Muay Thai kickboxing is an ancient martial art form used for combat dating back to 1411 AD. When Thailand was no longer at war, the art was no longer used for combat. In the 18th century, Muay Thai was developed into a sport. In the 1920s, Queensbury rules were incorporated, using gloves, a ring, and 3-minute rounds. In the 1950s Muay Thai was brought over to the west and quickly gained popularity throughout the world as a fighting sport. MuayThai has changed in many ways but in its heart are carried old traditions and an ancient fighting spirit. 

In the ancient Olympic Games boxing was established as an Olympic sport at the 23rd Olympiad in 688 B.C. Professional boxers first appeared in ancient Rome, where they would train in organized facilities. it wasn't until the 18th century that it became a popular professional sport in England. Jack Boughton, also known as "the Father of Boxing," developed the first set of rules for the sport and published them in 1743 as a result from a bout where he killed his opponent.

The most revolutionary change in the sport came in 1865 when John Sholto Douglass, the Eighth Marquess of Queensbury, drew up new rules of boxing which basically transformed the sport into what it is today. The sport spread to the USA and then to the rest of Europe at the start of the 20th century and was included in the modern Olympic Games in 1904.

Jiu-Jitsu is translated as 'the gentle art.' It has also been defined with terms like yielding, softness, subtleness, and pliability. Its origins date back to India more than 2,000 years before Christ. From there it spread throughout Asia and eventually settled in Japan.

In 1914, Japanese Jiu-Jitsu champion Esai Maeda arrived in Brazil to help establish a Japanese immigration colony. Once in Brazil he was aided by Gastao Gracie, a Brazilian scholar and politician of Scottish decent. To show his gratitude, the oriental master taught the ancient secrets of that ancient fighting style to Gastao's son, Carlos Gracie. Carlos taught Maeda's techniques to his brothers: Oswaldo, Gastao, Jorge and Helio and in 1925 they opened the first Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Botafogo, a district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is where the brothers, prompted by Carlos, essentially designed and laid the foundation for 'Brazilian' Jiu-Jitsu.

The earliest fights that resembled MMA occurred in the Olympic Games in 648 B.C. with “Pankration”, a combination of boxing and wrestling.  The decline of the sport occurred with the fall of Greek civilization, while other combat sports such as wrestling and boxing grew in popularity.  

It wasn’t until the 1920’s when it emerged in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, when the Gracie brothers challenged any man (known as “The Gracie Challenge":) who thought his art could beat their art of jiu jitsu.  The matches closely resembled the pankration matches of Ancient Greece, and brought in competitors from all styles of martial arts.

Pacific Ring Sports was started by Michael Regnier and Alfie Duque.  The two met at a boxing gym in San Diego in 2001.  Alfie had moved from the San Francisco Bay Area a year before to take a breather from corporate life, where she had worked in biotech for many years, got her MBA, joined high-tech, but got laid off after the dot-com bust.  Working out had always been a mainstay in her life, so she trained regularly at the boxing gym across the street from where she lived.

The owner of the gym was looking to replace the kickboxing class with more authentic style kickboxing and had been looking for a top-notch Muay Thai trainer for quite some time.  After two years, he finally convinced Michael - who had been teaching and competing in San Francisco for the past 8 years - to head the Muay Thai program.  Michael's classes caught on like wildfire, bringing in waves of people to the gym, where classes often spilled out on to the streets as students became hooked to this authentic style of kickboxing. 

But for their own personal reasons, they wanted to move back to the SF Bay Area.  Alfie approached Michael about opening up a gym back home.  The idea of starting a small business began when she was in business school, and now that she was back in the high tech work force, the possibility of someday leaving the corporate world appealed to her.  Not surprisingly, Michael had always dreamed of opening up his own gym in the SF Bay Area but the right circumstances never came about.  Alfie’s initial involvement was to develop the plan, launch the business, and invest in the gym.  However, when the two began to pull their knowledge and resources together, they saw that their very different backgrounds and experiences could contribute to a successful gym.

They thought about opening up a gym in Santa Cruz where Alfie had done her undergrad.  They found an old lodge in the middle of downtown Santa Cruz that seemed a perfect place for what they had in mind.  In early 2004, they formed “Pacific Kickboxing”, named after Pacific Lane – the street where the gym was to be located.  As fate would have it, the location fell through.  Several months later, after looking at a number of Bay Area cities, it was Michael who became convinced that Oakland was the best place to begin a Muay Thai gym.  He had lived in Oakland before and saw that there was a lot of untapped talent in the neighborhood and that Muay Thai was not yet fully introduced to the area.

Michael’s hunch was right because the gym today, with its old school, neighborhood feel, and the widespread interest in the art makes it a perfect fit in Oakland. The gym became “Pacific Ring Sports” when Boxing, Jiu Jitsu and MMA were added.

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