How Eat Sleep Teep Started | Muay Thai Podcast Breakdown

The Eat Sleep Teep semi-contact series was created to bring real Muay Thai development opportunities to the Central Coast. Through the muay thai podcast, the origins of this event were discussed in detail, giving insight into how the idea evolved into a community-driven platform.


What started as conversations between coaches and gym owners has now become a structured event designed to help athletes gain experience in a safe and authentic Muay Thai environment.


Watch the Full Podcast Episode


This episode of the Pu’u Muay Thai Podcast breaks down the full vision behind Eat Sleep Teep, including how the event came together and what it aims to provide for fighters and the local community.




The Idea Behind Eat Sleep Teep


The concept for Eat Sleep Teep had been in discussion for years. Coaches and athletes recognized a gap in the Ventura and Santa Barbara areas — there were limited opportunities for developing real Muay Thai skills in a structured setting.


While events existed, many were not fully aligned with traditional Muay Thai rules or long-term athlete development. The goal was to create something that stayed true to the sport while also making it accessible.


As discussed in the muay thai podcast, this event was designed to bridge that gap by providing consistent, local opportunities for athletes to grow.


Why Semi-Contact Matters


Muay Thai is inherently a full-contact sport, but semi-contact competition plays a critical role in development.


The Eat Sleep Teep format allows athletes to:


  • Gain experience performing in front of a crowd
  • Develop balance, technique, and scoring awareness
  • Learn how to manage nerves and composure
  • Prepare for future full-contact competition

Instead of focusing on knockouts, the emphasis is placed on technique, control, and understanding Muay Thai scoring criteria.


Building a Muay Thai Community


One of the core goals of Eat Sleep Teep is to strengthen the Muay Thai community locally.


As highlighted in the episode, the event brings together:


  • Fighters and practitioners
  • Gym owners and coaches
  • Local businesses and sponsors
  • Families and spectators

Community support plays a major role in making these events possible, reinforcing the idea that Muay Thai extends beyond just training and competition.


Creating Opportunities for Athletes


For many athletes, stepping into competition for the first time can be intimidating.


The Eat Sleep Teep format lowers that barrier while still maintaining the integrity of the sport. It provides a stepping stone for athletes to build confidence and gain experience without the pressure of full-contact competition.


This structured approach helps athletes develop skills that translate directly into higher levels of competition.


Learn More About the Pu’u Muay Thai Podcast


The Pu’u Muay Thai Podcast continues to document the growth of the sport through conversations with fighters, coaches, and industry leaders.


👉 Visit the podcast:
https://podcast.puumuaythai.com


👉 Explore partnership opportunities:
https://podcast.puumuaythai.com/sponsor

WHO WE ARE

Jonathan Puu

Jonathan is a world-renowned certified Muay Thai ring official with 2000+ bouts under his belt officiating as well as being a former pro fighter and founded Pu'u Muay Thai in Ventura, California which has operated in Ventura for over 10 years. Putting emphasis on authentic Muay Thai and proper regulations on a grassroots level.

Ryan Ughoc

Ryan is a certified Muay Thai ring official with 20+ years of martial arts and combat sports experience. Ryan founded Pu'u Muay Thai in Santa Barbara, California in 2019 and has been working tirelessly to help grow Muay Thai in the central coast. Ryan and his wife Carol have worked with international events in North America as promoters for WBC Muay Thai for professional and amateur events.

Carol Ughoc

Carol is a certified Muay Thai ring official with a background in event planning and Muay Thai promotions. Working international professional and amateur events as well as being a promoter for WBC Muay Thai. Carol works alongside her husband tirelessly to help grow Muay Thai here in USA through the promotion of authentic Muay Thai events.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Questions Answered

What are the rules?

-No knees to head

-No elbow strikes

-Punches & Kicks allowed to head, body, legs.

-Knee strikes allowed to the body & legs.

-Kids with 3 or less bouts: no head contact allowed

-Kids more than 3 bouts: head contact optional if both competitors agree

-Competitors under 16 years of age will be required to wear chest guards.

-Round times:
-Teens & Adults are 3 rounds of 2 minutes
-Kids (Ages 12 & Under) are 3 rounds of 1 minute 30 seconds
-Round times can be shortened/adjusted at discrection of head official

-All competitors must wear sparring style shin guards with no hard plastic or metal parts exposed, head head gear with no bar or protective shield on the front, gum shield, groin protector, MUAY THAI SHORTS, 12oz/16oz gloves depending on weights that will be provided.

Judging will be based on Muay Thai techniques and defense executed with good balance and control.

There is either a "winner" or a "loser" of the round based on our judges score cards. There are 3 judges around the matted area that will be judging your performance using Muay Thai.

Fouls:

-Excessive contact

-Winding up of strikes with power and intent of full contact

-Head down in clinch placing yourself in danger

-No lifting. Lifting is lifting your opponent up, grabbing a kick and lifting the caught leg up.

-Throwing yourself to the floor when opponent catches your leg

-Purposely running off the matted area

-Turning your back away from your opponent

-No direct or linear strikes to the knee joint

-No teeps (front kicks) to the face

-No knees to head

-No elbow strikes

-No spinning back fist or Spinning Back Kick or Spinning Heel Kick

-No axe kicks

-No striking to the back of the head

-No striking directly to the spine

-No judo or wrestling techniques

-No foot sweeps. All dumps must be performed with a kicking action using the top of the foot or shin.

-No taking advantage of your opponent by faking a foul

-No plowing. When catching a kick, you can only take 1 step and 1 strike


Is this a full contact event? Can I knock out my opponent?

While Muay Thai is inherently a contact sport, this event is NOT designed nor intended to be a full contact event. This is a semi contact event where athletes will be under the watchful eye of trained ring officials with emphasis on technique. Going too hard will result in a Disqualification and possible permanent expulsion from our events.

Can professional fighters compete?

This event is not at all intended for professional fighters. If you have fought professionally in any full contact combat sport (kickboxing, mma, boxing, muay thai), this event is not for you.

Will there be a winner and a loser?

Yes the goal is for you and your opponent to complete 3 rounds where we will declare a winner and a loser based on our judging criteria.

Can I contest a decision?

No, it's semi-contact. If there are any questions, only the cornerman in the corner can approach the head official with questions or concerns. The only time the decision will be reversed is in the event that the scorecards were incorrectly tallied by the officials.

Do these count on my record?

Yes, these count as EXPERIENCE ON YOUR RECORD and we will be reporting these publicly online for results. Please include this as experience when registering at any events.

Do you have someone in my division?

We encourage you to register and we will find matches for you. We will always match as best as possible in regards to age, weight, and experience level.

Can people come watch me?

Absolutely! We encourage you to bring friends & family to share in Muay Thai. We will have tickets available for purchase for entry at the door.

When do I know if I have a match? Can you tell me who I'm matched with?

We do our best to match everyone and begin matching typically 2-3 weeks away from each event based on our paid registrants. With the nature of these, people can sign up leading up to the event so we might adjust your match to better fit you as we move towards the event day.

We will begin notifying people who do have a match via EMAIL ON FILE with our newsletter leading up to the event. So it's important that you stay up-to-date there. We try to finalize matches the Monday before the event and fulfill any last minute matchups that may still need to happen.

So you'll know for sure the week of the event if you have a match or not. If you do not have a match, we can offer a deferral or a refund of registration fee.

We will tell you who you're matched with the week of via our email newsletter but know that it may still change due to drops/cancels/injuries/weight adjustments to best suit the competition.

Contact Us