Tough Heart: The Life and Legacy of Yia “The Bull” Mua

Remembering the Five Time International Muay Thai Kickboxing Champion

Yia “The Bull” Mua with two of his title belts.

In the Hmong language, there is a term, “siab tawv” (pronounced shia thuh). Its literal translation is “tough liver,” but what it really means is tough heart or brave. It’s been used to describe many people before, but perhaps no one took that term more to heart than Yia “The Bull” Mua.

In many ways, he was an underdog. A Hmong immigrant kid growing up in the Central Valley in California during the 80's and 90's, he had to grow up fast. Hmong gangs were on the rise as a direct response to the racism that the Hmong faced and Yia was not immune to their pressure. It was also impossible to escape the bullying and everyday racism from those around him.

In the 80's, he began Kenpo Karate training around the age of eight to build confidence and to defend himself. Yia would wear his Kenpo uniform to his elementary school almost every day, inspired by watching Ernie Reyes Jr. in the movie Red Sonja. From the very beginning, Yia was fearless, standing up to bullies much larger than himself and protecting his sister and his friends.

“Yia never backed down,” Kapria Mua, his baby sister, tells me. “He wasn’t afraid of anyone.”