Titan Fitness members prepare for first fight
After much hard work, two Titan Fitness members are ready to fight in their first matches. Shawn Slater, 24, and Jordan Katz, 21, are competing in a Muay Thai fight on Saturday, July 25 at the Hamburg Field House, where they will see if all their training and hard work has paid off.
Slater, originally from State College, Pa., graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a degree in Crime, Law and Justice. He’s been training at Titan Fitness since January of 2007.
Katz is currently a Penn State student from Monroeville, Pa. majoring in Information Science and Technology.
Thai boxing, or Muay Thai, differs from traditional western boxing by allowing eight points of contact; the hands, elbows, knees and shins are used in Thai boxing, compared to just fists in western boxing.
To get ready for his upcoming fight, Slater has upped the intensity of his workouts, and has added extra workouts twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about the past two months. During training, Slater likes to see how far he can push himself mentally and physically.
“I’m confident in my abilities, (but) this is my first fight so I don’t completely know what to expect… I’ll do my best,” Slater said. “When I’m sparring hard, I try to think about nothing and use the openings my opponent gives me.”
Katz also said that “ideally nothing” will be going through his head during the fight. “Hopefully I will have drilled and sparred enough times that I will just react,” Katz said.
Katz, who’s been training at Titan Fitness for almost a year, has been training between eight to ten times a week for the upcoming match, compared to usually having only three Thai workouts a week when he’s not preparing for a fight.
Jordan Katz during his Jordan Katz during his Level I Thai Shorts Test
“I enjoy being part of a sport again; I haven’t had that since high school… Mostly, I enjoy the nature of the sport. It’s one on one, there are no assists. You’re either to blame or to congratulate, its all on you,” Katz said. “Knowing that I am prepared is all the confidence that I’ll need.”
Despite their confidence, neither Katz not Slater know much about their opponents, both of who are also facing their first fight.
Slater is already looking ahead in his career, hoping to have more Muay Thai fights and eventually start competing in mixed martial arts after more training. Throughout his training at Titan Fitness, he’s said he has had great experience with both Bruce Lombard, martial arts director, and Paul Zelinka, who created lifting and conditioning routines for Slater, as well as being knowledgeable with nutrition.
While training in Muay Thai, Katz is also in Titan Fitness’ Elite Training and said being a part of Titan Fitness has been a great experience and recommends it to anyone interested in martial arts.
When he’s not training, Slater enjoys watching successful fighters John Wayne Parr in Muay Thai fights and Sean Sherk in mixed martial arts events.
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