Congratulations Osi for making the NFL ProBowl. We are so proud of you keep up the good work!

Now all I need is my first class ticket to Hawaii…..You didn’t think I was going to miss that did you?

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.

Cheers
 

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 impunity

2. 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!

Well I’ll be damned! Mcdonalds delivers to your home in Phuket, Thailand.

Dial 1711 and you’ll get whatever grease infested atrocity from Mcdonalds that you would like to your door within 15 minutes. Now that’s what I call a “Special Delivery” of hot garbage!

As for me, I’m sticking to the Thai food with the occasional chicken on the street which I will be blogging about later!

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!

I decided to be a big baller, shot caller spender and I hit one of the local markets in Phuket Town to see what I could get my grubby little fingers on. I only had an hour to blow some serious cash, so I had to make it quick. I was determined to do it big and “make it rain on em”. So what did my big money spending scheme get me? Well, lets take a look shall we:
 

 

1. 8 t-shirts

2. 2 pairs of original birkenstocks (very comfy)

3. A hat

4. Taxi fair included

All for a whopping total of $60. haha!

Man, this Thailand is expensive I tell you. This must be highway robbery to buy all that stuff and pay that kind of money for it! I’m never coming back here. Never.

This has been another edition of things you will never experience in the United States!

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!

Enjoy!
 

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”.