 A trainer of world champions, Grandmaster Toddy is known to strive for the best. Growing up in Thailand, Grandmaster Toddy had the opportunity to train in both Muay Thai and Taekwondo at the same school. He also learned from champions of other styles who were housed in the school; an unusual but very helpful means of learning the true heart of the martial arts. At the age of 20, Grandmaster Toddy wanted to do something adventurous and landed a part in the James Bond movie, Man with the Golden Gun.He headed to England shortly afterwards. Making his home Manchester, Grandmaster Toddy opened the first Muay Thai School in England. |
He began to produce world champions and the school gained much notoriety. Students would drive from as far as 200 miles away to attend one of Grandmaster Toddy’s Muay Thai classes. After spending 16 years living overseas, Master Toddy decided to make his mark in the United States. He packed up his training gear and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada to continue his streak as a world-class trainer. In his first two years, Grandmaster Toddy trained 40 world champions himself. Wanting to achieve the best in Muay Thai education, Grandmaster Toddy recruited top-notch fighters from Thailand to form his Champion Instructor Team.
In addition to instructing his students, Grandmaster Toddy has done stunt work for movies, such as “Austin Powers”. He has also choreographed fight scenes for various TV series and coached famous stars. The Secret Service and Special Forces have even enlisted Grandmaster Toddy’s help in training their members!
Grandmaster Toddy has appeared in a few documentaries and reality TV series that showcase both Muay Thai and Muay Boran (bare-knuckle Muay Thai). In “I’m a Muay Thai Fighter”, showcased on MTV, Grandmaster Toddy led a team of Muay Thai Champions to Thailand to compete in the brutal world of bare-knuckle competition. This was the first time a team had been invited from North America. The results were a testament to Grandmaster Toddy’s system. Of the five who entered, three won by knock-out!
Grandmaster Toddy appeared in the movie “Ring Girls” and was featured in the documentary and then reality TV series called “Fight Girls”,in which he led several female fighters in their dream of challenging the world’s best. Fight Girls debuted the current female face of MMA, Gina Carano who was a desciple of Grand Master Toddy’s.
During the summer of 2010, Grand Master Toddy finished filming “Tuff Girls Adventure”, featuring our very own Kru Buck Grant as an instructor and mentor. Following in the footsteps of the previous films and shows, “Tuff Girls Adventure” showcases female fighters from America, Australia and New Zealand as they live together, train together, and ultimately fight each other for a chance to compete against a Thai born champion for a World Title.
Grandmaster Toddy’s champions fight with tremendous heart. Included in the list of over 40 world champions trained by Grandmaster Toddy are Maurice Smith, Dale “Apollo” Cook, Ronnie Green, Lisa Howarth, Kash “The Flash” Gill, Kiyotaka Kato, and Howard Brown. The new generation of fighters in America includes; Melchor Menor, Ben Garcia, Kit Cope, Shannon Singleton, Tito Ortiz, Marvin Eastman, Angela Rivera, Gina Carono and many others! If a person wants to train under the best, Grandmaster Toddy will welcome any student who is willing to put their heart and soul into it.
Kru Buck Grant and the entire staff of Hybrid Training Center our proud to teach Master Toddy’s Muay Thai System to the highest standards of Grand Master Toddy. We are the only certified Master Toddy affiliate in Hampton Roads, hosting two credentialed Full Krus/teachers (Kru Buck Grant and Kru Stacy Grant) and 4 Apprentice Krus (Chase Walden, Kim Smith, Phillip Wyman and Jose Roman.)
