Thai remedies that I have tested.

No doubt the training is hard and it takes its toll on your body. Impact injuries and muscle soreness are a daily occurrence.

Normal treatment aside (Ice packs, elevation, Ibuprofen, massage, anti inflammatory cream)

There are 2 main 'Thai' remedies discussed around the gym.
Thought I would give them a go.

1. The Hot Springs:
About 6km out of Pai there is a natural mineral hot springs within a national park (200baht entry).
Although 'natural' it has still been developed to allow for tourist visitors. Pretty much ruins the experience as it's no longer a hot spring but rather the hot water piped off into cement pools for people to bath in.
Outside of the national park there are a couple luxury resorts filtering off some of the water and offering a spa style bathing experience.
If you are going to bath in the mineral water in a man made pool, why not make it a nicer pool?

Twice now, post training, I have gone to the spring and bathed in the hot mineral water (smells of egg) for over an hour.
Although relaxing due to the heat and putting time aside to do nothing, I have not noticed any healing properties.
My bruises and tight muscles are the same if not worse.
My hyper extended elbow has not improved at all.
My right shoulder remains buggered.

2. Thai Laxative - cleanse:
The idea being that on your rest day (Sunday) you neck a bottle of strong laxative and 'cleanse' yourself. Supposedly this is good for bruises and inflammation as well as cutting water weight.

My basic understanding of gut inflammation caused by food allergies and undigested food made me want to give this a go. I was hoping for a 'cleanse' resulting in a lighter, leaner feel with the added benefit of less gut inflammation allowing my swollen joints to recover quicker.

What happened was a day of hanging out by my bathroom.
Felt no better for it.
If anything it left me washed out and lacking energy for Mondays training.

Won't be doing that again.

So yeah, think i'll stick with the western approach.... pop pills and try and just get more sleep.

Clinch training with Turbo and Gong

In an attempt to fight less like a farang I have started doing private lessons with 2 of the Thai trainers focusing purely on clinch work.

So my day breaks down with the run in the morning at 07:30... which is getting longer and longer... we are now up to 11km.

Private lesson with Bami at 10:30 focusing on pad work, ring craft, combinations, conditioning and working my kicks into my techniques.

16:00 back to the gym to meet up with Turbo and Gong. Here we focus purely on clinch techniques, trips and making space to throw knees (I also do an hour of my own conditioning).

(Trainers from left to right; Moohin, Gong, Turbo, Yo, Bami, Pet, Bee, Tree)

It works well so far as I have 2 trainers in the ring with me, they can show me in detail what to do by demonstrating on each other. This is a great way to get around the language barrier as you don't need detailed verbal descriptions. They just show me in a way where I can watch as opposed to just being the victim of a clever trip and seeing it from my back looking up.
Only communication issue so far is trying to ask when and why you would do certain things, I can copy the moves but knowing how to implement them in a fight and how to capitalise on the resulting position is proving harder to explain.
Physically it was bloody hard as they would switch in and out so i'm always working against a fresh guy. No surprise my neck is killing me and I am starting to get swollen ears.

I am learning a lot but it doesn't feel natural yet. I really have to think in advance what each position means and what my options are. Probably doesn't help that i'm a foot taller than these guys so can compensate for bad technique with power and leverage.
I'm hoping I'll be able to get more comfortable with the simple moves in the next couple weeks. By no means do I expect to be any good at the clinch, but i'm hoping I can survive it to shut down my opponent and earn a referee re-set to work my distance and range advantage.

So far Turbo is really happy with my progress and keeps commenting that I am remembering everything quickly. It's funny to learn how detailed the clinch is when it comes to hand position, earning space and specific grips and holds you can use whilst wearing gloves. So far it's going really well and I'm enjoying learning it a lot.

Here you can see Turbo in action on one of the local fight cards. Turbo is wearing the blue gloves.

Training with Turbo and Gong is fun but very different to working with Bami. Bami is preparing me for my first fight and has invested a lot of effort in me. Although I'm doing a little clinch work with Turbo and Gong it's Bami I really don't want to let down with a poor performance come fight night.
As it stands my hands are getting better but i'm still struggling to work in the kicks. So if my fight goes to the judges I am going to have a rough time on the score card.

Charn Chai video - Interview with Kru Bee

Just found this video on Youtube. Features a nice little interview with Kru Bee.

Paul Clark - Youtube channel - Go subscribe!!

Paul was one of my coaches when in London and is possibly the most diverse and knowledgeable martial artist I have ever met. He still remains one of the best trainers I have ever had the pleasure of working with, if anyone is reading this in London go look him up. Time well spent.

I just noticed Paul has started up a Youtube channel linked with the Bob Breen Academy where he teaches.

Please go check it out and subscribe:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1YmVt5pLItgfrkIZB8rUNg

Back in Pai - Back to Training

The Thai embassy has screwed me out of 4 months in Thailand. This forces me to go to Laos to pay for it all again on February 14th.

At training today Bee said he wants me to fight on February 6th. So I might still get the last laugh! Get my fight done before the visa runs out then leave the country if i choose too or head to Mae Hong Son for a 30 day extension and not get involved with this whole mess of going to Laos and applying and waiting for a new multiple entry visa.

Seems like a scam to get more money out of tourists and i'm not down with that. Especially as the entire time your in Thailand it feels this way. Everyone has a hand in your wallet the entire time.

I say this with one notable exception. The entire town of Pai. Pai is not like that. Yes you pay for stuff but you don't feel harassed or taken advantage of. Things seem to be charged their value here.

I do love Pai, and I do love training at Charn Chai. But i feel like after i fight i need to do something different for a couple weeks just to break the repetitive schedule so my time here feels a little longer. Right now the 3 months feel like 4 weeks because most days are exactly the same.

Maybe I'll go Cambodia for a week of beaches and swimming. We'll see. See how I feel after the fight.

Go Gym Chiang Mai

Whilst passing 3 days in Chiang Mai trying to sort visa issues I have found a gem of a gym I want to recommend.

Go Gym Chiang Mai. It's in the north of the city just off the superhighway junction with the 107 road to Pai. There is a map on their Facebook page.

The gym is on an industrial estate and is essentially a load of equipment in a hanger, open on all sides except for some chain link fencing. It's about as heavy metal as it gets. Especially when the surrounding hangers start their working days. Garages, car valeting companies, and an iron works.

From what I could tell the gym is owned by a Thai guy who also owns a motorcycle chop shop. Totally adds to the feeling. Especially when they are busy welding nearby whilst you work out.

The equipment is all good stuff (Hammer Strength), very clean and plentiful so no waiting for squat racks or smith machines. The showering facilities are extremely basic compared to the UK, but working.... so luxury compared to some places in Thailand.
At the reception they offer healthy food and protein shakes in a little cafe area. Nice touch. All the staff were really helpful and friendly and it was only 60baht per day for entry. Open 8am - midnight. So for 60 baht (£1.10) you can get multiple session in during the day.

I'd go in the morning, hit a muscle group then ride round to the MAYA shopping centre. Watch a movie at the cinema and then head back to the gym for a different muscle group then head the other way on the superhighway to the Central Festival shopping centre to watch a second movie there (I didn't want the cinema staff realising I was on a movie binge).

It was interesting to see the clientele at the gym. There were a lot of super jacked up Thai guys. Body builders with questionable supplement programs and lots of biker looking dudes. Lots of tattoos on show and also lots of bike and bike gang merchandise. Not sure if its linked but I noticed the club house for the 'Mongols - Chiang Mai' was only a short distance away.

Anyway, great gym. Nice people. Easy to find. Cheap.

Gotta say after all the Muay Thai and conditioning  training it was really nice to feel the muscle fatigue from a simple weights session. I haven't felt that 'pump' and 'burn' in ages. It's such a different feeling to fatigue brought on through endurance training.

The grass is always greener! I found this stuff boring back in the UK. Granted I was only at it 3 days, but it was really enjoyable, and I feel stronger for having done it. Training like that and seeing yourself in the mirrors was a good confidence booster.

Visa Run Mae Sai - aka VISA NIGHTMARE!!!!!

So on Thursday morning I did my usual run and training session then packed a bag with all my doomsday prep survival stuff and got on my bike and set off on the journey to Mae Sai… a city in the north of Thailand which has a road border with Myanmar (Burma) and an immigration office… the plan was to spend the remainder of Thursday riding there. Sleep over and then cross the border first thing Friday morning. Get my visa approved and cross back into Thailand and return to Pai with 2 more months on the clock. My second entry of my 3 entry tourist visa. So this was essentially my first trip out of the country to trigger the second third of my tourist visa.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to Mae Sai in one day. By the time it was getting cold and dark and i’d done about 350km of mountain roads I found a little village called Doi Mae Salong. Such a bizarre Chinese village in the mountains. Seemingly a trading post for tea leaves. As in loose tea… not cockney rhyming slag for thieves. Found a guesthouse and crashed out…. even here they had a 7/11 so Pringles and a movie on my laptop was my version of exploring.

First thing the next morning got back on the bike and did the last 100km to Mae Sai. On driving into Mae Sai you can tell it’s purpose pretty quickly. One large functional road lined with all manner of shops all headed to a gateway and small bridge… a bridge of friendship… aka the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Parked up, crossed the border, paid a Burmese official 500baht for my Burmese visa… i suspect he kept the money… I had a quick walk around the little town on the Myanmar side but it wasn’t very welcoming. Walking through the border and being 6’4 with white hair and white skin just painted a target on me and i just had people trying to sell me anything and everything. After fighting through them i didn’t really find anything that made me want to explore further. Knowing how far i had to ride back to Pai i just thought screw it and crossed back into Thailand. So yeah… didn’t really give Myanmar a fair crack of the whip… but a border town wasn’t really the place for that. And the place was ugly as shit, and i nearly sprained my ankle tripping on a fucked up pavement. Can you tell this is where the bitterness begins?

Upon crossing back into Thailand my visa was approved for 30 days and i was told the visa i had paid for in England at the Thai embassy was now out of date and could not be used. So thats entry 2 and 3 void i.e. two thirds of my planned time in Thailand no longer an option. Put simply the Thai embassy in London started my visa with the date I applied and bought the visa, not the date i was planning on entering the country (even though this was discussed and i was assured as long as i entered the country for the first time before the visa expired i would be fine to use all 3 entries). 

The Thai embassy started my visa back in June which meant it expired end of December. It’s not good to show anger or frustration in Thai culture so I swallowed my frustration and got on my bike and rather than head back to Pai I decided to ride to Chiang Mai where there is a British consulate and an Immigration office better suited to help me. The border guard and military men didn’t seem like the right place to have the discussion. Back to a big city and back to the bureaucracy.

Another 300km later I arrived in Chiang Mai, sunburnt and dirty I found a cheap cock roach infested guesthouse to stay in for the night. I didn’t realise what day it was and just crashed out in bed after the full day of riding… next morning off to the immigration office… it’s Saturday… the office doesn’t open until Monday morning. Boooooo Rubbish. School boy error.

Back to the guesthouse… now with 2 days to kill i forged an excellent plan. I was going to park my ass in a luxury shopping mall and just drink coffee and watch every single movie the cinema had on offer. But I couldn’t do this guilt free so instead i found a gym and traded one workout for one movie. So both of the two days i did a morning session at the gym, matinee at the cinema, afternoon at the gym, late showing at the cinema. It was awesome. Until i ran out of English language movies…. and clean clothes… i would like to say i was unaware of how bad i smelt… but i wasn’t… all my stuff was so grimy from the road. I bought a couple clean t-shirts but it wasn’t quite enough to keep the stank off. So yeah… sorry Chiang Mai Maya Centre and Central Festival shopping centre… my bad.

Monday morning went to the immigration office… they said "email the thai embassy in London, we can’t help you… but we’ll give you another 30 days when this visa runs out so you have 7 weeks to figure it out”.

I kinda took this as good news. Composed an email to the Thai embassy. Crammed in another session at the gym. Then hit the road back to Pai.