Marcus Muay Thai Adventure

The last session

2009-04-24T22:04:00.005+07:00

Pompoy (thai for fatty)

So again I think a quiet session in the morning makes you want to work harder in the afternoon to catch up.

Afternoon Session

4km run
150 knees
100 teeps
70 knees
100 punches
2 rounds shadow
1 round muckaround with kids
3 rounds bag work
2 rounds thai pads (kai)
1 round break
1 round thai pads (kai again)
big break
2 rounds bag work
100 teeps
4 rounds shadow with hand weights

No clinching to ice the cake! I don't think I would have lasted a second though. Funnily enough its my last session here at Keatkhamtorn and despite the worst heat I've experienced I'm finally satisfied with the workout today.

The first week was a warmup, the second working through injuries and sicknesses. The third was time for action. I'm happy with the development in technique and fitness gained over the past week. Everything that has been taught has really sunk in. Working with Kai on the pads has been great, despite the little time to learn his style/requests.

Overall despite the negligible weight loss I think the past three weeks have definitely improved myself as a Muay Thai student. For anyone thinking about taking the trip to either start Muay Thai, improve their current skills or prepare for a fight, I highly suggest coming over.

In addition I strongly recommend if you are in Bangkok to spend time training at Keatkhamtorn Muay Thai Gym. No this is not a plug, no there was no discount but echoing everyones experiences at various camps and information & reviews from www.muaythailand.com that your time & training at Keatkhamtorn will be an authentic experience. Nestled in the suburb of Khannayao, its close enough to Bangkok and the airport for anything you may need.

More importantly is the people here. The dynamic and integration of the family, local thai fighters and falang nak muay (foreign muay thai students) is probably what makes this place the way it is. Most of the students & trainers live on site sharing rooms you as a falang do the same. You eat the same food and you guessed it do the same training.

You build good relationships with trainers and fighters alike. Whether it be top rated thai professionals such as Nopparat, Detsuriya, Tof and Eui or up and coming youngsters like Eck, Bia and Mam, not forgetting various falang that trained here during my stay such as Steve Wakeling & Andrei Kulebin you share experience ,learn a wealth of knowledge and definitely make some good friends here. You do feel like part of the family.

The crew that pull everything together are amazing. Jakae the owner stops at nothing between his job as police officer and studying law to help you with your trip here. His wife the same. Wan the chef as well cooks excellent food every night monday through saturday. Kit, Jakaes brother in law always pitches in to help out with his great english skills. Also whenever he can, carts all the falang around to dinner or weekend trips to Nakhan-ayaok.

All in all its an amazing experience, enhanced by all the good things here at Keatkhamtorn. I hope you enjoyed reading the blog and I hope I could pass on as much information about living and training in Khannayyao, Bangkok at Keatkhamtorn gym.

Where to from now?

Phuket is on the map next for some much needed rest and relaxtion and also to actually enjoy my holiday. I may be training a session or two at Sinbi just to keep up my fitness.

After the week at Phuket is over I fly home to Sydney and will hopefully be fighting in June. I'd be 6 weeks out which is enough time to prepare and exceed my goals and hopefully my trainers goals of fitness and technique to fight.

On that I may keep you posted.

Damn Carpet

2009-04-24T08:29:00.002+07:00

Yep the carpet has done it again. Re-opened up one of the blisters on my foot. I really think it'd take a few months to get the conditioning the thai's here have on their feet. Its fairly dissapointing as the bagwork I've been doing hasn't been including too many roundhouse kicks and also been at a lower intensity.

So this is my second last day and my session was cut fairly short. I even tried to train with shoes just doing some boxing work and it didnt help too much. Hopefully i can bandage it enough to do some padwork but that might make the surface a little bit to slippery for kicks.

All I can do to make up for eat is eat plenty of delicious fruit and get a $15 aud massage for an hour hmmm maybe a two hour massage.

Morning Session

150 knees, 100 teep kicks, 100 punches
3 rounds shadow
3 rounds bagwork
break to put on shoes
3 rounds uppercut block.

Nit Noi

2009-04-23T21:28:00.005+07:00

Morning Session

100 knees
100 teeps
100 punches
2 rounds shadow
3 rounds bag work
3 rounds thai pads
2 rounds uppercut block
2 rounds technique with mam (my shins were destroyed after this)
stretches

Afternoon Session

4km jog
50 knees
50 teeps
2 rounds shadow
2 rounds muckaround sparring
3 rounds thai pads
1 round bag work
3 rounds hard sparring with bia
rest
10 mins clinching with thai kid (vicious knees)
5 mins clinching with adam (6'4 90 kilos, pretty impossible matchup)
50 situps
100 teeps

Good session, the pad work is getting alot better even though I was out of gas really easily. The technique is coming through and I'm actually blocking most kicks thrown at me.

I think today after three weeks practice I can wrap my own hands without it being loose or putting too much pressure on. Considering I never used wraps due to always using 16oz gloves I'm pretty happy.

On the downside I've maintained my weight of 79 kgs the whole three weeks I've been here. Its due to a few factors

- Eating too much. Much better than starving, the chef here at Keatkhamtorn always cooks up delicious food and there is always more food than you can eat. Also the odd pepsi or sports drink I'm sure hasnt helped. Also the fruit lady every morning gives us all that additional dose of fructose that we don't need but can't refuse.

- Laziness/Sickness. I've either been too lazy to run (1st week) or sick/injured and couldn't run (2nd week). Now I'm up to speed I'm still skipping the odd session of running. This is probably my best hope for losing weight as the sessions here don't quite have the same intensity of the one hour classes back home.

Am I dissapointed? Slightly, but I think I've managed to adjust to the very difficult training schedule here without comprimising my health and enjoyment of my stay too much. The weight however should be easy to lose back home. I have 6 weeks before I plan to fight and need to lose either 3 kilos or 7 which would be quite ideal.

heres some photos from yesterdays fights at ratcha stadium

Epp and the rest are of Detsuriya

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Ratchadamnern!!!

2009-04-22T23:05:00.002+07:00

Morning Session

4km wait no 200m run. My knee felt like it was going to collapse. Excuse or injury prevention it was best not to go any further.

3 rounds bag work
2 rounds uppercut block
break
1 round muckaround sparring with kids
1 round focus mitts with Kai
1 round till tired as above.

Afternoon Session

No run
Warmup of 100 knees, 50 teep & 100 punches.
2 rounds shadow
3 rounds bagwork
3 rounds thai pads with Kai
break
1 round uppercut block

The afternoon session was quite brief as Detsuriya was fighting at Ratchadamnern and I was keen to go.

Now I have been training with Kai for several days in a row, I'm starting to learn his rhythm, style and understand his requests. We have even worked out a number system for different counter attacks such as sweeps, block and return, dodges, catch and knee. This helps immensely as the language barrier is not necessarily a huge problem if you have prior experience in Muay thai. However making the workout more technical and complex is where it presents any issue. Feedback and asking questions are something you have to miss out on, again this is the reality of training in Thailand, it isn't your home gym.

So this was the first time I have been to Ratchadamnern and even for a fairly quiet wednesday night the stadium was packed. The atmosphere was pretty electric with hundreds of thais scattered across the stadium laying bets on the next fight.

We entered and got to see all the fighters preparing backstage in the change rooms and it was interesting to see the difference. Its typically thai what can I say. There are a few showers, toilets, benches and some lights. Nothing fancy, no clean surfaces, very minimalistic. I took a few photos with Epp and Dets and proceeded out to the ringside seats.

I sat with Jason and Ling and watched a number of very exciting fights. The talent amongst these young, light weight fighters is incredible. Coupled with old thai ladys shouting in your ear, promoters and managers screaming for life and death and the hundreds of gamblers it creates an unforgetful experience.

I'll leave the fights with a spoiler that Epp won and Dets lost both via decision as Thai fights are hard to explain why one fighter loses and another doesnt. Also its now 23:19 and I need to be up for morning training so the pics and video will have to wait.

Still trying to organise my phuket trip so hopefully I'll get to watch Bens match at lumpini on Saturday. Sadly my days at Keatkhamtorn are numbered so I'll try and do as much training and take as many photos as possible.

Until tomorrow.....

2009-04-21T19:19:00.002+07:00

morning

4km jog
100 knees
2 rounds bag work
1 round uppercut block
2 rounds pad work with Kai
100's (100 straight, 100 uppercut, 100 low punches)

afternoon

4km jog
100 knees
50 teeps
2 rounds shadow
2 rounds muckaround
3 rounds bagwork
3 rounds tech sparring top
2 rounds bagwork
2 rounds tech pads with kai
15 mins clinching
60 situps

It was a good day, thighs are still sore. Plenty of linament used!

Achoooo

2009-04-20T21:25:00.003+07:00

Still got a cold after the weekend in Nakanyaok and Ayyuthaya. Training still went ahead given that and all the bruises from paintball. We missed the morning session due to coming back and walked in just as it finished.

Afternoon:

4km run after half a bottle of linament over both legs
100 knees
2 rounds of bag work
1 round muckaround technique with little kids
3 rounds of thai pads with Kai
2 rounds of bagwork
1 round break
2 rounds uppercut block
2 rounds technique with Tof (thai pro)
3 mins fast skipping
2x50 knees
10 mins grappling with 60kg thai
50 teeps

Pretty good session considering how stiff and bruised my legs are. Didn't really want to train for too long as it was getting cold and I still have a cold!!!

However I was absolutely sh*t on the pads as far as defense is concerned. It was due to a few factors but no real excuses. I usually train & spar with a southpaw so my right leg is very lazy when it comes to checking kicks.

It is just a little bit hard to get used to exactly what the trainers want. Now that I seem to be doing padwork with Kai consistently I think give it a few days and it will be fine. An example would be I'm used to checking a kick and returning with the same leg. Kai seemed to get me to counter with my right leg (strong leg) every time. Makes sense as I'm noticing that the Thai training has everything in perfect form and keeping it simple.

The real reason is I'm just lazy and not looking at Kai's chest to predict his body movement. I get lazy and look at his head for the next command to kick,punch or whatever it maybe. Now that my feet are okay and I'm in decent health I'm starting to think an extra month now would be perfect. I guess I'll just have to come back to Thailand again!

Also this time I wasn't grappling with kids anymore. There was a whole group of new thais so this time I got to clinch with a thai who was about 60kg. Granted theres a 20kg weight difference, this guy would most likely have 8 - 10 years experience over me and over 100 fights. This time I did alright and even managed to work out his game, using no strength I countered his takedown and he landed on the matts. Did I get a video? Nope! Did the thai have me completely exhausted due to superior technique and conditioning yep.

I still walked away with a smile knowing my clinch has improved and I could last a few rounds with a thai from a gym known for its clinching.

Tomorrow is going to be hell, my legs are completely exhausted. I think a massage will be in order soon....

Ooohees Fight

2009-04-20T11:33:00.012+07:00

Was a pretty average day for training. I woke up around 1am wanting to spew for some unknown reason.

Once I got up I decided to go for a jog but only made it half way and walked back. I stopped several times, felt like dying but slowly made it home. I sat down for around 20 minutes but Kai wouldn't have that so I let him know I had a jep tong (painful stomach).

Still not having it Kai chucked me in to do some sparring with one of the younger kids which is now getting quite easy. I'm not using my weight anymore and practising my form alot more. Time to start sparring some of the older Thais and get my ass kicked.

I slept for a few hours and tried to think what made me sick. Everytime I eat Pad Thai from the roadside stall near 7-11 I get pretty ill. Theres a decent amount of prawns and various seafood in it, somehow I don't think its all that fresh and my stomach doesnt cope too well. I guess we are spoilt with fresh seafood back home.

The pad thai in question

Come 1:30 we all hopped in the minivan and drove to the local stadium where oohee was fighting.

We stood around for abit and watched the fighters getting prepped, taped up and linament applied. Was pretty good to see how the local Muay Thai scene works. For most of the fighters it just seemed like another fight and another day for most. We found out Ooohee has had over 300 fights already so that rings true.

Before we know it, the robe goes on, mongkol (blessed headband), shoes off and a few photos, we are invited into the corner to show our support.

The 5th round finishes and Oohee's the winner by points, everything is quickly unpacked and we go home. The atmosphere ringside is pretty electric and to be sitting cornerside with all the falang for free was pretty good too.

The most interesting part about the day was the fact it was an outdoor arena. The fighters were sitting outdoors the whole time and are then expected to go the whole 5 rounds. What was the weather like? Well I have a permanent singlet tan now due to it being probably the hottest day of my whole trip. I'm just not sure how anyone could cope performing your absolute best given the heat.

After the victory

Mai Pen Rai (No worries)

2009-04-17T20:34:00.004+07:00

So I think todays afternoon session had a bit of anger and wanted to get back at all this laziness and injury.

No Cardio
100 teeps
50 then 100 knees
3 rounds boxing/elbow work with Kai
3 rounds upper cut block
2 rounds bag work
4 rounds technique
2 rounds bag work
15 mins clinching
stretches

Was kinda funny during the technique some bloke with a video camera popped over and was doing a shoot on our gym. You could just see everyone walk back to the bags and punch,knee,kick and elbow like their life depended on it. Pretty wicked seeing 10 or so people skipping for 10 minutes in unison to give the gym a solid image.

The same happened for the clinching as well, the gym was pretty much packed and couldn't fit anyone else in.

I managed to get Jakae to get some footage of me doing the padwork with Kai for one of the rounds. It was going pretty good however my uppercut is very weak, especially the left. I practised that and learned some proper form from Ben who has done western boxing in the past. Its definitely on my list for something to improve.

Tomorrow is the end of the second week already. I'm stunned at how fast it has gone and a little disappointed with how little I've trained. Tomorrow I definitely have to train the morning session pending my sore throat doesn't develop into a cold.

Also its a big day as Jakae will be taking me and whoever else is coming to watch Ooie? (fkd if I know how to spell it) fight at Lumpinee. Its definitely going to be a big night ***EDIT*** Mam just let me know its at a local stadium. Sometimes I think the whole "mai pen rai" attitude causes some communication issues. Oh well, Lumpinee or not should be pretty awesome to watch an experience thai fight.

On Sunday morning Kit wants to take the whole gym to Ayutthaya the old Thailand capital. This was somewhat unexpected and definitely not something they had to provide for us. It was also a destination I was keen to visit. Theres a whole day itinerary involving several temples, white water rafting and staying in a nice hotel.

Well I better get some sleep as I've got a big weekend ahead and what looks like my final week of training here at Keatkhamtorn sadly.

Another day in Kannayao

2009-04-17T13:11:00.004+07:00

So I haven't been posting as much as I could have but ts due to a few reasons. Training has been quite tough and not so much due to the actual session itself. However due to living in Bangkok in the camp itself. I'll

I've been plagued with various issues lately which have been preventing me from training at full capacity or altogether.

Blisters - on my foot due to the carpet have been popping up. Yesterday I skipped the morning session due to immense pain on my big toe. I have since taken care of the blister and will be using disinfectant, rubbing alcohol and bandages during training.

Air conditioning - One of my pet hates and many causes of illness back home in Sydney. Whether it be on the trains (albeit which is rare) or at the office it is my kryptonite. It is very difficult especially since the proper Bangkok heat is back to get to sleep without it. However the happy medium of fan strength, blankets and not sweating to death is difficult to find. I now have a sore throat and slight cough which is extremely annoying considering I'm 35c+ degree heat.
Also sharing a room with two others is also difficult as everyone has different needs and is happy at different levels.

Laziness - Perhaps I'm being lazy for skipping the last two morning sessions? Maybe its due to having an excuse like the sore throat and bad feeling this morning. However I'm finding ever more increasingly easy to sleep in instead of going for a jog at 6am. I have to remind myself of how little time I have here and focus on what I can do rather than skipping the entire session.

These issues are no surprise based on the training I've completed at home. Whether it be sickness, knee clashes or ankle pain there is constant issues that plague your progress when training. Overcoming the issue, keeping positive and allowing enough time for recovery are the real challenges when practising Muay Thai.

The difficult part is having a limited timeframe with desired goals of fitness and technique. This week has been a bit of a rollercoaster as the above items have dramitically improved but I'm missing quite a number of training sessions. I have just over a week left before I plan to visit Phuket. I'll keep my head up and hope that next week is as smooth as possible.

Yesterdays afternoon session:

4km jog in extreme heat
100 teeps
3 rounds of shadow
3 rounds of bagwork
5 rounds of technique sparring
100 situps
stretches.

Decent session considering the massive blister on my toe.

On the high note we had a visitor in the gym. Pictures below

Photo-op fachinkkk

2009-04-15T22:07:00.002+07:00

So during the downtime I had a chance to take some photos of the action at Keatkhamtorn... enjoy!

Kin Khao

2009-04-15T20:09:00.003+07:00

So I had tuesday off training due to the stomach bug yesterday. It was a bit of a depressing day sleeping in and hearing everyone training and shouting after each knee & kick etc.

However Kit & Mamoo again, much to everyones delight, took us all out to dinner. This time it was a really nice seafood restaraunt around 20 mins away from Kannayao. Unfortunately I had to be pretty selective in what I was eating. From what I could eat (anything solid & not spicy)I enjoyed thoroughly.

The restaraunt was perched ontop of a lake which was pretty pleasant all things considered for being so close to Bangkok. Not something you would really expect.

Today I was feeling much better but I was very tired after being sick and spending all day in bed.

Morning Workout

4km jog
2 rounds technique sparring
stretches

Afternoon Workout

6 mins skipping
100 teeps on the bag
2 rounds shadow
1 round bagwork
3 rounds technique (16 yr old fighter)
3 rounds technique (14 yr old fighter)
3 rounds thai pads with Kai
100 situps
stretches.

Pretty good workout considering I've come back from sickness. Good news as I can start getting serious. However when one issue is resolved another appears. My blister on my foot had stopped swelling so I could run on it. The skin is now peeling and I have another new blister is starting. Looks like I need to tape everything up again.

In the meantime I'll keep my head up and keep training.

Sawadeecrap

2009-04-14T14:23:00.002+07:00

So I haven't posted since Songkran was on. The reason why? Not too much has happened and I've been feeling pretty average and now definitely have a stomach bug. To top if off I have a nice blister due to the carpet on my left foot just below my toes. Awesome spot for it

So much for the whole getting serious business.

Yesterdays Training

No cardio due to blister
quick warmup
3 rounds shadow
4 rounds bagwork
2 rounds boxing on focus mitts
1 round bagwork
15 mins clinching

Afternoon - I wanted to give my foot a rest so the blister heals abit as it was quite painful.

25 mins clinching - Did quite well and really getting the technique down. I did abit with another Swede whos name is Stella. Was good as hes the same height and weight. Also alot different to clinching with the thais.

Did abit more with another thai kid which was quite tough. Again I have video footage which got me getting thrown on the canvas but not vice versa as the clip just finished. Spewing even though hes only 16 it does sound pretty sad, but the skill level and strength in these kids is again, phenomenal.

Today I didn't do any training and slept in for quite some time with a nasty cramp and feeling in my stomach. Its getting better, but I think I'll again just do clinching in the afternoon to give my foot a break.

In other news the red shirt protesters have given up due to the army kicking their ass. Well thats what you get for trying to reinstate a corrupt politician? Not to sure who else they had in mind as Thaksin was the one who got the boot last time for spending the peoples money. Who knows, seems like a whole lot of fun burning buses and causing havoc.

I was hoping they shutdown the airport again but at least I can go see some matches at Ratchadamnern and Lumpinee stadiums now. Also one of the guys Ben is fighting soon at MBK so hopefully things stay peaceful so we can have a good night out afterwards.

THIS IS SONGKRRAAAAAAN

2009-04-12T21:48:00.003+07:00

I wokeup at 6.30am, I lied. I woke up after snoozing at 8.30am

Breakfast is made and we are having noodles instead of rice. You can tell its a special day when you are having Pad See Ew and you serve yourself. MMMMMM delicious, OM NOM NOM. After two bowls, yes I know I'm doing no favours for my weight, Jakaes wife asks me and Ling to come to Tesco.

Secretly we have been roped into helping her with the shopping. Which is no issue as she takes care of us like her own. A solid 5 kilos of chicken is purchased to feed all the hungry nak muay and farang nak muays over the next week. What makes me cry its only about $5aud per kilo for nice quality chicken breast.

We purchase our essential Songkhran supplies which are: Massive super soakers, a clay paste of sorts and bowls. Also Jakaes wife treats us to some soft serve, see the love never stops at Keatkhamtorn.

We get home and start testing out our weaponry and pretty much destroy the gym. Also we learn that there is going to be a photo shoot for the local Muay Thai newspaper at 3pm and they want everyone in it. Awesome!

A few hours pass and it begins Songkhran is on. What is Songkhran? Think summer barbeques, slip and slide, super soakers and make it a national holiday. Yes, its basically a festival that has turned into a holiday for families to see each other, people to pour water on each other anyway possible and smear clay/paste on each others face.

So what happened outside the gym? Well basically, it was war. Any one who passed through Soi 88 wasn't getting out wet. We armed ourselves with hoses, new garbage bins, buckets, bowls, cups and plenty of paste.

The youngest kids eck and nut who I like to call Egg Nog collectively would stop any traffic, playfully smear clay across any riders helmets or peoples car. Then proceed to douse them with water, as much as possible.

The funny part? I read alot about Thais not losing face, so to go into summary mode as Adam would say, if you get angry or shout you lose lots of respect. The whole sabai sabai (be happy) applies. What does this mean to you guys and girls reading?

Well basically anyone who had mcdonalds, kfc to large gas cannisters were splashed no matter how much they complained. If they were going to lose face and get angry, well deal with 15+ Nak Muays who are just having fun. Also any poor girl that travelled past got extra attention much to everyones laughter.

We had the photoshoot as promised so I donned my best Taipan shorts to represent and they captured some nice images of us pouring water on Jakae and his wifes hands in order to bless and wish them good luck. Can't wait to see the photos.

The day passed on and damn, you dont realise that you are going to enjoy it this much. Splashing water on people never gets old. Especially when its your trainer and its ice gold water.

I'll leave it at that for Songkhran as I really think the best idea is to spend it with friends or a large group and just be happy! Definitely a must do if travelling to Thailand this time of the year.

Training

As far as training goes there was none and it will only be the morning session tomorrow as Songkhran continues.

I can't believe I've completed a week already I'm very happy with doing 10 out of 12 sessions. I can confidently jog the 4k's before the session now. Technique is easy to grab the grasp of what they want here so now its a matter of drilling it in.

I'm looking forward to more pad work and maybe completing 4 rounds. Also to do some skipping as well, however theres a large blister on my foot.

Its a new week tomorrow and I plan to be a bit more serious as I weighed in at 79kgs which is suprising. I thought I would lose a fair bit more. However we do eat alot here which is quite necessary and I've been drinking sugary drinks often. My plan is to drink water, coke zero and jog every day at least once.

Muay Tired

2009-04-11T22:14:00.002+07:00

Yawn its 6:45 and I've just got up.

Time for the morning session after a few cups of water and an m-150.

4km jog
3 rounds shadow
3 rounds bagwork
3 rounds thai pads with Mam
2 rounds bagwork
2 rounds uppercut block
3x20 + 30 situps
stretches
quick weights session

Fark I'm tired from going to bed at midnight last night. Yeah I know, its pretty silly. I'm almost thinking this is my new job, I think if I had accepted Jakae's offer to fight it would be my job.

I spent the day going to Bangkok which was shitting down rain which is quite random for April. We just had a quick trip to the Windy and Twins shop, which, was like being a kid in a candy store. All the gloves, shorts, pads and every other essential part of training fresh as can be. Unfortunately I left my memory card at home so there was no pictures.

I decided it'd be wise to skip afternoon training to give my feet a break. They are being destroyed by the carpet and not really getting a chance to rest.

We were treated to rotti (burmese/indian pancakes) by Jakae which makes you feel all warm. Delicious, they were destroyed just like dinner shortly afterwards. Kit also let us know last night that today, everything outside of Khannayao is off limits. The reason being the army has mobilised protect the king/parliment. The red shirt party is getting quite wild and apparently Pattaya has been declared a state of emergency.

We watch some small riots break out and the red party storm the convention where all the asia-pacific leaders were meeting up. Soon after they left realising the prime minister was not in the house. People have said he is in Dubai, probably living it up whilst Bangkok gets a bit messy. So this leaves us having a pretty boring Saturday night.

Tomorrow is easter sunday hang on, I'm not getting any chocolate, getting any home made lasagne so I'm going to Songkhran instead. I believe the official fun starts monday. I will definitely post more on this later.

Night

Winner! Mam from Keatkahmtorn

2009-04-10T21:31:00.005+07:00

To quote Ice Cube "today was a good day".

After a bit of a lunchtime kip we headed out to the local stadium which was a 10min walk away. It was an awesome atmosphere as the was a large crowd of Thai's amongst a few units and a sea of M-150 flags and promo banners.

Today it was just western boxing and one of the matches was underway. Good value considering it was free and they even chucked in a M-150 hat for nothing. After the walk we decided to sample the local pork, dumpling and noodle soup. Delicious meal washed down with an M-150 how loyal.

Loyal or addicted? I'm hearing it contains amphetamines or possibly some form of ephedrine. Excellent I'll happily sport an addiction considering how much help its been giving me to get through training. Also their apparel is sexy!

So after we watch, unfortunately to the swedes disappointment, a fellow country women get absolutely worked by a Thai girl for a number of rounds. Massive heart was shown by the swede but unfortunately the belt was lost.

Without a minute to spare we were ushered into Mams corner and see her just chilling ringside and quite happy to see our support. Chok dee (good luck) to you! A second later Mam slides under the bottom rope (tradition for women in Thailand) and the bell rings.

Round one passes and Mam is breezing through. Round two, three and four passes and Mam is launching some excellent straight punches and you can see her opponent fading. Not wasting any time Mam is ahead and finished solid by the end of the fifth. Amongst huge cheers Mam is the winner and theres definitely a great end to the day. We leave and learn that Kit is offering to take us all out to dinner. Either to celebrate or just eat like kings.

We arrived (all 9 of us in one car) to a Thai BBQ house. Adam was busy "doing the robot" and providing much laughter for all of us and we jumped into eating mode. Tonights dinner was different with the BBQ being a Chinese/Western fusion. Very similar to Korean BBQs found in Sydney, they have raw meats, salads and a hot pot full of burning coals and a plate on top.

After numerous plates of meat, attentive waiters topping up your coke and a bit of dessert you get the idea we are not going to fit back in the car. Its raining so Adam must go into submarine mode especially so he can operate during Songkhran. Basically you can imagine Adam a pretty tall Swede just constantly doing the robot. Still laughing now about it actually.

We get home and realise awww theres training tomorrow, the blog is finished so time for beddy byes. Also we have to move out so Andrei can get sleep for his HongKong I-1 World Gp preparation as he is only one week out.

Tomorrow, Songkhran begins, I really don't think we are prepared for this.

Until tomorrow.

Fruit Lady

2009-04-10T10:27:00.005+07:00

This post is dedicated to fruit lady. Our saviour after hard morning training and a pet(spicy) breakfast. Fruit lady is an elderly lady who rocks up 9am every morning with her custom fruit cart rollin' on dubs. Well not quite.

She has an umbrella, several glass storage containers and a pretty unique horn to let you know shes here.

She sells a number of fruits for 10 baht a piece

Bai-ow - Like a mango but raw. Its very refreshing after all the sugary fruits and spicy breakfast. Its a neutral taste and good for cleansing the palate.

Sapparot - This is pineapple however its not the bitter acidic pineapple found in Australia that usually ruins a good pizza. Its a very sweet and extremely nice tasting item. My favourite, also topped off by being dipped in a sugar salt mix like sherbert.

Watermelon - Well that one speaks for its self

Morning Session

4km dog dodging jog (suprised as I only walked maybe 50m of it)

3x60 knees in the ring
4 rounds of shadow working footwork.
3 rounds of bag work
*1 round break*
2 rounds of bagwork
2 rounds uppercut block
*1 round break*
2 rounds technique with 13 yr old kid.
3 rounds clinching (with some random 16yr old thai who nearly broke my neck)
3x20 full extension slow situps
2x2 mins skipping
stretches
10 pullups

Big workout and tried to put in alot of effort as we aren't training this afternoon and it went quite well considering I did the short running path today. Worked abit more on footwork with Lak even though my feet were getting eaten up by the carpet.

Clinching was the most challenging so far. The Thai kid I was clinching with was all of 16 and was pretty scrawny compared to the other boys that age. I did underestimate him as I believe my clinching is probably the best part of my weak Muay Thai game due to my weight and height (80kgs & 5'11)

Well this kid probably would be lucky to be pushing 60kgs after a few bowls of rice. Besides the obvious disadvantage he had my neck bent the whole time and even pulled me down twice. I was trying with every effort and controlling his elbows quite well to gain better position but he would always manage to weaken my neck even whilst his arms were on the outside. I had to have several breaks for water and just gave up.

After the workout finished Ben, Adam and I were playing WWF wrestling with our trainer Mam. So abit more on Mam first. Mam is only the tender age of 25 and has had over 300 Muay Thai fights and 80 or so western boxing matches. Also he has an incredible physique pretty unique to most Thais. He is built like a brick sh1thouse basically and has an history of striking that would make most pros look like amateurs that have picked their matches.

Anyway whilst wrestling with Mam with ease he put us all on our ass one after the other whilst laughing and having a good time (sabai sabai - be happy *not same same as previously mentioned).

I wish I got a video because he even gave Adam a tough time who is pretty much a viking and about 6'3 and 95kgs lean. I really think Mam would have a stunning career in MMA even though it seems hes retired.

So now we are just chilling out and will head out for the chefs daughters boxing match. Should be pretty interesting.

Until next post

Ya Like Dags?

2009-04-09T20:38:00.003+07:00

No I hate dogs to be honest. Ben and Steve told me stories of vicious dog attacks on their way to the gym, personally I didn't see these mangy mutts of Bangkok had any energy.

Well today I decided I'd take the shortcut to Teko Lotak (Tesco Lotus) through the field. On the way back after my much deserved Mocha Thickshake I crossed the field. I hop across the wooden platform and cue the bad enemy music from your typical video game. Out of nowhere come 4 mangy, disease ridden mutts.

My weapon a pillow and my 8 gifts from Muay Thai. I quickly workout my strategy, push kick, pillow punch and round house to the nose. Luckily the four toothed local comes and saves me. Korp khun krup to you old man for saving me from rabies, hiv, hepatitis and every other disease known to man. Those dogs pretty much summed up the saying " feeling like a dog in bangkok"

In the downtime we do the typical 7-11 run and have our 30 baht meals. Delicious food for 1.50 AUD

Fast forward to training I'm yes feeling like a dog in Bangkok or more so my stomach. After some 2 mins of skipping I head to the bathroom.

Afternoon Session
5 mins of shadow
4 rounds of shadow
5 rounds of bag work
quick break (been limiting breaks to half rounds to lose weight)
3 rounds of thai pads with Lak (ex por pramuk trainer)
2 rounds of bag work
1 round technique with Mam
Taipan style abs - (50 situps, 20 left, 20 right, 20 legs raises, 30 toetaps)
15mins clinching with 12/13 year old fighter.

Pretty decent session considering how bad that mocha milkshake left my stomach. My feet are getting conditioned but my knee still skinless. Tomorrow I will use everything that doesn't hurt and not slack off. Theres only one session.

I managed to capture some footage of some of the older thai fighters. One is Lam and the other I'm not sure. Again I repeat its awesome actually seeing the twice a day in and out training that makes these guys what they are.

If you can hear the slap you know that the knees aren't very soft and this usually goes on for 30-40 mins with 1 or 2 breaks in between.

(You can thank shitty thai internet shared between 10 people for no video upload)

Dinner was good. Been having a few fish dishes for a change which have been tasty as!

Only one session tomorrow before the girls fight. Going to make it count, I can't believe its friday tomorrow. This whole week has flown past and it feels like I've been here for weeks.

P.S On the walk from 7-11 tonight we saw an elephant just cruising the streets with a few people. Just cruising along as you do with your elephant. Wheres your pit bull now tough guy haha. Gotta love the thais

Good Morning Thailand

2009-04-09T11:36:00.002+07:00

I had a pretty good session today.

6:10am wakeup
Jog up and down the street (1.2km maybe?)
3x20 teeps
3-4 rounds of shadow
3 rounds of bag work
3 rounds thai pads with Mam
2 rounds of bags
50 situps
20 mins clinch/technique
20 chinups
30 situp

The thai pads went really well, my jab cross is strong but needs a bit more footwork. My knees are spot on. Teeps are getting better but again more foot work needed.

The roundhouse is a different story. Its good however at times its difficult to understand Mam. I think I have to turn in quicker and keep my leg extended which is strangely different to what I was taught at home. The idea at home was to have it slightly bent and drive through the thigh/ribs. Here they want to leg at full extension.

Its easy to fix up now but old habits come back. Suprisingly I've taken onboard most things they have taught quite easily. I guess its due to the 4 hours repetition every day.

Good news as tomorrow I get to break the routine a little bit. Feels like I have been here for ever. We are going to go watch one of the girls compete in a traditional boxing match at a stadium near by. Hopefully I'll get a chance to get some vids and photos of the guys training who stay here.

Time for the daily 7-11 run for iced tea mmmmmmmmmmm.

P.S The weather has been pretty cool here which has been awesome to settle in for training. At times there has been thunderstorms which is rare for April according to everyone here. However it is getting rather hot lately..... just in time for Songkran!

Lai Gon

2009-04-08T20:31:00.004+07:00

So my little toe is killing me from turning in on my roundhouse kicks so they arent happening.

Afternoon session

Jog to the end of the street and back
3x50 knees on the bag
4 rounds shadow
4 rounds bag work
3 rounds boxing / focus mitts
2 rounds uppercut
10mins clinching with James from england 65kg ox of a kid.

So now after both sessions my right knee is skinless, my left little toe in pain and my neck is killing me from a bad nights sleep combined with clinching. Just as you get to the next stage of conditioning theres new issues.

All part of the game I guess.

Its pretty crazy seeing the level of skill here. I've watched some of the guys here train for 4 hours straight with out realising who they were.

Andrei Kulebin from Kick Fighter Belarus

This guy is the same age as me and as per below won the 2007 I-1 tournament. Its insane watching him train. I think he said hes had over 100 professional fights already!

Steve Wakeling

Another machine to watch training but I think he has gone home now.

Hopefully tomorrow will be okay albeit a bit limited. Time to perfect my teep and switch round kick. Also we have been joined by a fellow aussie! woohoo not just brits and swedes even though they are an awesome bunch of mates now. Ling from Sidyongtong Melbourne!

Lai Gon

Sawadeekaaap

2009-04-08T10:12:00.003+07:00

Wake up

Short run
4 rounds of shadow
3x50 knees
2 hard rounds thai pads
4 rounds of bag work
2 rounds uppercut block
10x10 situps
Technique for knees, teep, round house

My feet are pretty ripped up from the padwork because of the carpet being so old and and thin. Had a pretty awesome session and thanks to extra linament I'm working through the pain and the ankle pain is going away.

After a delicious breakfast and plenty of fruit from the fruit lady (more on her soon) I'm going to chill out in my pad pictured below.

D-Day +1

2009-04-07T19:52:00.005+07:00

So waking up today wasn't too hard but I'm incredibly stiff despite last nights awesome massage.

I decide not to do the run as per the trainers advice of "salowleeee salowleee, samall samall"

My morning workout:

5 mins skipping
4 rounds of shadow
3 rounds of bagwork
2 rounds of pads
2 rounds of light sparring

I have a lot of enemies at training let me tell you about them.

First up is the Thai style skipping rope. Forget your speed rope this nasty sucker is about 2.5cm thick and probably made from the same piping running water into the bathroom. The punishment for getting your rhythm wrong is extreme pain for your toes.

To support that is the heavy duty handles. Its like a toe smasher and heavy duty shoulder workout in one.

Next the tear drop bag. Old, worn and full of clothes that have sunk to the bottom over the years of abuse. The bag presents various issues and ensures you have perfect form.

Kick to low and you break your foot due to the compacted towel. However its perfect for the teep (push kick)
Kick in the middle and you are okay but my joins are stiff and worn.
Kick too high and have the seam cut your foot. Soft enough for a good punch.

After a challenging battle with my enemies,breakfast is served (delicious crunchy fish) I crash out and sleep for a good 4 hours.

I hit up an m-150 as its now 4 and my afternoon workout goes:

3 mins skipping
4 rounds shadow
3 rounds bag
break
1 round shadow
2 rounds focus mitts
countless rounds of shadow, break and uppercut block perfecting technique.
2x15 mins clinchwork with a 12 year old.
20 chinups
weights.

Awesome workout and the m-150 amazingly helped. I felt really hungry through out but the breaks and plenty of water helps. During weights I watched the fighters do more clinching, bag work and pushups.

I'm eating dinner and 4 hours after the session started some are still doing weights. These guys dont stop and its more motivating than ever.

Anyway tomorrow I might get back into jogging as the battle with the evil skipping rope ain't going so well.

Kit (Jakaes brother) lets us know Bangkok is off limits as the red shirts are having a demonstration near Ratchadamnern stadium. Thankfully Khannayao is okay, I'm actually hoping there is another coup and I'm stuck here. Despite the tough workouts and immense pain you get a real sense of being part of the family here.

Crossing my fingers!

Mam - One of the awesome trainers at Keatkhamtorn

D-Day

2009-04-07T10:07:00.003+07:00

6am my alarm goes off, hang on its only 5:30! Surprisingly I'm not that tired even after team belarus' midnight party after their fights in Pattaya.

So I put on my shoes and socks and decide to go for a small run, feeling a bit motivated I realised I'm albeit a little behind everyone I have done 3kms already. Then I realise how tired I am and how much my ankles are going to hurt. So I've lost the group and I luckily know the way. I decide to take a shortcut a taxi showed me, which was a top idea.

Well until Nopparat comes flying past clapping his hands, so I oblige start jogging again do another 800m and yeah I'm definitely walking the rest.

Back to the gym my work out is pretty basic and goes something like this:

3-4 rounds of shadow
3,4 or 5 rounds of bag work
2 rounds of technique with Lai

I realise wow I've just had to re-learn the basics from stance to strikes all over. Every trainer there and also fighter from the age of 10 to 50 has pointed something out. At first you feel pretty useless but soon after you practice what they teach it feels like they are re-building you all over.
After some situps & stretches the morning workout. Breakfast (squid, chicken with rice) is served by Jakaes wife and devoured. The trainers and family take care of you, clean everything and always offer more food than you can eat. (or need to)

After breakfast I crash out. I had a short nap, picked up some more things from tesco even though my ankles, calves and my whole body are destroyed. 10 bottles of m-150 (like redbull but concentrate) for $3.50 (AUD) anyone? I'm liking this place. I also got linament for $3 and its a massive bottle too!

Time passes and its 4pm.

Afternoon session begins with a lot of linament (think deepheat).

6mins skipping
4-5 round shadow
4-5 rounds on the bag
2 rounds of padwork (high kicks)
2 rounds of grappling

Okay the grappling was pretty interesting, I was matched up with a 16 year old kid who has probably had more fights than Ive had cooked meals. For the most part I do okay thanks to plenty of grappling training at home. So its the one area I don't feel like an absolute beginner.

Snap! The power in this kids arms and neck, not to mention painful knees are amazing. This kid is an OX! I outweigh him by around 20kgs plus and he puts me on the floor a few times and delivers a few solid knees. I quit after two rounds and watch the pro's and thais continue for another 30 minutes putting in full power knees. These guys are not human haha!

Again stretches, 100 situps, various weights and holy crap I'm exhausted. My entire body has never had such a tough workout. I can feel everything from shoulders due to the heavy ropes during skipping. My joints from the kicks to my ankles from running.

Dinner is served I nearly finish it and decide to head off with some of the english guys, ben, james (room mate) and another bloke steve. So the massage goes for an hour, costs $15 and is amazing at the same time painful. They put so much effort in and you feel refreshed.

I get home at 11 and crash out. Pretty action packed day.

At this point Im stunned at how I can complete another 5 days of this. I guess you will have to keep reading and I'll keep drinking the m-150.

Early bird gets the chicken soup

2009-04-05T17:12:00.002+07:00

So today was a pretty interesting day for a day off.

After doing my morning blog and facebook updates I get to see the gym's local fighters train. Wow pretty floored at how hard they work. I've seen videos and looked at routines but its not until you see kids between 10-18 doing 3 sets of 50 full power kicks each side you truly understand what hard work is. The best part is they don't look tired.

A few minutes later breakfast is served. I sit down with the gym owner Jakae and shoot the shit about the gym, its champions, training and how good the soup and pork dumplings are. Hang on the soups not tasty enough in goes several spoons of fresh chilli Jakae likes a spicy breakfast. Sadly I can't keep up and one tablespoon is enough!

Later on that day I went to the tesco and then to a massive shopping center, forget westfields, called fashion island and decided to get my haircut. Again it dawns on me that I'm by myself here and its not as easy as Europe as I have to ask a trainer to write directions in Thai to the center. So on the way I realise, much to my suprise I have no idea how to talk thai and get directions to go back home. Talk about epic fail trying to ask the taxi driver that. I hand him my baht and realise I took a business card this morning. Thank fk!

Just incase I missed some home cooked dinner I decided not to watch FBI come to my house disrespect my family no 4 (aka Fast n Furious 4).

After much walking and due to the storm I'm just going to chill out. One of the gyms more famous champs Nopparat is downstairs warming up for a fight soon. Pretty amazing and a friendly bloke too.

Training starts tomorrow, this is when things get interesting.

It Begins

2009-04-05T06:16:00.005+07:00

6:00am my alarm sounds and I'm already awake. In my room there is the head trainer from a Belarus Gym and James an English fighter. Funny I don't remember them being in Sydney!

Then it dawns on me I'm in Bangkok, freezing from the air conditioning funnily enough thank god! I put on my new gym shirt hop outside into the farang(foreigners lounge) pop my head out and the window. What do I see a vacant block that looks like farm almost, a few stray dogs and plenty of roosters crowing letting me know just how early it is.

Anyway today is Sunday so no training but it will just be some light stretching and bagwork. I also have to make a trip to MBK to get some clothes, gloves and shinpads.