Dan Fraser - Charn Chai Muay Thai (Fight Video)

Here is a highlight reel I put together for another Charn Chai International fighter, Dan Fraser. It was a great fight but his more experienced Thai opponent got the decision. Dan was far more aggressive and his boxing looked great, but his opponent knew how to score with powerful body kicks and knees during exchanges. These tactics put him ahead on the judges score card. However, Dan is preparing for a fight career in K1 so this performance bodes pretty well for his future.

Adventure riding - Taking the Honda off road (Video)

Took the day and rode my bike in a loop from Pai over 2 mountains through a national park and down single track 'dry season only' routes mapped out by other bikers.

Our GPS tracked us and by the end of the day we had ridden 123km and elevated 3200m.

It was exhausting and dangerous but a lot of fun. Only minor damage to myself and the bike. Burnt calf from the exhaust and a snapped bolt that holds the exhaust on.

Here is a GoPro video I threw together using one of the GoPro Studio edit templates... probably why it's a more appropriate length, and not another self indulgent ten minutes!

Ben Dewan - Charn Chai Muay Thai - (fight video)

Travelled down to Chiang Mai to film Ben fighting on a local show at the Kalare Night Bazaar.

Ben is one of the trainers/fighters at Charn Chai and as a favour I made a little souvenir video for him detailing his fight.

Below is a copy of that video:

Lantern Festival, Lai Krathong - Pai (Video)

I have now visited a couple waterfalls and a therapeutic hot springs. Still trying to make the most of the days when I am not training. Almost feels like i need to use up all the distractions so i can get  them behind me and just know which are my favourite relaxation spots.

Also managed to take a trip to Chiang Mai and buy a Honda CRF 250L. Have totally fallen in love with this bike. Must resist the urge to be a boy racer.

We have just celebrated Lai Krathong (lantern festival). In buddhism it is a time to reflect on regrets and negative energy from the previous year, then take the time to process and let them go. This is done in two ways, firstly a floating candle wreath can be lit and released to be washed away by the river. The second is to light a candle within a lantern and release it to float into the sky. It was a really beautiful act and one that all of Pai turned out for. Filling the river and the sky with beautifully ornate lights that dotted the sky and the river.

The local temple and its grounds were turned into a large festival environment. Somewhere halfway between a music festival and a New Years celebration... but with a distance Thai flavour i.e. Muay Thai fights... Video below (sorry it's a little long):

Training in Pai

My experiences of training in Pai so far.

The first week was so damn hard. 3 days into training was our rest day and as a result we all went out drinking. The next 2 days heavily featured a hangover plus what I can only assume was sickness due to the water (probably melted ice in drinks). I was bed ridden for 2 days just being sick and sweating. Eventually when I made it back to training I was so low on energy I spent the entire morning session feeling nauseous.
This absolutely ruined my confidence. After the few days of hard training before the rest day I was hoping to find the sessions a little more manageable. It was really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point.

Being ill wasn't helped by my roommates... the Ants nest and countless mosquitoes and flies.

Laying in bed ill was rough, to then notice Ants all over your keyboard and laptop screen was an annoying reminder that my bed and all my clothes were clearly full of ants. No wonder everything itches and you constantly find little bites everywhere.

But the bugs come with territory as do the snakes. Only seen 2 so far, first on a road run, just had to hop over a little snake, probably 50cm long, that was braving the grass at the side of the road. Freaked me out because I thought it was a stick as I approached then it moved. Second was a tad more dramatic. Riding my scooter up the little mountain roads toward a waterfall I came across a snake sunning itself on the track. As I approached and beeped it moved off into the grass. This beast must have been 2.5m long and thick, oh so thick. Curled up as it moved off the road it could cover the entire width of the track. I thought I was going to have to run over it. Fortunately it moved quick enough. No idea what type of snake it was, but it was muscular and large. Very different to the little fella I had met days before.

I guess it just comes with the territory. It's sometimes easy to forget when sat in Pai that we are surrounded on all sides by tropical jungle. The nay reminder being the storms, although infrequent, when it rains here it really really rains. The poncho and bush hat were wise investments.

Tips for anyone else considering a Thailand training camp:

We do so much skipping. It really screwed my calf muscles in the first week. Seemingly over stretching my Achilles tendon (very familiar to bare foot running shoes). Skip before you come, stretch a lot and if possible use deep heat or tiger balm on your tendons before exercising.

The altitude and heat sap your gas tank like you wouldn't believe, both physically and mentally. I was comfortable running 12km a day in England. 5km here is a real struggle. Its all hills and it so damn hot and the air just doesn't seem to be rich enough to recover. A deep breath doesn't feel worth as much as it used too (altitude?).

When I arrived at the camp I paid for 1 month and didn't make it clear I was thinking about being here a lot longer. I regret this. Although the trainers are lovely and attentive when you get their attention, there is clearly a divide between what they see as tourists passing through and the people worth investing in. The level of training is still excellent but any interest in injury recovery, treatment or specific personalised training is non existent. The fighters get it. But you have to make it clear thats your goal to benefit from that level of attention. I made the mistake of keeping my head down and now I struggle to get the help I need. The head trainer Bee has never said 2 words to me. Never enquired as to my level, my progress, what I want to achieve. Happy to take the money but has not done what every other coach I have worked with has done, had the short conversation when you first meet "How long have you done Muay Thai? Have you done any other martial arts? How comfortable with sparring are you? Any injuries or weak points I should know of?"

Makes you feel like a pay cheque when no one seems interested in your progress.

Pai in the Sky

Life in Pai is a slow burn.

So many travellers come through here for 2 or 3 nights as they move across the north of Thailand and they seem to miss the entire point of the place. Slow down.

Pai has realised two important financial factors:
1. You can charge western tourists crazy amounts for alcohol and they will stay pay it out of desperation to get drunk, get laid and turn this little corner of the world into yet another Ayia Napa.
2. Chinese and Japanese tourists will pay through the nose for comparative luxury and a well staged photo opportunity with appropriate drinks vendors and cute souvenirs.

That is Pai at a glance, 2 or 3 days here and you would be forgiven for only seeing this side of the beautiful remote town. During the day the town centre is essentially 5 roads in a square all lined with restaurants offering both western and thai food, the modern conveniences you would expect, pharmacies, 7/11's, hardware stores and travel agents. Once night hits seemingly the exact same locations are replaced with massage parlours, themed bars and tourist novelty shops. The place comes alive with a night market full of street food all cooked to order. By all accounts safer and more hygienic than most of the restaurants due to quick turn over of stock. In the short time I have been here I have seen so many people come through the gym experiencing Muay Thai for a day or 2 at a beginners level before being distracted by the night life and then moving on. This isn't helped by the cliche of some trainers not only loving to drink their body weight but also their pursuit of the exotic flower that is the white woman. I'm talking in stereotypes, but thats because they seem to be important here. People stay so briefly that they get boiled down and over simplified time and again which only further perpetuates the stereotypes.

So far the stereotypes I have witnessed to be true:

1. Muay Thai trainers drink lots, gamble lots and still make it to morning sessions.
2. To a thai man western women are very exotic and if successfully seduced provide great kudos.
3. Asian tourists are an absolute danger on the road.

 I have anecdotal proof of all three points. 1 and 2 in the same story. Halloween night, friday night. After training we all meet at the gym for drinks and a BBQ before heading into town. About 70% of people have made small effort with costume. Once the trainers start drinking they get inspired and break out the face paints and turn themselves into ghosts and ninja turtles using belly pads as shells. We head into town and drink until 5:30am. At this point trainer Pet is so drunk he passes out in the bar. 30mins later he wakes up, stumbles to his scooter. Passes out again folded over the bikes seat. Sleeps there for about 30mins before disappearing. He doesn't show up to morning training Saturday morning. Largely as it starts at 8am and he will have only been home about an hour by this point. The head trainer goes and wakes him and drags him to training. When scolded for not showing up on time his excuse is "I was so close to having sex with this white girl, but then a big english came and stole her". All was forgiven. Seemingly a very understandable situation that we are to be sympathetic too.

Point 3. I have hired a scooter twice. On 2 sundays here in Pai I have seen more scooter related injuries and truly awful road decisions than i would in 2 months in London. Stuff that just leaves you dumb struck. Every single time i have been out on the bike i have witnessed several Asian tourists riding on the wrong road side of the road. I have had to catch up with them and flag them to move over, even when they are coming at you head on they don't put 2 and 2 together. Just blindly against traffic carry on. About 20% of Asian tourists on scooters are also sporting bandages on their knees and chins, and if you pay close attention at junctions you often see a bike off to the side and someone treating a bleeding elbow or knee from a slow speed fall. It's amazing to see. Almost unbelievable.
When i mentioned this to the locals their response was very candid "oh yeah, 2 died yesterday... the police don't publicise it anymore. It happens so often it would be bad for tourism". Makes me very appreciative for the years of riding in central London and the west of England. It has prepared me well for the roads out here. Put simply they are unpredictable. Beautiful stunning views and long sweeping corners followed by pot holes, sand left on the road and the most worrisome; pick up trucks coming the other way in the centre of the road with no intention of pulling back to their side of the street.
They love the racing line.

So far looping around Pai has brought back my love for motorcycling. Something that had wained since my last crash and all the resulting hand surgeries. Pai is situated on flat land surrounded on all sides by jungle mountain regions. Pai is a little concrete development on an otherwise unspoilt vista. Riding round the fringes and up the mountains on all sides just makes me want to keep going. I have loved the riding here and it's making me very tempted to get a bike and ride south. Take a week and just have my own little 'Long Way Down'. Maybe ride down and fly back up. Even on a scooter it is glorious. Maybe I'll do my visa run by bike and take a trip into Burma or Laos like that.

But for right now I am happy here in Pai, watching the world go by. Getting to know some locals and finding my favourite spots to spend my down time. The tourists come and go, drinking all night and then moving on. Or arriving in mini buses at beauty spots, taking all manner of selfies without ever stopping to appreciate the place. Too busy trying to share it on instagram. Pai really offers both, stop, slow down and enjoy the thai speed of life or plough through, drink the drinks, take the pics and then hit the road. Either is good. There is no right way.

Adventures in Pai, Thailand - Video

Day off from training so hired a scooter and saw some sights.

Road to Pai and joining Charn Chai Muay Thai - Video

Second video documenting my travels through Thailand and my Muay Thai training. This video sees me arrive in Pai and find my feet at the Charn Chai Muay Thai gym.

From York to Chiang Mai - Video

Video thrown together using GoPro footage from my first couple days on the road.

Charn Chai Muay Thai (Pai)

Pai = Mosquito heaven. And at night... the crickets take over. They are so damn loud. Fortunately by the time my head hits the pillow i am too tired to care. But if you are a light sleeper ear plugs would be a must. I arrived at the gym during the evening training session yesterday. There were a hell of a lot of people there. It wasn't the most welcoming atmosphere, but then gym's never are. Everyone has resting bitch face cause they are tired and stare at the fresh meat because its just a new face in what is often a tightly knit community. Either way, found Kerri-Ann who I had chatted with via email and she sorted me a place to stay and explained the training regime. She told me that the next day would be much quieter as a lot of the trainers and students were heading into Chiang Mai the next day (friday) as they were fighting Saturday night. I'd seen the flyer when in Chiang Mai so already knew about the event. It did mean that todays training, my first session at Charn Chai, was missing the head coach Bee and all the killers. Which I gotta say I am very happy about. It was really nice to have my first session without that pressure. Find my feet a little and get over the unexpected without the fight level guys in the room/barn. Without a clock or any perception of time sometimes you need to survive that first training session so you know how much to give. I went a little easy on the pad rounds because i didn't know how many we were doing or what came next. Now I know I can do everything, it's about working harder.

Tips: Packing notes

Things I regret not packing: 

 Rash guard - it's so sweaty and i don't want to go shirtless. 

Hand wraps - The ones i bought are elasticated and I wrap too tight. 

 Things which have been amazingly useful: 

 Re-usable zip ties - dealing with my luggage these are amazing. 

Aerosol Bug repellant - spray yourself and it clears the room your in.

Chiang Mai - Temples

During my walk around the old city i took some snaps of the various temples. Seen one you have pretty much seen them all. I realise thats slightly rude. But its the same with Christianity. Walk the streets of York or London and you pass churches constantly without realising it and they rarely differ. Some are slightly more ornate, some are slightly larger. But they follow a theme. Granted its a very pretty theme.

And check out these lovely tourists who didn't fancy walking between the beautiful sights. Hilarious. Lazy buggers or just mad efficient?

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was a lot of fun but very brief. Managed to cram a lot in without getting sucked into the backpacker stuff I had always planned on avoiding. 

 I had booked 2 nights at place called 'Eco Resort' when I bought my flights. Nothing wrong with the place but it was over priced. Usual case of when you buy something Thai in England it costs you twice what it would if you just showed up. 

 First day I wondered the streets and bought some clean shorts, a T-shirt and some underwear. Managed to find a Thai boxing gym and joined in for the evening session. They were nice enough to lend me shorts and hand wraps so I didn't need to buy them before mine arrived. Session was good, only new experience was the one on one rounds with the main teacher. You do three rounds of pad work. This was extremely exhausting, all my prep has been endurance running. So all of sudden doing high intensity bursts was very taxing. Seemingly a different energy system. I would recover quickly but my power would fade so fast through the round. 

Best part of the experience is when the teacher shouts when you hit the pads, its this shout of "Whey!" followed by a smile and a chuckle. At the beginning of the round he would shout this when I threw my right high kick. It's so encouraging. Crosses the language barrier perfectly.

 Training session over I went back to the room got showered and changed and headed out to Thaepei Stadium to watch some Muay Thai fights. This stadium is so different to what I have experienced in the past in Bangkok (Lumpinee). This is basically a ring surrounded by bars and totally aimed at drinking tourists. The calibre of fighter very much reflected this. No one really seemed bothered about winning or losing their fight and they had a 'half-time show' where 5 blind folded 'fighters' got in the ring and had a round of blind folded boxing. They were like clowns. But people seemed to enjoy it.

 The fights that stood out as exceptions were the lady fight, 2 young boys (12), international fight (Poland vs Thailand) and the main event. The polish guy was much bigger than the thai... But notably older. If I had to guess I'd say 40. So fair play to him. But for all his efforts the thai guy was just playing with him, laughing and takin his time. But when the Polish guy got aggressive the Thai ramped it up, knocked him down with punches then ended it moments later with body kicks. Liver KO. Brutal.

 The main event featured a fighter from the gym I had trained at during the day. I was sat nearby and they recognised me as they approached the ring. A few bows and hand shakes later I was sat with them in his corner. I don't speak any thai so i wasn't helping. But it did allow me to get some good photos... and soaked during round breaks when they covered their fighter in ice cold water. He won his fight with knees to the body. It was a good fight, good way to end the evening.

 The next day my bag arrived from the airport so I checked out and jumped on a mini bus to Pai. 3 and half hours north into the mountains we went. The surroundings changed dramatically. Especially after the first hour. We started to climb and it was clear there was a hell of a lot more moisture in the air. As we climbed the plant life flourished and we went from arid city limits to full on jungle. If you have seen a vietnam war movie then you can picture what it's like. Muddy, slippy, dense with fog rolling in from the mountains and rain showers once or twice a day where the sky just falls. Sounds way worse than it is. It's not the Thailand of post card fame. But the temperature remains so much more bearable.

British Airways - You Suck

I had three flights yesterday. British Airways managed to lose my bag on the first flight from Manchester to London. So the bag never made it onto the flight to Bangkok, or the subsequent flight to Chiang Mai. The 45 minute flight from Manchester to London was delayed by 70mins and that seemed to mean the 3 hours arriving in Heathrow and leaving for Bangkok wasn't enough for them to find and move my bag from one plane to the other. This was less than graciously told to me as i stepped onto the 11 hour flight to Bangkok. I spent the next 4 hours sat in my seat stewing about it before eventually getting some sleep. The Thai customer service teams in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai have been great (especially in comparison to the rude UK team) and I have been told the best case is my bag will arrive at 21:00hrs tomorrow... or 21:00hrs the next day. I'm only planing on being in Chiang Mai for 2 days, if this bag doesn't arrive then I'll have to look at staying a little longer to wait for it. Guess I better go find some cheap stuff to do that doesn't require a change of clothes. After being so clinical with my packing having to buy new clothes and wash stuff is very frustrating. But in a more positive light... I'm now in Chiang Mai! Off to find breakfast and explore little.

Packing complete.... I leave tomorrow at 13:24.

I have just finished packing 90% of what i planned on taking into my back pack. I have had to cut down on the protein and the shaker cause it just took up too much space. 

But things i have added are: 

 Knee support x 2 (road running has taken its toll a little) 

Books (topics including Norse Mythology, Buddhism, Hindu and the fighters mind.) 

Mains power adaptor 

Surge protected extension lead 

GoPro Camera 

 Yes thats right, a GoPro camera. 

 As a leaving gift my brother decided to buy me a GoPro so I can film bits of my weird and wonderful adventure. It is an awesome little toy and a massively appreciated gift. 

 Now the pressure is on me to actually do something worth filming. 

 I downloaded the GoPro studio software and had a little play. It's incredibly basic but should do the job for basic media management. The camera comes with a little clip so you can attach it to the front of a backwards turned baseball cap. I'm going to embrace the little beauty and try and film little bits of my journey tomorrow so I can cut it down into a little flash frame of the 30hours on the road. Hopefully that will give me some media to play with and also show you guys where I am and what the place i'm staying in looks like. 

 But yeah toys aside its go time.

One way plane ticket and that hat and bag. Simple.

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.