Wei Jie claudiamente@hotmail.com A SHEKOU gym was transformed into a boxing club yesterday morning when 22 local and expat children gathered for a two-hour Muay Thai session, which was led by SGX-certified coach Roman Dogushev and organized by the Shekou Management and Service Center for Expats (Shekou MSCE). Lining up in two rows, the children followed Dogushev and his assistant, coach Diego Oliveira, through a Muay Thai warm-up that included joint mobilization, hip and leg activation, stretching, and coordination drills to improve flexibility and reduce the risk of injury. In less than 20 minutes, the children bonded with one another while completing the coaches’ tasks. Carlos Gonzalez, from Mexico, was pleased to see his 6-year-old daughter Ana Paola join the fun. “This is exactly what I wanted to see — to make new friends while exercising,” said the father, who owns an IT service company in Shenzhen. The Gonzalez family lived in Shanghai for over 12 years before relocating to Shenzhen eight years ago. Ana, who now attends an international school in Nanshan District, speaks fluent Chinese, English, and Spanish. “We brought her to Shenzhen when she was just 2 months old, and she has grown up here,” said Gonzalez, expressing his gratitude to the Shekou MSCE for organizing the event. When the training session progressed to sparring, the kids’ excitement was palpable. Split into pairs, they put on Muay Thai gloves and focus mitts, following the guidance of Dogushev and Oliveira to practice offense and defense. Ouyang Lei, a local father who brought his 5-year-old son to the event, praised the organization of the training session. He appreciated that parents were required to wait out of sight of the training session. “I was a little nervous at first. But I soon realized the benefit of parents not being present, as they can sometimes be overly protective,” he said. Staff from the Shekou MSCE posted real-time short videos of the training in the WeChat group for the Muay Thai session to keep parents informed. The Thai boxing event was part of a series of summer vacation activities organized by the Shekou MSCE to enrich the holiday experiences of local and expat children. “Children are often glued to screens during the holidays. We wanted to change that,” said a staff member from the Shekou MSCE. Two weeks ago, the Little Spartan adventure camp was held, attracting approximately 30 children from around the world. They transformed into Spartan warriors to tackle strength drills and teamwork challenges, pushing their limits under the guidance of Dogushev and Caroline Pei. The summer activity series also included a painting workshop led by Portuguese artist Majó. The workshop, originally scheduled for July 20, was moved to yesterday afternoon due to Typhoon Wipha. | 