MUAY THAI: Van Soest is face of women’s Muay Thai

VIDEO: Tiffany Van Soest is already well known in Muay Thai circles near and far. Watch this vid to find out how much ass she can kick!

Van Soest (12-2-1, 5 knockouts) will return to Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula tonight to defend her Lion Fight Women’s Featherweight world title against Martyna Krol (30-10), but there’s an ulterior agenda at play here, as well.

Whether a seasoned fight fan sitting ringside or a casual observer tuning in on TV, Van Soest wants you to fall in love with women’s Muay Thai.

“I think she sees herself as the face of women’s Muay Thai in the United States,” Lion Fight president Scott Kent said. “I think she has that star ability. She’s got that spark, she’s got that charisma around her and she’s become one of our most successful and marketable fighters.”

Over the years, Van Soest, 26, who lives in San Diego, has been able to successfully channel her athleticism into multiple arenas.

She earned her black belt in karate as a teenager. She started for the women’s soccer team at Cal State San Marcos and she’s tried her hand in multiple combat sports, including a brief stint in mixed-martial arts.

She’s often asked if she will return to cash in on the current women’s MMA boom, but that’s a non-starter for Van Soest, who is committed to spreading her passion for the art of eight limbs.

“(Muay Thai is) so in your face, it’s so raw and it’s very connected to tradition,” Van Soest said. “It’s beautiful, but it’s brutal and it’s just me.”

And there Van Soest may have inadvertently hit on the dichotomy makes her such a marketable commodity and potential crossover star.

Her longtime trainer, Alex Palma, likens her graceful movements and body control to that of a ballerina, although most who have stepped in the ring with her would describe it more like being pummeled in a mosh pit.

An avid surfer, she hits the waves regularly to unwind when not in the gym and generally exudes what could only be called a California cool. Yet, the killer instinct in undoubtedly there and when she smells blood in the ring, the line between control and combustion begins to blur.

She pays homage to the centuries-old tradition of Muay Thai, but hasn’t been afraid to fashion her own crowd-pleasing fighting style by melding together complementary fighting disciplines and even some influences from other sports.

“I’m not the traditional Muay Thai fighter who stands still,” Van Soest said. “I can turn that on when I need to, but for the most part, I like to use my karate and use my footwork I accumulated from years and years of soccer. I like to use Western boxing, I like to use Dutch-style kickboxing and blend it all together.”

Van Soest, a Torrance native who moved to Riverside at age 3, was a soccer standout at Riverside Poly, earning a spot on the HSGameTime All-Area first team her senior season in 2007.