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.