Sitsongpeenong Gym Review
May 26, 2010 by admin · 7 Comments
So a few weeks ago, I was watching Muay Thai videos online and I came across a fight between Kem “Sitsongpeenong” and the most recent K1 Max champion; Giorgio Petrosyan. I noticed that Kem (formally known as Kem Fairtex) changed his last name (the gym he represents) so I decided to do a little Google search and find out what this “Sitsongpeenong” gym was all about.
I found their website and from the looks of things, it seemed like a cool place to train. So, since I was in Bangkok, I decided to stop in for a session and check the place out. The gym is located about half an hour or so from the center of the city but with transportation in Bangkok being so inexpensive, you can jump into a metered taxi and get there for around 200 baht or so (which is around 6 dollars).
When I arrived, I was immediately impressed with the facility. This is a major Muay Thai complex and you can tell that a lot of money has been put into the place. I was greeted at the front by the owner and after a brief introduction, he guided me up to the gym area which is on the second floor. The owner, by the way, is half-Thai and half Australian – which is great because he’s fluent in both languages so if you have any trouble finding the place, just pass the phone to him and let him give the taxi driver directions (that’s what I did anyway). It’s a relatively new gym (about 9 months old) so most people don’t know where it is.
Anyway, in the gym area, there’s 2 full sized “top king” rings, a matted area with bags and an area in the corner with some strength training equipment. Here’s a quick video tour that I took of the training area..
As you can see, it’s a nice facility (much like Tiger or Fairtex) but the business model at Sitsongpeenong isn’t based around catering to the average foreigner who’s looking for a “fitness holiday”. Rather, it seemed like their main priority is on producing fighters (most of which are young Thai’s). Out of everyone in the entire gym, only 1 guy who was living/training there was NOT booked for a fight (and even he has had 7 MMA fights under his belt back in the states).
And speaking of the fighters they’re producing, here’s some footage I got of an up and coming “superstar” (as I’ve been told) doing some clinch work in preparation for an upcoming fight at Lumpinee. He’s in the red shorts and as you can see by the older trainer; stick in hand, and whipping them when they slow their pace, they’re taking the fight seriously – most likely because they’re planning on laying down a big bet on him next week.
It seems as though those kids never get tired. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for myself. The gym was nice, the trainers were friendly and knowledgeable but my workout sucked. I have bad asthma to begin with and even in Phuket, I’m usually hovered over gasping for air at around the 2-3 minute mark of the first round but for some reason, the Bangkok air made it a lot worse then it normally is. Rather than lasting 2-3 minutes, I could only pull off 15-20 second intervals before I’d have to stop and regroup.
That’s the main reason why I don’t have more reviews of the Bangkok gyms on here. I hate training there because it worsens an already shitty condition that I have. That being said, nobody else seemed to be negatively effected by the air quality as they were all doing 4 minute rounds on the pads with only 30 second rest intervals. I know because they had a timer in between the two rings (you can see it in the videos).
I’m not a big fan of Bangkok in general but if I was to train at one of the gyms there, I would definitely station myself out of Sitsongpeenong for a while. If you compete back at home or want to compete here in Thailand and are looking for a training environment free of distractions, then Sitsongpeenong might be worth checking out.
However, as mentioned above, if you’re looking to relax, chill at the beach, pick up girls and have somewhat of a “training holiday”, then Sitsongpeenong most likely isn’t the best place. There’s not much to do in the area and as the owner himself said, you “just wouldn’t be happy there” (unless you’re there strictly for the training that is).
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Siam No 1 Review
May 12, 2010 by admin · 5 Comments
While in Chiang Mai, I checked out a couple of the gyms – Siam No 1 being one of them. Prior to arriving, I had high expectations for this gym because most of the trainers at my favorite camp (even my own trainer) were brought up at Siam. Not only that, but one of my buddies had been training there for a few months at the start of his trip (as he’s a student at the branch in Toronto) and he had nothing but good things to say about the place.
The gym is located in Sankampaeng – which I guess is an outskirt of Chiang Mai – and it takes about half an hour via motorbike to get there from the center of the city. I imagine it would have been tough to find had we not been with someone who had previously trained there.
When we arrived at the gym, I was surprised at how empty the place was. Siam No 1 is a pretty historical gym and I was under the impression that a lot champions have been brought up there (as indicated by the stack of trophies). But on this day, however, there was a couple trainers sitting ringside and a few little girls shadowboxing – and even they were just sort of playing around rather than undergoing a serious training session.
I wrapped my hands and did some skipping/shadowboxing to start things off and by the time I finished my warm up, a couple other people (guy from Holland and a girl from Germany) had returned from their afternoon run. So, in addition to myself and my two friends, there was only two other foreigners training there.
Before I go any further, when my friend was describing his experience here, he said everything was great (he even fought for the gym), but he said that during one of his pre-fight workouts, some random old guy just showed up and trained him. He saw him that one time and never again.
Well, apparently that “random old guy” was there again that day and he was the one who was training us. He told me he has been doing Muay Thai for 35 years, that he was a champion of the North and a Lumpinee champion as well. Whether that’s true or not, I’m not sure. You just never know in Thailand. I’ve had taxi drivers claim to be Lumpinee champions before (I’ve even had one guy prove it by showing me photos of himself in the ring with the belt via his cell phone).
Anyway, Lumpinee champion or not, this guy had a strange method of teaching. Sometimes you vibe with a trainer; sometimes you don’t. This time I didn’t. Actually, none of us did. He trained all 3 of us and we all had the same “is this guy serious?” expression on our faces. He would tell us to bob our heads up and down and throw knees without putting any sort of guard up – basically welcoming a counter-strike to the face.
That’s the downside to only spending a limited time at some of these gyms. I can hardly judge Siam No 1 as a whole based on a single pad-work session with a wacky trainer. Sure, I wasn’t impressed with the training I got that day, but apparently that trainer isn’t there on a regular basis. My friend Ian swears by Kru Pon and Kru Doe’s training (as does the guy who was training there from Germany).
This is one of those instances where I can’t recommend a gym (based on my personal experience) but I wouldn’t discourage you from going ether (based on recommendations by people that I trust). If you happen to be in Chiang Mai, then check it out and form your own opinion. Maybe YOU can let ME know how it went for you there – just don’t train with that old dude. Here’s a video tour that I took of the place..
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Fights, Thai Markets, Randomness
March 23, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
So once again, it’s been a while since my last entry. Since it’s been so long since I last made an update, there’s a lot to talk about. I’m still at the Patong Boxing Gym and I’m getting ready for a fight in a few weeks – which explains why I’m writing this on a Saturday night instead of being out at the clubs. I’ve cut out drinking (obviously) and I’ve made a lot of changes to my diet in an effort to improve my endurance.
After reading about alkaline/acidic balance and how the foods we consume effect our PH chemical balance, I checked out a food chart and discovered that pretty much everything I was eating had a very acidic effect. Apparently, when our blood pH is too acidic, “the hemoglobin in our blood deteriorates and the red blood cells can’t carry oxygen to the tissues”.
Randy Couture (who’s obviously in amazing shape) advocates consuming a diet rich in alkaline forming foods so I figured I’d give it a try. I hit the pharmacy and picked up some supplements (multi-vitamins, spirulina, beta-alanine) and I’ve been eating a lot of watermelon, lemons, pineapples and “leafy green” vegetables – all of which are supposed to be “alkaline forming”.
Anyway, I was able to get through my rounds on Thursday without stopping like I usually do so it must be helping. It’s still a little early to tell though because I was just working the mitts (boxing) and I wasn’t throwing kicks or knees. Still though, seems promising. Speaking of pad work, here’s a semi-recent video of my training..
While I’m posting videos, here are a few fights I recorded at the stadium the last time I went..
The guy with the pink armbands is Wut (a trainer at the gym here) and his opponent ended up dislocating his shoulder in the fight and had to stop. This next fight was a hard fought battle between “Tawatchai” and a tough opponent. “Tawatchai” ended up losing on points.
Although that’s it for the fights, I might as well post a few more videos seeing as how it has been over a month since my last entry. I came across a video on youtube that Mike Swick put together for his video blog and in it, him and Roger Huerta hit one of the markets here and get to witness the “circle of death” – which is basically crazy Thai dudes riding their motorbikes and cars on a questionably-constructed vertical circle of plywood. Here’s the video..
On a side note, I randomly saw Roger Huerta at the stadium one night and when the fights were over and everyone was clearing out, he actually approached myself and the guys I was with because he mistook us for his own group of friends. Oftentimes, when you meet athletes/actors/musicians or whatever, it can be sort of a let down but Roger seemed like he was a super nice guy. It was genuine too seeing as how we met him in a parking lot at the other end of the world. It wasn’t like he was trying to impress anyone but regardless, he couldn’t have been friendlier and he even took the time to snap a quick photo with one of my buddies.
Anyway, when I first saw that “circle of death” clip on Mike’s video, I was a little jealous that in 3 long trips here, I had never come across the show before. Well, the following week I randomly discovered a market behind the big mall here in Patong and sure enough, they had the same thing. Here are the videos..
Admittedly, the first time the car came speeding by the top, I was a little freaked out. I mean, the natural reaction most people have when they see a 2 ton car speeding towards them is to get the fuck out of the way and that’s pretty much what I attempted to do at first. As soon as I did, I said to my buddy “I guess I’m going to have to cut that part out of the video if I decide to post it on the site or else I’m going to look like a huge pussy” but whatever, I’m too lazy to go through the trouble of editing it out.
And speaking of seeing crazy stuff at the Thai markets, I came across a vendor at the weekend market in Phuket town selling some pretty hardcore weaponry. I see similar stands here in Patong but I always figured it was just tourists that bought the stuff as a novelty. However, the market in Phuket town attracts mainly Thai shoppers and when you think about it, for a vendor like that to stay in business, the Thai people must be buying the swords, the knives, the hardcore brass knuckles with spikes on the ends, the tasers and whatever other weapons of destruction that he’s selling. Here are a couple pictures..
Anyway, I’m still here and still loving it. However, I’m thinking it’s time for a change of scenery so in about a months time, I’ll most likely roll up to Bangkok to check out some gyms (Kaewsamrit, Keatkhamtorn, Sitsongpeenong – as well as some others with some near-impossible-to-pronounce names) and then eventually make my way up to Chiang Mai. So, that means I’ll have a lot more to post about and a lot more gyms to review. Stay tuned.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Initial Impressions of the Hard Training and Wild Nightlife
February 10, 2010 by admin · 8 Comments
Hollywood Disco: The Scene of the Story
Anyway, as I’m sure you know by now, I love it here and I rarely have anything to complain about but there is a downside. I see a lot of people come and a lot of people go. I’m pretty used to it by now but it definitely sucks when it comes time to say goodbye to some of the friends you made.
There’s been a lot of Canadians here at the camp lately and this past month, 4 of us have been hanging out a lot. There was these 2 guys named Matt and Troy from Ottawa (same city as I’m from) and another dude named Ian who’s from Toronto.
Ian is still here, and he plans on staying until he runs out of money because like myself, he doesn’t want to leave. However, as I’m writing this, Matt and Troy are most likely eating shitty airline food in silence while they’re looking at the pictures of broads and beaches that they’ve taken during the past month they’ve spent in paradise. It’s a depressing feeling. I know first hand.
Throughout their time here, Troy was documenting his experience on his facebook page. He’s relatively new to the sport of Muay Thai (with only around a year of training experience) and it was his first time in Thailand. With this place feeling like a completely different world to first time visitors, there was definitely a culture shock.
His entries were pretty long but they were also pretty funny so I’ll highlight certain parts that stuck out. It’s always interesting to see how people react to a place like this when they see it for the first time. Sort of reminds me if my own initial impressions of it when I first came here about 3 years ago.
Anyway, here’s what Troy had to say about his first days of training..
The training here is as ridiculous as the lore of it back home. Yesterday I woke up to go for my morning skip, and my trainer told me I wasn’t allowed to skip anymore for my warm up, and also that I have no choice but to start training twice a day. I have to jog instead (even in the afternoon when the heat and humidity is beyond anything you can possibly imagine). Also, the gym is located up in the mountain, so there’s ridiculously steep hills. I’m talking like an 80-90% incline.
My trainer’s name is impossible to pronounce correctly and hard to remember, but I think he said either Ming or Ning. Or maybe he said Noi, I don’t really know. He calls me Choy, and he sticks to me like flies to shit. I have a problem understanding him, but I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m a potato. My first day, for example, I was skipping and I thought I was warmed up enough so I stopped and started stretching, and he ran over and said: “Five more minutes Choy!!! HAHAHAHA” and kicked me in the ass. He corrects my stance every day, and stretches my legs I’m sure 400% beyond their flexibility.
I probably have at least 100 pounds on him, and the other day I hopped in the ring to spar with him and he beat the fucking shit out of me and thought it was hilarious, throwing his hands up in the middle of the round yelling: “ME MANNY PACQUIAO!!! ME MANNY PACQUIAO!!”….but he would show me what I was doing wrong, and he’s really trying to get me to relax, move and breathe properly when under pressure, which is exactly what I need to improve the most – especially according to how my fight went back home. Just when I feel I’m tired and ready to quit, he’ll tell me to go do 100 situps in the baking sun, or that we have to start jogging up that hill.
While that doesn’t sound appealing to most people. Troy was really enjoying it as indicated by what he wrote next..
I love the daily grind. Getting absolutely SOAKED in sweat and working harder than I’ve ever worked in my life at anything. Training here on a daily basis is almost as hard as my fight was, which is crazy when you think of it. I love the sounds of pads getting smashed as I walk down the hill from my room to the camp. I love the Thai guys yelling: “Ebbou!!” (Elbow) “KNEE!!” “WUN-CHOO” (One-Two) MO POWAH CHOY!!! (More power Troy), I love sitting down and stretching the butterfly while I wrap my hands and tape the blisters on my feet.
I love how fucking TOUGH the Thai guys are here. They fight all the time, and they hardly even train since they spend most of their time training us! They just start jogging about a week before their fights. They literally sleep next to the ring in a little mosquito net, and they use Thai pads for pillows! You know, the same Thai pads that they hold for us to punch and kick during the day.
Even in their down time, the trainers sit there and watch Muay Thai fights on the little TV at the gym. They live and breathe the sport and every time a good strike or especially a good combination gets through, they go crazy and yell: “OHHHWAAAAYYYYY!!!!!”
Thailand is more amazing, dirtier, and comforting than I ever could have hoped for! Tomorrow we go to Patong Stadium to watch our trainers fight. Chok Dee (good luck) to them.
Since I’m really behind on my entries, I just so happen to have some footage of the fights that he’s talking about ..
Anyway, back to Troy’s experience in Thailand. Like any first timer here, he racked up some interesting stories. Here is one of them…
Last Saturday was supposed to be the last time we partied hard here in Thailand, so I wanted to go out with a bang. You can take that metaphorically or literally, whatever you want, to me that night they were synonymous, and I was hot on the prowl for a Euro-chick. Or, in my drunken, perverted slobber: “I WANT SOME EUROPUSSY!!” However, fate had different plans for me. Or perhaps, in the spirit of Thailand and Buddhism, it was karma. Not only did I have the fucking WORST night out in the history of nights out, I got punched by a Thai hooker. I didn’t think it was funny at the time, but Bill, Ian and Matt obviously thought it was hilarious and have convinced me now that it was. Here’s a rough schematic of what led up to this debacle:
Two weekends previous to Saturday, I hooked up with a Thai chick named Daw [Da-oh] at a club called “Hollywood.” I had to do the walk of shame the next morning past all the trainers here at the camp as I brought her back down the mountain. Anyway, I figured she got the message when I didn’t bother to call, visit or even think of her since. I was so drunk that night that I hardly remember anything and I feel as though I didn’t even make the conscious decision to hook up with her myself. So, you can imagine my heart sinking when we walked into Hollywood Saturday (two weeks after that night), and after crushing a bottle of nail-polish-tasting vodka as well as several buckets of alcohol. When she approached me, she attempted to hold my hand and give me a kiss.
Well, with it being my last night out in Thailand, I decided to be honest and inform her of my intent of sloppy-grinding white chicks on the dance floor. She immediately started crying and her friends started consoling her. Being drunker than an Irishman on St. Patrick’s Day, I just stood there swaying to the beat of the music with a shit-eating grin on my face. I mean, I had only spent a few hours with this girl, and I hadn’t bothered to contact her at any point within the last 2 weeks. However, as the boys have correctly pointed out, this would make me an asshole anywhere in the world.
Anyway, I just left her and continued into the back room, ready to get my mack on. I saw Daw’s friends talking to each other and they spread out like wildfire. In Thailand, it’s like a role reversal when compared to our home countries and we (foreigners) get pursued the same way fit, big-titty blondes do back at home. It’s easy to feel like a pick up artist here because you can usually have anyone you want.
For instance, last weekend, Matt informed me in the morning that the night before I was standing behind a Thai girl grinding and exposing her bra/nipple in the middle of the dance-floor while she had a reach-around going. I’m pretty sure I would get thrown in jail for doing that back in Canada, but instead, some guy from Sweden just walked up and gave me a high-five. However, this time around, every Thai girl I tried to dance with, or even talk too, gave me the cold shoulder. I quickly figured out that Daw’s friends had informed every Thai girl in the club that I was a dick.
All hope wasn’t lost at this point though because my buddy Damian assured me that he’d be able to hook me up with some Australian chicks that he knew. Things we’re looking alright! So, I decided to grab another beer and tour around a bit, at which point, I ran into Bill and he was with the hottest Thai girl you could possibly imagine. We had “creeped” this girl in facebook earlier in the night and I knew it was her because she had the “scorpion boob” (a scorpion tattoo on her chest). I was stoked for him, so I left him alone and toured around some more.
Alright, here’s a brief intermission to the story. He claimed that I was with the “hottest Thai girl you could possibly imagine”, but what good is a claim like that unless it’s backed up with some pictures. Luckily, I just so happen to have some of the infamous “scorpion boob” girl. However, I regret to inform you that I wasn’t able to secure her that night. I know, fuck me, right?
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Anyway, Damian finally introduced me to the Australian chicks and they seemed nice. I was excited and I had a nice buzz going. However, that’s when shit started to turn sour. I suddenly found myself face-to-face with “Daw”, all by herself on a cleared out space on the dance floor. She looked pissed, so I asked her what was wrong. She was yelling broken English into my ear, but all I could hear was the DOOF-DOOF-DOOF of the subs in club Hollywood, and the only words I could make out were “Boom-boom”, which is what Thai people refer to sex as.
I just smiled and nodded, and told her that I didn’t understand a goddamn word she just said. She got soooo pissed! She cocked back her arm and tried to punch me in the jaw. Luckily, I was too tall and she hit me in the sternum instead, then just stormed off. I wasn’t even mad at first, which was surprising, and I just thought to myself “WTF, whatever”, and I toured around the bar again.
I ran into those Aussie chicks that Damien had introduced me too, tried to say hi, and they completely blew me off. Like, it was embarrassingly bad and super rude, I felt like a complete turd. At this point, I was pissed and I just wanted to get out of there. I left the club, got all the way down the street (Bangla Road) and then realized that I had left the key to my room with my buddy Matt (since I was wearing grappling shorts without any pockets).
So, I went back, and at the entrance to Hollywood there’s like a steep cat-walk. Anyway, some hot, white, big-breasted blonde American broad decided to go down it drunk in heels. She lost her balance and tried to stiff-arm me out of the way. I was so pissed off at that point, I just stood my ground and basically setup somewhat of a basketball pick (I weigh 235 pounds). As you can imagine, she bounced off me like a beach ball and basically did a flip, ate shit and landed face-down on the dirty, dirty concrete of Bangla road. I turned in her direction and said: “Thanks a lot, Bitch!!”, left her there in all her “glory”, and stormed up the catwalk.
Surprisingly, as I re-entered the club, all the Thai bouncers were laughing, patting me on the back and giving me the thumbs up. If I was in any other mood, it would have been awesome, but I really just wanted to get the fuck out of dodge. To clarify that I’m not a COMPLETE jerk, this girl did this in such a fashion that was obviously very arrogant and super-bitchy, like her shit didn’t stink. In other words, she got what was coming to her. She made it come down to either her or I eating shit, and I said fuck you and stuffed it right down her spoiled-rotten throat. I’m assuming that’s why the bouncers gave me props….either that or they enjoyed the view of her bare ass as she tried to pick herself off the ground.
Anyway, I got the key and grabbed a motorbike taxi home. However, right when I thought the night couldn’t get any worse, the taxi driver took me to the Muay Thai stadium instead of the gym. I was so fucking pissed and in a sarcastic tone, I said “Ya man, thanks, I really wanted to go to the fucking boxing stadium at 5 o’clock in the morning”. But they don’t understand anyway, so it didn’t matter and I didn’t get stabbed. The driver ended up charging me 300 baht for the ride though, which is insane because you can pretty much buy 3 weeks of gas here for that much money. I paid for it anyway and got the hell to bed.
So, while Troy’s night didn’t pan out exactly the way he wanted it too, at least he WE got a funny story out of it. Of course, seeing as how both him and his buddy Matt were living here for a full month, they’re both heading back to Canada right now with a bunch of other stories and experiences (that have happier endings) and most likely – a whole new outlook on things. Hopefully they’ll be back soon and as Troy put it best at the end of his journal ..
“Gentleman, let us always continue to crush pads, pussy and cheap fruit shakes”
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Scenes From Songkran
April 19, 2009 by admin · 14 Comments
Up until this past Monday, I had only heard of the day where everyone throws back booze and has a country-wide water fight. It sounded pretty wild and after experiencing it first hand, I have to admit – it was very, very fun!
I was woken up by the sounds of a Timberland beat blasting out of the two giant speakers they had set up here at the guesthouse where I’m staying. I obviously knew what Songkran was about but having just woke up and put on a fresh dry outfit, I was content to just watch the happenings from my balcony for a while.
Well, apparently one of the waitresses in the in the guesthouse restaurant saw me up there because within minutes of stepping outside my room, she ran up and hit me with a bucket of freezing cold water. From that point on, I obviously didn’t care about getting wet anymore so I just grabbed a water gun, a couple bottles of water and joined the action.
Throughout the day, I saw so many things that I would never see in Canada (and most places for that matter). For starters, along beach road I saw a few on duty Thai police officers drenched with water and covered with white powder. They had their guns wrapped up in plastic and of course, they were getting the worst of it because let’s be honest – who doesn’t want to throw a big bucket of cold water at an on-duty police officer and get away with it like they can during Songkran?
I also saw some things that were flat out reckless. Here in Thailand, most people drive motorbikes. During Songkran, a lot of people get really drunk – not unlike we do on December 31st. Drinking and driving is obviously a major problem (perhaps because the police officers are celebrating themselves and getting drenched and powdered instead of patrolling the streets) but not only that, there’s actually groups of people that stand at the side of the road and when a motorbike drives by, they’ll pour a bucket of water on them – and oftentimes they aim for the face.
I actually saw someone pour a bucket of water on a passing motorcyclist and the guy on the bike stopped, wiped his eyes, turned his motorbike around and actually ran over the guys foot. Obviously the guys reaction wasn’t justified – especially during a holiday where the tradition is to pour buckets of water on each other – but I can only imagine how annoying it must be to be driving around and regardless of where you go, you constantly have people tossing water in your eyes.
I actually got an email notification from a Thailand forum this morning and apparently the death toll for the week is at 373, the injury toll is at 4,332 and all the deaths and injuries are a result of 3,977 total road accidents. They actually call Songkran the “deadliest 7 days” (it’s only 1 day here in Phuket) so I’m assuming it’s like this every year.
But like I mentioned above, it’s extremely fun – just stay off the motorbikes and you’ll be alright. I took a few videos of the scene in the streets. Here they are..
I would have taken more but it seemed like every time I took out my camera – which I don’t think is waterproof – I had someone spraying me with a water gun.
As For The Training
My “home” gym right now is Patong boxing gym but I’ve been picking odd days and trying out some new ones. I went to the Suwit Muay Thai gym a couple days ago and I’ll have a review up on it soon. I’m also going to check out Sinbi and Rawai this week and post reviews for those as well..
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
The Drunk Idiot
April 6, 2009 by admin · 6 Comments
So in my last entry, I mentioned that there was a fight at the bar last weekend that I happened to catch on tape. I also mentioned that I was seen filming it and after things calmed down, I was approached by Thai security and believe it or not, they actually tried to confiscate my camera. Well that certainly wasn’t happening but to put them at ease, I told them that I would delete the footage, which I did.
Oftentimes at the gym, I’ll show one of the Thai trainers how to “press the record button” and then I’ll pass them the camera to record my padwork. Judging by how often they pass the camera back to me with the footage nowhere to be seen, it’s pretty safe to say that a lot of the Thai guys here aren’t very familiar with how digital cameras work.
In this case, that unfamiliarity turned out to be a good thing because if they were thinking, they would have asked for the memory card instead of simply requesting that the footage be erased. It took me about an hour or so of searching on Google but I ended up finding a program called Delete Fix Photo which allowed me to recover the deleted footage.
So as for the fight, the first thing I saw was a clearly intoxicated, overweight man wearing what resembled a raincoat sitting on the floor at the bar. Why he was wearing a jacket in Thailand I have no idea and why he was sitting on the floor, I’m not sure about that either but I’m assuming that he tipped over from his chair as a result of being so drunk.
At this point, there was a bit of a crowd starting to gather around and one of the Thai girls tried to help him up. When she did, his reaction was surprising to say the least. Rather than thanking her for her assistance, he remained in his seated position, said “FUCK OFF” and then reached over and struck the girl – who couldn’t have weighed more than 90lbs – with his left hand.
He then made it back up to his feet by his own accord and at this point, security was on the scene. Here’s some footage of the drunk idiot trying to attack some of the girls.
This back and fourth, pushing and shoving went on for quite a while. I’d say that it lasted for about 5-10 minutes – which is way too long. I worked at a nightclub back “home” and if someone were to physically attack one of the female bartenders, they would get thrown out immediately and in all honesty, they’d most likely have their head smacked into the door on the way out.
The Thai’s showed a surprising amount of patience with this guy. I knew what happened next was inevitable on account of how he was acting but I just thought that the Thai’s would get to it sooner. It wasn’t until the guy started swinging at the security guards that he finally got what he deserved.
Here’s the video..
Now I’m not normally one for violence and I think that 90 percent of the time it can be avoided but this is clearly an instance where it was both deserved and necessary. I just don’t understand what the guy was thinking. He’s a guest in the country, he’s alone, he’s fat, he’s old, he clearly can’t defend himself and yet he’s blatantly attacking pretty much everyone in sight, women included.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Padwork Progressions
January 13, 2009 by admin · 8 Comments
So there’s been a longer than usual delay between entries and I should probably explain why. I’ve been putting 8 new sites together (7 exercise sites and 1 new Muay Thai one) in an attempt to get some money rolling in so I can stop stressing about having to leave this country that I’ve fallen in love with.
I don’t plan on leaving until May (so I still have plenty of time) but I plan on coming right back here after the summer to pick up where I left off with my training. And speaking of my training, for the first time I’m going to post up some videos of my pad work.
I haven’t posted any videos thus far for a few reasons. The main reason was because I didn’t want some of the owners to see who I was because if they know I’ll be reviewing their camps, they’re more likely to treat me differently and go above and beyond to secure themselves a good review.
The benefit of posting my progress – which in my opinion, outweighs the negatives – is that it will serve as motivation to improve even more over the next few months. I’ll feel more accountable knowing that my readers will be critiquing my technique and progress so I’ll be obligated to take the training seriously.
Prior to coming here, my experience was very limited. I came here last year for a couple months but to be honest, I was only training about 4-5 times a week. I made a lot of improvements but about a week or so after I got back to Canada, I ended up messing up my back while performing bent over barbell rows at the gym. And yea, that actually links to one of the exercise sites I’m working on – just trying to get Google to index it..
In addition to coming here the first time, I had done some submission grappling (for about 4-5 months) but never any striking whatsoever. The extent of my striking experience was hitting one of those “wave master” punching bags in my basement. Anyway, here’s a video of myself training near the end of my first trip..
Not so bad, right? Well, due to the back injury, and about 8 months of no training any martial arts at all, here’s what my pad work looked like during one of my first sessions this year at Scorpion Gym.
So that’s the “before” video. As you can see, I’m completely awkward in my stance, I’m slow, my technique is terrible (especially the kicks) and I can’t even stay balanced. Believe it or not, at the time I actually thought I was awesome. You go through the motions and it actually feels good. Then you check yourself on video tape and it’s really an eye-opener.
So that video was filmed about five months ago. Since then, I’ve been training 6 days a week – with the exception of some time off due to a sprained ankle and pink eye, which sucked! I’ve trained at a lot of different gyms, but the three gyms that have helped me the most are Scorpion Gym, Tiger Muay Thai and most recently – where I’m at right now – Patong Boxing Gym. These two videos were shot last week ..and yes, I know – I need a tan!
Comparing the “midpoint” videos – which is what those are – to the first video, it shows a lot of improvement and I’m pretty happy with it. I’m still far from where I’d like to be though but I still have 4 full months of training to go. I really want to get those rapid-fire kicks down perfectly so lately, during every pad-work session, I take off my gloves and do nothing but work on my repetitive kicking for a full round.
And I’ve sure you’ve noticed that I haven’t had much lady-drama to talk about lately. That’s because when I was staying at Tiger Muay Thai, I didn’t really bother going out much since it’s so far away from the nightlife district and even now that I’m living in Patong, all I really do is focus on my work and training. I think now that I’ve completely cut out drinking, I’ll make even better improvements over the next four months.
I did however go out and party on new years eve – but who didn’t, right? The scene here was pretty crazy. I wanted to start by drinking a couple beers while getting a foot massage – which only costs about 6 bucks an hour here. When I got to the massage place, all the massage girls were having their own new years party with free food and drinks out for everyone.
They kept giving me belvedere mixed with orange juice – which I’m sure was bought by one of their rich, foreign boyfriends – and to be honest, the rest of the night is a bit of a blur. I did however check my camera the next morning and found this short video. It’s not overly exciting by any means but it’ll give you an idea as to how they celebrated new years here.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
New Everything
December 30, 2008 by admin · 13 Comments
New Gym, New Apartment, New Beach, New Year..
What I liked about it was the fact that I could show up anytime during operating hours and that the instructor I was paired up with was really technical – which is what I needed at the time since I was a beginner. Before I had found Patong Boxing Gym, I was training at an all-Thai gym in the hills called “SingPatong”.
While SingPatong had a lot of awesome fighters and a real Muay Thai atmosphere, the instructors I was working with half the time didn’t really know how to relate the techniques to a beginner such as myself. Now that I’m a little more advanced, I’ll probably head back to SingPatong for a few sessions but in the meantime, I’m training at a new “Patong Boxing Gym” that just opened up in the hills – about 5 minutes from where SingPatong is.
The owner still has her original gym which is located near the beach surrounded by “happy ending” massage parlours which she is using for her beginner students. For the more advanced students, she’s sending them up to the new camp which just opened about a month ago.
It’s actually a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be. There’s about 15 rooms onsite – some of which have a sick view of the ocean. At the moment, there’s actually more trainers than students and it’s all one-on-one training. I’ll be doing padwork with one trainer and in between rounds, I’ll have another trainer pouring water into my mouth and giving me a massage.
It’s also in a nice, quiet location with a great running path. Check it out ..
I moved into a new apartment which I ended up getting a great deal on. When I first got here and went looking around for rooms, everybody would jack up the price since I’m white and I guess they think foreigners don’t know any better. Well, since I’m staying here for so long, I’m the guy you’d see arguing with the cleaners about getting the jacked up foreigner rate on my laundry. So, getting charged 17,000 baht for a basic room didn’t fly with me either.
I ended up randomly meeting a friend at an internet café that I had met the year before and she walked around with me for a bit and found me a nice big room for 5000 baht a month. See, there really is a “Thai price” on things – which really pisses me off actually. I can only imagine the drama that would ensue if minorities in western societies were being charged 2-3 times the regular cost of things.
I'd take a photo if my actual apartment but it's messy and I'm too lazy to clean it right now..
The building – which is only a couple floors – is right near the boxing stadium and the location is perfect. There’s convenient stores, Thai food stands and fruit markets all over the place. When it’s time to go to training, I just run to the gym – which takes me about half an hour. It’s all uphill too so it’s just what I need since surprisingly, my cardio still sucks. You’d think that after training 6 days a week for 5 months straight, eating right and having only 1 beer in the last 3 months, my cardio would be amazing but apparently not. It’s pretty frustrating actually.
Anyway, on another note, Christmas just past and it was a little weird being away from home. I didn’t really do much. I just trained during the day and went for a walk at night to check out the scene. It was pretty wild actually. It was just a giant party with fireworks, plenty of alcohol and plenty of guys looking to get laid.
To be honest, Christmas for me has always been about family and church, not booze and prostitutes (lol), so I was on my best behaviour. For some reason, I figured it’d be bad karma or something if I was to give into temptation so I ended up just coming back to my room. I ended up taking a video of the scene though for you guys to see. The video quality sucks – I think it’s time for a new camera. As you can tell, I was feelin’ the girl by the dancing by the Bacardi sign, check it out..
Anyway guys, thanks for following along up to this point (still lots to go) and all the best in 2009.
Happy Holidays!
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Loy Krathong Festival
November 17, 2008 by admin · 2 Comments
There’s a holiday here in Thailand called Loy Krathong. I knew nothing of it until last year when I was walking down the main street in Patong and noticed a bunch of vendors set up under tends selling all kinds of awesome food. There were smoothie bars where you fill an empty cup with assorted fruit and pass it along to be blended for you; there were stands selling mini-kegs of local beer; there were people barbequing fish, chicken, beef and there was even massage areas set up in the middle of the street where people could just kick back, relax and watch the happenings while getting a foot rub.
The food, drinks and massages aside – the real fun happens down by the beach (or any body of water throughout Thailand). The significance of the holiday – which takes place when there’s a full moon in November – is to honour Buddha and the goddess of water – Phra Mae Klongkha. “Loy” means to float and “Krathong” means a raft. When the Thai people set their raft afloat, they oftentimes add clipped fingernails and hair to the raft as a symbol of letting go of the bad parts of oneself. However, that information is straight off of Wikipedia and I’ve never actually seen them do that.
The rafts are cool but what’s cooler is the hot air lanterns that everyone lights and then sets sail into the night sky. It’s really an awesome sight. I’m sure it’s pretty hard to picture based on just my description of it so check out this video.
As you can see by the random fires and people dodging fireworks from every which angle, you really have to be alert while you’re there. Another tradition of Loy Krathong is beauty pageants. Last year, there was actually a ladyboy pageant going on and this year it was women ..at least I think they were women. Ah, this is Thailand so who really knows.
Loy Krathong is also an awesome day to be a single guy in this country. It seems as though every hot Thai girl is looking for a date for the night. I almost want to compare it to Valentines day in other countries. Of course, on Loy Krathong, the guy doesn’t have to go all out and pay for fancy dinners and jewellery. 3 dollars for a meal at the festival, 3 dollars for a lantern and another 3 dollars or so for the raft and the girl is happy!
Training Update
I’m still living and training at Tiger Muay Thai. Now that it’s high season, there’s a lot more students coming in from all over the world and the classes have been getting busier and busier. The solution to that is a rush expansion and within a months time, the training area at the camp is going to almost double in size. I think they’re also hiring about 5 or so more trainers – one of which is ranked number 3 in the country.
In some of my upcoming entries, I’ll document the expansion and I’ll soon be doing my review on this camp. In my review – as I know a lot of you are curious – will be video tours of all the on-site and nearby accommodations.
Visa Time Again
Time flies when you’re having fun. Once again, my visa is set to expire and I have to head over to Malaysia on Wednesday. These “visa runs” are a major hassle but I guess that’s a sacrifice one has to make while living in this country. So, I guess my next entry will be live from Malaysia.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Myanmar Visa Run
October 24, 2008 by admin · 4 Comments
So, for the people that want to stay in Thailand long term, oftentimes they have to sacrifice a day of their lives in order to gain another twenty-nine. Yesterday I spent a combined 10 hours in a van and another half hour or so on a little boat to cross over the border of Burma. My initial visa that was issued to me from the Thai embassy in Ottawa, Canada was set to expire today so I was left with minimal options.
I had originally attempted to obtain a “non-immigrant type ED” visa as I had supplied all the necessary documentation. Turns out, I was given a single entry “type O” visa which was valid only for 3 months. I tried taking all the documentation to the immigration office here in order to get an extension but the immigration officer I was matched up with didn’t consider “Muay Thai” to be education.
His statement was ironic considering that dozens of guests at this very camp have “ED” visas for studying Muay Thai. However, the officer (without even looking through my documentation) simply said “Muay Thai? No! Cannot!”. He then walked to a nearby cabinet, pulled out a handful of paperwork from one of the drawers and handed it to me. After having the papers translated by a Thai friend, it turns out that the papers he handed me were completely irrelevant to the education visa I was applying for as they were for those wishing to work in Thailand.
Just bad luck I suppose as standing there and arguing with the immigration officer wouldn’t have done me any good. My solution was to leave Thailand and simply re-enter for a 1 month extension. Thailand allows you to do this 3 times within a 6 month period. However, next month when I leave Thailand I will likely be going to the Thai embassy in Malaysia to apply for the proper education visa. Even if I’m unable to get a “non-immigrant type ED”, I’ll just get a 60 day tourist visa which can then be extended from within Thailand for another 30 days – giving you 3 months in total. Through a combination of tourist visas and 30 day stamps, you can pretty much live in Thailand providing you time everything right (although clearly, I’m not visa expert so don’t quote me on that). If you’re thinking of coming to Thailand, the best source of visa information can be found at ThaiVisa.com
Anyway, when I finally arrived at the Thailand departure port, the only thing I could focus on was the awful smell. Most of the people in line were holding their shirts over their mouth and noses. Some Thai guy then took our passports, which at first made me a little paranoid. One of the fellow visa-runners had to re-assure me that it was a normal procedure. We then got onto a Thai-style boat and headed toward Burma. This was actually the highlight of the day as the scenery was pretty cool.
When we arrived in Myanmar (Burma), I didn’t really know what to expect. The extent of my Burma education was from the Seinfeld episode where Elain’s boss (Mr. Peterman) randomly goes there and she has to go see him to get his approval on some of the company expenses, at which point, Mr. Peterman questions her about the “Urban Sombrero” on the cover of his magazine. Yup, I certainly live a sheltered life in Canada.
As I’m writing this, I’m simultaneously watching Myanmar-related videos on Youtube. I’m sure most of you are more up to date on world issues and current events than I am so you likely already know about the fucked up problems that the villagers of Myanmar have to deal with. And just in case you didn’t already know about Myanmar’s corrupt military government, check out these videos..
From the time our boat docked to the time we were back on it and headed back to Thailand, not more than 15 minutes had elapsed. That was the extent of my stay in Myanmar and that was quite enough. One of the border “hustlers” – since they just post up and try to sell all kinds of stuff to the stamp-runners – called me “Fred Durst” from Limp Bizkit on account of how I was dressed and then started talking to me about his favourite rappers. It’s interesting to see how widespread American music really is. I wonder if Snoop Dogg knows about “Ali Baba” – his loyal fan at the Thai/Myanmar border?
“Ali Baba”(as he called himself) tried to sell me steroids for seven bucks, Viagra, cocaine and ketamines – all while I was walking back to the boat. He even offered to deliver it to me. It’s a good thing I declined as about 5 minutes after we set off, there was a check-point in which either Thai or Burmese soldiers came into the boat and searched us.
The process tuned out to be a success as I was let back into Thailand with a new – “admitted until Nov. 21st – stamp on my passport. At which point, I will have to go to the Thai embassy in either Cambodia or Malaysia and make another attempt at getting the proper, education visa that I was supposed to have gotten in Canada. Of course, this time I’ll actually double check it to ensure I got the right one before I leave. So all in all, the process is a bit of a hassle but hey, I got to add a new country to my list of travels and a story to tell.
Muay Thai Training Update
Having mildly sprained my ankle last Friday in sparring, I’ve been unable to train all week. I’ve just been limping around the camp. From my room ..to the restaurant ..to the internet area – just back and fourth. Limping around a Thai boxing camp while watching everyone else train isn’t actually what I call a good time. It’s not like I’m still in Pattaya either where I could certainly find entertaining – perhaps not as “constructive” – things to do. I’m in Chalong and there really isn’t much else here to do but train.
Anyway, this afternoon I jumped into the Muay Thai class and explained to the head instructor that I had injured my ankle and was unable to kick. He was pretty understanding and sent one of the other trainers to work straight boxing on the pads with me. Then, for the technique component of the workout, the same trainer would work the clinch with me while the other students worked on kicking technique & defences.
Basically, I was put through a custom workout based on my restricted mobility with a sprained ankle. If I couldn’t do something that was shown, a trainer would either adapt the technique so I’d be able to do it or just show me something completely different. I was pretty impressed actually. I wasn’t just left on my own to hit the bags.
As for Tiger Muay Thai itself, there’s a few negatives and so far, a lot of positives. I’m going to jump into one of the MMA classes either tomorrow or early next week to see how those are. I haven’t done any sort of grappling in about half a year so I’m sure I’ll be tapping a lot. Actually, with a sprained ankle, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to hold guard. I was watching Ray Elbe – the MMA instructor – on the mat today and he was pulling off all kinds of submissions. One was a slick choke from rubber guard, one was an inverted heel hook and another ..well, I’m not sure on this but it looked like he secured a choke and tap out with the sleeve of his shirt.
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
