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name: Jay Ding (@jaywalker_ding)
Year: 40
height: 1.7m
weight: 62kg
Profession: Gymnastics coach/fitness coach
situation: married
food: I enjoy starting my day with a simple “kung fu tea” ritual. For me, it’s a kind of meditation and prepares my mind for tomorrow. I find it very relaxing while waiting for the water to boil, and I love listening to the sound of the tea leaves spreading and the aroma of the tea as it brews.
Avoid fried foods as much as possible and save them for social gatherings. Other than that, I’ll eat almost anything. How and when you eat each day is determined by your schedule for the day. If you have a busy morning ahead of you, get through it with a hearty breakfast. Otherwise, you might skip breakfast and only eat when you’re hungry. As part of my holistic diet, I make a large pot of herbal soup or bone broth every week (enough for my wife and I for 3-4 days). It is also safe to drink warm soup before going to bed.
exercise: I spend 3 hours a week dividing my gymnastics skills into barre and floor skills. It’s usually something basic like a backflip, a frontflip, some passes, or a swing on the bar. I spend his two hours working on strength-based skills like ring transitions, handstand push-ups, iron crosses, and one-arm pull-ups.
There are also two sessions of lower body training, including squats, box jumps, and plyometrics, each session lasting approximately 30-45 minutes. I have trained him twice in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and sometimes I run home with him.
Q: When you were younger, you were competitive in Muay Thai.
A: Yes, I started Muay Thai after taking my O Levels, but my intentions weren’t for the best reasons. Because I was small and skinny, I often got into pointless trouble and was always the one getting hit. I wanted to punch the people who hit me, that’s why I signed up for Muay Thai.
However, after joining the Hilltop Academy (then known as Hilltop Muay Thai) under Master Johnny, I was so tired from training that I didn’t have the energy to go out with friends, so I rarely got into pointless troubles. It was avoided.
What was the highlight of your Muay Thai journey?
In 2001, I competed in my first competition, All Styles Martial Arts, which consisted of all striking disciplines (Taekwondo, Karate, Silat, and Kung Fu) and won a gold medal. Over the years, even during my time as a regular military athlete, I competed in several amateur and professional matches.
In 2004, I played my first professional match in Singapore and my opponent was Indonesian. In the opening game, my foot hit his elbow and I knew my foot was no good. I frantically threw a series of punches, and as luck would have it, I won by TKO (technical knockout). After seeing a doctor, he was found to have three small fractures in his leg.
Another interesting thing happened in early 2008. I was preparing for another professional match and (Singapore fugitive) Mas Selamat had escaped and I was part of a squad that went into the forest to look for him. Because of that, I took a week off from training and didn’t get much sleep, and I think that was one of the reasons why I lost the match. I remember passing out alone in the locker room and then coming back to consciousness without anyone noticing.After the battle, I returned to the forest and continued my search.
In 2009 I moved to Thailand for a year to focus on Muay Thai. We had a few fights there. The game I was most proud of was a disappointing one. In the match at the old Lumphini Stadium, I hit my knee in the ribs, broke two ribs, and lost by TKO. However, I was proud to be one of the first few Singaporeans to set foot in the Mecca of Muay Thai.
He also represented Singapore at the World Games in December 2009. After a lackluster performance, he decided to don the gloves.
When did you finally decide to retire from Muay Thai?
I wasn’t making enough money to pay my daily living expenses. Along the way, a lot of self-doubt started to creep in. In retrospect, I should have stayed longer on the amateur circuit to gain more experience before venturing into the professional arena. There were probably too many jumps for me and I went in too deep and too early.
I felt that the greed for winning that I had when I was younger has disappeared. My friends (who are still my best friends) never hesitated to make fun of me for my empty eyes before major games. I talk about it from time to time, but it makes me feel very nostalgic.
The final reason I decided to retire (and the excuse I kept using for years) was a huge game that was supposed to be held on a floating platform and broadcast live on ESPN. I told myself that this was the deciding factor, but just as I was about to head to the venue, I received a notice that the match had been canceled because the organizers had run away with the money. When I felt relief instead of disappointment or anger, I knew my heart was no longer ready to fight.
What happened next?
I took a break from all my work at the end of 2010 and went to New Zealand for 6 months. After returning to Japan, I started learning handstands from a friend and fell in love with calisthenics. I also met people who were doing street training, and my interest deepened.
I started teaching at ITE West’s fitness corner with a friend under the name “Basic Training Academy.” At the time, I was lucky enough to be working at an events company with a great boss who supported my decision to switch to part-time so I could balance it with my new business.
On the way, I saw someone doing flips on YouTube, so I practiced using the foam pit from Bazgym Gymnastics school. The manager seemed to realize that I was in for an accident and started giving me the details of the fall. One day he asked me if I would be interested in joining a recreational kids class. At the age of 27, my gymnastics journey began there.
In 2013, I met the two founders of BodyTree Group at an exercise workshop and we eventually opened BodyTree Gymnastics Strength Training (GST) together. We were the first of its kind in the market.
However, we have become overly dependent on U.S.-based programs and too complacent to expand into larger, more expensive facilities without being able to adapt quickly enough to changing conditions. I did. Many high-level gymnastics practitioners have started offering services similar to ours at a fraction of our fees. As we started losing market share and not having enough cash flow, our major shareholders decided to cut their losses and everyone went their separate ways in 2019.
He then began learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and competed in his first competition in March 2020, a month before Singapore went into lockdown due to the coronavirus.
After that, you and your wife started the Beacon Movement.
Back in the days of BodyTree, I saw great potential in combining beginner gymnastics with the precision of Pilates to benefit adults and enable movements never thought possible in gymnastics. I did. This allows those dedicated to movement practice to better understand their bodies, minimizing injuries and accelerating progress through Pilates.
At that time, we were not able to convey this idea to our shareholders, but once the COVID-19 situation was over, my wife and I started working on this idea again. Having become more mature and relatively confident in how we would react and handle ourselves during difficult times, we decided to put our marriage on the line and give this a try.
What are the goals of the Beacon Movement?
We believe that everyone can achieve body freedom, regardless of age, gender, or body type. We combine the beneficial principles of Pilates with the energetic aspects of gymnastics to help people reach their full physical potential.
We understand how important it is to maintain your long-term health. That’s why we make sure our students use correct technique and body coordination to progress gradually and safely. This allows you to push your limits while staying safe and healthy.
There are people who continue to learn gymnastics skills even into old age. The oldest member is 72 years old!
When was the last time you felt least confident?
It comes and goes. As a skinny kid, I was always beaten, made to play goalie at soccer games, and rarely invited to go out. During my Muay Thai days, I also lost confidence before big matches.
Now, I sometimes get belittled by experienced people in the fitness industry, even though they know nothing of what I do. These days, people are questioning my ability to be a good coach.
I’ve gotten to the point where I treat my self-doubt like the flu because I know it will pass. When it starts creeping in, I’m going to ask myself a question I saw on social media a long time ago: Can it be solved? If so, why should you worry? If not, why worry?
When was the most difficult time you struggled with your body?
In fact, I think it was my mother who was suffering mentally. I was the shortest and thinnest person in my class, probably the shortest and thinnest person in my entire school of my age, and my relatives, the parents of my classmates, and my neighbors told me how sickly I looked. There were a lot of “well-intentioned” comments and all sorts of unscientific opinions about whether or not it was. A treatment for “gaining” weight.
They say things like eat more and exercise less, and don’t try questionable drugs. I would like to take this opportunity to tell everyone that doing something like this puts stress on parents (they will blame themselves for not protecting their child’s health), and in desperation, they may unknowingly end up hurting their child. This means that there is a possibility that you may be injured.
Are you satisfied with your body now?
There’s content, but I’m never satisfied. I’m happy with where I am today in terms of training and eating. But I know I have the potential to keep improving and get stronger and better.