Friday, January 30, 2009

Thought I was going to get arrested today

This mornings training-
4km run
1 round shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bag
4 rounds thai pads
5 rounds muay thai sparring with shin pads
50 knees on heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situps (max)

Training was good today, I actually got some hits on the thai I was sparring. I love that their "week off sparring" involves me sparring twice, anyway.

I went out for my warm up run alone this morning because Bangkok is starting to get to me a little and I wanted some peace and quiet. Just as I started a guy came running after me. He was dressed in a green uniform with a red arm band and looked like military police. I was sure I was going to be arrested for some law I didn't know about, or have to give him some money. He handed me a slip of paper with a phone number on it and told me to call. I asked him whos number it was and he answered in thai which I didn't understand. So I thanked him and finished my jog and headed back to the gym.

After training I called the number and it was some girl who lives at the hotel I run past every day. She told me some details about herself (black hair, brown eyes) so I still don't know who she is. Anyway, I told her I will meet her for coffee but it's really very funny for me because this kind of thing never happens. I hope it's not a ladyboy..

This Afternoons Training -
4km jog
2 rounds shadow boxing
3 rounds thai pads
1 round bag work
3 rounds thai pads
5 rounds technique work
50 elbows on heavy bag
50 teep kicks on heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situps (max)

Good training but the lump on my left shin still hasn't gone down and I still can't kick with it. It hurts when I walk. Maybe I'll ask Takhoon about it tomorrow. Also I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to eat lunch from getting punched there a couple of days ago. I don't know why, it's almost back to normal now. Bring on tomorrow and then my day off...sabai sabai (relax)

Thursday, January 29, 2009

I Hate Running

This mornings training-
6km jog
1 round shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bag
4 rounds thai pads
3 round heavy bag
50 knees heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situps (max)

Well I decided to increase my warm up to 6kms today but the heat makes it hard to run. You sweat a bucket load and it's also harder to breathe. I was speaking with one of the thais here and he finds the same thing. I hate to think about trying to train in Summer but have no choice.

This Afternoons Training-
4km jog
6 rounds thai pads
3 rounds bag work
4 rounds technique work
100 teep kicks on heavy bag
100 knees on heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situps (max)

Kicks are getting a lot better, someone even swore when they heard the noise it made. Im exhausted tonight.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Jeb mak

This mornings training-
4km run
1 round shadow boxing
3 rounds thai pads
2 rounds technique work
2 rounds sparring muay thai

Actually I planned to train for longer today but during the sparring I got a kick in the exact same spot as my last injury on my shin, from which I haven't recovered. So that was it for me. Training this afternoon? Maybe.... or getting drunk... which I haven't done for a long long time.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I Always Wanted To Look Like A Panda

This mornings training-
None because I felt like an 80 year old man

This Afternoons Training-
4km jog
1 round shadow boxing
3 rounds boxing sparring
3 rounds thai pads

I was feeling good about this afternoons training despite the girl I'm seeing confusing the hell out of me beforehand. I had to spar a german guy who is a lot taller than me. I told him twice to go easy as my jaw still aches from the left hook Paul gave me last week, and I want to try and feel comfortable dodging punches. He agreed this was ok.

In the first round I tagged him a couple of times in the face, nothing hard, but in typical German "Im better than everyone" style, he started bringing it on hard, which I wasn't ready for. So now I have two black eyes, and my jaw aches because he decided to forgoe technique as a trade off for getting some hard shots on my jaw.

We were supposed to do four rounds but after three I had had enough. I'm sick of getting punched in the face. I told this to Takhoon and his response (as always) was mai pen rai..no worries.

@#()%$

The Thai attitude is very easy going but I would have appreciated some advice about boxing technique rather than mai pen rai.

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day, although I really want to quit. I'm going to take the rest of the week off sparring but continue to train, to give my jaw a chance to get back to normal. Now it hurts to eat and talk. Probably better for my room mates though.

Also, Dad had another stroke (he had one just before I left to come here) and I'm really worried about him. I may have to go home soon anyway but I hope everything works out ok

Monday, January 26, 2009

Week Three..

This mornings training-
4km jog
2 rounds shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bag
4 rounds thai pads
5 rounds technique blocking & countering knees, punches, kicks, teep kicks
2 sets 50 knees on the heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situp (max)

Pretty easy training session this morning and my body really appreciated it. I'm noticing a real difference when I kick now but I want to get my punches a bit faster.

This afternoons training-
4km jog
4 rounds thai pads
1 round heavy bag
3 rounds thai pads
4 rounds technique, knees & elbows
2 sets 50 knees on the heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situps (max)

I don't know why training was so hard today, maybe because of the heat. Now my eye is not so black it's really starting to hurt, however I have some time before I have to fight with Paul again. The trainers are happy with my progress so I'm happy, although it's taking a while to get as fit as I want to be. Looking forward to a day off already.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Wind down

Saturday Afternoons Training -
4km jog
1 round shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bags
4 rounds thai pads
3 rounds focus pads
3 rounds heavy bag
3 sets shoulder presses (max)
3 sets situps (max)

Pretty standard day at training, and I'm happy to have a break from sparring. Afterwards we went out to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, then onto Titanium for some more drinks. Titanium is a strange place, the dj was playing awful club music but they had an awesome live band who covered everything from thai music to white stripes and weezer. I'd definately recommend checking it out.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Pain? Mai kao jai

This mornings training-
4km jog
3 rounds clinch/grapple/knees sparring
4 rounds muay thai sparring with shin pads
3 rounds focus pads
3 rounds technique
3 sets shoulder presses (max)
3 sets situps (max)

The muay thai sparring was a surprise this morning as I still had a lump on my shin from yesterday but as usual, mai pen rai (no worries). I was disappointed I didn't check more kicks, instead I just caught them and returned it straight back, and my neck hurts from grappling. It was fun though, more fun then getting punched in the face like I have been this last week.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Botti Sorng (Lesson Two) - Left Cross To The Jaw = Pain

This mornings training -
4km jog
1 round shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on bag
3 round thai pads
2 rounds boxing sparring
2.1 rounds technique work (see below)

So I had to spar Paul again today. You will remember that he is the English guy who turned my left eye socket purple (still purple) with 3 or 4 overhand punches. Today was a lot better but there's still room for improvement. Despite not sleeping much because of the fight night last night I was still amped for this and looking to improve on my last performance. In the first round I was attacking 85% of the time but...he was smart and just waited for me to punch myself out. But I had him on the ropes for most of the round and and landed a good uppercut to his jaw, as well as some good body shots.

Come round two and I was exhausted, and it showed. My jabs slowed and I paid for it when he waited for me to jab then hit me with a right punch which I blocked and a left hook which I didn't. It was a fantastic punch and connected with my jaw. I remember wishing I had said yes to the offer of using headgear. But we saw out the rest of the round after which I retired from due to being so damn tired. After this one of the trainers took over and they went for one more round. I liked that Paul waited until I'd done 3 rounds on the thai pads before he sparred me. Maybe we can go at it again tomorrow but I'll see if I can walk properly first. The people watching it really enjoyed it and were surprised at how hard we were going at it. I learned a lot, and managed to dodge all his overhand punches so I'm happy. Sparring is great fun, despite getting punched in the face.

After that I did two rounds of technique with german guy, countering teep kicks (push kicks). For the third round we swapped partners and I went with some new guy who is big enough to have a part time job as a truck. I blocked his teep and went to counter with a kick to the stomach when he decided to drop his elbow down to block it and connected right with the centre of my left shin.

Fuck.

It almost dropped me, I've never sworn so much in my life. This was made worse by his overbearing wife, who decided massaging my left leg would help. Despite telling her 5 or 6 times to please stop touching it while I fought off the urge to throw up she persisted until someone finally bought some ice when she left me alone. She's a nice person and meant well but holy shit it hurt.

So now I am limping everywhere and will probably have to take this afternoon off but I'm hoping it will get a little better in the next 3 hours so I can at least run.

Thursday Night - Fight Night
















Petjaopraya Battle at Rajadamnern Stadium

Name - (Gym)

Sak (Sor Ploenjit) defeated Nungsiam (Deun-Eay-Mukdahan) on points

Waladimear (Gor.Romsrithong) defeated Stefhan (Fairtex) on points

Ekpikat (Mor.Grungtapthonburi) defeated Saengpet (Loog Bor.Gor) on points

Darachai (Chor.Chuenchom) drew with Jampathong (Sit.Panont)

Petmai (Petjaopraya) defeated Gongfa (Wor.Wiwattanont) by KO round 2

Main Event - Porwarit (Sasiprapa/Satianyuenyong) defeated Jomyut (Petklanarong) by TKO round 5

Gongnapa (Mor.Tassanai) defeated Petnoppakoon (Por.Palangchai) by TKO round 2

Chamuakpet (Mor.Tassanai) defeated Singnoy (Panyuttapoom) on points

Namchai (Por.Oonnuch) defeated Pantamit (Mor.Puwana) on points

I was amazed at how Porwarit fought in this event. I've seen him train a lot as he's at the same gym I'm at. During the first round, both fighters were just feeling each other out, the second round was similar although Porwarit went ahead on points because of some sweeps/dumps on his opponent. During the third round though, everything changed. He suddenly switched on and it was one of the most beautiful and devistating displays of muay thai I have ever seen. Actually I was sure he was going to knock Joymut out, and if it hadn't been for the bell I'm sure he would have. During the fourth round Joymut really looked tired and Porwarit just calmed down and kept landing good scoring shots. When the fifth round was drawing to a close, his opponent threw in the towel as it was obvious who had won by that stage. It really was an amazing fight and I hope it finds its way onto youtube at some stage.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Botti Neung (Lesson 1) - Beware the Overhand Punch

This mornings training -
4km jog
2 rounds shadow boxing
3 rounds sparring boxing
1 round thai pads
1 round focus pads
3 rounds heavy bag
3 rounds shadow boxing with weights
3 sets shoulder presses (max)
3 sets situps (max)

Today Takhoon decided it was time for me to start sparring, which I'll be doing 2-3 times a week now. To 'ease me into it' he put me in the ring against Paul, a 39 year old boxer from England with a lot of boxing experience (I have none, only muay thai). I did mention I hadn't done any sparring before which was met with the typical Thai 'mai pen rai' (no worries). Into the first round and I thought I was doing ok. Paul hit me with a right body shot, left body shot and instinctively my hands dropped which is when he decided to hammer me with a right overhand, right onto my left eye socket. He did it twice more before I worked out where the punches were coming from and how to avoid them.

During the second and third rounds he started to tire and wasn't moving as much so it was pretty much even the rest of the time. I found it strange not being able to kick or knee, and was surprised at how much he dropped his head as with muay thai you'd start copping knees straight away. I managed to get him onto the ropes or stuck in the corner for the rest of the rounds. Accidently (I hope) he also managed to punch me in the balls which ended the second round prematurely.

But despite the problems I was happy with how it went. Getting hit didn't hurt as much as I thought it would despite having a new panda look thanks to a black and bruised eye. I didn't lose my cool when I got hit and I look forward to sparring him again on Friday as he promised me next time we could put on shin pads and use kicks as well.

This Afternoons Training -
2km jog
3 rounds shadow boxing
4 rounds thai pads
5 rounds heavy bag

After that I called it a day as I have a lot of aches and pains, elbow, bruised knees, eye from this morning..but I wasn't the only one. The gym was crowded today, there was still a lot of room but seems a lot of us just didn't feel like going hard today. Even the thais don't train hard 100% of the time. After Brian (USA) and Roberto (Spain) left the gym recently to return home, a new guy from Switzerland arrived today but I don't think he has any muay thai experience so I'm interested to see what he thinks after his first session tomorrow morning.

THE TV IS FIXED!!!! I'm so happy.... .. .

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Jesus Christ, Seriously

Well my left shin is hurting badly, even when I walk on it. This afternoon I am definately resting.

This mornings training-
2km jog (but my knee feels better)
1 round fast punching
1 round thai pads
3 rounds focus pads
3 rounds technique..blocking/countering knees and kicks
1 round sparring with shin pads
50 knees on heavy bag
50 elbows on heavy bag
50 push kicks on heavy bag
3 x sets shoulder press (max)
3 x sets situps (max)

I'm starting to get bored during the day and caught between saving money and going out to kill the boredom. The TV is still broken, and my thai exgf has started to email me again. She is in a bad place but at least she has somewhere to stay. I can't really do anything to help her and I feel bad because of it. Maybe go and watch a fight this Saturday night at Lumpinee as some people from the gym are in it.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Start of Week Two

This mornings training -
2km jog
1 round shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bag
4 rounds thai pads
1 round heavy bag (everything)
7 rounds bag work just practicing combos of jab & low kick, jab punch & low kick
3 rounds shadow boxing with small weights
3 sets shoulder presses (max)
3 sets situps (max)

My left shin is swollen today, quite badly, but at least it is not bruised as it has been. I may take this afternoon off to avoid the same problem I had last week, where I couldn't kick with it without almost passing out because of the pain. Most of my other injuries are better except my knee, which still causes me problem during the run but not during any other training.

This afternoons training- (I felt like a pussy if I missed it)
2km jog
1 round shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bag
3 rounds thai pads
4 rounds heavy bag (everything)
3 rounds technique, learning defence and counter of kicks
2 x 50 knees on the heavy bag
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets sit ups (max)

This afternoon was a bit easier because some of the trainers were busy getting a couple of people ready for a fight, I think this weekend. Still injured but I'll try not to complain so much.

My Spanish room mate moved out so it's a bit quieter, and the tv stopped working so there is less to do than usual. Tomorrow the American guy (Brian) goes home which is a bit sad and there is one less person I can speak english with. He has a fight coming up in March back in the states. I'm starting to get used to the cold showers but I still miss hot water dearly.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Injuries Keep Coming

This mornings training-
2km run because I am having problems with my right knee when I run
2 rounds shadow boxing
1 round fast punching on the bag
3 rounds thai pads
6 rounds technique - learning how to block and counter punches and kicks
3 sets shoulder press (max)
3 sets situps (max)

I have been training at the Sasiprapa gym for just over one week now. The bruises on my shins are almost gone, however my left shin is swollen, and so is my right elbow. Despite wrapping my hands I've taken skin off two of the knuckles and I still have some blisters on my feet. Tomorrow is my day off so I will go to the pool on top of Bang Kapi mall and rest and try and recover for the week ahead.

We train twice a day, 8am - 10:30am and again 4pm - 6pm. The morning is always more technique work while the afternoon training is a lot harder with more pad and bag work.

I live at the gym, currently sharing a room with a Spanish guy and a junior K1 fighter from Japan. Everyone at the gym has fights coming up except me, I still have a lot to learn and will wait until they tell me I am ready, so I feel like a junior all over again.