Lessons in and out of the ring.

A week has passed and I have some new insights into Muay thai as it's practiced in Thailand. I was talking with a German guy named Andy who trains here at the gym. He finished his service in the German military and has now spent two months straight doing muay thai. I say "straight" because he does all the classes and works out on the sunday off. Oh, I should mention he says all of three sentences in any training session, a man of few words. Anyway, I mentioned that my knee was really bothering me and he looked at me and said more than normal, "Something always hurts, that's muay thai here." How right he is. Now, as I talk to the other people training here, the general concensus is that something will always hurt. If my knee stops hurting then something else will start. I'm not saying all this to complain or sound tough. I just mention it to point out a huge flaw in the Thai system of training. They don't give the body enough time to heal and strengthen properly. This is probably why most fighters are at the end of their careers in their early twenties.

Still, I am having some of the best experiences every day. After 4 days of general conditioning I was put in the ring where the more experienced students train. I put on 16 oz gloves and shin guard while my coach put on a punching mitt, forearm muay thai pad and belly pad. We then went through basic combinations of punches, kicks, knees and elbows. They expect you to go at full strength on them and are rarely caught of guard when you inevitably make a mistake from misunderstanding them. Since the coaches speak "little English" and we speak "nee noy Thai" it's often a case of trial and air. Many times they will yell for me to do a combination and when I don't understand them, they will do the combination on me. I've now learned to cover my ribs and head even during a training session after the first couple kicks and punches landed with solid force.

After this training the coach often puts on gloves and shin guards and spars with me. The sparring is done lightly but with great speed and control on their part. If I land a kick or punch to hard they'll often smile a little and then rattle of a blinding combo yelling out the points they're landing on me. After the first few times like this I learned to respond as if it was real and have now seen some pretty cool combos from them. The better I defend the more creative and intense they get. I have no doubt that my form is better in even this short time and know by the end that I'll have added substantially to my own style as well as my understanding of strict Thai boxing as opposed to the more MMA style I'm used to.

Still, six days of boxing is monotonous and I took last Sunday to drive into the country side. I drove north about 50 miles to the tiny, teak wood town of Chiang doa. I traveled up into the caves set in the mountain (3rd largest in Thailand) and spent hours driving the back roads without running into a single Thai or tourist. The trip really rejuvenated me for the week and, even with the monsoon I drove through on the way home, my spirits were up from where they had been. I think it's important to change ones surroundings every so often to avoid getting in a mental, physical or emotional rut. Fortunately I am in a country that has breath-taking splendor within half an hour in every direction. This weekend I'm probably going to take an extra day to drive out to Pai to raft the river and spend some time hiking. I keep reminding myself that this is still my vacation and even though I'm training I still need to take this last month to really absorb the culture and landscape of this amazing country. Well, I'm going to go put some ointment on my knee and jog to get ready for class. I'll write again when I have something to say. Until then, I hope everyone has a great week.

Adam