Light Packing for my one way trip.

Now that I have booked my flights i have focused on my packing. My original intention was to limit myslef to a hand luggage sized bag to allow me to hop on and off flights without the risk of lost luggage and the subsequent delay. It would be pretty awful to miss a flight due to waiting at a carousel for your luggage to be off loaded from the last late flight.

 I could have made the size limit but unfortunately due to limitations on how much liquid you can carry in the plane and also one single pressurised can (aerosol bug repellant) I have accepted I will have to check my bag. As a result I have planned for a small, rucksack with dettachable compartments (molle) to allow me to pack in sections and strip off the little side bag which will contain my hand luggage for in flight entertainment.

 Below is a video showing what I have prepped so far. Any good ideas please shout at and suggest. still image:

 

Content: 

3Kgs Whey Protein

iPhone running case

Massage balls

Foam roller

Flip flops

Protein shaker

Shin pads

Knee support

Multi vitamins

BCAA pills

Calcium supplement

Cod liver oil

Caffeine pills

Herbal diarrhoea medicine

Gaffer tape

Unlocked mobile phone (burner)

Glow sticks

iPhone battery pack 4000mAH

Waterproof iPhone case

Fabric plasters

Latex gloves

Medical kit (sterile gauze, bandages, scalpel, medical tape etc)

Scissors

Water purifying tablets

Poncho

Para cord

Whistle

Fire lighter kit

Head torch

Bush hat

Tiger balm

Voltarol (muscle pain relief gel)

Deep heat (adhesive patches)

Painkillers (all types in quantity)

Anti bacterial cream (for open cuts)

Hand steriliser

Anti septic spray

Insect repellant (x4, 1 without DEET)

Insect bite cream

Energy tabs ( to add to water)

Sun screen

After sun moisturiser

Thai Baht ( cash)

Passport

Bank pin generator 

Headphones x3

MP3 player (separate to iPhone)

Apple TV

Lap top

Mouth guard (fitted)

Sunglasses

Paper copy of itinerary

Wash bag (very basic)

Combination padlock

Weight lifting gloves and straps

Tactical gloves

And survival kit.

(Contents listed below in images)

Planned purchase once in Thailand:

Decent knife (strap to bag)

Loose clothing

Muay Thai gloves, hand wraps, shin guards.

Muay Thai fight shorts.

Ticket Purchased - I'll be flying on a jet plane, not sure when i'll be back again.

So my dates are now set in stone. 

 My brother has settled on October 18th for his engagement party and as a result I have booked my flight out of Manchester for the 20th. I figured 1 day for hangover recovery was a sensible move. 

 I fly from Manchester to London Heathrow. Then have a few hours in the airport before onto Bangkok. Here I transfer again for an internal flight up to Chiang Mai. Each flight is a seperate flight with a different airline so I'm going to be checking in and out a fair few times. It's inviting lost luggage and delay issues but its the only way to get where i'm going. But 3 flights to catch should be fine. Failing that hopefully my holiday insurance covers any major screw ups. 

Talking of holiday insurance, I have paid for 6 months up front covering my Muay Thai training. Damn was this an unexpected expence. £295. Did not see that coming. But thought it best to buy it now whilst it's still in £'s rather than get there convert it to thai money and then be too tempted to go without knowing what it could aford me in Thailand. It's not a good risk to take so thought the better of it. 

 For the 3 flights, each transfer is between 4 and 6 hours wait time in the various airports. This adds a great deal to the journey time but seems unavoidable. At least it breaks things up though and i can walk around and get the blood pumping rather than risk DVT sat uncomfortably cramped for an extremely long haul. Longest flight i have ever done was 14 hours followed by a 1 hour break and then a subsequent 9 hours. Really cant face ever doing that again. Anyway I digress... 

 Travel time is as follows. Leave home Monday 20th at 1300hrs. Arrive Chiang Mai 1900hrs on the 21st. Ignoring the time difference thats 30hours travelling before i have to try and find the place i'm staying. Thats pretty bad, but it will be fine. Done worse. It does mean that I have booked 2 nights in a Chiang Mai hotel for when I arrive. That will give me time to recover from the travel, have a decent shower and get my head around how I'm going to get that last 120Km too Pai. 

2 days to sort one bus trip... easy. 

 Then I'll be there... Charn Chai Muay Thai... 6 months of insurance, 6 months of visa's and no return flight. I guess after 6 months we'll see where the wind takes me.

Shin treatment - pool jets

I had a prolonged shin bruise. Mentioned in earlier posts.

What I thought was a gooey dent in my shin was actually just the space between two deep bruises.

Kicking pads or bags was painful even through shin guards. I used tiger balm, Thai oil, and a ton of ibuprofen but the bruises were still around 4 weeks later.

I started to worry it was actually shin splints cause by Tarmac running or impact trauma from sparring.

After a little online research I put my mind at ease that it wasn't a bone issue and was just a deep bruise.

Here is where the tip comes in:

If you have prolonged shin bruising that won't go away.

Find a swimming pool or jacuzzi. Identify the most powerful water jet and use it to massage your shins.

I found this super powerful water jet in a pool recently and using it like an iron I just slowly moved my shins up and down it for about 15 mins twice a day. After 3 days the swelling that had been there for 6 weeks by then was gone and the shin was no longer tender to touch.

So whether it be a broom handle, a trainers elbow or a water jet in a pool. The key thing seems to be get that inflammation moving and increase blood flow to the area.

Worked a treat.

Faster runs

I have been doing 2 x 6km runs a day and taking my time. All has been going well and making slow progress. The fasted morning runs have been tough. Just plodding through the countryside on an empty tank is tough but something I need to get used too.

Today I got up a little later and had breakfast before running. 

Fuelled up I managed 12km with a little break around 6 to buy a yoga matt for the home gym.

Not wanting to scrimp I forced myself to go for my second run before a late dinner. Got out on the road and it was a cool evening and something about the podcast I was listening to just made me start off at a good pace. The Map My Run app chimed in at 1Km and I had done it in under 3mins. I decided to just try and keep the pace up. I did my usual 6km run in just over 20mins. Pretty happy with that. God knows if I'll be able to do it again tomorrow.

Living at Home

Surprisingly difficult. 

14 years out on my own has made me incredibly selfish. I would say self sufficient but I dont think thats true. I just want to cook for myself, clean my own stuff. Adjusting to a family enviroment of cooking for multiple people and doing mass laundry is proving difficult as I only really want to sort my own stuff.

I gotta say re adjusting to living under someone else's roof is damn hard. It's amazing having all the luxuries of the family home but with no method of escaping the village it's a little claustrophobic and I find my temper becoming extremely short and my patience for inter personal stuff is non existent. 

Must try harder.

I'm only here at home for a short time. Must make a good impression and not have a juvenile freak out.

York - 4 weeks to go

Ok so I am back from holiday. Been to A&E to get my foot checked out as it's still causing me problems and looks swollen. 2.5hr wait and then the Dr looked at it, said yeah it's broken but there is nothing we can do. 

I'm 2 weeks into what he thinks will be a 3 - 4 week recovery. Basically told me to splint it as I had been doing and avoid the kicks, but i should be Ok running as long as I take some ibuprofen to keep the swelling down as best as possible.

Seems like I am constantly on ibuprofen these days. Now I get why Americans say buy it in bulk before leaving for Thailand. Now that the Dr has given it the all clear i am going to increase the running to twice a day, first one in the morning before eating and the second either before or after my main meal depending on time. 

Each run I am doing is about 6Km. All feels good. Not having a yoga matt or somewhere to stretch is bothering me a bit though. I feel stiff a lot of the time but i dont want to be srawled out sweating on my dads carpet. Seems a little bit rude.

Been into town to have a wander around and see the Minster. Every time I come back to York I always swing by the Minster. It's just such a beautiful building and kind of sums up York for me. Beautiful, historical, traditional and stead fast. 

Anfi - Gran Canaria

Arrived back in York, manged to unpack or store most things and return the hire car. 

Now to pack a ruck sack and head off to Gran Canaria for 2 weeks. My dad and sister had a holiday booked for the first 2 weeks of September and as a lovely coincidence it starts just as I arrive home. 

So they bought me a flight and I am going with them to start my 6 weeks of training in the sunshine. 

Got really high hopes for these 2 weeks. Going to avoid the booze and big steaks and just cram in as much cardio as i can in the hope of getting a little fitter and aclimatised to training/running in the sunshine.

Broken Toe

This is not a training related injury. I was bare foot and a stubbed my little toe on my left foot. I kicked the leg of a sun lounger. Very bloody painful in that annoying hop around wanting to swear way. Side, bottom and between my toes has gone purple. 

 I'm still trying to exercise on it but it's proving rather painful and i'm getting blisters from running as my foot is swollen and rubbing in my shoe. not good. Very frustrating. I had such high hopes for these first 2 weeks of training camp. 

6 weeks before I am in Thailand and I have found myself with an injury thats going to hold me back for the next 2 weeks and then not sure how long before i can kick. Everyone says rest it as i'll just drag out the recovery period. But it's so hard to do when you have your mind so set on making porgress and certain goals.

I'm going to run anyway.

It's sweaty work.

Heading Home

Driving to York was brilliant. Never has the M1 offerred so much promise and excitement. Every shitty radio station for 200 miles and 4 hours just seemed to play good mood tunes and it had me singing along sat at 80mph making good progress. 

 It was a distinct feeling of liberation as I passed the turn off for the M25 and just headed straight North. The traffic fell away and it felt like day one of the trip.

 The waiting period was over. 

No turning back now. 

I had no house, no job, nowhere to be ever again. Rationally I know at some point i will need to get a job again in the future but I am pushing that thought down and away as much as possible. I am going to enjoy the abyss. 

 This freedom and lack of concern seems to be a real sticking point for people. Doubters seem to want to bring this up again and again as they reassure themselves of the facts of the rat race. 

"You do know you're going to have to get a job again someday!" 

"What are you going to do for work? well you cant just not have a plan!" 

"Are you going to sign on? you know you can't do that forever" 

"When you get back where are you going to work? you know for your industry you're going to have to end up back in London" 

"Have you thought about what you're going to do when you get back?" 

 I have heard every variation of this question. I say question, sometimes it feels more like a threat. A kind of, I have a job and i have to work even though i dont like it, don't think this doesnt apply to you sunny! You're not getting out of it that easily. 

 I think some people really don't see the value in not planning for the return. Live in the moment. Enjoy the moment for what it is, perfect in its contemporary nature and lack of planning or consequence. 

 The other option being more malicious in that they do see the value but jealousy makes them want to have a little snipe and bring you down a peg or two. 

Of course I think about all the logisitics and the rational steps I will have to take, both now and when I return. And I'm sure some people are just curious about my mind set. But... the rat race, it dont want you opting out! Cultural normality wants you back at your station peddling away. Screw that I'm hitting the highway listening to Viking FM and loving it.

Leaving London - The Final Exit

So I have now finally left London. Friday August 29th was my last day at work. I had been warming down for weeks now and everything was very chilled out. Very little to do, almost to the point of frustration. All in all a lovely day and I was genuinely surprised by the effort everyone at Technicolor had gone to celebrating my send off. I actually got more leaving presents and cards and drinks bought after 1 year at technicolor than I did after 9 years at my previous work. I guess when you are leaving to do something totally different it kind of engages people in a different way. You're not going round the corner to a competitor to earn more money doing the same work. As a result I got Thai baht, champagne, Burbon and even a battle axe silver necklace and a leaving card written in Viking Rune symbols. All very thoughtful and touching and I was genuinely moved... But no tears.

 Roll around 5 o'clock and more Champagne, Prosecco and beers were brought out with loads of bar snacks and nibbles. It was a really lovely gesture and one i let myself enjoy. There was a thought going through my head the whole time "You don't drink.... You dont eat sausage rolls" but everything in moderation, even moderation... right? at 6 o'clock we bailed on work and went to the pub . A client and long time friend of mine, Liz Pearson, was waiting at the bar with a bottle of Bolinger on ice. She had a vodka and coke for herself and just said "The bottles for you"... Such an insanely generous thing to do. Once again reminding me of the weird and wonderful places love, support and generosity have come from throughout this whole exit strategy. We talked work and the future and it left me feeling really positive about coming back to London and the film game one day.

 9pm and i'm half drunk and on my way home with all my new gifts and work stuff under my arms. Time to start packing. I had totally under estimated how much stuff I own. I live a pretty spartan life and dont own any furniture but its crazy how much space it all takes up once it comes down off the shelves and goes into boxes. By 2am I was about 80% done and crashed out. 

Waking up early I finished off the last of the packing and caught my flat mate Claire before she went out for the day. We said our goodbyes and Sam (currently away on tour) and Claire had bought me a little gift, a book called 'The Way of the Peaceful Warrior' which they had enscribed. I lied and said I hadnt read the book, which I had about 10 years previous so hopefully they are not following this (although in my defense I have re-read the copy they gave me and finished it already). 

Packing completed I went and collected the massively over priced hire car i would be using for my one-way trip up north. It was a weirdly surreal final trip through central London. Having not driven a car regularily in about 8 years, nevermind central London made it very weird. Cruising north bound over London bridge I just wanted to sack off the packing and drive around London and take in the sights and visit people. 

Public transport in London is the only sensible option but driving is just so liberating. Nevertheless i headed to the soho flat and parked up. Flat was empty. 

It took me just over an hour to carry everything from my flat on the third floor down and into the hire car. That was one solumn hour. Squeezing your life into bin bags then lugging it to the backseat of a car followed by covering it all in duvets to protect it. By the time i was done I had a right sweat on and the back of the car looked like it had a giant white tumour growing in it. 

 Final check of the flat... then seperated my keys, and left the flat keys on the kitchen table. Leaving me with one single key for my dad's York house. You know your responsibilites are at an all time low when you only own one key and the key ring is kinda looking at you like "mate, you need to grow up!". 

 One final photo of the exterior of my building for instagram (hedspan) and then got in the car and set off.

 No fan fair. 

 No help. 

 No one waving me off. 

 That made me a little sad. 

 It's my own fault. I hadn't asked for any help. I had made the leaving period so protracted that I guess everyone thought they had seen me enough and said their farewells. Which in truth 95% of people I expected to make the effort had. It was just in that moment of driving off the city had felt exactly as cold blooded as when I first arrived 14 years ago.

Shin splints vs bone bruising

4 weeks ago during a more heavy sparring session I threw a right kick which was very nicely checked with the end of my opponents knee.

I was wearing fairly heavy duty shin guards. But I felt it at the time and thought "doh, that's gonna swell up".

It did.

But now it's 4 weeks later and my shin is still giving me pain in that specific spot. It feels like there is a dent in my shin. There is  very minor redness at the exact spot but otherwise all looks good.

I have been running and training as usual. With no pain, With one exception, every time I throw a right kick against pads or a bag I get a shooting sharp pain from that exact spot.

I have done some pad work and sparred through the pain but the injury recovery seems to have plateau'd. 4 weeks on I really didn't expect this to be lingering.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what the injury could be?

Does it sound like shin splints?

Or just a deep bruise?

What is the recommended treatment? 

Can I still road run or should I be staying off it?

Any help would be massively appreciated as it is really effecting my training and with Thailand looming I really want to get on the road and run. 

But I'm being told shin splints, and that I'll just keep making it worse if I don't stay off it. Which is the hardest advice to take.

Sean/Sylvie - if your out there - any advise?

Home Gym

So I think I can honestly say I have created the most basic home gym. 

Pretty sure I'm gonna get splinters.

Shark Tank

Saturday was my last sparring class in London. Really going to miss these guys and the class. It's been such a positive influence on me and my sparring. Not only is it responsible for stopping me drinking on a friday night! but having a class of people from different martial arts backgrounds and very different body shapes has provided so much experience and taught me a lot about my own fighting style. What I feel comfortable throwing and who I feel comfortable matched up against. 

It's a surprisingly big transtition from hitting pads to hitting people and I have learnt my right leg kick which devostates pads has been really difficult to implement in class without paying the price of being punched in the face. 

I've also been especially lucky to have such tall guys in the class, being 6'3 myself it's been great to work clinch and range with guys I dont have a natural advantage over. A massive thank you goes to Darren and Phil (pictured) but also Nick and Mats who have all beaten the crap out of me over the last few months. 

Not forgetting Alex and his spin kicks of course, so damn fast. So many bruised hip bones. 

Anyway, Saturday went well. 5Km run in the morning then an hour of stretching and core work to increase mobility. Class started and we slogged it out for an hour. 

My nose was giving me a lot of grief. First round with Paul and I managed to get my own hand punched into my nose and heard it click. Eyes watered everywhere and I could feel that the week of healing had just been undone. 

Protecting my nose meant i was a lot more defensive than usual with a tight high guard, working from the outside. Whenever we ended up in clinch my nose would get pressed against shoulders or biceps so i tried to avoid that as well. Kick and move was the theme. Which was fine for the hour class.  

But.... At the end Paul suggested we do the 'Shark Tank' we had discussed on the run up to me breaking my nose. I couldnt back down so I agreed. I stood in the middle of the dojo and faced off against Paul. The idea being that I would fight Paul for 1 minute, then a beep would signify him stepping out and the next person stepping in. 

It would go Paul... 4 class mates and then paul again. I cannot stress how physically hard this was. Paul stressed to everyone before we started they had to pressure me, move forward and push the pace the entire minute they were in. This was beyond exhausting. My muscles were tired but could continue working, but the air in the room just felt so thick. It was like trying to breath in soup. I've not felt that feeling is so long. A physical inability to get enough air into the body to keep working. 

 Blow by Blow account:

Paul beat the crap out of me. Protecting my nose exposed me to body shots and a few blows to my guts just reduced my batteries to zero. To say it was 1 minute it felt like forever. I tried to pressure in with some faints and knees to grab clinch and rest. This meant eating uppercuts to the nose so i moved my face which meant bicep to the nose so out i went and just tried to run and avoid and save some energy for the next guys. 

The pressure just seemed to shut down my breathing and there was a massive impulse to bail out sighting my nose as reason to stop. 

But I didnt stop and eventually the minute was up. 

Next was Darren who came jumping in with flying knees. Really good to see him be so aggressive and pressure (especially with knee strikes). It caught me off guard as he is normally more methodical and outside. I managed to clinch up tall and get some rest where I could.

Phil, another tall fighter was next. All day I was extremely worried by his jab as he normally finds my face with extreme accuracy. I know he knows this, and given my broken nose I swear he intentionally avoided using this weapon (which I am massively grateful for). 

Lots of nice punch flurries from Phil ending with strong kicks saw the minute out, i checked as best as possible but i was running again. 

Dan was next, he's fairly knew to the sparring class and came straight for me with solid but simple punch combinations. You could tell there was force behind the shots cause even the jab off my guard felt solid. I went inside low to the body then up to the head with a left hook. 

Clocked him, think he saw stars as he backed out then sat out. This cut his minute short but didnt afford me any rest.

Alex was next, he's fast and has these karate back hand strikes that although not powerful distract like crazy and seem to shut down my combos. I tried to close distance and clinch to take a few breathes but he kept his distance well and chopped at my lead leg. 

Final Round - Paul again - he walked me down cut off my escapes and went to the body before ending with over hand strikes. I tried to block a few and catch my breath but the body strikes made it impossible. 

I decided offence was the only option as to earn myself some space. I went low and sprung in (didnt know at the time but I headbutted Paul, and it must of been hard cause i leapt in and i'm about 94Kg's). 

I think i landed a decent long right hand but Paul guided me off to one side, single arm lock held me in a hunched over postion. Paul worked the knees to my body and the uppercuts to my face. By this time he had really eased off on the power (thank Christ). It must have been very apparent I was on empty. He let me pull free and i spent the remainder of the round backing up and fainting the kicks in the hope it would slow his approach. 

When the final buzzer sounded I collapsed on the floor and used my gloves as a pillow. I know get the feeling we were supposed to do laps of this 6 round 'Shark Tank' but my fitness is so not there. I couldnt breath I couldnt move, i couldnt think. 5 minutes later I was fine, so i know it wasnt muscular. But boy do i need to work on my explosive fitness. 

Things I learnt. 

 1. When in real trouble I attack with a Chris Leben level of wild abandon. I'd rather go out on my shield KO'd than quit. I feel good about this. I was really worried this experience would make me feel like a quitter. 

2. I have more success when moving forward. 

 3. I dont use my teep or knees to nearly enough effect. This lack of clinch ability was a massive skill gap. 

4. I never ever want to fight Paul. 

 Thanks to all the guys who came down and who I have trained with over the last few months. It's been a brilliant experience that has fuelled my love for the sport. 

 The guys from left to right: Alex, Phil, Myself, Darren and Paul

Leaving Do..... a minor re-introduction to excessive alchohol consumption

So Saturday was my leaving do. Used Facebook for one last social hurrah and organised to meet as many friendly faces as possible at a perfect little cocktail bar on Old Street roundabout. 

The place is called 'Loves Company' and I can give it the massive seal of approval. Went out Saturday 5pm... got home Sunday 9am. The cocktails were amazing and the bar staff and security were just brilliant. 

Www.lovescompany.co.uk

Also a massive thank you to all my friends who made the effort to come down and say one last goodbye before i make my exit. Fortunately i drank too much to early to notice the time flying by, so I didnt end up getting overly emotional. Close call.

AMERICAN FRIENDS!!! - Bulk Ibuprofen and Neosporin anti-biotic cream

Of all the things to pack for my trip, 3 things recomended online have always stuck out as good advice: 

 1. Bulk Ubuprofen - constant knocks and swollen joints make it necessary - Extremely expensive in Thailand- take with. 

2. Neosporin Anti-biotic cream - Great for any shin cuts to speed recovery and avoid infection in the moist climate - Not available in Thailand - take with. 

3. Mosquito repellant - without deet

 Turns out the bug repellant is actually best to get locally in Thailand. Johnson and Johnson do a baby oil that smells good, is easy to apply, really works but unfortunately is not avialble outside of Thailand. 

This was recomended to me by a make-up artist who was out there shooting a Guns and Ammo calender with a harem of Glamour Models. Supposedly it kept the bugs off the girls even when they put more than their fair share of skin on show. 

 Makes me wonder what ingredient is in there every other nation spurred. Must be strong stuff. 

Http://www.hotshotscalendar.com

 But on that note.... I tried to order Neosporin and a big jar of 200mg Ibuprofen tablets from the states as we cant buy them over the counter here.

 Seemingly the English government is terrified of mass suicides by bulk pain pill. You'd think on this over populatred little island they would just let that one slide and enjoy the cull. 

 So this is a call out for help! Can any of the American readership possibly post me a large jar of Ibuprofen and a tube of Neosporin? I will happily pay you back plus a little finders fee. I just cant do it myself as none of the web shops will allow me. Thanks for any help offerred.

Broken Nose

Saturday sparring went relatively well. Made the time to go for a run and stretch like a mother before the class started. Unfortunately i still felt a little stiff and wasn't flowing like the previous week. 

I blame the explosive plyometric training we were doing mid-week in class. The wide stance squats were an absolute killer and my glutes and groin were miles from recovered. I tried stretching, linament oil and foam rolling but i still felt a little tight and off sorts. Leg and hip dexterity was low. 

 Class went well. But I wasn't particularily aggressive, felt better working at lower intensity and not going in for the kill. Quite the change from the previous week. I was first to disengage if we clinched or if we banged up against the gym wall. I was stopping combinations rather than finishing when i saw my opponent freeze and turtle up, dropping my hands turning and walking back to the centre of the room to re-set. 

 And in there lies the lesson. 

 I got paired with a guy who has only been to sparring class a couple times. He has a very lunging style and seems to find it difficult to control power because of this. 

He jumps in like a fencer with his jab stretched out, which is fine. But the momentum and the following hook or over hand tend to be a little wild. But thats fine, you just ramp up to match the intensity. If that jab felt a little too stiff, the resulting leg kick would have a little more sting in it. 

He landed some good shots and exited just as quickly as he had got in. Much like a point fighter. He had success like this given the room to pan around and dart in. But under pressure his guard lacked slips and there seemed to be no confidence to reach out and clinch to avoid the aggressor teeing off on him.

 Problem came once we had ramped up to the 80% power level. Before we started he asked me if we could chill and just go 50%. He said he would prefer to work lighter, focus more on movement and avoid injury.

 I was absolutly fine with that. He had good movement and it was a puzzle I wanted to solve. We start and after a couple of outside exchanges i find myself backed up into the glass wall that seperates the dojo and overlooks the swimming pool. 

When my back makes contact with the glass I start to drop my hands to re-set back to the middle of the room and the guy lunges in with the jab extended and his head and eyes down. 

The jab goes to the left of my body but the following overhand left comes steaming in and his wrist crunches down on the bridge of my nose. I hear the pop and crackle of my nose breaking and my eyesight blurs. I continue to step off the same way i was previously stepping, walk to the corner sit down next to my towel and catch the ensuing rush of blood. 

Pinching my nose with the towel seems to have settled my nose relatively straight. I wasn't sure if I had broken it but Paul took a look and said "you haven't seen it". 

 Needless to say i was extremely frustrated. Both at myself for dropping my guard when i thought we had disengaged and also at the situation.

 Knowing that i will most likely miss next weeks sparring class because of this is a real shitter. It's my last week and was going to be my goodbye session. Now it looks like i'll have to sit it out or have a 'no head shots' session. Which is a waste of time as I'll likely still bang my face in the clinch. 

Hopefully it's just the cartlidge and the healing is quick. Right now the swelling and bruising is not bad at all. Fingers crossed it feels solid by next week.

Sparring 09.08.14 - Thai shorts = aggression

Small class sparring on Saturday, meant we had the full dojo space to chase each other round. Darren (long hair), Mats (black gloves) and myself (tattoos) in attendance. Paul (coach) took the opportunity to referee/corner rather than spar with us so we just rotated in for 2 rounds, out for 1 and repeat. It was really good to get real time feedback as we worked but i still found it incredibly hard to get past Mats jab. Got the black eye today to prove it. He's a good counter fighter with slightly off beat timing and long reach. I ketp trying to box my way inside and it really didnt work. Next week, use kicks and faints and dont chase him unless there is an opening.

John Wayne Parr - email 05.08.14

1 of the many things I love about Muay Thai, everyone involved seems so passionate about the promotion and growth of the sport and the individual involved.

It really feels like the perfect merge of martial art and niche sport. No ego's. 

Everyone I have contacted has been so helpful and supportive in any way they can be. 

Thank you so much to Sean Fagan, Sylvie Von-Duuglas Ittu, Melissa Ray and now JWP. 

Hey mate. 

I did the same thing when I was 19yo. My first trip I left for 6 months with $1000 in my pocket. A year later I left for 12 months with $800. 

I was lucky I started fighting for Songchai not long after and was able to live off prize money. Back then though there was only about 3-4 farlung fighting on the circuit. 

If you live like a thai you will be fine. Eat rice, don't drink alcohol, stay away from westerner food. Sleep on the floor, no hot a water. I did it for five years mate without social media. Just a dream to one day be a champion. If you want it bad enough shouldn't be a drama. 

Good luck. 

John Wayne Parr

Shin Guards

After a slightly heavier sparring session my right shin was all bruised up at ankle height. More from kicking than checking.

Knowing I had pad drills etc for the next 2 days I took Sylvie Von Duuglas Ituu's advice and invested in some kids football shin guards to wear under my sparring shin guards.

The bruising isn't that bad at all but I thought why tough it out and delay recovery. Especially when the shin guards were £3.50 from sports direct.

Another nice addition to the ever growing kit bag.

They are about 10cm long with an elasticated Velcro strap to hold them in place. Great for extra protection of a localised area, and my larger shin guards will hold them in place securely. 

Check out Sylvie's page for more great advice and tips:

Http://8limbs.us

Making the decision to leave for Thailand.

In this post I would like to talk about what has led me to move to Thailand. I am going to do my absolute best to not be all “Woe is me” but I apologise now if this feels like I’m having a moan. 

It’s a slightly cathartic experience to vent but I’ll try and stay on task. So, in the spirit of being blunt, there are two reasons I’m writing this: 

1. To document why I’m going in case I need the reminder when things get difficult and I want to quit. I realise the grass is often greener and I need a pull no punches account of what I’m giving up. 

2. To offer a check list for other people to reference. Perhaps seeing my perspective on certain life goals and milestones given my age will allow other people a more self analytical view on their own lives and how they prioritise their own Muay Thai journey. 

Am I having a mid-life crisis? 

Yes, probably. 

But I think at this stage I’m on about number 3. Moved to the big city, done the tattoos, done the sports bikes. But to write it off as something so simple would probably be doing this decision a disservice. This feels much more inevitable than the other cliché’s I have embraced over the years. It doesn’t come with any fear. Just excitement. That was a huge moment when I realised that. It came straight after finishing my first full contact sparring class. Having never boxed a day in my life I joined an invite only full contact sparring class with some boxers who were in their last week training before fighting. I talked my way in and just asked the coach to keep an eye on me should I get out of my depth. Needless to say I got my arse handed to me and was left bloodied and exhausted. But I wasn’t seriously hurt. The world hadn’t ended and I had earned the respect and friendship of the guys I was sparring with. 

I say the world had not ended, we can all attest to that. But my world had definitely changed. I had realised what I was scared of. The mundane. The rat race. The cycle of safe choices. This sounds melodramatic but I found myself thinking back over the last few years and struggling to allocate which events had happened in which years. I realised how everything was a blur of 5 day working weeks followed by drunken debauchery. There were events that stood out but I couldn’t for the life of me work out which year they were from. That was the scary part, and fear is a great motivator. 

My realisation was I scared of looking back across my life and struggling to piece together a timeline of events I could be proud of from the beige mess of risk aversion and alcohol anaesthesia. I’m single, no kids, no mortgage and my career is in a good place. Not so good it’s a risk to loose, not so bad I can’t afford to shelve it and pick it up in the future should I choose to. 

A career is a funny thing for my generation. All my young life I was made to focus on chasing grades and experiences to secure better education with the goal of a good job with a strong starting salary to lead a good life. A life full of comforts afforded to the educated and gainfully employed. Only for me to choose an industry with zero relevant training where I started from a runner on minimum wage and worked my way up only for the global financial market to be working itself down. Like sprinting up an escalator I tried my best to reap the rewards I had spent so long training for but to no avail. 

The ‘good life’ was never really important enough to me for its pursuit to shape me and I have always struggled to put money first. It just doesn’t seem like it should be important. He who dies with most toys, definitely does not win. 

Turns out those rewards are a mirage anyway. When you see behind the curtain turns out there is nothing there except another curtain, another more decadent lifestyle, another set of expensive distractions to convince you the late nights, stress and bottled up anger is all worth it. Stepping back from the monthly pay checks and the current Amazon wish lists, I took a moment to consider my only really precious commodity, my time. Realisation soon came I was spending it stupidly. 

 London is the perfect place to stress this point. It offers such a diversity of people and beliefs. From the artists and performers living in converted warehouses prizing their freedom and anonymity over their belongings to the oil money men and trust fund kids whose bank balances overflow whilst their behaviour is morally bankrupt. Perhaps I am still trying to find my place on this sliding scale. 

 Muay Thai offers me a fresh start. It’s a step out and away from the quicksand of city living and offers me the challenges I want for myself. I don’t want the back injuries from office chairs, the respiratory problems from breathing air conditioning or the stomach ulcers and sleepless nights from being subservient to someone else’s deadlines. I want the bruised shins, the black eyes and the challenge of putting myself against someone on an equal footing and succeeding or failing with no excuses. There is honesty in that. Perhaps I romanticise it, but there is definitely a part of me that feels cheated by the financial collapse. Short sighted banking has put the squeeze on us all, and the life I had foreseen for myself does not feel like an option anymore. I have turned away from the desire for a big car, big house, small wife and now I want to know and experience the challenge.