The name of Miam Natasha is a formidable one and probably brings chills to contenders whenever they know they are getting into the ring with her.
Having won 30 out of 37 fights in one season, she earned her first belt in 2019 in the Any Martial Arts Fighting Championship (AMAFC) recently ─ no mean feat considering winning one fight is hard enough ─ but Miam not only earned this title, she also has a string of other titles from wins across the country and the region in her career as a championship kickboxer.
Apart from the AMAFC showcasing her kickboxing skills, she also won the Singapore national qualifier tournament, the i1 International Grand Prix Tournament in Hong Kong (Silver), got the No:#1 spot in Malaysia’s ranking 51 to 52kg, the Mangkorn 48kg Pro Title Belt Muay Thai Championships and many, many more.
Miam is a competitive athlete, just like many other women athletes, but what makes her different is that she is also a mum to six-year-old Damien.
She runs her own gym with her husband in Wangsamaju, in the Klang Valley, and juggles schedules between running fitness classes, keeping up with her own training, entering year-round tournaments and bringing up her son all at the same time.
What makes her journey into combat sports even more amazing is that Miam was never an active person before. Why she suddenly turned around was that one day in 2004, she saw a film called Ong Bak about Thai martial arts.
She was immediately fascinated by the sport and started to find out more about it. Still, she didn’t get serious until much, much later.
Watch Miam Slay Her Opponent in One of her Many Winning Fights
“Yes, I was never an active person before,” says Miam, “that’s why most people who knew me from before were surprised that I actually joined competitions and they got even more surprised when I won!”
Maim only started training seriously back in 2013 with the intention of entering tournaments but then got married in 2014 and had Damien later in the same year too!
“I had actually planned to fight in 2014 but because I conceived two months after I got married, I had to be off that whole year. I just went to the gym and did some light exercises but I was also still actively going up the stairs of our gym when I was 8 months pregnant,” she recalls.
After the birth, Miam resumed her plans to actively compete in 2015 and has been doing so until now. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, she would have entered many more tournaments this year and she cannot wait to get back into the ring to go on competing.
Motherhood asks Miam to share her journey of bringing up a child, while still following her passion for Muay Thai and aiming for the highest in combat sports.
1. Motherhood: Can you take us back through your pregnancy and labour. Was it a normal birth? We have heard that regular exercise and keeping fit throughout pregnancy helps with an easier birth. Is this true?
Miam: Alhamdulillah it was a normal pregnancy without any complications. How I ended up in the labour room was actually a funny story. My water broke in Starbucks Mid Valley while I was out with my friends. My husband was training with his friend in Celebrity Fitness in the same mall at the time.
So while I was waiting for my husband to finish, my friends and I hung out and they were telling a joke and we all laughed and I laughed too. Then suddenly I felt as if I had unplugged a sink and the water was gushing down. It was a lot and fast.
I was shocked. At first, I kept quiet and didn’t say anything.
Then I coughed or sneezed, I can’t remember, and the water came out again!
And then I knew. My water broke!
We had to stop a few taxis because no taxi wanted to risk bringing me to the hospital. The reason why we had to find a taxi was because my husband forgot where he parked my car. I think it was because he was panicking.
Eventually, we managed to hail one taxi and he managed to bring me to the hospital. I had quite a fast delivery. I was brought in at around 8pm and my son was born at 12.36am.
Yes, I think if you constantly keep active during pregnancy I think it does help but at the same time, I can’t really confirm this theory because giving birth will always carry risks.
We just have to pray to God that everything will turn out well.
2. Motherhood: Do you have any advice to share with mums who have just given birth and who would like to get back in shape?
Miam: I just want to say, don’t ever be a prisoner to your own body.
Take a few months off, and slowly get back into exercising or staying fit, because we also have also be physically and most importantly, mentally strong and fit to take care of our child, but whatever is said and done, don’t lose yourself after having a child.
3. Motherhood: How old was Damien when you restarted training seriously? What was the routine like?
Miam: I brought Damien to the gym when he was four months old. I was targeting to fight that year. So I really just had to prep myself to take care of a new born child and also train.
You need to train four solid hours a day, every day, morning and evening. It really wasn’t easy but I managed to do it. Honestly, I don’t even know how I did it when I think back.
When I trained he would sleep in his carrier or watch our students train and if he was hungry, I would break in between to breastfeed him. He was such a good baby he practically grew up in the gym.
Damien When He was Still a Baby in the Gym
4. Motherhood: So what was the name of that tournament you were prepping for in 2015? Did you win?
Miam: It was called F3 Fighting Championship in Keramat Mall, KL. And yes I won by Technical Knock Out (TKO).
5. Motherhood: Do you have any tips on childcare for mums who may be juggling motherhood and competition, just like you?
Miam: My tip is to always to make it balance. Like for me, I will always make it up to my son if I was busy training for a fight.
After that is done, I would bring him for a short holiday or maybe to short outings like going to the zoo, or to Sunway Lagoon where we can spend dedicated family time. Because I do at times feel guilty for being so preoccupied with training.
From not being able to walk to crawling to using a walker, he is so used to the gym environment. Now he himself is training and also teaching our new students what to do! It’s really is amazing.
6. Motherhood: Is Damien already in preschool?
Miam: He’s still in kindergarten. He will be in primary school next year. He is currently back in school after the MCO and he is happy to be back.
During the MCO, he cried a lot because he missed his friends and teachers. It was very sad to see him like that.
7. Motherhood: With the pandemic still going on, how do you feel about Damien going back to school? What are you doing to ensure he stays safe? Who prepares his food?
Miam: I prepare him from the moment he wakes up, shower him, brush his teeth, and also iron his school uniform and pack his breakfast for him.
As for going back to school, all parents would feel worried about their child being exposed to other kids especially when there’s a virus still going on. But life has to go on.
All I can do is teach him how to keep his distance, always wear his face mask, and also constantly sanitise his hands after he touches anything. I am blessed that his teachers also make sure that they follow the SOP that was laid down by the government. But most importantly, we must always pray to God that our children will always be kept safe.
8. Motherhood: Now that he is growing up with his own schooling timetable and you have your students and clients to teach, what is your routine like everyday?
Miam: On certain days I conduct group classes at our gym and I also train clients privately in their home or outdoors.
Basically my routine in the mornings would be preparing Damien for school. I will usually arrange my personal trainings with my clients while he is in school or after he’s done with school.
This is to ensure my time won’t clash when I have to pick him up from kindergarten.
Because my husband goes to our gym in the mornings for the group classes till night, I will have lunch with my son. Sometimes I cook, sometimes I eat out with him.
If I have clients in the afternoon, I will bring him along and it’s cool that my clients don’t mind him being there. If we go out I’d make sure he brings his school books so that he can revise or do his homework while I am teaching.
Weekends are family time. That’s when we bring him out, or maybe buy him a toy to make him happy. He’s an understanding boy.
He helps out a lot at our gym at times too. Like taking the students’ temperature before they come in, reminding them to scan the QR code or write their names.
9. Motherhood: You have been fighting in the Below 52kg category in all your fights and you have stayed at 48kg for a long while now. Are you naturally always this weight? Can you share some of your diet tips with mums on how to maintain weight or if you have no special diet, can you advice on foods or exercises that give stamina?
Miam: I was actually 60kg before. My lowest weight was when I got married. I was only about 43kg. So I wasn’t naturally this weight.
But when I was 43kg I didn’t exercise at all. I restricted my food intake. I was skinny but I was unfit. I only got active after I got married.
I don’t really have any special diet. I believe that you can eat anything you want (unless it causes you allergies), as long as you burn back the calorie intake.
I would suggest for mums that if they can’t commit to exercising yet, dieting is a good way to start off your weight loss journey.
You’ll be amazed by how many kilos you can lose just by dieting. But if you exercise while dieting that is definitely a more complete package!
Stamina-wise, if we are going for a fight, we have to cut off spicy food because it will affect the training. Stamina comes from cardio, so in order to have good stamina, one must work on their cardio.
Damien Already Learning the Ropes of a Fighter
10. Motherhood: What fitness routine would you recommend for mums who have just given birth or who want to lose weight and belly fat?
Miam: I recommend anything from just brisk walking, slow jog, some starjumps or skipping, some sit ups, push ups or squats. Even just basic simple exercises can make a difference! And now everything is on YouTube!
If some mums can’t go to the gym because of their timing, they can always just google ‘exercise for beginners’ or even something specific like ‘exercise to lose belly fat’ and do it in the comfort of their own home.
A Bonded Family at the Gym
11. Motherhood: Your desire to keep on competing is still strong and sometimes the duties of a mother and the routines at work can come in between your passion. What can you say to mothers to motivate them to follow their passion despite the difficulties they may have? And for yourself, do you think it is worth the sacrifices you have had to make so far?
Miam: It honestly depends on the individual. But you only live once, so why not? What’s life without doing something you love?
Life shouldn’t be all about working or just taking care of your family. Like even my grandfather has a sport that he loves which is golf and he still plays golf at this age.
He is currently 83 years old and he also still works! But he makes time to do things that he loves.
In the end, it’s all about balance. Just like being a mum, never let yourself go (in weight, appearance, etc) and don’t blame the kids for losing yourself.
We are the adults and we ourselves must keep ourselves happy. We have 24 hours in a day. We should be able to at least invest one hour on ourselves. After all, we deserve it!
All photos courtesy of Miam Natasha
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