Mark Dellograte or Phil Nurse
Who is a better muay thai coach
Phil Nurse-often referred to as Kru Phil Nurse, is a British former Muay Thai kickboxer and an undefeated European Light Welterweight Champion, Double British Champion, and British All Styles Super Light Welterweight Champion.
He currently is the owner and senior instructor at Wat in Manhattan. He began his training with Master Sken, who is largely credited with bringing Muay Thai to the UK. Through dedication and hard training, Phil rose through the ranks of Thai Boxing becoming European and British Welterweight Champion. Phil’s record to date is 32-3-0, with 15 fights by way of knock out.
Though currently retired, He has held and never lost 3 title belts: European Light Welterweight Champion, Double British Champion, and British All Styles Super Light Welterweight Champion. Phil has successfully defended both his European Light Welterweight and his British Super Light Welterweight Titles twice. After drawing so much attention to his abilities in the Muay Thai circles around the world he decided to try Boxing. He attained some success on the British Professional Boxing Circuit while still actively competing in Muay Thai. With a record of 14-3-0, He quickly climbed to number 11 in the UK. Phil spent three years as a professional boxer but ultimately realized that Thai Boxing was his life’s ambition and deserved his full attention.
As a Thai Boxer, Phil has fought professionally in the UK, Italy, Hong Kong, Sweden, Switzerland and the US. His training has also taken him to the camps of Thailand where he lived and trained alongside professional Thai fighters. While succeeding as a fighter, Phil also developed his teaching skills under the tutelage of Master Sken. Eventually he earned the title of Kru (which means ‘teacher” in Thai), and received Master Sken’s blessing to open his first gym called Bury Thai Boxing. Years later while vacationing in New York City, Phil sought a gym to train in. Since there were no Thai Boxing gyms in New York City, Phil made his way to Gleason’s Boxing Gym in Brooklyn. While training there curious people began asking him what martial art he was training in and where they could learn it. This set the ball in motion, and after returning to New York several more times (and with Master Sken’s blessing); he opened a gym in New York in 1995. It was called Lug Sit Narong or “Student of Sitnarong” Thai Boxing Gym. After experiencing exponential growth in New York. He realized that there was a huge demand for a larger space with premium services in a Thai setting. He then created the Wat (the Thai word for Temple) in China Town.
Mark Dellograte-Kru Mark DellaGrotte is the owner & operator of Sityodtong USA.
Kru Mark is known and respected worldwide for his ability to teach and adapt Muay Thai for Mixed Martial Arts. He is also known for his work as a trainer and cornerman, and for his ability to create a strategy based on the weaknesses of his student’s opponents.
Mark’s martial arts training began with Tae Kwon Do, Shotokan Karate, and Tai-chi; as his athleticism and skill grew, so did his desire to further his training. In 1992, his quest for a more combative martial art was complete when he met Guro Guy Chase. As Guro Chase’s top student, Mark devoted himself entirely to the martial arts. Under Guro Chase, Kru Mark became certified in Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do, Indonesian Pencak Silat, Boxe Francaise Savate, Filipino Kali-Escrima, Catch Wrestling, and Muay Thai.
In 1997, Mark traveled to Thailand, seeking to further improve his training and understanding of the art of Muay Thai. During that first trip to Thailand, Mark was introduced to Kru Yodtong and the Sityodtong Boxing Camp. He was accepted by Kru Yodtong, the most famous teacher in the Kingdom, and the Sityodtong Boxing Camp became Mark’s home away from home. Kru Mark lived and trained at the camp, fully immersing himself in the lifestyle of the Nak Muay, or Thai Kickboxer.
Mark’s ability to speak Thai led him to explore Thailand and understand Thai culture. He traveled throughout the Kingdom of Thailand for the next decade, learning different styles of Muay Thai such as Mae Mai Muay Thai, Kun Khmer, Muay Boran, Muay Lao, and Burmese Boxing. As he traveled and studied, he also participated in numerous competitions in Thailand and the United States. After years of fighting in Thailand, Mark fought in one of Thailand’s most recognized stadiums, Rajadamnern. When he was not competing, Kru Mark also learned the craft of cornering fighters.
Kru Yodtong appointed Mark to teach, conserve, and promote Thai style boxing. Today Kru Mark is known as Kru Yodtong’s top representative worldwide and is recognized as an international conservator of Thai style boxing.
Kru Mark has trained and cornered many professional and amateur fighters, including: Marcus Davis, Jorge Gurgel, Jorge Rivera, Patrick Cote, Kenny Florian, Alex Karalexis, Stephan Bonnar, Pete Spratt, Frank Mir, Rich Franklin, Travis Lutter, and Drew Fickett.
Mark has been featured on several television shows such as The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 “The Comeback” (Spike TV), UFC Countdown (Spike TV), Time Warp (Discovery Channel), and TAPOUT (Versus Network).
Kru Mark has been featured in two books: The Fighters Mind: Inside the Mental Game by Sam Sheridan and Title Shot: Into the Shark Tank of Mixed Martial Arts by Kelly Crigger.
I love jiu jitsu guys but lets talk about some Thai Boxing! So who is the better coach in your opinions?
