world he decided to try boxing. He attained some success on the British Professional Boxing Circuit while still actively competing in
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
. With a record of 14-3-0, He quickly climbed to number 11 in the UK. Phil spent three years as a professional boxer but ultimately realised that Thai Boxing was his life's ambition and deserved his full attention. As a Thai Boxer, Phil has fought professionally in the
UK,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and the
US. His training has also taken him to the camps of Thailand where he lived and trained alongside professional Thai fighters.
Nurse is also the inventor and developer of the Gravity Rope jump rope, a combination speed rope and weighted jump rope that allows users to perform cardio, speed, and agility training, while simultaneously performing upper-body strength and resistance training.
Teaching career
While succeeding as a fighter, Phil also developed his teaching skills under the tutelage of Sken Kaewpadung. Eventually he earned the title of Kru (which means "teacher" in Thai), and received Sken Kaewpadung's blessing to open his first gym called Bury Thai Boxing. Years later while holidaying in New York City, Phil sought a gym to train in. Since there were no Thai Boxing gyms in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Phil made his way to Gleason's Boxing Gym in Brooklyn. While training there curious people began asking him what martial art he was training in and where they could learn it. This set the ball in motion, and after returning to New York several more times; he opened a gym in New York in 1995. It was called Lug Sit Narong or "Student of Sitnarong" Thai Boxing Gym. After experiencing exponential growth in New York. He realised that there was a huge demand for a larger space with premium services in a Thai setting. He then created the Wat (the Thai word for Temple) in China Town.
Nurse was the cutman involved in the
UFC 94 greasing controversy when he applied vaseline to
Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...
.
On 17 May 2015, Nurse received the title of Ajarn or Master
from Muay Thai Grandmaster Surachai "Chai" Sirisute.
References
External links
Kru Phil Nurse's Camp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurse, Phil
1963 births
English Muay Thai practitioners
English male boxers
English male kickboxers
Light-welterweight boxers
Welterweight kickboxers
Muay Thai trainers
Living people
Sportspeople from Bolton
English sportspeople of Barbadian descent
Black British sportspeople
Cutmen