
Carlos
Head Coach of Adult and Kids Striking, Thai Sparring Programs
I was born in the town of Macas, Ecuador in 1983. At the age of 11, I immigrated to Port Chester, NY.
At 24, I was taken as a student of Viwat Sakulrat, whose tutelage I trained under for the next year and to whom I credit the majority of my technical development. In 2009, I started a job teaching children kickboxing at C3 in Stamford. I taught there for three years and developed a love for mentorship. Subsequently, I taught as the Head Thai Coach at UFC Stamford and Mamaroneck, and started Los Muay Thai in 2012.
Also in 2012, I went to Thailand for the first time. I trained for the following three months at Sinbi in Phuket, winning my first fight at a local Thai stadium. I returned home, spent the better part of three years fighting on the local circuit, racking up 20 fights on my own, but never under the instruction of a dedicated coach.
Coach Jordan reach out in August 2016, and asked if I would be the Director of the Thai program at The Jiu Jitsu Mill. Eager to inspire and help my local community, I accepted. Since then, as the head Muay Thai/Striking coach at the Jiu Jitsu MillI, I have been able to grow the competition team in Muay Thai/MMA and helped the Jiu Jitsu Mill Fight Team win multiple amateur titles in MMA and Muay Thai. On a personal level, I am still competing in the East Coast Muay Thai circuit, and most recently, fought professionally at Friday Night Fights, the longest running Muay Thai event in North America, which was broadcast on UFC Fight Pass.
While I am happy with all the accomplishments I have achieved at the Jiu Jitsu Mill, I am most proud of the non-competitive members of the gym, who dedicate their free time to experience martial arts and give 100% to each class they take. I have helped members of all different ages with different personal goals: from a 14 year old girl who was being bullied and improving her self-esteem to become a cheerleader, to a 73 year old woman, who shows age is only a number, and gave her all in a boxing exhibition match, to a business man in the corporate world who has learned to manage his stress and weight through Muay Thai lose 60 pounds…these are the students that truly make my profession a rewarding experience.