Thursday 28 November 2013

The Time Approaches

It is almost time- in less than 24 hours I should be in Bangla stadium, Patong, waiting to go into the ring and go to war with someone for five 3 minute rounds. It will be my first proper muay thai fight, and unlike back home where you go through different levels, it will be full thai rules. However it goes, this is going to be one hell of an experience.
The training here at Sinbi has been tough- twice a day, 6 days a week, about 4.5 hours a day total (not including going for runs), but that is exactly what is needed. This is a tough and gruelling sport- physical fitness, conditioning and mental toughness are paramount. I'm feeling pretty confident- win or lose I don't mind so much, I just want to make a good fight.
On Wednesday morning I had another private session with Tun, in part to allow the Sinbi camera guy Dave to film me training for my video- a short highlight montage of my fight and training here. It should look good, with shots of me hitting the pads and bags, sparring, clinching, running on the beach and doing strength work as well as my fight. Dave is a cool guy who has been here for 5 years (not jealous at all) and only goes home for Christmas. I'm beginning to think I need to find a job that will let me stay here permanently.
During the private session Tun informed me that he intends to place a 1,000 baht bet (around 20 pound) on me for my fight- I'm flattered by the confidence and intend to use it as extra motivation when I'm tired and hurt. Gambling is a huge part of muay thai- one of the only times it is actually legal here- and a big part of the great atmosphere at the fights in Thailand is the gamblers going crazy and shouting on their guy. It's not uncommon for gamblers to try to motivate fighters by offering them money for turning around a fight they are losing, or to reward those who have won them money with a cut of their winnings.
That night three of the lads from Sinbi were fighting at Bangla- Paul and Hector from Mexico, and Miguel from Peru. I have sparred and clinched with all three and become quite friendly with them, so decided to go along to support them. It also seemed like a good opportunity to get a feel for the venue and see how it all works before I go there myself,so it isn't all new when I will be nervous as hell already. It was a good night of fights- Bangla may not entertain the same quality of fighters as say the Lumpinee or Rajadamnoern in Bangkok, but it was fun nontheless. Miguel won his fight via leg kicks, with his opponent unable to come out for the fourth round, but Paul and Hector both lost on points. They both fought well though, and should be proud of themselves.
The promoters here seem to have a thing about getting the fighters nationalities wrong- Miguel was advertised as from the UK, Paul from Australia and Hector from France. During Paul's fight the commentator even shouted out "ozzy ozzy ozzy!!" For my own fight, I am being advertised as Russian! Apparently, this is all a trick by the promoters to try and bring more people into the fights- a huge proportion of the tourists here are Russian.
Today I did virtually nothing- as ordered by the trainers, my day consisted of eating and sleeping. After a lie in- as much as one can get living yards from the gym- I had breakfast and went for a massage. There is an awesome massage place literally 30 seconds from the gym, offering proper sports massages with a discount for muay thai students. The lady there worked me from head to toe, cracking my back, toes and fingers and rubbing away the aches and pains of training. Afterwards , I felt awesome. The delicious ginger tea they give you afterwards is an added bonus. At 300 baht a time (about a tenth of the price back home) you really can't complain. The massage had the added effect of making me sleepy again, so I got an extra few hours.
With little else to do, I watched the afternoon training, which included two young kids about 6 years old- one thai, one felang- having an enthusiastic spar. Sinbi Taewoong- the gym owner- pulled me aside to check my weight for the fight. I asked him if he knew who I was fighting, but he had no idea. Typical Thailand. It doesn't matter- whoever it is, I will be doing my best to make sure it's my hand that is raised, preferably before the full five rounds are completed.
Afterwards, a few of us headed out for some dinner to a place called Brown Rice, which we had heard good things about. I have been unimpressed by the portion sizes in a couple of the places we had been to previously and wanted to make sure I stocked up on carbs, so asked if they could do me a big portion of pad thai. I was duly obliged with a huge and tasty plateful, and wasn't even charged any extra- a filling, tasty and healthy meal for a mere 50 baht. The other guys wanted to head out to a cool reggae bar by the beach we found last week, but knowing what was to come I decided to go home and chill for the night. There will be plenty of time to party once his fight is done.

Saturday 23 November 2013

When in Rome...

So, my plan on coming here was to just train and do a bit of holiday. I had no intention of fighting, giving that my current ring experience is just a handful of interclubs- 3x2 minute bouts with controlled power, shin pads and chest pads, and no winner. Over here, they don't bother with the tiered system we have back home- all fights are full thai rules, meaning 5x3 minutes, all muay thai techniques permitted including elbows. No pads at all are worn, so it's shin on shin contact.
After my first private session with Tun last week, he asked me if I wanted to fight, saying "you train strong, good power, good technique." I was pleased with the compliment but said I was unsure about fighting. However, after mulling it over for a few days and training alongside other guys who were taking fights- some of them their first ever fight too- I thought to myself, "screw it, why not." I may never get another chance to do this, as much as I am determined to come back to this amazing country again. You just never know what will happen in life, and I know I will regret not taking this opportunity should another one fail to arise. I have been training hard- not just here, but at home for the past couple years too- for this and I feel confident that I can do it. Either way, we will soon find out.
So I will now be fighting on Friday 29th November at Bangla stadium here in Phuket, along with another guy from Sinbi, a Russian lad named Arslan. This meant that the past week has been dedicated to nothing but training, each day following the same routine- wake around 6 am to go running, morning training at 7.30, than eat and sleep. Wake again around 2.30 for afternoon training, eat and sleep. Repeat. The trainers are pushing me hard too- every session includes about 20 minutes of clinching and ends with 200 knees and 200 teeps (push kicks) on the heavy bag. It's hard and it is taking a toll- my right knee swelled up a lot the other day and I have cuts on my feet and knuckles, but I am enjoying it. It isn't easy to turn down the offers of nights out in Patong, but I know I will savour the partying and fun times more when I have done this fight. I will have about 9 days afterwards to enjoy myself, so for now I am dedicating myself to the training. After all, I will be spending up to 15 minutes in a ring with someone trying to take my head off- it is only right to myself, the trainers and the gym that I put in everything I have. Trainer/fighter Nai made the point clear after I agreed to the fight, saying "you want fight, you no drink, no smoke, no boom boom, yes?!" He is a funny guy and a really cool dude, as well as a talented fighter, and I hope he will be there in my corner for the fight.
The weather here has been a bit shitty all week- gray and raining every day, though still warm. This has removed any temptation to hit the beach between sessions, which is probably a good thing as it's best to get some sleep when training this hard twice a day. I just hope it picks up again before I go- I want some beach time after my fight!
I won't lie and act the tough man- I am nervous. It is a fight, you can get hurt. But you have to go in with confidence, and I don't feel scared. I have worked hard for this and I know I won't give up. Is it gonna hurt? Yeah, most likely. Will it be an experience of a lifetime? Almost certainly. Will I regret it? No way! I don't overly care about winning or losing, I'm not doing this sport to build a record or make myself look tough. I'm here to challenge myself and see what I am truly made of, in a way that only fighting can show you. Besides, they say you learn more from a loss than a win, and that it may be better to lose your first fight than win it. Either way, I know I will come out of it a stronger, tougher and more confident person. If I have the balls and the self-confidence to do one of toughest, most gruelling sports in the world in the place where it was born, I can do anything I put my mind to. Coming here has already made me realise something important- yes, I can be the guy who goes out and does something incredible, life changing experiences are not just for other people. This will be the icing on the cake. I have long been plagued by the subconscious belief that doing things out of the ordinary was the preserve of others, that I wasn't confident enough, strong enough, good enough to do something amazing. I have already begun to prove myself wrong in this regard, and this is just the beginning.
Besides, as the say, when in Rome...

Sunday 17 November 2013

Sinbi Fight Night

So the eagerly anticipated Sinbi Fight Night was on Saturday. With no afternoon training we spent most of the day cruising around on the scooter, spending time at Nai Harn beach and Rawai fish market. On the way home we picked up a box of Chang beer- it tastes ok, is pretty strong and comes in some big ass bottles!! Claiming some great seats right by the red corner, we waited for the fights to start. In typical Thai fashion the fights started much later than advertised, even with the pre-recorded announcer repeating that they started at 8 even when it was nearly 9! The place didn't begin to fill up until around 8.30 though, but when it did the atmosphere became electric.
The first few fights were kids fights, with 2 of the young Sinbi fighters claiming victories. Another Sinbi fighter, Vicky, won the first adult fight via a sweet bodyshot that left her Thai opponent crumbled on the canvas. Things got even more serious with the 2 trainer/fighters from Sinbi taking on opponents from nearby gyms. Beer won a hard fought contest that was a back and forth battle against a confident opponent. After a bright start from his opponent though, Beer took control and managed to cut him with a slicing elbow. His opponent rallied hard but Beer held on for the decision win.
The fight of the night, though, was undoubtedly Nai Sinbimuaythai vs the so-called Mr Knockout from Lion muay thai. Apparently Nai was on a 5 ko streak, and his opponent had knocked out 25 of his 40 opponents. The bout was explosive from start to finish, both guys throwing big shots, but Nai looked the most dangerous and had a confident swagger about him. The Thais were going mental for this fight, and it was impossible not to get swept along in the energy f it all, shouting "oiee" every time your fighter landed a hit. The Thais who had bet on Nai were all crowded around the red corner, right where I was sat, and when one of them stood in my view he looked at me and said, "you cheering, you stand with us and shout." So up I went, shouting out even louder as the 4th round- the best round of the fight- went back and forth. Both guys took solid shots and suffered knockdowns, with Mr Knockout looking almost out on his feet as the round ended, lucky to make it to the bell. In the fifth, the pace slowed for the first few minutes until Nai put his opponent away with a barrage of punches. The crowd went wild!
In the final fight of the night, two heavyweights clashed in a big rematch, Christian from Argentina- representing Sinbi- and Big Joe from Australia. Apparently their first fight ended in a KO win for Christian, after both guys took several 8 counts. The mtutual respect for each others power was obvious, with the first round spent gingerly probing each other's defences. This continued in the second until the ref stepped in to tell them to up the ante, with the two obliging. Again, both guys took knockdowns, with Joe bleeding from the nose after a strong hook. The fight was abruptly halted when Christian somehow lost his groin guard, but after the restart to he put his opponent away with another brutal hook.
The Sinbi Fight Night was a rousing success, with the gym's fighters taking wins in virtually all of their fights. The electric atmosphere made it an event to remember.
The after party- in the Laguna nightclub- was almost as crazy. Fighters, trainers and students all drank and partied together, creating a great sense of family between everyone there. We crawled in around 4.30, leaving the nightclub still pumping behind us.
The next day I did literally nothing- waking up with a hangover after only 5 hours sleep and unable to fall back asleep due to the heat, I spent most of the day lounging around in bed. As night fell, I decided to get out for a little bit. My roommate was still laid up in bed, suffering from the squirts, so I headed out alone to the nearest food place for some green curry with squid. A quick drink at a local bar and a massage completed my night, and my first week in Thailand was done.

Saturday 16 November 2013

Starting to acclimatize

Training this morning was my best yet- for once I wasn't dying by the 3rd round of padwork! Tun- the trainer I did a private session with yesterday- immediately called me over to do padwork with him, hopefully this will be the standard as its so much better when you have the same person holding pads for you regularly as you get a real flow and rhythm together. I think doing the private at almost midday yesterday helped too- it's not quite as hot in the morning training which starts at 7.30!!
Last night Cameron and I decided to go for another mission on the scooter. We aimed to reach Patong but ended up in Kata, and then stumbled on the Lon Krongthoy festival- dozens of stalls selling loads of different foods and a plethora of cheap- and more often than not, fake- goods. The quality of the fakes was pretty good though, and the prices really low.
After training today a bunch of people from the gym went for breakfast at the Kombat Kafe, a place aimed specifically at fighters. I had protein pancakes with bannanas and honey, and my first cup of tea since arriving here. As I expected, it wasn't quite the same as the tea at home. We then headed down to Nai Harn beach for a bit, before heading off on another scooter mission which took us deep into some crazy Phuket traffic, before we came upon a fish market right by the sea. Here the fish comes straight off the boat, to the market stalls where you can then take it across the road to a restaurant who will cook it for you. We didn't eat there this time but will be coming back.
Tonight is the Sinbi Fight Night- with the fights taking lace literally yards from my room. Gonna be a blast- muay thai, good company and a few beers, doesn't get much better than that!

Thursday 14 November 2013

Upping the tempo

My plan on coming here was to train only once a day for the first week or so as I acclimatized. That didn't last long. After morning training yesterday I decided to just chill for the day, but after a couple hours just reading and watching tv, I decided to hit the afternoon session too. Well, I don't think I was ready for that! After the usual warm up I did 8 rounds of sparring, with the trainers insisting that we continue through the breaks on every other round. After about 3 rounds I felt utterly fucked, and I hadn't even hit a bag or pad yet! It also seems that some people have differing ideas of what 'light' sparring entails...
After sparring I spent a couple rounds sat down trying to recover, before I was called into the ring for some padwork. I think the trainer must have noticed my tiredness, as he had me do 4 short rounds that were focused on technique rather than intensity. I managed to get through these ok, then hit the bag for a few rounds, but by this point I was utterly spent. During the cool down and stretching I was silently begging them to hurry up as all I wanted to do was get under a cold shower and pass out!
After monging out for a while I went out for some food, settling on a small place nearby called King Kong Burger, which I have eaten at a few times now. Although I am certainly loving the cheap and tasty Thai food, my belly was crying out for something fatty so a burger and chips was the order of the day- I reckon i earnt that burger!!
I have also decided to stay at Sinbi for the duration of my time here- I think I will gain more by staying and forging good relationships with the trainers rather than starting over again at another gym in a week or two. I still want to try out a couple of the other gyms I have been looking at, and may just do a few private sessions with them when I fancy a bit of a change up. I will be looking at doing some Muay Boran- the ancient battlefield techniques that was the predecessor to Muay Thai- at Yudtajak gym
Today I did a private session with Tun- I picked him as he had come to me on my first day and started teaching me stuff, and he seems a really nice guy. We focused on padwork this time, and he taught me a few little tricks including an nice little move to use against punchers that is simple, effective and low risk. You just need the timing to get it right, so will have to keep working on that. Between rounds he was massaging my arms and back and stretching my hamstrings over his shoulder- I've seen corner men do this at fights and now I see why, it really helps.
My room mate, Cameron from NZ, hired a scooter today so we went for a razz down to Nai Harn beach where he showed me how to body surf- good fun and some of the waves that come in there are beast!!
Tomorrow night is the Sinbi Fight Night- a big event they only do a few times a year, with students and trainers from the gym facing off against other gyms in he area. The fights are actually in the gym here which is convenient, and I'm buzzing that the timing has come in great for me to see the event. Should be awesome.
My shins are feeling a little banged up so I think tomorrow I will do training without kicks, then its time for some fun- fights and maybe  few beers!!

Wednesday 13 November 2013

first 2 sessions at sinbi muay thai

yesterday i hit the afternoon session at sinbi. the session started with skipping followed by laps of the gym and finally group stretching. honestly, i was pouring sweat just after this warm up. shadow boxing followed- within moments a trainer had come to me and started t o make adjustments, mainly to my stance. after 2 rounds of shadow people moved to bag and pad work. as this was my first session I- along with 3 other new people including 2 total beginners- went over basic techniques with one of the trainers, who changed the way i throw a hook. 2 rounds of bag work and 4 rounds on the pads followed- the pad work stuck to the very basics but i suffered due to the humidity. after that i was kinda left to it, so after taking a bit of time to recover my energy i went to practice leg kicks on the long bag. the session ended soon after, and I quickly showered and changed before heading out in search of food. i ate at a small cafe- a delicious green curry with rice. afterwards i decided to go for a wander, but was soon enticed into a massage. before you all make the obvious jokes, no, there was no happy ending ha! though as i left a Swedish guy first of all told me I could have her for the night for 1,000 baht (about 20 quid), then tried to tell me where i could buy some weed- this is Thailand- everything is for sale for the right price!

the massage was amazing, and afterwards i felt looser and more relaxed than i have in a long time- the perfect remedy to the stress if recent weeks!

today i hit the morning session. the same warm up, then i was told to jump in one of the gyms 2 rings for pad work. my first impression was that the canvas on the ring was ridiculously slippery, and it hadn't even  been sweat on yet! i finished 5 rounds of padwork, expanding on techniques more than the previous day. one thing i noticed compared to at home- when these guys throw kicks at you to block, it is a hell of a lot harder to see it coming, they don't give anything away! i struggled through 5 more rounds on the bag, starting to feel the heat, but that was a holiday compared to what came next- 1 minute intervals of continuous punches or kicks on the bag, interspersed with squats and push ups, then a drill where you clinched with a partner and threw alternating knees for a couple rounds. finally, we worked a technique where your partner goes for a skip knee and you push them back off balance so you can counter. a very simple yet effective technique, but one that will require good timing and an ability to read your opponent to use in a fight

after training, it was time to hit he beach! I asked Gob, the Thai lady working in the office, directions to the nearest beach and she offered to drive me there which was a nice touch. Nai Harn beach is just a couple miles from the gym and it is incredible! wary of burning my pasty white ass, I spent just a couple hours there including another massage- those things are addictive! getting a massage from the experts with the sun shining around you and the sound of the sea in your ears is the way to go

as tempted as i was to jump straight into training 2x a day, i knew that wasn't a good idea and i was already feeling tired, so instead i had an early tea- a chicken salad at the Kombat Kafe- it is so easy to eat healthily here! on a less healthy note, I also found some Thai donuts in tesco. if you know me you will probably be aware that donuts are my achilles heel, but i think I have earned these ones!

Monday 11 November 2013

arriving in phuket

so the time has finally come, and i am here in Phuket, Thailand, at Sinbi muay thai

the journey was actually much easier than i anticipated- this being my first time traveling solo, i was expecting the going through the airports to be stressful, probably based on it seeming that way during family holidays as a kid

i have to say Etihad were superb- everything about the flight was comfortable and professional. the only thing was i struggled to sleep, but i always do when traveling. the second leg, from Abu Dhabi to phuket with air berlin, was less enjoyable. it didn't help that the guy in front of me kept letting out horrendous farts whilst the guy beside me snored loudly pretty much from take off. but at least i got some sleep- about 2 hours leading up to landing, leaving me with the realisation that i really needed a shit and the seat belt light had just come on. oh well

getting through Thai customs was a breeze, until i was mobbed by taxi drivers at the exit. however, Sinbi had sent a driver to pick me up so i just ignored them. just over an hour drive and i arrived at the gym around 8. i was starving, so immediately set out to find some food. just down the road i found a little restaurant and had a delicious spicy chicken with cashews and rice. a bit more wandering took me to a shop, where i stocked up on munch and water and, in desperate need of sleep, headed back to the gym to crash out

i woke around 6 to the sound of a nearby rooster. after a little while i headed out to get some essentials and find some breakfast. this consisted of some wierd but tasty fried bread things and an apple, which i munched while watching the morning session at the gym. i am going to hit the afternoon session, can't wait to get cracking

Sunday 10 November 2013

Packed and ready to go

So I'm all packed and, other than last minute technology problems, ready to go. Flight leaves in about 7 hours