Judith Lamp studies in Portland, Oregon, with Professor Leonard Trigg, TBA Regional Director of the Northwest.  When not training, she works in a manufacturing company, printing designs on electronic circuit boards.

DS:  When did you start studying martial arts? 

JL:  Maybe twenty-five, thirty years ago.  I decided it would be a good idea to be able to protect myself.  Then I was out for about fifteen years; I came back for exercise.  I got introduced to my current teacher, Professor Leonard Trigg, and I’ve been with him since 1993.

DS:  What styles have you practiced?

JL:  Tai Chi, Qi Gung, Lameco Eskrima, Muay Thai, a little bit of Villabrille, Western Boxing, Jeet Kun Do, Kali, Mande Muda, and some protective services bodyguard training.

DS:  Why have you trained in all those arts?

JL:  To be introduced to different styles, different systems to see what I like.  My teacher likes to let me see a wide variety so that I have a better understanding of one style with another.  He brings in teachers from different parts of the world, the best he can find, to let me have the experience of their styles.

DS:  Who are some of the other people you’ve trained with?

JL:  I’ve trained some under Maestro Ted LucayLucay, and I have two testings from Punong Guro Edgar Sulite, so I’m registered in the Philippines with the Lameco system.  I’ve also trained with Professor Greg Lontayao, Sifu Dan Inosanto, Pendekar Herman Suanda, and Jesse Glover, among others.

DS:  You’ve had great opportunities, training with them.

JL:  Yes.  And studying Tai Chi with Professor Trigg has helped me a great deal.

DS:  In what way?

JL:  Getting to know myself, relaxing; it’s been very helpful in turning my life around.  Professor Trigg is an excellent trainer, an excellent coach.  My overall training has been a real help to me; it’s given me some direction, helped me see how to organize my life.  I’ve found I’m learning some really good life skills that go far beyond hitting, kicking, fighting.  I’m learning self discipline, of course.  I’ve learned how to organize every aspect of my life better, to have it more in my control.

DS:  When did you start Muay Thai?

JL:  1996.  Professor Trigg introduced me to the style by having me come to a seminar, and I’ve been going ever since.

DS:  What aspect does Muay Thai contribute to your training?

JL:  I think that the knees, the elbows, and the round kicks are really great additions to my training.  Also the more spiritual aspect of it.  I really like what it’s taught me about relaxing and flowing.

DS:  How long have you been training with Ajarn Chai?

JL:  Since 1996.  That was my first seminar.

DS:  How many of his seminars have you attended?

JL:  Nine.  One thing that I really appreciate about Ajarn Chai is all the beginners who come to the seminar for the first time get private instructions in the basics.  They get really good foundation and help.  He takes them aside from their group and gives them special attention because he really cares about people getting quality training.

DS:  How do you arrange your Muay Thai training between seminars?

JL:  About three or four months before (the June Portland seminar) I do some practicing and drills, mostly physical.  The closer it gets to the (Pacific Northwest Muay Thai Camp) the more technique I work on.  Then after camp there’s a maintenance program for me.

DS:  That’s the four-day, invitation-only camp held in late July in Oregon each year.  You’ve attended the last three years?

JL:  Yes.  I was going to go in 2002 as well, but about a month before I broke my arm.  My doctor wouldn’t let me do Muay Thai for a full year, because the full power kicks with the pads were too much on the wrist.

DS:  When you went to the first Oregon Camp what did you expect?

JL:  It wasn’t really a surprise because I had that full extra year, and Professor Trigg was so good to prepare me for the camp.  I think he covered everything:  physical preparation, mental preparation, nutrition.  We practiced circuit training, what it would be like at camp.  He did such an excellent job that it was like I had gone.  Then I started out the first half hour of camp, “I hope I can do this.”

DS:  Still a little nervous?

JL:  But I relaxed, said “what did he teach me?” and followed the things that I was taught.  I had a great time.  I enjoyed the food, the people, and the tremendous training that I got there.  I learned so much in that camp because you take a technique and a series of moves and you practice it in different ways, different situations.  You learn the basics of the moves and the combinations.  You can really walk away and say “I can do it.”  That’s one of the things I really like about the camp.

DS:  What was your favorite thing?  Can you pick just one?

JL:  All of it is good.  The discipline of saying “sir” and the courtesy before your partner makes me focus my mind.  Ajarn Chai has done an excellent job putting together this camp that is just excellent training and covers so many areas.  He’s so careful to watch the people to make sure they’re safe and to make sure they get top quality training.  I would say that his camp is the number one camp, because I couldn’t think of anything that would improve it.

DS:  Were there any negative aspects to the camp?

JL:  Not one.  I’ve been at both camp locations, Silver Falls and Camp Wilkerson:  they’re both excellent places to train.  People got along, they helped each other, and Ajarn Chai was there to help us.

DS:  What did you think of the other instructors there, like Ajarn Dan Inosanto, Professor Trigg, who led Western Boxing classes, and Kuehn Kru Greg Nelson, who gave instruction on the clench?

JL:  With Professor Trigg’s class I was just one of the students like all the others there.  He does an excellent job giving basic, easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions.  He really knows how to make it doable.  I have the wonderful opportunity to train with him in private lessons regularly.  I think that the special training we got on the plum with Kuehn Kru Greg Nelson was excellent on a more individual level.  It was helpful to me to see the smooth, flowing movements Ajarn Dan Inosanto used in his personal practice.

DS:  What are your goals for your martial arts training in general?

JL:  Be a better me.  As for long term goals I’m more taking it step by step.  I plan in the future to be a teacher.  But I’m taking it just moment by moment and seeing what comes.

DS:  Are you going to specialize in teaching one particular art?

JL:  It’s been my training and my intention that Tai Chi is my number one to get a base for myself, with that quiet development.

DS:  What have you learned about yourself from studying martial arts?

JL:  That I have a lot to learn.

DS:  That’s a good starting place. 

JL:  It is.  The more I learn, the more I see there is to learn.  The more I discover about myself, the more there is to discover about me.

DS:  Any other thoughts you’d like to pass on to others?
JL:  I think that the best thing about martial arts is the learning of life skills to create a skilled life.  That’s the message that I would like to leave others as the benefit of martial arts training.