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!
Malaysia Visa Run
November 23, 2008 by admin · 2 Comments
Yeah, it was that time again. I really don’t see the purpose of spending 12 hours in a van simply to cross over to a new country, fill out a couple forms, get a new stamp on my passport and re-enter Thailand for another 30,60,90 days (however long the new visa is valid for). The whole concept is frustrating but I ended up getting a new tourist visa so I guess I can’t complain. The 60+30 day visa that I got was worth the sacrifice.
I think I’ve finally figured out how these visa procedures work and if I time things correctly, I should be able to stay in Thailand for as long as I need. I was talking to one of the other guests here over lunch today and he said that he came here last year and decided he wanted to stay longer but they told him he couldn’t and that he had to leave – which was true.
However, the immigration officials didn’t mention the fact that “leaving” only entails crossing the border, paying a visit to a Thai consulate in a bordering country and re-entering Thailand. He ended up going back to Canada. Needless to say, when I told him about his options, he seemed pretty stoked and now he’ll possibly be staying even longer than he initially planned. Thailand really has that effect on people. Visiting Thailand – and southeast Asian in general – can truly be a life changing experience.
So as for Malaysia, the one night I spent in Penang wasn’t long enough to form a solid opinion of the place. The Penang residents for the most part spoke better English than the Thai’s. Of course, like I said, this is from only a days worth of observation. Perhaps they were able to speak English so well on account of dealing with some many foreigners as Penang is outfitted with all sorts of hotels and resorts that accommodate both the tourists and the thousands upon thousands of “visa runners” from Thailand like myself.
I’m trying to think of a way to make this all sound exciting but to be honest, it really wasn’t. I guess if you’re to take anything from this, it’s that there’s a lot of confusion regarding the visa regulations in Thailand.
Thailand recently limited the number of 30 day stamps that visitors are allowed to get to 3 within a 6 month period. However, they haven’t restricted the amount of back to back tourist visas and other types of visas that visitors are allowed to get. Worse case scenario is that you may have to switch up which bordering countries you visit in order to get them. And I suppose it’s also a good idea to occasionally get a new passport every now and then so they don’t see 8 pages of Thailand visa stamps in there and start to ask questions.
As For The Training
Last night we had another full moon “fight night” and BBQ here at Tiger Muay Thai. Once again, the fights were awesome. The best fight however was an MMA match between one of the Thai trainers and a BJJ practitioner straight out of Brazil. You’re not going to believe this but the Thai guy won – via an armbar from the mount! That’s right! The Thai submitted the Brazilian! It was amazing! A lot of exclamation marks I know but that’s how awesome it was!!!!
Within a few days I’ll have my write up complete along with the videos of all the fights.
Keep Checking Back!
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!
Jon Fitch Seminar
November 10, 2008 by admin · 7 Comments
There’s not many things that can get me out of bed at 9 in the morning – especially when I was up until 4am the previous “night” writing articles. However, today – the inspiration was there. Jon Fitch – who has been training here at Tiger Muay Thai for about 3 weeks – gave a free seminar today geared around wrestling for MMA. Being a Perdue wrestling standout and the # 2 rated welterweight in the entire world – Jon Fitch is certainly someone you want to get advice from when the opportunity presents itself.
With the seminar set to kick off at 9am, I set my alarm clock for 8:59am – as that gave me just enough time to roll out of bed basically sleepwalk about 40 feet to the cage area where the lesson was taking place. Staying on-site at the camp certainly has its advantages. Anyway, the seminar started off with Jon demonstrating a basic wrestling shot. I use the term “basic” loosely as while Jon Fitch made the technique seem so automatic and effortless, the majority of the spectators – when given the opportunity to practice it – looked like fishes out of water. What I mean by that that they seemed out of their element. It just goes to show how good these professionals really are. By the way Fitch was demonstrating the shots, you could tell that its something he’s been doing since childhood.
Throughout the seminar, Jon demonstrated about 5 techniques (all wrestling based) but what impressed me the most – other than his talent – was his teaching ability. He was explaining each and every detail by giving examples that people could relate too. Will, the owner of the camp, said that this was the best seminar they’ve ever had here – which is a major testament to Jon’s teaching ability as they have a lot of seminars taught by special guests. I was able to get a lot of video footage throughout the lesson but I was later informed that Jon requested that video clips not be taken as he – along with many other UFC fighters – have started a website called MMAInstructional.com where they demonstrate all sorts of techniques.
So, unfortunately, I won’t be uploading the video footage here. However, the seminar did finish off with an awesome question and answer session. I didn’t have a recorder or anything so these responses are based off my memory and they’re not word for word. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting..
Jon Fitch on His Loss to GSP
He basically said that a loss is disheartening but it’s something that you have to expect in this business as losing is inevitable. “Nobody retires undefeated, it’s just not going to happen” he said. He then went on and said that you have to view a loss as a learning experience. Instead of being pissed off that you lost, you have to go back and say “Ok, why did I lose? What did I do wrong?”. In the GSP fight, he said he learned a lot. He said he learned not to throw sloppy leg kicks, 1 punch combos and not to drop his hands. He also said that he’s in Thailand now to correct those mistakes. The fight with GSP basically gave him a better idea of what he has to work on and I’m sure he’ll become a better fighter because of it.
Jon Fitch on Supplements
“98% of supplements are garbage” he said. “They’re only out there to get your money”. He said you can get everything you need for “free” through food and that supplements are exactly that – to be supplemented to your existing diet if you’re not getting enough of something. He was then asked what 2 supplements he recommends and he responded by saying “whey protein & vitamins”.
Jon Fitch on Steroids
He seemed quite disgusted with it. “I don’t know how those guys can look at themselves in the mirror” he said in reference to fighters that use them. He said he doesn’t know how guys can think they’re badass and then turn around and stick a needle in their ass.
Jon Fitch on Tuna
He said that as he was growing up, he had to eat canned tuna 3-4 times a day because it was affordable and he needed the protein. He followed that statement up by jokingly saying that “ if I could take all the canned tuna in the world and get rid of it, I would”. I guess the guy doesn’t like tuna very much.
Jon Fitch on training with a Gi
He said he still trains with a Gi because he views it like “adding weights to a barbell”. He said that training with a Gi is less forgiving and it forces you to be more technical. Obviously he feels that training with a Gi will improve your no-Gi game.
Jon Fitch on Fight Training
He said that in the months leading up to a fight, it’s very fight specific. His training camp is geared around the style of his opponent. If he’s fighting a wrestler, he’ll get more wrestlers in to train with. If he’s fighting a BJJ specialist, then he’ll train more BJJ. He’s already a BJJ black belt and a wrestler so if there’s anything he needs to work on, it’s striking and I suppose that’s why he’s made this trip out to Thailand.
Jon Fitch on Coming Through the Ranks
As he was talking about customizing his training camp around the strengths of his opponent, the conversation sort of branched off and he started talking about the “old days” when he was coming up through the ranks. He said that back then, he’d show up and he wouldn’t know who he was fighting. The only time he’d have to evaluate his opponent was while he was warming up. He’d say to his friend “dude, what’s he doing over there? Can you see?” his friend would say “Yeah man, he’s doing some crane-karate shit”. “Alright” says Fitch, “I have to watch out for the flying crane kick”.
He also said that back then, he’d often get asked to fight multiple times in 1 night. He said that on one occasion, a promoter came up to him after his first fight and offered him 100 bucks to fight again. Fitch declined and then the promoter offered him 500 dollars to fight, but not to knock his opponent out. Fitch said that he agreed, but knocked the guy out so he only got the 100 dollars. On top of that, he broke his thumb in the process which cost $700/$7000 to fix. I didn’t quite hear the exact amount. I hope it wasn’t $7000 to fix a thumb. If that’s the case, than wow .. I hope Obama improves the health care system.
Wrapping It Up
At the end of the seminar, Jon Fitch stuck around and took photos with each of the attendees. There was about 60 people in total. He seemed like a nice guy for sure. I think he and his team mates are flying back to the states tomorrow morning..
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!
My New Home?
November 3, 2008 by admin · 15 Comments
From Canada to Thailand .. Permanently? .. I hope so!
While I’ve been watching movies, I’ve been multitasking and writing articles to submit to article directories. Since I’ve been here, I’ve been researching ways to earn money online and someone in the message boards turned me on to “article marketing”. To sum it up, you basically research highly searched, yet non-competitive keywords in Google, write an article on the topic emphasizing those keywords and submit it to the article directories. Somewhere within the article (usually at the bottom), you insert a link to a product you’re promoting. The goal is obviously to get your article listed on the first page in Google. If you can manage that, you can potentially get a lot of page views and as a result, you increase the likelihood that the reader will follow the link to whatever product you’re promoting and make a purchase – as you then earn a commission.
It doesn’t take much to live here in Thailand. The cost of living here is about 4 times less than what it is back in Canada. To put that in perspective, if you earn 50 dollars a day while living here, your lifestyle will be similar to the lifestyle you would have back home if you were earning 200 dollars a day. The reason I’m even mentioning this is because I know a lot of you guys are considering coming out to Thailand to train at some point. If you were to generate some sort of income while you’re here, you could then stay longer – because trust me, you’re not going to want to go home. I know I don’t!
Anyway, I’m still in Phuket and as you can see from the photo – it’s beautiful. I’m actually still living at Tiger Muay Thai and aside from the injury, things are going well. There’s no new crazy Thai girl stories since there really isn’t any girls around. Chalong – where the camp is located – is a very uneventful area. Me and my buddy went to “Chalong circle” the other night to get some food and we came across the “nightlife” area. It’s nothing but a few raggedy bars with a bunch of old, ugly ladies hollering at you when you walk by. Did I mention how old they are? It’s so bad that it’s almost laughable. For me though, that’s a good thing. There’s absolutely no temptation to go out and get involved with anything other than work and training.
And Speaking of my Training
Even though I injured my ankle, I’ve still been doing what I can. I obviously can’t kick so I’ve been doing some western boxing. The trainers have all been really good about working around my injury. However, today – for the first time in 2 weeks – I was able to throw a kick. I can only kick with my right leg (as my left foot is injured), but when you’re living on-site and you constantly see people kicking the pads – it’s just a frustrating reminder of what you can’t do! Needless to say, my workout today felt good.
However, one of my workouts last week didn’t feel so good. Not because I got hurt physically – although I do have quite the black eye – but rather, it’s the ego blow that hurt more than anything. I was paired off with the biggest guy at the camp for sparring. This guy is about 6’7 or so and weighs about 270lbs. It was just light sparring and nothing was taken overboard (luckily for me). I usually do well when sparring against people my own size but against this guy, I just couldn’t get by his reach. I basically ate jabs for 3 rounds. It certainly makes me appreciate fighters that are able to overcome their opponents reach advantage like Mike Zambidis and even Fedor Emelianenko in his last couple fights.
Speaking of professional fighters, Jon Fitch is here – but I’m sure I already mentioned that. Here’s a video of him doing his early morning padwork (I was most likely trying to sleep in the room to the right of the motorbike when this video was shot.)
As you can see from the video, the pad-holders here are incredible. I’ve worked with about 4 of them now and they’re all amazing. It certainly beats the group Muay Thai classes back at home where your pad-holders are your fellow students.
Anyway, now that I’ll be spending more time training and less time watching DVD’s now that my foot is getting better, hopefully I’ll have a lot more to write about.
Also, if you want to learn more about that internet marketing stuff that I’m trying (start of the entry), check out these two resources.
Fat Cat Blueprint
- To this day, the “fatcat” blueprint is considered to be the best guide on the Google Adsense program that was ever released. This is extremely detailed and it’s helped me out a lot. Highly recommended!
Warrior Forum
- This is the biggest internet marketing forum and it’s free. Any time you have a question about anything, just throw a post up in here and you’ll have an answer within minutes.
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!
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
October 28, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
They've fought before .. twice .. and both ended badly for Jackson
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been very successful thus far in his UFC career while Wanderlei Silva was recently on a downward spiral as he dropped three straight – one of which was in his UFC debut against Chuck Liddell. However, it looks as though Wanderlei Silva has returned to his old ways in his last fight as he racked up a brutal knockout victory against light heavyweight standout, Keith Jardine. Not only did Wanderlei Silva secure a knockout, but he did so in a fashion so devastating that the MMA community forums exploded with talks of the “rape choke”. If you missed it, Wanderlei Silva basically held Jardine down with a hand across the throat while he repeatedly landed shots to the face with his free fist.
On the other hand, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is fresh off a disheartening loss at the hands of now-champion, Forrest Griffin. Following the fight, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson lived up to his nickname as he literally went on a hit and run “rampage” in LA and as a result, he became a household name as the story was covered in some of the worlds most popular tabloid sites, programs and publications.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva – How they match up.
Having met on two other occasions with the same result, there’s a good chance that Wanderlei Silva is to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson what Anderson Silva is to Rich Franklin – unbeatable. While Quinton “Rampage” Jackson isn’t the same fighter today as he was on Halloween four years ago when he last squared off with Wanderlei Silva, fighting is just as much mental as it is physical and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s current mental state is certainly in question. Even had “Rampage” not “lost his marbles” so to speak and mistaken a public road in Orange County for the Indy 500, fighting someone who has brutally knocked you out – on multiple occasions – is a big mental hurdle to overcome on its own.
In terms of their skills sets and fighting style, both fighters are extremely aggressive so it should make for an exciting fight. While both are capable of fighting on the ground – especially Wanderlei Silva as he’s a black belt in BJJ – both Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva prefer to keep it standing and slug it out. Wanderlei Silva has the better Muay Thai as he’s already effectively utilized a Thai clinch on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in their previous encounters. However, being a product of Juanito Ibarra – a renowned boxing trainer – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson may be a more technical boxer.
If the unexpected happens and the fight does hit the ground, it will certainly be an advantage for Wanderlei Silva. However, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s only submission loss has come at the hands of Kazushi Sakuraba – who has been labelled by some as the “greatest grappler in all of mixed martial arts” – and that loss occurred more than 7 years ago. Since then, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has faced many other great grapplers – none of which have been successful with their submission attempts. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s ability to evade submissions is due to his seemingly in-human strength. Rampage – aka. “King of the Slam” – literally power bombed BJJ black belt, Ricardo Arona at a PRIDE event back on 2004 to escape a triangle attempt. All that being said, it’s a virtual certainty that this fight will be an all-out slugfest with the victor likely being awarded a generous bonus for “KO of the night”.
The biggest factor in this fight will be the mental state of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Having recently displayed instability with his antics as of late – and the fact that he’s facing a man who has knocked him out on two separate occasions – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will certainly have to come into this fight in the right frame of mind if he hopes to have any shot at beating the light heavyweight legend, Wanderlei Silva.
So before you pick a winner and place a bet, take everything into consideration – including the odds. In a sport where anything can happen, all you can do is trust your instinct. Everyone responds differently to defeat – as already mentioned – so it should be interesting to see whether or not Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is able to bounce back.
Fighter Stories – How They Started (Intro)
It seems to me like the other MMA-related sites and publications are all asking the same questions when they get interviews with the fighters. More often than not, the questions are limited to a fighters game planning, training routine and expectations in their upcoming fight. From the time a fighter books a fight until the time he steps into the ring/cage, he must field the exact same questions about 20-30 times. While the future is important, we at FightPassport.com are going to take a different approach.
How’s this for a concept?
Rather than ask the usual, repetitive questions regarding a future fight, we’re going to switch things up a bit. As a matter of fact, we’re not going to focus on the future at all, but rather – we at FightPassport.com are going to focus on the past. We’re going to focus on how the fighters got where they are today. Everyone has a story and when dealing with professional fighters, those stories seem like they’d be a lot more interesting than those of an accountant or dentist.
From what prompted them to partake in their first martial art class to how they felt prior to their first fight; from fighting on the streets to sleeping in cars while trying to make ends meet – we’ll be covering it all. Not only we will be covering the fighters who are currently at the top of the ranks, but we will also be profiling fighters who are currently struggling to make it – giving them some needed exposure and just telling their stories.
So, keep checking back. This should be interesting. And in the meantime, feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the concept..
Fight Night At Tiger Muay Thai
October 22, 2008 by admin · 7 Comments
So the other night I witnessed a couple of the best MMA fights I’ve ever seen, and no – I wasn’t tuned into UFC 89. The fights I watched were “smoker” fights and they were the entertainment portion of last night’s “full moon BBQ party” here at Tiger Muay Thai. “Smoker” fights are unsanctioned, inter-camp fights that give fighters a chance to gain experience without effecting their professional records. Usually these smoker fights resemble nothing more than hard sparring sessions but last night, the fighters came ready to brawl and came out swinging.
First up was a light, drunken, boxing-only sparring session between two of the Thai trainers. This fight was more about fun than competition as the fighters were throwing back chugs of beer in their corners between rounds. They would also randomly take swings at the referee in order to get a few laughs from the crowd. Following the boxing match was a Muay Thai fight in which the fighters were going about 70% as I think they were friends.
After that, it was time to move things over to the cage for a grappling match and two MMA fights. The cage is situated about 20 feet from my room so I decided to quickly run and get my camera. In the process of doing so, one of the fighters pulled off a flying armbar and within a matter of seconds, the match was over. I completely missed it as by the time I walked backed to the cage area, the crowd was laughing in disbelief and what they had just witnessed. Luckily, the match was being filmed by some of the other spectators so without further ado, here it is..
It was now time for the MMA fights. In the first fight, one of the guys was throwing out really powerful, technical kicks – one of which landed flush to the face of his opponent. He was tough though as he kept pushing forward. However, he eventually had his back taken and got choked out. Both fighters fought with a lot of heart and put on a great show. Here’s the fight..
Next up was the “fight of the night” as the best was clearly saved for last. These two guys stood toe to toe and swung for the fences. Even Jon Fitch – the special guest referee – was impressed. Had this fight taken place in the UFC, I’d imagine that Dana White – as well as about 17,000 people in attendance – would have given it a standing ovation. It was one of those fights where if you had never seen an MMA fight, you’d have a whole new respect for the sport (sort of like what the Griffin/Bonner fight did for the UFC). I know you want to see this one, so here it is ..
After the fights, the party continued as the beer was included in the cost of the BBQ/fight tickets. The scene got rowdy as the guys started holding each other under the beer tap. It eventually become a competition to see who could chug the longest. By the end of it, I think the time to beat was around 20 seconds. “Fitch! .. Fitch! .. Fitch!” .. The chants began and at first he was hesitant, saying “I need a water!”. He was eventually coaxed into it though and I believe he even broke the previous record.
When the beer ran out, everyone headed out to Patong Beach for a night on the town. I have to say, Patong isn’t what I remembered it to be as at this time last year, it seemed a lot busier. The girls last year also seemed to be a lot more attractive but perhaps that’s just a result of me spending the last 3 months in Pattaya – which I don’t think anywhere else in the world can compete in terms of women. I think all the recent turmoil in Thailand has had a very negative impact on the tourism here in Phuket as several anti-government protests have taken place at the local airport. I suppose the fact that Patong isn’t as exciting as it used to be is a good thing as I won’t have the temptation to go out and party. I can now not only save money, but also, I can focus 100% on my training (which is what I need right now).
And Speaking Of My Training
I was put through my first workout on Friday afternoon. To be honest, I really didn’t know what to expect. Tiger Muay Thai is a lot more foreigner-oriented than a lot of the other camps I’ve trained at. I’d estimate that there’s around 60-80 students here (which is a lot more than any other camp I’ve trained at) and it has somewhat of a summer camp feel. I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t get a lot of one-on-one attention from the trainers as I would roam the camp and oftentimes see some of the students getting “privates”.
“Privates” are basically personal training sessions with the Thai trainers and there’s an additional cost associated with these workouts. Since I saw so many students paying extra for these private sessions, I was worried that perhaps they weren’t getting enough attention from the trainers during their regular workouts.
Luckily, this isn’t the case at all. My first training session began with skill-evaluation in which I was asked to kick the heavy bag. I threw a couple kicks and as moved to the intermediate class. I find it to be a perfect fit as the class had about 10 students and servicing those 10 students was about 5 trainers. One of the trainers (Nazee) is the head trainer here (I believe) and he was working with me on the pads. I was actually told to train with “Nazee” before I even came here so I was familiar with the name and it looks as though I really lucked out since he’s an excellent trainer.
The workout itself was very complete. It began with skipping, stretches – the usual. Once we were all warmed up, we went through some techniques and cool elbow combinations – some of which ended with a flying elbow strike to the top of the head, like something you’d see in a Tony Ja movie. After technique, we moved on to sparring. I ended up doing 3 rounds (each round against a different opponent). After sparring I was exhausted and it was then time for pad-work with Nazee. The instruction was great but not only that, I didn’t feel like I was being rushed and I felt like they actually wanted me to get better. The worked was finished off with some more group technique instruction, some sit ups and some stretches.
I was impressed with the session but unfortunately, during the sparring, I sustained a mild sprain to my ankle and as a result, I’ve been limping around for the last couple days. Hopefully I’ll be good to go in a day or two as I don’t think it’s very serious. All in all though, I was impressed. So far so good. I still have quite a while here before I form my official review though so keep checking the entries.
On Another Note
It looks as though I’ll be doing a visa run tomorrow since I was given the wrong visa by the Thai embassy in home town. I’ll likely be going to Ranong so I’m sure it’ll be interesting.
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!
Tiger Muay Thai – Initial Impressions
October 17, 2008 by admin · 20 Comments
I was awoken today not by an alarm clock, but rather, by the sounds of shins smashing against the leather Thai pads, grunts of exertion and of course, some Jay Z pumping through the stereo speakers. When you’re here to train, that’s a whole lot more motivational than a cell phone or a radio. I walked out of my tiny room which is situated at the back of the camp and saw a group of about 20 or so guys – who were decked out in Koral, Tapout and pretty much every fight related clothing line you can think of – rolling on the mat. One guy pulled off the slickest Kimura and by seeing that, I was more motivated than ever (and all this while I was on my way to take a morning shower).
While I was supposed to arrive here at Tiger Muay Thai two days ago, I ended up arriving yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. I missed my flight that was scheduled on Monday due to a lost cell phone, an “ice-addicted” prostitute and a forgotten wake up call. Actually, perhaps I should elaborate a little on that. At around 2am on Monday morning my cell phone went missing. Perhaps it just fell out of my pocket or maybe I was pick-pocketed – I’m not really sure. My cell phone is my alarm clock and I had a taxi scheduled to pick my up at my apartment at 10am (which meant I had to wake up at around 9).
Here’s the kicker: the taxi driver was instructed to call my cell phone upon arrival. I asked the security personnel in the lobby of the apartment if they would be able to come to my room and wake me up. “No problem” he says. I even offer him a days salary for doing so. I then started to have my doubts that the task would be completed. I really didn’t want to miss my flight over this. It was too late to buy a new phone and I couldn’t call any of my friends as I had just lost their numbers. So fuck it I thought, this was Pattaya, I could just rent a girl to stay the night and by doing so, I’d also be renting an alarm clock via their cell phone.
I headed down to insomnia nightclub, spotted an attractive girl and without hesitation, I approached her with my request. I think she was a little put off by it. “No sex? I just have to wake you up at 9am and you pay me 1000 baht?” she asked. I confirmed and we headed back to my apartment via a motorbike that her friend was driving. When we arrived, she asked me if her friend could come up because they had to “talk”. I really didn’t understand why they had to go to my room to “talk” when they could just do so in the lobby of the apartment but whatever, we went up.
Once in my room, the girls friend asks “can I smoke something?” “Something” being the key word. I assumed she was talking about a cigarette so I said “alright”. Well, I’ve never seen a cigarette being smoked like this. I honestly don’t know much about drugs but I think they were both taking hits of “ice” – as they call it here. I just told them to get the fuck out so I could get some sleep. In a country where drug usage can carry a death sentence, I don’t see why I’d even risk my freedom by placing myself on situations like that. Once they left, I went back downstairs to confirm that the security guard would indeed still wake me up. “No problem” he says again. So I put my worries to rest (literally), and go to sleep. I think you know where this is going. I woke up the next day at 12pm and obviously missed my flight!
Anyway, back to the topic at hand – Tiger Muay Thai. Upon arrival, I was instantly greeted by a friendly staff and a bottle of cold water. I had a look around the place and I have to say, this is the biggest Muay Thai camp I’ve ever seen. There’s multiple rings, a cage, a traditional gym area, a restaurant, and it’s all broken down into different sections (beginner, intermediate and advanced). They have all sorts of bungalows situated around the camp ranging in price from 4000 baht to about 22,000 baht per month. Of course, being as cheap as I am, I’m in a 5000 baht a month one (and that’s only because the 4000 baht ones are currently full).
I still haven’t had a chance to train yet as I spent yesterday unsuccessfully trying to sort out an issue with my visa (you’ll be hearing more about it later as it looks as though I’ll be doing an entry from Cambodia or Penang). My first workout begins today at around 4pm. One thing I’ve noticed here at Tiger Muay Thai is that they seem like they’re really on top of things in terms of organization. They have a detailed training schedule and the right staff in place to accommodate the needs of the guests. The guest relations manager (Samai) has been going out of her way to help me fix the issue with my visa. They have a free weight area and a friendly conditioning coach that roams around helping guests with their form.
Tiger Muay Thai is situated in a very isolated environment and that has both its positives and negatives. The positives are fairly obvious as their aren’t many distractions. The negatives, well, I find that things aren’t as accessible as I’d like. The other night, at around 10pm, I was hungry and the tiger muay thai restaurant was closed. There were no taxi’s around, I don’t have a motorbike and the nearest 7-11 is about 3km away. It was my first night here and I wasn’t even sure exactly where the 7-11 was so rather than just walk around in the dark aimlessly, I ended up going to bed hungry. Needless to say, my fridge is currently stocked up with all sorts of snacks and drinks so I won’t have the same problem again. I suppose the solution to that is simply to rent a motorbike for about 100 dollars a month. Actually, if you’re staying in Chalong, renting a motorbike is a must. A second negative is the fact that I’m unable to access the wireless connection from my room. However, in all fairness, I’m staying in one of the new budget rooms (pink rooms at the end of the video tour below) and these are brand new. I imagine they will likely be getting a strong wireless connection to service these rooms later on. They actually just installed the cable TV today so I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.
Other than the internet connection and the accessibility of things, I’d have to say – so far so good. Of course, it’s a little premature to fully assess things as I haven’t even started my training yet. One cool thing though – I was just informed that Jon Fitch (the worlds number 2 ranked welterweight) arrived today and will be training for a month. I’ve already had the opportunity to train alongside Muay Thai great; Yodsanklai Fairtex – and now I have the opportunity to train alongside one of MMA’s elite as well.
Here’s a brief video tour I took of the facilities at Tiger Muay Thai. In a future entry, I’ll take some video tours of the rooms and bungalows that are available here (there’s a lot!).
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!
Muay Thai Workout
October 9, 2008 by admin · 13 Comments
So I decided to swtich things up a bit and in this entry of the “Muay Thai training journal”, I’ll talk about, yup .. you guessed it – Muay Thai training.” Perhaps you were hoping for more stories about crazy Thai chicks and ladyboys but don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have a lot more to talk about in my future entries as I apparently have a leader of some “firm” after me but more on that later. This entry is about the training..
What’s nice about coming out to Thailand to train is that other than these entries, I really have nothing else that I HAVE to do. I can focus entirely on my workouts without all the distractions I had back in Canada. No selling my life away via a job that I hate, no long commutes to the gym in the middle of winter – nothing at all. The only distractions I have here are the sexy Thai girls hollerin’ at me when I walk by, and that’s not entirely a bad distraction to have.
I’ve been trying to get 3 workouts in a day. I got sick a couple weeks ago and since then, I’ve had to cut one of my workouts out. Even now, I find myself caughing up flem and spitting it over the ropes in between rounds. Before I got sick, here’s how my typical day of training was lookin’..
Muay Thai Workout #1 – Swimming (Early Afternoon)
A major selling point for the condo I’m currently renting was the fact that it has a huge swimming pool. I decided to replace the long distance road work that the Thai’s do for swimming laps. Typical Muay Thai workouts consist of jogging upwards of 20km everyday. With me weighing about 91 KG’s at the moment, that sort of long distance running would be way too hard on my joints. Swimming is low impact and it provides me the opportunity to do functional, Muay Thai related movements such as knees and shadowboxing against the resistance of the water.
Muay Thai Workout #2 – Muay Thai Training (Late Afternoon)
This is when I’ve been going to Scorpion Gym and doing a typical Muay Thai workout. The late afternoon Muay Thai training consists of 3-5 rounds of skipping, 3-5 rounds on the heavy bag, about 10 minutes of stretching, 5 rounds of pad-work (3 rounds of Muay Thai and 2 rounds specifically for boxing). From there I’ll work some push-kicks on the heavy bag and to finish up, I try to get a few rounds of live sparring in. Whether or not I get to spar basically depends on who’s in the gym while I’m there and how busy the trainers are.
There’s 2 large rings at Scorpion. The ring on the left hand side is manned by Somphot (240 fights with 160 KO’s) and the right to the left is manned by “Whit”. Both trainers (who also happen to be brothers) offer something unique so lately, I’ve been rotating back and fourth between the two. Somphot is very technical. Rosalie (the gym owner) was telling me about how experienced, professional Muay Thai fighters will come in to train with Somphot and he breaks down and critisizes their technique to the point where they feel like the on-lookers in the gym will think they’re beginners. No matter how good you think you are, a few rounds of pad-work with Somphot will humble you pretty quick.
With that being said, while the first few rounds can be frusterating, at about the round 3 mark, you literally feel as though you’ve improved drastically within the last 6 minutes. Based on his instruction (if you can remember it all), you’ll kick the pads and when you hear the loud impact of your shin smashing against his leather fairtex pads and his praise of approval, “good man!” – something just clicks. Here is a quick video I took of Somphot working with one of the active fighters at Scorpion (I never caught his name) but apparently he’s currently a #2 ranked fighter at Ratchadamnoen stadium in Bangkok.
“Whit” on the other hand isn’t as technical and because he spends less time correcting your technique, he pushes a much quicker pace. While I’m doing pad-work with “Whit”, I usually find myself leaning over the ropes trying to catch my breath – oftentimes in the middle of the round.
Somphot for technique and Whit for conditioning. It’s always good to work with as many trainers as you can as each will offer something unique. Throughout my time here, I imagine I’ll be working with about 50 trainers so they way I see it – if each trainer can teach me even 1 new little trick/technique, I’ll become pretty well versed in the art – which is obviously the goal.
Muay Thai Workout #3 – Strength Work (Late Evening)
If the Thai’s spent even half as much time on weightlifting and strength-work as they did on long distance running, they’d be unstoppable. In my opinion, they run way too much for a sport that impliments 3 minute rounds. Long distance training can be beneficial for sports of high intensity, short duration bursts however, you also have to train specifically for explosive power if you want to have, well .. explosive power – which is pretty important in a sport where you’re trying to KO people.
It’s 12:19am right now and I’m about to head to the gym. That’s the nice thing about this place is that it’s a 24hr city. I also get the entire gym to myself since working out isn’t exactly a top nighttime priority for the people that come here. Rather, most people in Pattaya spend their evenings in the bars, drinking with the ladies. The lifestyle that most people fall into here isn’t exactly the healthiest. However, I’ve actually managed to stay away from the alcohol lately. If I go out, which I do simply out of boredom, my drink of choice is either water or orange juice.
There’s some really nice gyms here as well. California WoW gym is perhaps the nicest gym I’ve ever seen but the membership was a little too pricey. I just got a membership at Tony’s gym just off walking street. It’s got everything I need and they’re always playin’ good music in there. Check the photo..
For my workouts, I try to focus on the usual, compound / multi-joint / fight-functional exercises that I feel will translate well over to Muay Thai. I do a lot of plyometrics (clapping push ups etc.), maximum strength work (low reps, heavy weight) for those KO shots and of course, some endurance work as well (high reps, medium weight, quick tempo).
With the core being the “strength center”, I try to implement a lot of rotary movements to increase the power of my punches. I got most of the core exercises I use from the combat core manual.
I’m heading down to Phuket to live and train at Tiger Muay Thai in a few days and I’m pretty sure they have the giant tractor tires and sledgehammers there so I’ll that’ll make for some good workouts.
From my understanding, they also have a supplement shop and a strength and conditioning program so it’s nice to see that some of the camps here in Thailand realize that Muay Thai specific strength workouts can be more than just push ups, pull ups and sit ups.
Nutrition
Eating healthy is both cheap and easy here. When I went to Issan, the girl’s grandmother was there and at 98 years old, she seemed perfectly healthy and surprisingly energetic. I guess that’s what happens when you breathe only clean air and eat only natural, unprocessed food. You know, the “organic” stuff that we pay top dollar for in our home countries.
I found an awesome Thai resteraunt where I’ve been getting about 80% of my meals. A plate of chicken/rice and a bowl of soup on the side runs me 30 baht (about 97 cents). The same resteraunt also serves a chicken/rice/vegetable combo for the same price. Looks good, doesn’t it?
One thing I’d recommend to people who are coming here to train – bring your own supplements. They’re way more expensive here. So, since I haven’t splurged on a protein powder, I just throw back a few chocolate milks after my workouts at Tony’s gym. Chocolate milk has both the sugar and protein that your body needs to replenish depleted glycogen stores, trigger an insulin response and of course, start the muscular recovery process.
Next Entry
Since I’m leaving Pattaya in only a few short days, my next entry will profile some of the random, out of the ordinary scenes and photos that I’ve been able to capture throughout my time here. I’ll also give you an update on the situation with the girl I lent that money too. Things certainly took an interesting twist today..
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!
