Time sure does fly when you are having fun right? I have been in Thailand for just over 11 weeks now and I have a few more days before I say goodbye. I have got to tell you that around the middle of the 9th week I really started itching to come home and that itch has manifested into a full blown epidemic now. Thailand has been fun no doubt about it! I’ve learned a lot, pushed myself to limits that I could only imagine and met the most interesting souls that one could only pray for. However, now is the time to come home.
In all honesty, I tried to reschedule my flight twice in the last week to come home earlier, but I could not get a flight out of here. There had to be a reason why all forces were conspiring against me leaving Thailand even one day earlier than I had originally planned. I accepted my fate and carried on. To say that the last week has been easy would be lying through my teeth. My feet are weary and my hands are bruised. My entire physical body is exhausted, but I nonetheless keep pushing hard. It’s time to come home now.
The intensity of my training has actually picked up in the last couple of weeks. I feel awesome and I am extremely happy that I was able to stick it out for this long. It’s truly been an experience of a lifetime. But folks…..
Well folks, I decided to make another video for you all to see if I’ve improved since I first got here. Personally, I think the punches are much better than before. Yod(I call him Master Yoddy now), is working me to death here. I’m up to doing about 8 three minute rounds with that nutter every single day. It’s not easy.
I think my body is about to break down, but I must keep pushing on. Take a look and tell me what you think in the comments section.
Well I finally found my alter ego in Thailand (Who knew?). It doesn’t matter that we don’t particularly look alike or that she’s originally from Zimbabwe. It makes no difference to me that she resides in the UK and I live in the US, she’s just the best! I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I’ve never laughed as much or as hard as I have in Thailand. Chenge is the main reason why that is. The things that come out of that girls mouth are unbelievable most times and astounding the rest of the time. Here are some of the key things I’ve learned from Cee while in Thailand:
1. Lie with impunity2. Deny any and everything
Just kidding!
In all honesty I’ve learned so much from Chenge, most of which, I really can’t publicly comment on. I’ve never met a more inquisitive and adventurous person than Chenge. She’s constantly asking questions….ALL.THE.TIME. Some of us are embarrassed to ask questions because we are afraid to look like a bunch of idiots. That logic doesn’t not apply to Chenge. I once asked her why it was that she asked so many questions. She calmly responded “Well if I don’t ask, then I won’t know!”
Good point!
Chenge will try ANYTHING at least once. She’s gotten me to eat some local Thai food, fruit, bugs, plants etc that I wouldn’t normally touch with a 10 foot pole. She taught me how to speak Thai english which is a feat on it’s own. She taught me how to make good porridge with Udo’s oil and peanut butter. The most important thing I learnt is to be more open minded, spontaneous and adventurous. Basically, the woman has changed my life! You all have to meet this nutcase. You’ll love her as much as I do!
A few weeks ago, I climbed the hill accompanying this post for the very first time. I don’t even think the pictures do this hill any justice. It’s so much steeper and much longer than what I could capture in a photograph.(click on pictures for larger view). I’m not embarrassed to say that it was very tough for me and I uncontrollably broke into tears when I got to the top. I was pushed along by a very good natured Swedish guy called Johan who made it his personal mission to see that I made it to the top. He stuck with me every step of the way and wouldn’t let me give up. He just kept saying, “no matter how tough it gets, just keep moving your feet”.
It’s funny how little nuggets of wisdom come at the strangest and sometimes the toughest times in our lives.
“No matter how tough it gets, just keep moving your feet!.
That’s a metaphor for life right there. It’s easy to give up and give in. It takes a special kind of inner strength to force yourself to persevere in the face of adversity. It’s not easy. Then again, nothing worth having ever really is. Sometimes, we all need a little push to get us going. I know I did!
Whatever your personal “hill” is, you have the power to surmount it and reach the summit if you keep going. You don’t have to conquer the hill in one fell swoop because afterall, Rome wasn’t built in a day. However, if a decision is made to do so, incremental steps can inch you closer to the summit of any hill or mountain.
A few weeks ago, I could barely make it to the top of that hill. Today, at least three times a week, I am able to make it up to the top of that hill twice in the morning before my daily Muay Thai training sessions.
How did I manage that? ……………I just kept moving my feet!
It seems like everyone here is catching the tattoo bug around these parts (maybe even me, you never know. I blogged about my henna tattoos before, but it’s time to be a big girl now and consider getting a real one. There is a trainer at TMT called “Oh” that does bamboo tattoos for everyone. If you decide that you want to get a protection tattoo, you have to give him 3 days notice so that he can fast before he does it. In addition, while he is actually doing the tattoo, he does not talk at all. It’s really fascinating to watch.
I witnessed him give Mieke a protection tattoo on her wrist, and it was pretty interesting stuff to say the least. How he is able to do all that with a bamboo stick is beyond me. He sometimes spends 8 hours doing very detailed bamboo protection tattoos on the backs of some Muay Thai students here. It’s really exquisite work to be honest with you.
Apparently, his Master was the one who gave Angelina Jolie the protection tattoo that she has on her back shoulder. Imagine that!
Well “Oh” has done it again. This time, it’s not a bamboo, but the work is still exquisite. He did the outlining of the tattoo and had some help to finish it due to time.
Check out the pictures of Phillips tattoos!
Have a safe flight back to Florida Philip! We will miss you!
At TMT, there are so many from around the world that come to learn Muay Thai. It’s like the United Nations right here in Thailand at TMT. I’ve been noticing that my British accent is becoming a little more pronounced since I got to Thailand. I’ve been using random British slang all of a sudden. I’ve been using words such as “bullocks” and “rubbish”. It’s kind of crazy that one would come all the way to Thailand to speak better English and annunciate their words better. Go figure!
All this leads to the word “Nutter”. The definition of a “nutter” is someone who is crazy. The British use the term “nutter” as we in the US use the term “gone nuts”. I trully believe that everyone here at TMT are complete and utter nutters including myself. Sane people wouldn’t do Muay Thai in my opinion.
This brings me to Prathet!…Prathet is a trainer at TMT who has an obsesssion with teaching me Thai. Every time he sees me, he comes up and says “Chem(he can’t pronounce my name) speak Thai!. We go through the exact same Thai words over and over and over…..and over again. That continues to the end of the training session. Then guess what happens the next day?
“Chem, speak Thai”. We do the routine all over again.
Well, I flipped the script on his ass a few weeks ago. Before he even opens his mouth, I say “Prathet, speak English…”You’re a nutter!” I told him that it was Mieke’s name!
Here is some video of me trying to teach Prathet (TMT & Veronika Lundemo’s trainer) to say the phrase..”You’re a nutter”. Too..too…funny!
A couple of us over here have been in mourning for the last couple of days? Why? Well, because Mieke is gone. She’s off to Australia for a national t.v fight on December 8th.
Mieke is one of those people you meet along the way that you don’t soon forget. She’s a vicious fighter in a supermodel physique, unpretentious, funny and good natured. She eats like a friggin’ horse and trains like there is no tomorrow. She’s not afraid to throw them ‘bows either if necessary. I’ve never met anyone who loves to see blood in fights as much as Mieke. She thinks busted noses with streaming blood is “awesome”. She would know, she’s broken or split open almost everything on her body for crying out loud.
Mieke, ‘C’ and I have been hanging like white on rice every single day for the last month and we all bonded a little too much if you ask me. I’ve never laughed so much and so hard in my life as I have in the last month with ‘C’ and Mieke. If you guys think I’m a character, wait till these nutcases come to New York!
We are all suffering from separation anxiety right now. The only saving grace is that ‘C’ will be here for about another 10 days. Being the great friend that I am (you all already know this), I recorded some of Mieke’s training and sparring sessions and made a compilation video for her on DVD. I then added to the DVD as menu selections all the raw footage of her training and sparring sessions, as well as our other shenanigans in Thailand and gave it to her. Let’s just say that she was very emotional(not usual for this particular nutcase)! It’s a long clip (7 minutes), but you all really need to watch it so you can see what a beast this girl is in the ring!
Mieke we all miss you, and that poor girl doesn’t stand a chance on Dec 8th! Keep cracking them skulls!
Thanksgiving has come and gone, but have you all really given thanks and counted your blessings? I know that being in Thailand forces me to count my blessings day after day. Take a look at the picture accompanying this post. Three trainers from the TMT gym live in that hut! They cook and sleep there, and they use the general bathrooms to shower and clean up.
The most amazing thing is, that they are the happiest people I’ve ever met. Always smiling, always inviting me to come share their food no matter how small it is, always welcoming with open arms no matter your shape, size, skin color, religion. Nothing matters to these people than being happy in their simple existence.
It really begs the question of what really makes people happy. I’ve been blessed with a lot of fancy things, and have fancy friends, and gone to many fancy restaurants, and live a somewhat fancy life. However, I really can’t say that these aforementioned things have brought me any happiness. If I really think hard, they’ve probably brought me unneeded stress and aggravation.
How is it then, that these Thai folks are so happy and content with so little, and I’m so miserable and angry with so much? It may sound like a cliche, but I’m living proof that material things don’t necessarily bring much happiness. I plan on changing some things when I get back and keeping it as simple as possible.
Like my man Brad Pitt says in fight club…“the things you own end up owning you”.
I got unceremoniously promoted to the advanced ring from the intermediate ring about a week ago. However, I refused to move over there till this week. I didn’t think I was ready to handle the craziness that is advanced training at TMT. All the fighters are there. All the wannabee fighters are there. All the best trainers are there.
Which brings me to Yod.
Yod is an advanced trainer at TMT. He has also been a fighter, a champion and has trained folks all over Europe and Thailand. He just got back 2 weeks ago from a 3 month stint in Sweden. He brought back with him two people from Sweden that will be competing in the world championships in Bangkok in December.( more on them later. I decided that I might as well take the best guy in here since I’m already all the way in Thailand. In addition, I wanted someone who is as close to my trainers technique at NJMT(my gym in NJ). I don’t want to have to come back home to unlearn everything I just learnt over here.
I think I made a BIG mistake
This guy is brutal. He means business when he is in that ring. He doesn’t give a damn if you are blue, grey, short, tall, whatever. He works you very hard and is very very technical. Every time I don’t block the way he wants me to, I have to do 10 pushups. When he says lean back, he means it. I’ve gotten a bloody lip already from focus mitts in addition to being smacked in the head by a flying right kick. I got a bloody nose from not parrying the punch when we spar. The list goes on and on.
Needless to say, I can lean back with much accuracy now. I block in my sleep too now. The funny thing is after the training sessions and he is out of the ring, he turns into a big jokester and comedian. He is also making sure that I do 3 rounds of sparring and 3 rounds of pads with him EVERY.SINGLE. DAY. Morning and afternoon. He won’t even let me attempt to go to another trainer. It’s personal now!
His favorite sayings are “scare, cannot!” which translates to don’t be scared when my fists and elbows come flying at you. And my all time favorite…”power more!” which comes at the end of a round after he has made you do like 30 kicks.
I love Yod. Check me out with him in this video and see for yourself.
Ed and I arrived at TMT on the same day. We also started training together in the beginners camp and then we gradually made our way to the intermediate camp where we finally bonded.
My friend Ed has no hands and one prosthetic leg. Despite all this, Ed trains 6 hours a day at TMT in the Muay Thai and MMA class.
I couldn’t imagine what a Day in the life of Ed would be like, until I spent a day(Sunday) with him. I watched him go through life with so much joy, enthusiasm and resolve. All I can say is that it was one of the best experiences of my life and I’m glad to have met him.
And to all of you who may be reading this post, I say this to you:
You have no problems in life. None.Whatsoever. So stop feeling sorry for yourselves.
William Shakespere wrote in his play (I believe it was the play “as you like it” ) that “All the worlds a stage, and everyone plays their part”. My friend Ed is showing me every single day, that life is not a rehearsal on that world stage. You only have one chance to act the play and act it out well. So make sure that you draw a standing ovation once the play over.
I’m personally making it my life’s mission to get an oscar for my performance.
Here is my friend Ed working the pads at TMT. Draw any inspiration you would like from it, but draw inspiration nonetheless.
This is a short video from early last week of myself and the hell I go through on every single day here at TMT.
Keep in mind that the camera adds 20lbs. I’m not kidding.
The trainer’s name is Kay and we are working the focus mitts. I’m seriously focusing on getting my punches to look better after the spectacle of this video. Those punches look hideous if you ask me. What do you all think?However bad the punches may be, I’m still a badass Muay Thai fighter and I’ll still kick your behind.
Now get off your rear ends, get workin’, and make it happen. If I can do it, you surely can do it too.
Take a long hard look at the photo accompanying this post (click on photo to enlarge). It’s the look of a beaten person. I’ve been battered. I’ve been beaten. I’ve been taken, had, run amok, bamboozled, led astray. I’m tired folks, and it’s just the beginning.
I’ve been doing 2 a Days since Monday and it’s been rough for me. I woke up on Tuesday morning after a brutal 2 workout session and couldn’t even remember my name. I proceeded to go to the gym and get through the morning workout still in one piece. But it wasn’t easy. I’ve decided to cut the 2 a day sessions to Monday, Wednesday and Friday until I get my endurance up. I will do single sessions on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Have I already told you that
This is not easy folks. Not in the least!
Sometimes in life, you get beaten. Afterall, you can’t win them all. However, what one does when beaten is a true test of character. Do you lay down and and give in? Or do you pull yourself up by the bootstraps and carry on? I gotta tell you friends, giving in is easy. Too easy. Taking a non defeatist attitude is hard when all you want to do is just surrender.
There will be no retreat. There will be no surrender. I will not be defeated. I will not lose.
January 18th, 2008 by 
nkem
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