Muay Thai Sweeps the Inland Empire

Muay Thai Sweeps the Inland Empire (version of the Press Enterprise article that I wrote for June 13, 2009)
by Breanna Armstrong

Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand that has been practiced since 1702. This form of martial arts consists of two fighters using punches or kicks of the shins, elbows, hands, feet, and knees to defeat the competitor.

This ancient sport is a stand-up game that sets the foundation for Mixed Martial Arts. It is a sport based on technique and core principals. Muay Thai is practiced all over the world, and is becoming a popular sport in the United States.

For 20 years, the World Championship Kickboxing has held Muay Thai competitions internationally, bringing in the best Muay Thai fighters from across the world to its shows.

The World Championship of Muay Thai, is the WCK’s 88th fight, which takes place at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood on June 13.

With an impressive fight card, bringing in several international athletes, this display of Championship level Muay Thai will be one of the most highly anticipated shows that the WCK has ever hosted.

On the fight card are two of the Inland Empire’s toughest competitors, Sheila Telliard(1-1) and Michelle Percival (3-0). The duo trains out of United States Karate Organization in Riverside, with a dedication to the competitive side of Muay Thai.

Telliard, who went to Colton High School, has been training out of the Riverside gym for eight years, “My son started taking karate at USKO, and so I became a Karate mom. And then I got involved and started teaching classes and jumped right into fighting.” said Telliard.

“I started kick boxing ten years ago and I loved it from the first moment. I have been training at USKO for five years and it has taught me the focus of Muay Thai.” said Percival, who graduated from Notre Dame High School.

Telliard and Percival have been training together for the World Championship Muay Thai fight, and will be the two most anticipated female fights of the WCK show. “These two fighters get a lot of respect around our gym. Most of the guys here will not even get into the ring with the ladies, because they are such fierce competitors.” said Joey Pagliuso, owner of USKO and trainer to the ladies.

They spare together, train together and condition together which has not only helped them prepare for Saturday’s fight, but has also been a major support to both ladies who will be representing the Inland Empire in the World Championship of Muay Thai.

“My number one support through this training process has been my training partner, Michelle. It is so pushed that this is an individual sport, but through my trainers and training partner, to me it has become a team sport. I feel good about this fight, I am ready,” said Telliard.

• Results: Sheila Telliard took out her opponent, Anna Danielyan, in the first round. Telliard took the win and gave an incredible performance.
• Percival's opponent, Maria Morales, backed out of the fight after Friday night's weigh-ins. Percival, as well as the USKO team were recognized in the ring after Sheila's victory.
• Over 2,000 in attendance at the Hollywood Park Casino on Saturday June 13, 2009.

Retiring my Pom Poms

Today, June 14, 2009, I am officially announcing the retirement of my cheerleading career. For those who know, know that for over a decade, cheerleading has been a huge part of my life. I started dancing when I was 4 years old and joining cheerleading in elementary school, just felt necessary.

I have strained my voice, had girls dropped on me, broken a few limbs, endured a few black eyes and cheered my heart out for some of the most deserving teams in Southern California. Cheerleading has made me the peppy, high energy leveled woman that I am today. From this high-endurance sport, I have sharpened my communication skills and had a positive outlook on life as well.

I cheered for my jr. high, high school and college... and I can truly say, that through this sport I have created some of the best memories of my life. Hands down.

Many people do not see the side of cheer that a cheerleader does, the practices are grueling, focusing on conditioning, but instead of weights, we use people as our strength builders. Whether you are on the ground or in the air, you are responsible for your teammates life. It sounds really dramatic, but it's not, at any given time a girl could be dropped the wrong way and end in disaster. I have seen a lot throughout my 10 years of experience. This sport should not be taken lightly.

Being put in such a position of responsibility has helped me to become a woman of integrity and maturity. I have grown so much, because of my responsibilities that cheer has endowed to me. And I am so thankful to my coaches and teammates along the way.

Without the girls that I have cheered with over the years, I don't think that I could ever survive this sport. It is truly a sisterhood, nonetheless a sport. Because you are with each other for days at a time, it creates this camaraderie like no other. I can say in confidence that I will never forget any girl that I have ever served on a squad with. Each girl has contributed to my life.

For my senior year of high school, I had choreographed the homecoming dance routine to be preformed on the football field of Saddleback Community College. The bleachers were filled with hundreds of people. People who have seen me cheer a million times before. (I went to the same school from 6th grade-12th grade) But for some reason this time was different. I was on homecoming court that year and I was the only cheerleader on homecoming court who chose to change out of my gown and into my cheer uniform for the halftime show. There was no way that I was about to leave my girls hanging for our biggest performance of the year. I was so rushed for time, and almost panicking that I would not be able to change back into my gown for the parade. And I was nervous that the crowd wouldn't like the dance, but as son as that music came on, our varsity cheer team was on and I have never seen our fans cheer louder for us when we hit our ending stunt. It was one of the best routines that I have ever done and I will just never forget the feeling of accomplishment that came with it.

Another moment that I will never forget is going to the NCA National Cheerleading Collegiate Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida this April. It was an experience that every cheerleader dreams of. I had never worked harder to be on a squad in my life until I started cheerleading for my University. We were pushed to the limit and our hard work had paid off as we accepted our bid to Nationals. When we competed on the National floor for the first time, it was unlike and feeling ever, just the lights and the sea of judges and cheerleaders. Wow! You will never see anything like it. Just the experience of being there and getting second place in challenger's cup and hearing our coach, say "we left out hearts on that floor," all of those things made a year of hard work and high stress pay off.

I have had the text book cheer career, it does not get better than the 10 years of memories that I have to forever hold on to. So today, announcing my official retirement, is no easy task. But it is one that has been in the making for quite some time now. I realized that as my last year of college cheerleading was coming to a wrap, that I needed to focus on my career and let go of my favorite pastime. After all, it's not like I am going to become a professional cheerleader. I am a writer, I have just become the managing editor for my publication and I am focusing on a big dream that has just started to take off. I need to focus on that for now.

It's been fun, it's been peppy, it's been pink and frilly with a lot of ribbons and hairspray and pom poms. I am excited for the next chapter in my life and I owe so much of my motivation to this sport that has taught me so much.