Fight Highlights (video)

Cut down of the fight featuring edit tricks to make things look more impressive.

Yes, slow motion, you got it.

Full Fight (Video)

Friday 6th February 2015 - Kalare Stadium, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Advertised as an 85Kg fight... although I was about 93 and my opponent 86... Weighs ins are not exactly encouraged in Chiang Mai.



This is my first fight. My opponent has had over 100 fights, and I was told just before entering the ring:

"Be careful of his head kick. Last Farang he fought he knocked out with it."

My witty retort...
"I'm too tall for that but thanks"

Pre-Fight

I arrived at the stadium at 20:30. First fight starts at 21:00... but they are always 30 mins late. Thai time.

I met up with Turbo and the Japanese fighter who is fighting out of Charn Chai (don't know his name), and we went through the check list of kit I was supposed to have with me. Agreed to let Turbo use my stuff because he hadn't brought any (Thai Oil, Vaseline etc). Turbo really could not give a shit, he was so relaxed. Just another day in the office for him. He was just sat on the back of his scooter having a cigarette.

Between the 3 of us there were 3 different languages so conversation wasn't exactly buzzing. But that's fine. I just had so many questions and wanted to get everything straight in my head. But there was no one to ask so I just had to swallow it and wait. I swear I was more nervous about the rituals and the order of things than the actual fighting. I genuinely believed everyone who said once the bell goes you just focus in and everything else goes away. I was really looking forward to that as in that moment waiting in the car park I couldn't shut anything out. I was making eye contact with the audience members and freaking out. I was eyeing up the other fights to see who was big enough that I could fight them. I was watching their pre-fight rituals and worrying that I should be doing the same stuff.

All this resulted in me finding a garden chair. Sitting down. Staring into space. Trying to ignore everything and just breath to relax. Which was probably for the best.

Bami arrived and with him all the answers I had been freaking out about. He got me sorted with the pre-fight doctors check (blood pressure and stethoscope). It wasn't exactly thorough.
Bami explained what would happen when and then found out the fighting order and who I was fighting. It was a Thai name at 85kg's... that's all we knew. I'm 90kg's so I knew I was going to have a size advantage, but knowing he was Thai meant I was at a serious experience disadvantage.
Turbo was up second, Japanese guy third and I was on fifth of a six fight card.
Feels like they roll out the heavyweights at the end of the night regardless of experience because of the freak show element. Plus it keeps other westerners in the crowd drinking, spending, waiting to see their nation represented.

Once the other fighters were ready Bami turned his attention to me and started to wrap my hands. Using tape under and over hand wraps changes the game completely. He turned my hands into hammers. Felt like I could punch through a wall. This gave me great confidence in my boxing. I knew these clubs had it in them to put someone down.

Turbo went out and won his fight by 5 round decision. He was show boating as usual and the crowd loved it.
Once he was back in our corner and changed into his street clothes Turbo and Bami turned their attention to preparing me. They oiled me down and massaged me, warming up all my muscles and loosening me up. Went through the fairly embarrassing act of putting on a Thai cup... or more to the point having it put on me. My arms and back felt good but I didn't get chance to stretch out my legs and hips. Their mobility felt a little stunted.

Japanese guy went out and beat a really good swedish fighter called Tobi by KO. Really good hard fight. I missed most of it due to getting ready but what I did see looked great and the fact he won by KO was really impressive. I've seen Tobi fight twice before and he won by first round KO both times. Tonight wasn't his night and that's great for Charn Chai. So far we were 2 for 2.

Whilst these fights were going on I managed to introduce myself to Sylvie of the blog '8 Limbs US'. We had spoken via twitter on the run up to the fight and it was really great to get to meet her. She probably won't realise what a massive influence on me she has been. Her blog answered all my questions before moving here and it is what made me choose Chiang Mai to move to. Fighting on the same card as her felt like things had come full circle. Whilst Bami was busy cornering the guys Sylvie came over to check on me. I was getting pretty nervous about the pre-fight rituals and how to enter the ring etc. I wanted to show the proper respect but I have never been shown any of it so it was a bit of an unknown to me. Sylvie took the time to talk me through all of the pre-fight rituals and explained their meaning. This helped me visualise what I was supposed to do and also passed the time as my fight approached without me really noticing. Stood there with Sylvie I felt like a bit of a fan boy, don't think she noticed but I was wearing custom shorts which are essentially a complete rip off of the shorts she had made for Phetjee Jaa. Camo with gold writing. In my defence it's because I was running late and when at the shorts shop there was too much to choose from so I just said I liked what Sylvie had done and wanted similar. Sylvies husband noticed my shorts and we had a little joke about me ripping off her style. Then before you know it. Its go time.

Bami put vaseline on my face, forced the Mongkon onto my massive head and cleaned out my mouth guard. He then told me to walk to the ring bow and pray at the steps then enter over the top rope. Bow to each side of the ring and return to my corner and wait for the referee.

I did as I was told, I have no idea if I did it right but I tried and thats got to be worth something.

The referee came over checked I had a cup and mouth guard on. Checked my gloves (10oz) were appropriate, safe and sealed with tape.
Next the music starts and I walk a lap of the ring praying at each corner and sealing the ring before returning to my corner to wait whilst my opponent completes his Wai Kru Ram Muay. The ceremonial dance to honour his teacher and camp.

Once completed we are called back to centre of the ring for final instructions from the referee (in Thai!?). We hug and wish each other good luck in the fight then return to our corners to pray for blessing and protection with our coach. We pray then remove the Mongkon hanging it in our corner. Then mouth guard in and final instructions from the coach before the bell goes.

Turn and face... approach... touch gloves... go time.

Fight Day

Didn't really get off to the best start. My stomach has been giving me loads of hassle for the last 3 days and it seemed to want to kick it up a bit the night before. Unfortunately I was up till 3am.

However it did give me chance to try some of my friend guy's pre-fight prep rituals. One of which I want to talk about because its brutal.

Essentially the night before you eat a healthy but large meal so you fill the fuel tank. Then before bed you take a shower which you make progressively colder and colder until its just pure cold water and you're freezing. Hop out of the shower and apply tiger balm (all over if you can, to problem areas otherwise) and then wrap yourself up in a tracksuit and hood and get into bed and try to sleep/relax.

The idea being, the cold freaks out your body and your blood is sent to your internal organs to maintain body temp. The subsequent heat from the tiger balm and clothing then sends fresh new blood back out to the muscles in an attempt to cool you down and regulate temperature. The combination of both acts gives your metabolism a massive kick in the pants and you process the food you ate very quickly and your body gets started on repairing itself ready for the next day.

I can't speak for the science, but this definitely gave my body an adrenalin shot and gave me temporary relief from my dodgy stomach. It was brutal because the tiger balm gives the sensation of extreme cold and so your sat in bed with freezing cold skin, sweating... and there is no way to stop it except wait it out. Plus I applied tiger balm to my groin so it felt like I had an ice box sat on my nuts that I couldn't shift. Unpleasant.

Fight day itself I spent in my hostel room watching movies on my laptop. I stepped out a couple times to buy water and get some sushi but I had stocked up on almonds and dried fruit so I was pretty well self contained. I just shut out the world and tried not to watch the clock. Which was easier said than done.

Eventually 7pm rolled around and my alarm went off. I had another cold shower and applied tiger balm to my hamstrings, groin and lower back before getting dressed into my fight gear underneath my tracksuit.

Headphones in I hopped in a tuc-tuc and mad my way to the stadium.

Fight Week

Its fight week and I have travelled down to Chiang Mai and found a cheap guesthouse for the next few days.

Upon walking out of my guesthouse I noticed the poster advertising Friday's fights. The card I'm fighting on. Really surprised to see some Charn Chai fighters on there that I know are not available to fight... good old thai advertising!

Also on there is Sylvie of the blog '8 Limbs US'. The blog which inspired me to choose Chiang Mai/Pai and to move here to train and fight. Her blog was pretty much the information bible for my trip out here. Everything from where to go, gym politics to injury treatment.
This is a really bizarre coincidence as she no longer lives and fights in Chiang Mai so it is very unusual for her to be back in the north of the country. Looking forward to meeting her and watching her fight live. Hopefully I can grab a ridiculous photo with her... I say ridiculous cause I already know i'll be a giant next to her. Think Sylvie fights at 48kg's... I'm 90...

Unfortunately I didn't make the poster as the promoter did not have a picture of me. I have since been to the stadium, met him and posed for the picture. I doubt they will re-print so i'll probably just be making guest appearances on fight nights I have nothing to do with for the next few months. Ah well, nothing wrong with a little legacy.

As for preparation I have squeezed in a work out at Go Gym just to stay as loose as possible and a little active. That gym is turning into some kind of Ruff Ryders training mecca. Its ace. Such thug workout style.  

Physically I don't feel great. My back is still very stiff and causes me pain if I cough or sneeze. But I'm hoping the pre-fight massage and thai oil will loosen things up and allow me to twist and kick. Failing that I'll just rely on my boxing and some powerful straights to get the job done.

There is also a really strange feeling in my stomach, pressure behind my solar plexus. I have had this tight pressured almost indigestion feeling for the past 2 days. I suspect it's just a physical manifestation of the nerves which is fine as I actually don't feel consciously anxious. I feel pretty relaxed about the fight, just a little nervous about stepping out in front of all those people at the beginning. I really don't like to be centre stage, especially when i don't know what I'm doing. The fight I have trained for but I have no idea about the Wai Kru or what I'm supposed to do about sealing the ring or when. Fear of the unknown. A dress rehearsal of all that would have been useful to answer these questions. As it stands I'll just have to figure it out on the night. So my fight video will probably feature me dropping the Mongkon, walking the wrong way round the ring, tripping over the other fighter and then punching him when the referee brings us to the middle to review the rules and touch gloves.

Ah well... stumble through...


Shopping list for fight supplies:

3 x 25mm Sports tape
Hand Wraps
Gum Shield
Thai Style Metal Cup
Lycra under shorts
Fight Shorts
Thai Oil
Tiger Balm
Vaseline
2 x Ankle Guards
Counter pain gel
Ibuprofen
Bottled water

Overtraining

I'll leave the sports scientists and nutritionists to argue whether or not this exists.
All I can talk about is my own personal experience.

Currently my routine consists of 3 sessions a day. A run in the morning, break, morning training at 10:30 and then afternoon training at 15:00.

The individual sessions are exhausting but manageable. They push you as you would expect. Increasing your skill, endurance and fitness by consistently taking you to the point of failure. Forever pushing that little marker further and further back.

What I didn't expect was the cumulative effect of these sessions.

Emotional exhaustion.
There have been days where the physical exhaustion has directly translated into an emotional depression. The love for the sport gone, the ability to socialise, non-existent, the desire to even get out of bed - not happening. At first I tried to push through this knowing it was part of the experience and that this ability to force myself was what separated people.

I have since learnt it's better to listen to your body.
Mental fortitude is great, but when it's at the cost of your meat wagon it's not a good decision. Seemingly every time I have gritted my teeth and powered through it has led to an injury that holds me back way more than skipping a session or dodging a run.

At 32 I find the training and recovery schedule very difficult to keep up with but I plug away and I do what is asked of me. So right now it's sprained toes, pain deep behind my shin bones and a pulled muscle in my back.

It's also worth noting that the over training makes dieting way harder. Because you are training so much you get hungry all the time. Unfortunately combined with the low mood this tends to lead to bad diet choices.

Blessed with Venom

Here is a link to John Wayne Parr's Muay Thai documentary.

Now available to stream on YouTube:

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.

Christmas at Charn Chai

The gym is buddhist as is the majority of Thailand so Christmas really could have slipped by unnoticed if it weren't for the effort made by Bee, Kerri-Ann and some of the fighters living here in Pai.

Training was on as usual but I took the day off. Largely because I was hungover from Xmas eve where I mixed way too many different drinks until far too late.
Around 10am I had a knock on my bungalow from Ben and Ally inviting me to join them and a few others at a nice hotel restaurant for a xmas lunch together. We sat round drank red wine and ate good quality western food that wasn't burgers or pizza. It was really nice, beautiful location, good wine, lots of food, xmas music and good company. Exactly what xmas is supposed to be.

In the evening we all met up at the gym where they had set up a xmas tree, bonfire and various embarrassing party games. I've commented before on how the trainers seem to love physical humour. No change here. I couldn't avoid getting involved and we ended up in a race to eat a cucumber hanging from a line above our heads... followed later by a game where you have a balloon tied around your waist and you have to pop each others balloons whilst preserving your own... not using your hands.... like i say 'physical humour' ensued. Check my instagram for a little video of the macho proceedings. Head trainer Bee shaking his little stinger whilst wearing a santa hat. This place is a far cry from the steroids, tribal tattoos and macho nonsense i have heard is synonymous with Phuket and other gyms down south. I think we are all really grateful for that!

There are chicken coops at the gym. I always thought these where just functional farm animals. Turns out the gym also raises and trains fighting chickens. So on the right hand side we have the matts and the ring and humans and on the left we have the coops, the sand and all their supplements and training tools. I had no idea but its a massive passion of the trainers and they love these chickens. They even have them spar in little training pads so they don't get hurt. So as part of the xmas celebrations we had a new member of the team arrive at the gym, A (Bee's brother) seemed pretty chuffed.

Needless to say the Sangsom and beers were flowing and everyone had a great night together. With Pet leading the charge as always!

Num leaving the gym and Wit's knee injury

So my previous post about Num leaving the gym due to a liver injury seems to have been a little misinformed.

Num was lying about being injured. He is and was well enough to fight. His father had sold him to a gym in Bangkok.

Now that the dust has all settled it has come to light that Num's father and Bee never had a contract relating to Num and his time training and fighting for Charn Chai, largely because Bee did not feel it necessary. An open discussion about re-locating Num to Bangkok to fight for a different gym was possible but instead a slightly underhand approach was taken (which I prefer to think was directed by Num's father as opposed to Num himself).

Either way the result is the same. Num ducked a fight which led to Wit getting seriously injured. Num now trains and fights in Bangkok but remains in contact with the Charn Chai trainers. I really think this was out of his control and his father has just seen both the chance for him to be in a closer location and also a bit of pay day when signing a contract so has just moved Num around like a pawn.

I wonder if he'll ever get matched up against a Charn Chai fighter in the future.

Wit struggling on with his crutches:

1 round of pads with Bami

Using the GoPro I made a video of one 4 minute round of pads with Bami.

Hopefully I can compare this with earlier footage and see how far i've come in the 2 months in Thailand.



Anyway, back too it. Temple run in 20 minutes.
REALLY don't want to go... it's so damn cold, even in my bed fully clothed with an electric blanket I'm shivering.

Num - Leaving the gym

If you also follow me on Instagram you will have seen a video of a really nasty knee injury from the fights at Kalare Night Bazaar last friday. This knee injury befell Wit who had stepped in for Num who was injured. Wit is now back in Pai, in a full leg cast, resting. They hope he won't be out too long but knee ligament injuries are hard to predict. The feeling around the gym is his recovery will be anything from 6 weeks to 3 months with some (people with old knee injuries) saying he may never be the same again. Sad news but Bee seems to remain positive about his recovery so fingers crossed he bounces back like the young man he is.

Still that video of him crying and screaming in pain is hard to watch, especially when you know how tough these guys are.

The whole incident with Wit has somewhat over shadowed the injured Num. I was under the impression Num had received a rib injury in training and was out for that one fight whilst he recovered. I was wrong. Num is in the middle of the picture below. (Gow, Num, Dan).

It turns out Num had received an injury to his liver and after consultations with his doctor he had been instructed he could no longer fight. As quick as that. One minute signed up for the fight card and in training, the next his entire fight career is over and more than that his time at the gym.

Num's family live much further south closer to Bangkok, and had essentially signed him over to the gym to train, live and fight in the hope of a lucrative fight career. But with the news from the doctor and before word had really spread Num had left and returned to his family.

It's really sad news, especially with him leaving without a proper goodbye. He will definitely be missed, not only because he was  regular face around the gym and a really nice lad but he was a damn good aggressive fighter and always really exciting to watch. He fought a very forward head down aggressive style that never seemed concerned with the judges score card.

There is talk of sending him a Christmas care package from everyone at the gym. I really hope that happens.

Visa Run - Mae Hong Son

Yesterday I took the day off from training and made the 240km round trip to Mae Hong Son on the border with Myanmar (Burma) to go to the Thai immigration office to apply for a 1 month Visa extension.
Essentially if i get this extension on each of my 3 entries i get an extra 3 months in the country. So 6 months becomes 9.

It was a beautiful ride through the mountains. So many steep climbs and decents and some truly amazing scenery. Problem with having the inevitable wait at the immigration office meant you can't really stop to enjoy the views. You need to crack on because before you know if you have turn around and head back and you don't want to run out of day light. Largely because the temperature drops so much.
It's a weird balancing act between setting off late enough that the dark side of each mountain has had some sun to dry off the road but not so late you are riding back in the dark. Wet slippy roads on these off road knobbly tyres is so sketchy.
I almost got it spot on but was glad to have a hoodie, gloves and tracksuit bottoms for the last hour. I set of at 10:30am and got back around 18:30. Like I say its just pure twisting mountain roads the entire way. I was making a good pace and it still took all day.

Before heading to the Immigration office make sure you have passport photos of yourself to hand over and photocopies of each important page of your passport relating to your stay in Thailand. I didn't know about this and finding places to get this done in Mae Hong Son wasn't particularly difficult but it was a little stressful and meant I had to queue twice which was a big waste of time.

My Visa extension was approved and with the fee of 1900 baht paid they stamped my passport and sent me on my way. Next visa excursion will be 18th January where i actually need to leave and re-enter the country. Need to do a little research but i believe that is a ride to Chiang Rai and then across into Laos.

Although these Visa runs are annoying they do force you to adventure and by bike you end up seeing some weird and wonderful places. The photos can't do it justice. There is this on valley the Mae Hong Son road (1095) that is straight out of Avatar.  Giant flat faced mountains sprouting out of nowhere with a layer of vertically growing trees. Like giants teeth.

All in all, a successful trip.

Morale - The run up to Xmas

So this last week has been tougher than most.

Instagram is full of group pictures from London of people enjoying the cold weather, Xmas shopping and drinking in pubs with open fires. It's a beautiful time of year back home and i really feel like i'm missing out. I have been reaching out to more people via email or whatsapp in an attempt to stave off the feeling of loneliness but both the time difference and the fact most people in the UK are busy with their working lives makes it difficult. Either that or I'm out of sight out of mind. It's hard not to let these feelings sneak in.
Everyone is all cosy and prepping for the family time together... i'm alone eating the same 'Super Health Salad' as I have had twice a day for god knows how long now.

It might be time for a food binge.

In fairness my training is suffering as I don't have any energy and i can't concentrate.
Could be time to stop being so militant and just start eating more.

Right now I'm 87Kg's. I'd want to fight at 80Kg's. Cutting this 7kg's whilst still fuelling my training is going to be real hard. When I was last in Chiang Mai for the fight night I bought some basic protein powder aimed at training recovery as opposed to building muscle. I really hope this makes a difference as everything is just getting on top of me a bit. The isolation from home. The hunger. The fatigue.

It's not that I want to quit or go home. It's just the thought that this is all voluntary and I could just as easily be on a beach in Southern Thailand eating and getting drunk or in America learning to hunt. Instead i'm here, running in the heat, sweating my balls off and hop scotching from one injury to another. I'm in the grind. Running the same stretch of road, hitting the same bag.

My right shoulder is proper fucked.
Bami is having to create a fighting style for me that solely uses the right hand as distraction and defence. The moment i reach out anything past 70% extension or above 9 o'clock i get shooting pains through the rotator cuff. It's horrible. It aches 24/7. Tiger Balm and Voltarol pain relief gel take the edge off but i can still feel it. Once I get back to the UK I am going to see a shoulder specialist and see what they can do for me. I suspect I have a grade 2 torn AC ligament and it may require surgery or extensive specific physiotherapy. The massages I have been getting here have helped but my recovery seems to have plateaued so I'm just bouncing between slight improvements with rest and then slight backwards steps after training.

It is what it is. Just got to plough on.