Muay Thai is a martial art that focuses on powerful strikes, close-quarters combat (also called clinch work), and conditioning. A martial art is a system of combat that comes from a specific culture.

On a typical wet English November night, a bell rings sharply in an old church in Hackney. But instead of signalling the start of mass, it pulls Muay Thai kickboxer Georgie Starkie, 23, into a corner ...