A Potentially Fatal Attraction

While this is a Muay Thai Blog, I figure things will get pretty boring if all I write about in my entries is skipping and hitting the heavy bag. My vision with this is to not only to document the training, but also, the entire experience of coming to foreign countries to train. As a single 25 year old guy, part of that experience is of course – the ladies that you meet throughout the journey.

Which brings me to a girl named “Fon”. I met Fon about 10 days ago through a mutual friend and of the 10 days that I’ve known her, she’s probably stayed over at my apartment for 8 of those nights. At first, things were great. The thing about most Thai girls I’ve met is that they really take care of you.

She would bring me food, clean my room, fold my clothes, give me massages (she’s a masseuse) and even cut my nails. I’ve met a few girls in Canada that were similar, but I’d say that Fon tops the list in terms of how she takes care of a man.

She’s actually very beautiful too. Sort of like a Thai Barbie doll. She has blonde highlights, implants, tongue ring, belly ring and she’s incredibly fit (most girls here are). Here’s a photo of her and her friend at the salon (Fon is to the left in the black dress). Honestly, this photo really doesn’t do her justice. I find that most Thai girls aren’t very photogenic.

Anyway, about 5 days ago I was playing pool in a common area for the residents of the apartment and I was talking to one of the girls that works here (below is a nightclub). I told her that I was dealing with a girl and she almost immediately replied with “don’t say you love her”. That struck me as being somewhat of an odd comment and when I inquired as to why I shouldn’t say that (not that I’d say that anyway), she made the action of her throat being slit.

Literally about 15 minutes after the disturbing conversation, Fon sent me a text message and for the first time, after only knowing me for 5 days, she dropped the “L-bomb” (I love you). After what the girl at my apartment had just told me, I obviously didn’t return the affectionate words.

A couple days later, her best friend added me to msn and started asking me if “i love she” (poor English obviously) and when I tried to explain that I didn’t know Fon well enough to “love her” and that “love takes time to build” blah blah .. she really didn’t understand. After that conversion, she then tells Fon that I said I didn’t like her. Needless to say, that causes all sorts of drama.

Which Brings Us To Last Night

Since there’s no training on Sundays and I have nothing to do all day but sit around my room and well, type up these entries, I allow myself to go out on Saturday nights and have some fun. Due to how quick Fon was moving with things (her friend was even asking me about marrying her), I knew I had to slow things down a bit so when she asked me to go see her, I said that I just wanted some time alone.

Well, she didn’t take that very well. She literally started screaming “you come see me now!” on the phone. I declined. She then responded with “ok, I kill you now”. Obviously, the death threat didn’t sit well with me so I told her off, hung up, went to the bar and started talking to some new girls just to spite her. She called non-stop for about 2 hours straight so after about the fourth call, I turned the volume off, set it to vibrate and put my phone in my front pocket (I’m not going to lie, it felt kind of nice .. haha).

Curiosity eventually got the best of me and I ended up answering to see what she had to say. When I did, she just started rambling on about the most random things. “You want me die?” she asked. “Why you want me die?” she repeated. At this point, it became pretty clear that there’s something psychologically wrong with this girl. I never said, nor implied any such thing. She’s the psycho that threatened to kill me, not the other way around.

Based on the things she was saying, I was a little concerned that perhaps this girl could be suicidal. I also knew she had been drinking so I just tried to be as nice as I could and I reassured her that while tonight wouldn’t be a good time to meet up, I’d could see her tomorrow (today) to talk about things. I also told her that I had booked a room at the Mariott so she wouldn’t show up at my room later on (she had done so before).

While I was walking back to my room, we were sending texts back and fourth and she kept asking me where I was, and when I was going home. I made it to my apartment and all looked well. I was expecting her to be standing outside my building to make sure I didn’t have another girl with me or something but no, the coast was clear.

I walked up the stairs, unlocked the main door and entered the building. The second security measure is a password protected door so I went ahead and input my password. From there, I walked up another small flight of stairs and approached my apartment. While I was in the process of sticking in my key, the door was pulled open from the inside.

My heart rate shot up, my stomach dropped and I immediately jumped back a bit and got into a fighting stance with my right fist cocked back. She then peered her head around the corner. I immediately charged into the room and checked to make sure she didn’t have any sort of weapon in her hands. She didn’t.

I then did a quick search of the room and made sure the safe was still locked and that my laptop was still where it was stored. Nothing was gone. Actually, not only did she not rob me but.. she cleaned my room. But as nice of a gesture as that is, it doesn’t quite overshadow the death threat and the B & E (break & enter).

I told her straight up that I thought she was “ting tong” which translated from Thai to English, means she’s crazy. Her reaction to that was nothing more than a creepy laugh. I knew I really had to get this girl out of my room but at the same time, I wanted to stay on her good side because after all, if she was able to get into my room so easily, I’m sure she could do it again while I’m sleeping.

I told her I was hungry and that I wanted to go across the street to get some food. Prior to leaving my room, I grabbed her purse did a quick scan of my room to make sure she didn’t leave any of her belongings behind. She strongly objected to the fact that I was bringing all her stuff with me (she knew she wasn’t welcome back at this point) but too bad, I basically nudged her out the door, followed, and closed it a.s.a.p.

I really needed to know how she got into my room so while we were eating, I kept drilling her with questions. If this girl was able to pick locks, I’d basically have to change rooms, move to Bangkok, fly to Phuket – basically just get the hell out of here. She finally admitted that she didn’t pick the lock but rather, my neighbour let her into her room since she recognized her.

From my neighbours room, she basically went out onto the balcony (keep in mind she was pretty drunk) and climbed from her balcony onto mine. She then got into my room via my balcony door. I guess it was unlocked but in my defense, I really didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to be balcony jumping from a few stories up.

Here’s a couple photos. The first is of my balcony in relation to my neighbors and the second is of the distance from my balcony to the ground level concrete. If she had fell, she would have sustained some pretty serious injuries.

Right now it’s about 2am and I haven’t heard from her yet. I’m sure I’ll get a text message or a call within an hour or two though. I’ll give you guys an update on the situation in my next entry.

As for the Muay Thai, I’m still at it. I’ve been training at Scorpion gym lately and it’s been going really well. The owner (Rosalie) is cool. It’s on the baht bus route so it’s cheap to get there and the trainer I’m working with is pretty good about correcting my form. I’ll be here in Pattaya for another 10 days or so then I’ll be heading to Bangkok to check out Fairtex Bangplee, Kaewsamrit Gym and a few others.

Stay Tuned..

..and of course, if you have any tips on how to deal with crazy girls, feel free to leave a comment..

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!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell

Set to headline the UFC 88 card in Atlanta on September 6th, the Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans showdown is an interesting match-up to say the least. Both fighters have a lot on the line. Liddell, who’s coming off an impressive victory over Wanderlei Silva, is in a sense, fighting for his legacy. He’s turning 39 in December and one would think he’s nearing retirement (although you never know). After going 1-2 in his last 3 fights, he needs a win over Evans to get himself back into title contention.

However, as his near perfect 11-0-1 record indicates, getting a “win over Evans” is no easy task. Granted, Evans has never faced an opponent as tough as Liddell. If there’s anything we’ve seen that may potentially indicate the outcome of this fight, it’s the two Liddell vs. Ortiz fights. Liddell had no problems finishing off Ortiz in both fights and Rashad and Tito have nearly identical skill-sets (as seen when they went to a draw at UFC 73).

Here’s Where It Gets Interesting

Although Rashad and Tito “had” nearly identical skill-sets, Rashad Evans has been working with Kru Phil Nurse. Phil Nurse is a Muay Thai champion and he’s the man behind the much improved striking of Georges St. Pierre. Rashad has yet to fight in 2008 and being the gifted athlete that he is, he’s always improving. While on the Ultimate Fighter reality show, he was primarily a wrestler who could box a little bit. Since then, he’s been constantly improving and has now evolved into a mixed martial artist.

It’s also worth mentioning that Chuck Liddell’s latest defeat was at the hands of Keith Jardine – who is one of Rashad’s training partners. Both fight out of “Jackson’s Submission Fighting” and if they beat Liddell once, who’s to say that they can’t devise a game-plan to do it again. When you consider the fact that Liddell had a hard time defending Jardine’s Thai-style leg kicks and you take into account all the Thai boxing that Rashad’s been doing with Phil Nurse, it makes for an interesting match-up. And of course, you can’t forget the fact that Liddell was sidelined due to a severely torn hamstring, Rashad was in the gym training with some of the best fighters in the world.

So Who’s Going To Win?

I hate the sites that “pick the winners”, so I’m not going to just throw out a random guess. I honestly don’t know who’s going to win so I’m not going to pretend too. Chuck Liddell always seems to prove me wrong. When I pick him to win, he loses and when I pick him to lose, he wins.

I’d say the best thing for you to do is to consider the facts and of course, consider how the betting odds weigh against those facts. Make the appropriate bet based on that. And of course, as always, trust your gut instinct.

Fairtex Pattaya – “Be Inspired”

So, I finally made it over to the Fairtex camp here in Pattaya. I’ll be honest with you, I went to the gym today with the intention of basically picking the place apart based on what I had read in some of the other forums. It seems as though the general consensus amongst the Muay Thai community is that the Fairtex Pattaya gym is nothing more than a resort that just happens to offer some Muay Thai classes.

Upon entering the facility, you basically get treated like royalty. The doors get held open for you, the Thai staff all offer a traditional greeting and of course, the female staff are all quite attractive and dressed in flight attendant-like uniforms. No complains so far. Time to pay for training. “How much?” I asked. “800 baht please” she replied.

800 baht for training? I’m used to paying around 250 baht at Scorpion and Sityodtong. 800 baht by Western standards isn’t so bad (it’s only around 24 US dollars) but this is Thailand. For 800 baht I can get 2 nights in my hotel or 26 meals from the restaurant across the street. Well, I paid the fee anyway so I could do the review for the site.

Before I go any further, check out this video tour I took of the facilities. As you can see, they put a lot of money into this place. Also, look closely and see if you notice the guy who’s training in one of the back rings. More on that later though. As a toured the facility, and saw how nice it was, the daily cost for training seemed to become a lot more justified. This place looked amazing!

As I was checking the place out, I was greeted by a guy named “Ted”. He spoke perfect English (which was a nice change of pace) as he’s originally from Los Angeles. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that “Ted” is one of the nicest guys I’ve met since I’ve been here. After a quick meet and greet, I started my skipping and bag-work.

After about 20 minutes or so, I was called into the ring for pads. One thing I noticed immediately is that above the ring, there’s a fan that that blows moist air downwards. Since the rounds at Fairtex are 4 minutes, rather than the 3 minutes I’ve been doing at Sityodtong and Scorpion, the fan helped for sure. That extra minute makes a huge difference.

As for the quality of the pad-work, I have to say, the trainer was awesome. For everyone that posts in the forums claiming that the trainers at Fairtex Pattaya just run you through “tourist pad-work” without focusing on technique, that’s not what I experienced at all. He corrected my stance, he corrected my switch-kick technique and he was really good and holding the pads during the two rounds of pure boxing we did.

When my session started off, I was in the ring with two foreigners (one Japanese girl and another white dude). After the third round, the foreigners had finished so I was in the ring by myself. I then saw a Thai guy step into the ring out of the corner of my eye. I looked again and WOW – it was Yodsanklai!

For two full rounds, I was sharing the ring with Yodsanklai Fairtex (one of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world). I try explaining it to my friends who don’t know who Yod is by saying it’s “like shooting around with Micheal Jordan” or like “being stationed next to Tiger Woods at the driving range”.

It’s one thing to see Yod hitting the pads in a Youtube video but when you’re standing 10 feet away from him while he’s training, it’s just unbelievable. I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s like he’s some Muay Thai robot or something. He’s technique is just amazing. He kicks the pads and you just cringe at the thought of being on the receiving end of the shots.

One thing I noticed too is that in person, Yodsanklai is very built. His calves are massive which I’m sure makes the kicks even more devastating. I took a couple videos of his padwork, here’s one of them..

So overall, I had a really good experience today at Fairtex Pattaya. The facility is top notch, the atmosphere is very friendly, the trainers are great and you get to train alongside some of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world. The Fairtex catchphrase “be inspired” certainly rang true today as I was training 5-10 feet from Yodsanklai Fairtex himself.

The Big Question: Is It Worth The Money?

I’ll admit, I was pretty stoked after today’s training session. I got to witness Muay Thai at it’s highest level and it’s actually pretty “inspiring”. I’ve been telling all my buddies at home about the “Yodsanklai sighting” today to make them jealous (geez, I sound like some Muay Thai groupie!)

At 800 baht a session, it’s a little out of my price range since I plan in training every day and staying here in Thailand long term, but if money wasn’t an issue, I would absolutely love to train here again!

If you’re staying for a longer time or if finances are a concern, you can easily find quality training for under 300 baht a workout and you can find a quality room for about 400-600 baht per night. Even then, I still recommend at least a visit or two to Fairtex Pattaya simply for the experience.

By the same token, if money isn’t an issue and you’re staying at the Fairtex Pattaya resort, I also recommend that you train at some of the gyms off the beaten’ track like Sityodtong for a less luxurious, but an “authentic” Muay Thai experience. Overall though, I’d absolutely recommend training at Fairtex.

On Another Note..

I finished off my last entry right before heading out for a night on the town. As predicted, it was a wild night and wow, the things you see in Thailand! I was eating at a Thai food stall when a big fight broke out. By the time I saw what was going on, stood up and got my camera out, the majority of the fight was over. However, I did manage to get at least a little bit of the end on video. I’m pretty sure that the “girl” being attacked is actually a ladyboy.

So, that’s it for now. Either tomorrow or sometime next week I’ll be visiting a camp here in Pattaya that offers Muay Thai, Western Boxing, Sambo, BJJ and MMA. In my next entry, I’ll also share some inside info. I got today on a potential fight between Yodsanklai and Baukaw.

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!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE