From not being allowed to box to becoming a seven-time undefeated champion, The Nanjinger had the opportunity to sit down with Michele Aboro and her wife and business partner, Masca Yuen, to discuss the importance of engaging in a martial art such as boxing as a prerequisite to live our lives.
“It’s not just a point of physical training it’s really a mental training focus and directions”, claims Aboro.
Its importance for younger generations thus being its ability to “have this stabilisation, because everything is so volatile at the moment and something like a martial art enables you to actually find some stability”. This stability that came with engaging in a martial art like boxing is what gave Aboro a better understanding and foundation for herself.
“You always work on different elements to become a better version of yourself right so it’s not only physical. For some people it’s easier because its more tangible so you work through the physical trough the emotional the mental and the spiritual”, says Yuen.
Growing up in England being surrounded by quite a few boxing gyms, “boxing and martial arts were very much a fabric of the society”. However at the age of nine when Aboro “took a look” she was told that she “wasn’t able to box”, on account of it being illegal for trainers to teach women. Only until 1996 could women legally hold professional boxing license “so I took up first of all judo and karate and then I went into kickboxing and Thai boxing”.
With an array of different levels both commercially and professionally, “there’s so much understanding of yourself that you gather from martial arts”, Aboro says. “That’s what a lot of people sometimes overlook, there are many life lessons like on a micro level in here because it’s all done so quickly, but you can always relay that to your everyday life. Struggle, perseverance, discipline, respect; all of these things that are vitally important for a martial art like boxing, you are able to bring that from the gym into your personal life.”
This rise in local popularity is believed to be a result of Chinese fighters participating in UFC martial arts as well as “this whole time where you had all these Victoria’s Secret supermodels doing boxing”. Aboro states that this is what made “easier for the regular person to understand that it’s not just punching or squeezing each other’s brains’ out. There is an art from to it. there is a dedication and understanding; a knowledge of what you’re doing”. Hence this tangibility has on a commercial level prompted people to start coming to the gym.
Yuen claims “that you always start with an icon a hero, a heroine” as a result of “champions and people you like, then you’re going to reach the mainstream”.
This change in perspective of “seeing it as a workout” is one of the main catalysts in this increase in popularity says Yuen. However, it is “not only learning these skills; it’s very much community”. Yuen compares it to picking candy in a candy shop “they pick because they find it difficult to make friends, they don’t know where to start”. She says that “if you choose a training facility which aligns with your own values and culture then you automatically have those people who you can actually have friends and build up this community together.”
Aboro’s values are that “there’s no exclusion so its for everybody. If you want to be alone on this journey you can choose it for down time or personal training if you look for a community atmosphere go to a group class”. Their youngest classes start from six and a half.
Although don’t be fooled; they’re “pretty strict, we’re pretty open but we so expect you to have dedication and willing to learn. Its accountability from both sides. That makes it sustain and makes it a very natural group that keeps coming back”, says Yuen. Even the members that have already left China have asked about opening an Aboro Academy in Switzerland or Madrid.
Being shaped by their background, their value of inclusion is what sets Aboro Academy apart from the rest. Growing up in an area where “community was a very big thing, there was a community center in the middle of the estate”, says Aboro. “Everyone went to the community centre to hangout and pass your time”, where they’d offer fitness classes and outward bounds classes etc. Aboro claims that “this really made our community really glue together and this is one of the things that reminds me of a happier childhood”.
And that is exactly what they’ve done! Aboro Academy is a “place that people can come and hangout they can talk they can meet different people”.
Most notably, Aboro Academy is one of the only gyms in the world that has a ranking system. Aboro says, “Like BJJ has it and karate. I came from this world before I came to boxing. I had done some jiujitsu, when it used to be ultimate championships, I’ve had fights in Japan in the ring. I’ve done K1s so I understand a grading system and what it can bring to the structuring and progression of a student”. Thus their main goal was to “build this kind of system into boxing”, allowing for “a structured progression system in which our members can actually go through the different rankings”.
So if you ever find yourself in Shanghai and feel like getting a kick out of something, Aboro Academy serves as the perfect place to develop those skills and join that community of immense support.
The first thing you can do is “to take action, that’s really the first step; no matter is you take action to look for a gym or take action to call up a gym or take action to just come and visit. It’s really take action”, encourages Yuen.
However. If it still seems a bit daunting, just know that “it is scary when you first walk up to any kind of combat gym”, and as Aboro says, “Just step over your fears and just get out of that comfort zone and just try because were not monsters on the other side; we’re human beings like everybody else and you know you’ll never feel a warmer embrace than when you walk through that door”. They are “not going to jump on you and throw you. Step over that barrier. I know it’s very difficult to do and its easier said than done but once you do, you know what I find with combat sports is that the community is unbelievable. It’s a family. so, step over.”
Aboro Academy also provides a range of other classes from meditation to combat performance. Prices range from ¥180-280 for a trial lesson, while all kinds of other memberships are available. Although it might seem pricey, I assure you that once you’ve eaten your way through Shanghai, you’ll be glad you’d taken that boxing class.
Aboro Academy is located at S6-S8, 2F, 667 Changhua Lu, Jing’an, Shanghai 上海市静安区昌化路 667号2楼 S6-S6 (近安远路). Tel (021) 6222 0266.
