THE BEGINNING
My birth place was Numpi, Ampur Tron Thongsaenkun, Uttaradit Province in the North of Thailand

In 1962 my father became part of the law enforcement in our village holding a high position. He became a highly respected member of our village community and villages around the Uttaradit Province . He was a determined man against the corruption that was prevalent in our country at that time. After arresting a local man for stealing funds he became a target for those that had become irreverent towards our laws, unfortunately life is cheap for those that are desperate and my father was shot dead in 1963.

Many times before my farther died he would take me to watch many Muay Thai competitions. I would watch the fights with great enjoyment and interest. This lead me to be introduced to one of the camps who was owned by a friend of my fathers. He was a grand master called Krisana Suwan and Khai Pichai Dabhak (Broken Sword). Praya Pichai Dabhak was the name taken from a hero who was a bodyguard of King Taksin the Great; he fought in the battlefield so ferociously that he broke his sword in half.

After watching the young Thai fighters I started to train. My cousin who I idolized helped me to learn. He showed me brilliant fighting techniques which I can remember to this day.

When I was 8 years old my mother became ill after the death of my father. Not being able to look after me I moved to Pahkai Village to study at the local school. My P.E instructor, who happened to be the owner of a Muay Thai camp, started teaching me Muay Thai seriously. He gave me the fighting name Narongnoi Lukborlhek, Narong being my father's name; Narongnoi is Narong Junior Lukborlek Luk means son or daughter. He became one of the most important influences in my Thai Boxing career. We travelled many places participating in Junior Muay Thai competitions for the different schools in the area. This assisted in raising money to pay for my education.

At this time I was living with the monks in a Buddhist Temple called Wat Phai Lom, Uttaradit. It is about 140 kilometres from Chiangmai. I met a Buddhist Monk named Pi Yai he started to show me Muay Thai and meditation. Guiding me through Buddhist Philosophy, teaching me about calmness, respect, discipline and most importantly Dthamma (knowledge and wisdom from Lord Buddha)

MY EDUCATION
I moved again in 1966 this time to attend Piammaythi Wittayakarn School . The Arjarns and Krus, who I will always be grateful, too passed on their knowledge, which allowed me to continue to fight so that I could earn just enough money for food and education.

I was there for a short time then I moved over to Sattahib High School , where I was reunited with my brother. He had being practicing Tae Kwon Do with Grand Master Sook Joon Ahn at U-Tapao American airbase. I immediately saw some techniques that I wanted to learn and asked my brother to help me. My brother took me to meet Grand Master Sook Joon Ahn. After that meeting I decided it would be beneficial to add Tae Kwon Do to my repertoire.

The school belonged to the Royal Thai Navy (20 kilometre from Pattaya City ), Cholburi Province . Many American GI's were stationed there. The GI's had a huge interest in martial arts and they asked me to start teaching them. I found I liked to instruct and that I developed my skills through passing on the different techniques.

On many occasions I found myself being challenged by the Americans and Japanese. They were hard fights but they served as a learning curve earning me a reputation for being a good fighter.

Often for recreation I would leave the base with my friends and travel to the North of the country, where we would participate in Muay Thai competitions, receiving money for food. We oftener travelled to Chiangmai and visiting the local tribe's people, walked many miles up the Doi Intanon. One of the highest mountains in Thailand .

I finished my education at Sattahib and moved to Bangkok . Successfully passing the entrance exam to Srinakarinwiroj University of Physical Education. Here I was able to concentrate on the finer points of Muay Thai, learning the history, refereeing, judging etc.

The timetable was pretty gruelling. I would wake at 4.30am to go jogging for 1 hour returning to my apartment to continue with my personal training for 1 hour. After which I would walk to the University. Most of the day was taken up by various disciplines such as Track and Field, Volley Ball, Swimming, Dancing, Krabi Krabong, Muay Thai, Rugby , Tennis, Takraw and many more. It was a four years course and extremely demanding, physically and mentally.

My study period was almost over and after having around 145 fights unbeaten I soon had to take some life changing decisions. I had always had an interest in travel but I also wanted to fight at Lumpinee Stadium. For the Thai fighters this was theirs and my ultimate challenge. But it would be a hard choice as the life of a Professional Muay Thai fighter is a short one. Often with little prospects at the end it. After considering long and hard, I decided to travel and continue my education.

THE MOVE
After finishing my education in Thailand I decide to go to the UK . I arrived in England 1977. I took a job at a Night Club as a Bouncer. There were many incidents that kept me sharp and aware. I also attended College in the daytime helped me to improve my English language. I was still extremely disciplined and liked to train regularly, people would notice and ask me if I would teach them private lessons. As the lessons grew I felt it was getting to the point where I could teach full time

In 1978, I started to teach professionally.

Between 1979-1981 I had to leave England for Holland . I started teaching at Samurai Gym in Amsterdam . I taught many Dutch nationals, European Champion and World Champions.

Meanwhile back in Manchester my instructors were still teaching a handful of students. In between teaching their classes and working they relentlessly persued trying to get me back to Britain . In I981, they managed to organise a work permit and Visa. I returned to find that they had formed a new Muay Thai association the BTBC and elected me as their Chief Instructor. It lasted a short time due to the internal politics of the company. This led me to leave the association and formed my own, Sitnarong International Muaythai Association (S.I.M.T.A.)

In 1991 I started to teach Muay Thai for Keep fit and Self-Defence and a small percentage for competition. The number of students rose from 10-100 people. People found they could train without getting hurt and as a result... S.I.M.T.A. grew rapidly

I taught in Manchester and the surrounding areas for 16 years then moved to start my new Headquarters at Stockport .