The Early Years
Sean Wright was born in February of 1981. He grew up in the south of Spain, with the majority of his childhood spent playing outside, building up strength and fitness which would stand him in good stead during later years when martial arts became his hobby. He returned to Glasgow, Scotland with his family in 1990 where he continued his school education. It was only during his high school years, at the age of 13, that he developed an interest in martial arts.

Discovering Muay Thai
After a few unsuccessful forays into various other disciplines such as Ninjitsu and Wing Chun, Sean eventually came across Muay Thai, or Thai boxing. Having been frustrated at the seeming lack of applicability of other martial arts, Sean was excited to get involved with what he felt was a more realistic method of combat. Starting out at the old Otago Street gym of the Scottish Muay Thai Council, he forged a long lasting relationship with head instructor John Craig. Despite of the teasing and jokes made at his expense by the more senior members of the club, Sean flourished under John's tuition and it quickly became apparent that he possessed a natural talent for the sport.

University
Outwith training, Sean attended Glasgow University, where he was studying for an Anthrapology and Archeology degree, but Muay Thai soon became the number one priority for Sean and training began to take precedent over attending lectures! In 2003 Sean made the decision to leave university and dedicate more of his time to training. Of course this meant many part time jobs to pay for training costs, and over the years Sean and worked as a security man, as a waiter in a coffee shop, and of course, as a Muay Thai instructor. Initially Sean taught SMTC classes but eventually branched out to run his own classes and private sessions at various sports establishments across the city.

Fighting
Sean fighting career began at the age of 18, at which point he was told, rather than asked, that he had a fight approaching! It wasn't a particularly enjoyable experience for Sean but he put up a good fight against a more experienced opponent. Over the next few years, Sean fought several times a year, doing well and building up a good reputation. When he stopped attending university he was able to commit to more fights even notched up two British titles in his early 20s - the SIMTA British Welterweight and IMTC British Super Welterweight titles.

Trips to Thailand
In the summer of 2003, Sean made his first trip to Thailand. Spending 6 weeks at Lanna Muay Thai in Chiang Mai, the largest city in the north of Thailand, it became obvious to Sean that it was here where he would be able to train properly, with pad holders available every morning and afternoon, and fights available on a regular basis. Back in Scotland, trying to hold down part time jobs, whilst spending hours travelling to and from the gym in freezing cold weather on a bike, was not much fun. Sean was also spending the majority of his time training alone, due to unavailability of training partners or instructors to hold pads - not the best environment in which to be training for British title fights!

Over the next few years Sean persevered with living and training in Scotland, with trips out to Thailand every summer, even spending 7 months at Sasiprapa Muay Thai, Bangkok, in 2005. During this time he fought and won (by TKO no less!) at both of the major stadiums in Bangkok - Lumpinee and Rajadamern - making him the first Scot ever to do so. He also took part in the S1 world championships.

Move to Thailand
Finally, in 2006, following an enforced lay off from fighting due to a nasty injury sustained during a fight, Sean the decision to make the final move. After a few months of frantic saving, he packed up his belongings late in the year and headed out to live and train permanently in Thailand. Spending the majority of his time at Lanna Muay Thai with the occasional visit to Sasiprapa, Sean has continued to improve at Muay Thai and is really starting to make his mark on the international Muay Thai scene. He took part in the King's Cup, a huge Muay Thai tournament held each year in honour of the King's birthday, in December of 2006. In March of 2007 he travelled to Kazakhstan where he won the WMC Intercontinental Title at the President's birthday celebration tournament.

The Contender Asia
More recently Sean was given the fantastic opportunity to take part in a world first - The Contender Asia. Filmed in Singapore over several months late 2007, this is a reality TV show where 16 top Muay Thai fighters competed to win a spot in the finals which will be filmed live from Singapore later this year. You can read more about Sean's participation in the Contender Asia page on this site.