1/5 Suiyi T. 1 year ago on Google
Misogyny.
Over
the
course
of
my
trial
week,
I
took
2
beginner
Muay
Thai
classes
with
Kru
Yo,
the
head
MT
instructor,
and
a
strength
and
conditioning
class
with
Kirstie.
The
one
star
review
is
for
Kru
Yo;
by
contrast,
Kirstie
was
an
adept
and
welcoming
instructor.
My
first
class
with
Kru
Yo
happened
at
8am,
w/
2
participants:
myself,
and
another
woman.
This
class
was
more
or
less
okay,
but
there
were
two
yellow
flags
that
convinced
me
I
needed
to
try
another
class
before
committing:
(1)
Kru
Yo
seemed
interested
in
teaching
via
negative
reinforcement,
and
his
comments
bordered
on
derision
and
semi-mockery.
He
would
exaggeratedly
mimic
my
movements
(I
had
told
him
this
was
my
very
first
class)
and
loudly
say,
"No!
No!
You
don't
do
like
this!"
This
happened
repeatedly,
but
I
actually
chalked
it
up
to
him
being
a
tough
coach,
since
in
other
regards
he
was
more
or
less
attentive.
(2)
As
a
chastisement
to
relax
my
grip,
he
spoke
to
me
in
garbled
Chinese
(I
am
Chinese
American,
which
is
pretty
obvious
from
my
English;
the
fact
that
he
chose
to
assume
my
background
when
he
could've
asked
a
simple
"Where're
you
from"
is...interesting).
He
also
repeatedly
butchered
my
name.
I
don't
mind
him
butchering
my
name,
actually,
as
long
as
there
was
mutual
respect,
but
I
was
about
to
be
shown
how
impossible
that
was.
The
second
class
was
a
non-stop
sequence
of
red
flags
and
I
walked
out
feeling
like
I
never
wanted
to
set
foot
in
FaMA
again.
The
class
was
on
a
Saturday
afternoon,
so
there
were
more
participants:
three
men,
who
were
a
bit
more
experienced,
one
teenaged
boy,
who
was
also
a
beginner,
and
myself.
(1)
From
the
beginning,
Kru
Yo
mocked
me
derisively.
As
we
began
the
footwork
drill,
he
said,
"Stop!
No!"
and
he
pointed
at
me:
"Your
steps
are
too
wide!"
And
he
began
to
"copy"
me,
and
I
use
that
term
lightly
because
it
was
rather
mockery.
He
took
gigantic
steps
with
stiff
hips
&
forced
a
laughable
walk,
almost
stumbling
over
himself.
"We
don't
walk
like
that!!
No!"
(2)
He
continued
to
do
this,
pretty
much
non-stop
for
the
two
"blocks"
he
had
with
us,
and
he
also
muttered
to
himself
under
his
breath
whenever
I
made
a
mistake.
I
became
disturbed,
because
I
noticed
the
contrast
by
which
he
treated
the
others,
in
particular
the
teen
boy
who
was
also
a
beginner.
GONE
was
the
mockery
and
the
sneers;
I
believe
I
saw
him
acting--I
could
scarcely
believe
it--tenderly?
I
began
to
feel
uncomfortable
and
stopped
laughing
at
Kru
Yo's
mockery.
Instead
I
stared
at
him
when
he
made
fun
of
me,
signaling,
"Please
stop."
(3)
He
grew
somber
after
a
few
minutes
of
that,
but
then--too
conveniently--gave
me
a
pair
of
the
most
DISGUSTING
gloves
I
have
ever
wore.
(FaMA
provides
loaner
gloves
for
the
first
week.)
They
were
worn
on
the
outside,
and
5
minutes
into
wearing
them
I
noticed
an
unquenchable
metallic
stench
emanating
from
them.
After
about
20
minutes
of
tolerating
the
gloves,
before
we
transitioned
to
partner
work,
I
told
Kru
Yo
about
the
smell
and
excused
myself
to
wash
my
hands.
He
sort
of
sneered/snorted
derisively
and
said
nothing.
This
felt,
at
best,
like
negligence,
and
at
worst,
like
retaliation
for
my
resistance
to
his
mockery.
(After
washing
my
hands
I
told
the
receptionist,
Candy,
that
my
gloves
were
quite
smelly
and
she
sort
of
victim
blamed
me
by
replying
that
I
ought
to
just
sign
up
for
the
membership,
whose
fees
provide
for
a
free
first
pair
of
gloves.
At
this
point
I
can
only
laugh.)
(4)
Throughout
the
60
min
class,
Kru
Yo
trained
with
me
ONE
time
(compared
to
the
3/4
times
he
trained
with
the
other
beginner),
and
corrected
me
zero
times
on
my
posture/form,
even
as
I
struggled.
He
would
literally
stand
with
his
back
to
me,
facing
the
other
beginner,
while
offering
tips
in
a
kind
voice.
I
believe
it's
possible
Kru
Yo
disrespected
me
for
a
combination
of
reasons--my
gender,
my
ethnicity,
and
possibly
just
personally.
But
his
behavior
was
egregious
and
unprofessional,
and
cannot
be
justified.
I
will
be
taking
my
business
elsewhere,
and
I
did
not
deserve
this
horrible,
traumatic
beginning
of
my
Muay
Thai
journey.
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