{"id":90912,"date":"2020-10-16T18:42:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T15:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/supermodel-mia-kang-reveals-how-muay-thai-saved-her-life\/"},"modified":"2020-10-16T18:42:19","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T15:42:19","slug":"supermodel-mia-kang-reveals-how-muay-thai-saved-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/supermodel-mia-kang-reveals-how-muay-thai-saved-her-life\/","title":{"rendered":"#Supermodel Mia Kang reveals how Muay Thai saved her life"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Supermodel Mia Kang reveals how Muay Thai saved her life<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Weak with hunger and weighing just 98 pounds, frail model Mia Kang collapsed into the arms of a stranger after a pervert followed her through the streets of Milan.<\/p>\n

The creep, who had been pleasuring himself during the pursuit, backed off when the good Samaritan yelled at him in Italian. But the 2006 incident left Kang a wreck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to go home, lock the door, get in bed and stay there,\u201d recalls the 5-foot-9 Sports Illustrated beauty in her memoir \u201cKnockout\u201d<\/a> (Abrams Books, out Oct. 20).<\/p>\n

Fourteen years later, if the same thing happ<\/a>ened, the sex pest might well be sipping his food through a straw. A much healthier Kang is a force to be reckoned with now that she combines modeling with professional Thai fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t advise charging at a man who is trying to come after you, but I would be far more confrontational,\u201d the 31-year-old told The Post. \u201cI don\u2019t take s\u2013t and I am not intimidated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walk around with a confidence that makes me feel like a different person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mia
Mia Kang\u2019s book<\/span>Courtesy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In fact, recovering anorexic Kang credits Muay Thai with saving her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout it, I think I would have spiraled further down into my eating disorders and depression,\u201d said the Hong Kong-born Manhattan resident, who was bullied for being overweight as a child. \u201cIt opened a door for me and threw me a lifeline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kang discovered the sport in 2016 \u2014 the same year she won the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search contest \u2014 at a time when she was starving herself to fit into size 2 clothes for high-profile fashion clients.<\/p>\n

A succession of liquid-only diets plus the misuse of laxatives, diuretics and cigarettes took a toll on her mind and body. In her book, she admits to \u201csuicidal thoughts,\u201d wondering whether killing herself was the only escape from the \u201cvicious cycle\u201d of restricting and bingeing.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, a 10-day vacation in Thailand altered Kang\u2019s trajectory. She was intrigued after watching a group of Muay Thai fighters in action. She tried it for herself, leading her to stay on Koh Samui for six months working out at a no-frills gym on the island.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow you look when you are training is the last thing on anybody\u2019s mind,\u201d said Kang, who was desperate for a break from her appearance-led industry. \u201cIt\u2019s all about skill and knowledge. You check your ego at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another bonus: She found it impossible to find the strength to fight without changing her destructive eating habits. Her weight stabilized after she ate \u201cbalanced meals\u201d that were \u201cin accordance to the physical activity I was doing every day.\u201d As a result, she grew into a more sustainable size 4 to 6.<\/p>\n

\"Mia
Mia Kang training in Thailand<\/span>Courtesy of Mia Kang<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Explaining the lure of fighting, Kang added: \u201cWhen I\u2019m modeling, I feel like I am treated so preciously and delicately. People say: \u2018Just sit in the chair and nobody touch her.\u2019 With martial arts, it\u2019s the complete opposite as you go through the journey of getting beaten up and then picking yourself back up again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the bigwigs at Kang\u2019s modeling agency found it difficult to accept her newfound obsession with Muay Thai. Kang\u2019s face was her fortune, and the risk of injury was high.<\/p>\n

However, in May 2017, they allowed her to compete professionally in the ring against experienced Thai fighter Nong B. Despite a pounding, during which she suffered a deep cut under her eye, the model emerged victorious.<\/p>\n

\"Mia
Mia Kang<\/span>Brian Zak\/NYPost<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t work for about three to four weeks, but I factored that into my scheduling when I took the fight,\u201d Kang said. \u201cI was mentally prepared for more serious injuries like a broken limb or concussion, so I was quite pleased with my post-fight condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed out that, since modeling is general<\/a>ly such a short-lived career, she feels she shouldn\u2019t ever turn down jobs in favor of martial arts. But she added, \u201cA massive part of my heart wants to be in the ring. It\u2019s tough!\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as the mentality of a fighter is concerned, Kang said that the inclination to survive at all costs is \u201cprimal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mia
Mia Kang<\/span>Hip Santayanon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cInstinct kicks in, because [the opponent] is really trying to take your head off and there is this realization of: \u2018OK, she\u2019s trying to kill me. I need to kill her,\u2019\u2009\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now a size 6 to 8 and weighing around 170 pounds, the singleton is temporarily living on Phuket and training in a jujitsu program. Her Muay Thai career and modeling assignments for brands like Guess are on hold because of COVID-19 and the resulting worldwide travel<\/a> bans.<\/p>\n

Yet Kang remains optimistic about a future she once feared she might not see. \u201cThere were times in the midst of my eating disorders when I thought, \u2018This is how life is going to be, and it\u2019s exhausting.\u2019 But it\u2019s no longer this all-consuming thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Mia
Mia Kang as a child<\/span>Courtesy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so lucky to still be modeling at the age of 31 while practicing martial arts. I want everybody to know there is light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharing hope with others was her key motivation for writing her book. She chose to publish it this fall as the body-positivity movement grows and her social<\/a>-media reach is far, with 296,000 followers on Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no better feeling than being a strong and confident woman at any size,\u201d Kang writes. \u201cI want to help other women access their inner badass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mia
Mia Kang<\/span>Hip Santayanon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n