Stephan Fox
Stephan Fox
 | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephan Fox Germany |
| Other names | The Fox |
| Residence | Thailand / Australia |
| Nationality |  German /  Australian |
| Style | Muaythai |
| Rank | World Champion |
| Years active | 15 (1980–1995) |
| Occupation | General Secretary International Federation of Muaythai Amateur / Vice President WMC / Vice President SportAccord / President Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of SportAccord |
| Website | http://wmcmuaythai.org http://ifmamuaythai.org |
Stephan Fox (born 1963 in Germany) is a former Muaythai World Champion and the current General Secretary of IFMA[1] and Vice-President of the WMC.[2] Stephan Fox is the Vice President of SportAccord and the President of the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS) representing 23 international federations.
Stephan Fox is well known in the Muaythai world as a speaker, mentor[3] and advocate of Thailand's national sport and combat art. His educational background is rooted both in both Germany and Australia, however he now resides in Thailand where he oversees the growth of both Amateur (IFMA) and Professional (WMC) Muaythai.
Fighting career
Stephan has been involved in Martial Arts from an early age and became involved in ring sports and Muaythai in the late 70s. He won many competitive titles such as the South Pacific, Intercontinental and World titles, making his way from a student to champion to trainer and on to an executive in the world of sport. Stephan has twice won the Australian Martial Art award and has been presented with the Thai equivalent. He has also won the North QLD Sports Personality Award and has represented both Germany and Australia throughout his fighting career.
He retired after 15 active ring years and, in 1995, was asked by the late General Vorayudh Mesommonta to join the WMC and IFMA to help with international affairs as he was known well in both the East and the West.
Developing Muaythai
Having held the position of General Secretary of IFMA and the Vice-President of the WMC for a number of years, Stephan Fox is regarded by many to be one of the key forces behind the unification of the fractured official world of Muaythai. In the last few years, Stephan Fox has helped to lead Muaythai to its current world status being recognized by SportAccord,[4] IWGA, FISU and being included in many Olympic and non-Olympic multi-sport events.
Media Personality
Step has been a part of more than a hundred TV shows as host commentator and TV celebrity. He has been seen as the mentor / host of The Contender Asia, a celebrity trainer on the The Biggest Loser Asia, a mentor and host on AXN number one rated, Emmy nominated show The Challenger Muaythai,[5] and has been the host of many Muaythai TV Shows such as Muaythai Fight Night shown on ESPN, Star Sports, Fox Sports and TrueVisions. Stephan Fox has also been featured on the cover of a number of international martial art magazines such as Blitz, International Kick-boxer, Martial Arts World and Muaythai World.
Charitable Works
Stephan is also involved in many charity projects, especially in youth development through the Muaythai Against Drugs (MAD) program established by Privy Councillor to HM the King of Thailand, General Pichitr Kullavanijaya. The program is aimed at taking children from the streets and re-integrating them into society through the values of martial arts. Stephan is also heavily involved in projects run in conjunctions with Peace and Sport,[6] an organization under patronage of the IOC in which Stephan has assisted in founding the “Sport is your Gang” campaign, to motivate, change and raise awareness of the danger of gang affiliation in youths. Another motivational campaign in which Stephan has been involved is the “Do Good Feel Good” campaign in which the world’s leading Muaythai celebrities do charity and work with troubled youths to help them find the right path in life.
More recently, Stephan has been one of the main driving forces behind the collaboration between the UN Women and Muaythai’s UNiTE to End Violence Against Women campaign; a joint campaign in which an MoU was signed in April 2013. Later on in 2014, the “Sport is Your Gang” campaign was awarded the “Spirit of Sport” award, the most prestigious award for using the power of sport to make a difference, at the 2014 SportAccord Convention in Belek, Turkey.
Speaker and Advocate
Stephan is also a well-known speaker and has been invited to share his thoughts and expansive knowledge of combat sports at various forums and conventions, such as the World Cultural Martial Art Forum in Beijing (World Combat Games 2010) during the 1st SportAccord Combat Games,[7][8] as well as numerous editions of the annual IF Forum[9][10] hosted by SportAccord Convention in conjunction with SportAccord, ASOIF and AIOWF. Stephan has also been invited as a key motivational speaker at many international sport conferences. Stephan is also a well known face in the SportAccord Martial Arts Group in which there are 15 Olympic and non-Olympic combat sports.
Stephan was also nominated to oversee all ring sports for the 2013 games, held in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has also been one of the main persons in the organization of over 10 World Championship events held in Thailand, Korea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia and other countries around the world.
Teaching & Seminars
Stephan Fox often promotes Muaythai personally by holding official seminars,[11] workshops[12] and even the occasional impromptu training session at media events worldwide [13] and in his active career, he has been teaching Muaythai in over 60 countries in 5 continents.
References
- ^ IFMA International Federation of Muaythai Amateur
- ^ WMC World Muaythai Council
- ^ Fitness First Philippines Muaythai Certification Course
- ^ SportAccord Members List SportAccord Recognized Federations
- ^ Time Out Magazine Stephan Fox Interview
- ^ Muaythai Against Drugs Muaythai Against Drugs
- ^ 2nd Technical Meeting for SportAccord Combat Games Report US Muaythai Federation
- ^ Intl Kendo Federation SportAccord Combat Games 2nd TD
- ^ Fight Academy Report Fight Academy Report
- ^ Champions Club IF Forum '09
- ^ Asia One Magazine Singapore Muaythai Training
- ^ The Jakarta Post Packing a Punch - Fox & Muaythai
- ^ Muaythai - Arab Emirates Muaythai Sessions in the UAE