Yesterday's session was a mixed bag - I got a decent amount of phys but since I can't kick or knee, I was getting a bit bored on the bags just boxing. Once in the ring for the pads, it was ok though. Back with X who donned his tiny (palm sized) focus mitts and worked my hands for five rounds. We did a lot of counters and footwork and I was glad that one of the trainers has decided that I am not made of glass and decided to whack me if I drop my guard.
I decided that my increasingly knackered legs needed some TLC so I went for another massage after dinner. This time I went to a place recommended by the gym. When I arrived, I was heartened to see the Sinbi Muay Thai leaflets on the counter and the fact that the person who would be giving me my massage was a middle-aged Thai lady, rather than a young girl. She had hands like iron and I was in moderate amounts of pain for most of the massage - she resorted to elbows to try and sort out the massive knots in my traps and lats. Teres minor also got special attention - she definitely massages a lot of boxers. The way that it hurt while she ground her elbows in was weird...it was really quite unpleasant but as soon as she stopped, it felt awesome. Pain endorphins, anyone?
Because there were a lot of customers that evening, she didn't have any time to sort out my lumpy hip so I went back at 11 o'clock today for a freebie. She got the boiling hot herbal poultice out and massaged the lump with it. It feels pretty good now and certainly the haematoma seems to have reduced in size a bit.
In view of my many niggling injuries and this new treatment today, I've decided to make today a rest day (hence the title of this post). Hopefully I'll be a lot better tomorrow and can get 2 full days of training in before my next day off on Sunday.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Wear and Tear
So now I'm back in my room after making it to the morning session and even getting up in time for the morning run! Did about 8km which was pleasant apart from the packs of feral dogs that were still roaming around. Had one hairy moment with about ten of them but as soon as I heard them coming up behind me I turned around, stared the leader in the eye and shouted FUCK OFF as loud as I could...he stopped, growled a bit and watched as I picked up the largest, heaviest stick I could grab. A few big slashes with that convinced the dogs to stop trying to circle around me and I backed away up the road. I held onto the stick until I was back on the main road...no fun really.
Arrived late from my run due to this little altercation and had missed the skipping (score!). 5 rounds on the bags, working my hands, elbows and left knee kept the blood flowing - I was already slick after the run but by the 5th round sweat was spraying off me with every strike and the bag was very slippery, which made throwing clean knees a bit difficult.
I was then grabbed by Pot for my padwork. I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with Pot - he speaks great English and likes to correct my technique but I never get much of a workout from him. He also seems to give me a different stance than the other trainers - its difficult to get things right when 'right' depends on who is holding the pads for you! The reason I like Bao V and Det to hold the pads for me is that they both have the same sort of traditional style and they both give me a good mix of technique and physical thrashing! Still, I'm in no position to second-guess Pot on anything - if he says I'm doing it wrong, I must be!
Really regretting that shit massage. The silly bitch definitely hurt my ankle...on my good leg. I've got chronic damage to both ankles (thanks BJJ!!) and it doesn't take much to tweak them. So now, just as my open wounds on my foot and knee are almost healed, my left ankle gets sprained and I can't kick any more. So, now all I can do is: Left knee, both elbows, both punches.
Quick summary of my damage accrued in 2.5 weeks of training:
1) Abrasions R foot and ankle (no right kick) (almost healed)
2) Abrasion R Knee (no right knee) (almost healed)
3) Large intermuscular haematoma, R hip (still present, painful to run, kick/check with either leg)
4) Infected cut, L little finger (healing, painful to punch, man up)
5) Mild sprain L ankle (fine when supported with shoes and bandages, extremely painful when kicking)
6) Contusion L vastus medialis (from Det banging my leg rather too enthusiastically with the pads when throwing knees - can live with it but its quite sore)
7) R periorbital haematoma (resolving)
None of these are particularly severe but when taken all together, I'm beginning to feel a little bit broken. Its demoralising to have the number of attacks I can safely throw slowly reducing. Soon, I guess I'll just be reduced to spending 2 hours jabbing the heavy bag with all my other joints bandaged up!
Arrived late from my run due to this little altercation and had missed the skipping (score!). 5 rounds on the bags, working my hands, elbows and left knee kept the blood flowing - I was already slick after the run but by the 5th round sweat was spraying off me with every strike and the bag was very slippery, which made throwing clean knees a bit difficult.
I was then grabbed by Pot for my padwork. I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with Pot - he speaks great English and likes to correct my technique but I never get much of a workout from him. He also seems to give me a different stance than the other trainers - its difficult to get things right when 'right' depends on who is holding the pads for you! The reason I like Bao V and Det to hold the pads for me is that they both have the same sort of traditional style and they both give me a good mix of technique and physical thrashing! Still, I'm in no position to second-guess Pot on anything - if he says I'm doing it wrong, I must be!
Really regretting that shit massage. The silly bitch definitely hurt my ankle...on my good leg. I've got chronic damage to both ankles (thanks BJJ!!) and it doesn't take much to tweak them. So now, just as my open wounds on my foot and knee are almost healed, my left ankle gets sprained and I can't kick any more. So, now all I can do is: Left knee, both elbows, both punches.
Quick summary of my damage accrued in 2.5 weeks of training:
1) Abrasions R foot and ankle (no right kick) (almost healed)
2) Abrasion R Knee (no right knee) (almost healed)
3) Large intermuscular haematoma, R hip (still present, painful to run, kick/check with either leg)
4) Infected cut, L little finger (healing, painful to punch, man up)
5) Mild sprain L ankle (fine when supported with shoes and bandages, extremely painful when kicking)
6) Contusion L vastus medialis (from Det banging my leg rather too enthusiastically with the pads when throwing knees - can live with it but its quite sore)
7) R periorbital haematoma (resolving)
None of these are particularly severe but when taken all together, I'm beginning to feel a little bit broken. Its demoralising to have the number of attacks I can safely throw slowly reducing. Soon, I guess I'll just be reduced to spending 2 hours jabbing the heavy bag with all my other joints bandaged up!
Monday, 28 June 2010
Clinchwork
Another exhausting session - arrived in another downpour for the customary skipping thrashing. I have a massive intermuscular haematoma left over from the bike accident on my right hip and its getting progressively more painful. I've been trying to massage the swelling out but its difficult given the pain. You can imagine how bad it makes all the cardio work and anyone who has done muay Thai knows that your hips are kinda necessary. So while my foot and knee wounds are nearly healed, my hip is still giving me gyp.
Anyway, I cracked on through the discomfort and soon it was time for bagwork. I concentrated on my left switch kick and must have thrown a few hundred on the bag before I was called into the ring for padwork. I was back with Det again who was keen to push the pace this time. We did some nice little tricks, working on dodge-knees and elbows but mostly I got lots of boxing combos and kicks. Det laughed after a run of particularly thumping kicks and said that even when my right foot is healed, my left may still be the more powerful!! This is an impressive turn of events for an attack which, before I came to Thailand, was employed mostly as a distraction and the occasional inside lead low kick...now he's telling me I could happily TKO someone with it, either to the body or the head. Perhaps the bike accident really was a blessing in disguise.
After the pads, head sadist Pot had me in the other ring working on clinch fighting with a tall Korean chap called Han. Now, I was already knackered and what I really didn't want was a drawn out bout of clinch wrestling with a guy who has a height advantage and narrower shoulders than me. But, anyway, that's what I got. All I could do was keep on crossfacing him and forcing back into the single collar-tie. Forcing him up against the ropes with my forearm in his throat worked well but I was fighting a losing battle against gravity and, it must be admitted, better technique. Robbed of my normal counters to the Thai clinch (body lock, back take/slam) my shoulders were burning out and I was gassing hard. I managed three rounds and I was then hanging off the ropes, virtually unable to stand any longer. Good session!
We went for Thai barbecue afterwards and then an oil massage (no happy ending!). 2 weeks of solid abuse meant that I really needed it but, to be honest, the girl seemed like more of an enthusiastic amateur than a really good masseuse. I woke up this morning with a painful ankle - it feels like she may have given me an inversion sprain of my left ankle (albeit a mild one) with some of her manipulations. I'll have to ask around the gym for a more reliable recommendation for a good massage than Farhad the party animal!
Anyway, I cracked on through the discomfort and soon it was time for bagwork. I concentrated on my left switch kick and must have thrown a few hundred on the bag before I was called into the ring for padwork. I was back with Det again who was keen to push the pace this time. We did some nice little tricks, working on dodge-knees and elbows but mostly I got lots of boxing combos and kicks. Det laughed after a run of particularly thumping kicks and said that even when my right foot is healed, my left may still be the more powerful!! This is an impressive turn of events for an attack which, before I came to Thailand, was employed mostly as a distraction and the occasional inside lead low kick...now he's telling me I could happily TKO someone with it, either to the body or the head. Perhaps the bike accident really was a blessing in disguise.
After the pads, head sadist Pot had me in the other ring working on clinch fighting with a tall Korean chap called Han. Now, I was already knackered and what I really didn't want was a drawn out bout of clinch wrestling with a guy who has a height advantage and narrower shoulders than me. But, anyway, that's what I got. All I could do was keep on crossfacing him and forcing back into the single collar-tie. Forcing him up against the ropes with my forearm in his throat worked well but I was fighting a losing battle against gravity and, it must be admitted, better technique. Robbed of my normal counters to the Thai clinch (body lock, back take/slam) my shoulders were burning out and I was gassing hard. I managed three rounds and I was then hanging off the ropes, virtually unable to stand any longer. Good session!
We went for Thai barbecue afterwards and then an oil massage (no happy ending!). 2 weeks of solid abuse meant that I really needed it but, to be honest, the girl seemed like more of an enthusiastic amateur than a really good masseuse. I woke up this morning with a painful ankle - it feels like she may have given me an inversion sprain of my left ankle (albeit a mild one) with some of her manipulations. I'll have to ask around the gym for a more reliable recommendation for a good massage than Farhad the party animal!
Sunday, 27 June 2010
PHOTO UPDATE: So you wanna be a fuckin' fighter?
1) Someone kicking a rat off the balcony above us so we were treated to the sight of a rather large rat flying over our heads, falling about 20 feet, landing on the back of someone's neck in the front row and then running off under the ring
2) A cockroach the size of a computer mouse trying to run up my mate's leg.
3) England getting thrashed by Germany so I can finally stop being obliged to pretend to give a damn.
The first few fights weren't great as they were juniors - although they were Thais, they just didn't have the power to really threaten to finish the fight.
There was another foreigner fighting from Tiger Muay Thai who definitely fought like an MMA fighter. He was fighting a slightly tubby looking Thai bloke who was definitely game but had nothing for the heavily muscled brawler facing him. Kicks and elbows didn't do much to prevent the farang from swarming with big punches and low kicks, ending in a pretty brutal right hook that left his opponent on the floor.
Jake had fought quite a few times before and he was facing a really good Thai opponent from a serious camp. The fight was a brutal war with Jake landing some heavy boxing and knees while his opponent countered with elbows and clinching. Both guys were heavily marked up going into the third round and Jake was cut in several places. With blood pouring from his nose and two cuts on his face, Jake knew that he couldn't afford another doctor's check and he swarmed in, taunting his opponent, backing him into the corner and flurrying with punches. His opponent was almost dropped but some nasty body shots but managed to clinch up before the knockout came. After the break, Jake again shouted and let fly with the beserker rage but just couldn't find that killer blow. Sheeted with blood all down his face and chest, the doctor called it in the third round and Jake had lost by TKO. A real shame but it was a brilliant fight.
Michael from London stepped up in the last fight of the night. He was noticeably nervous as it was his first fight and there was definitely a tentative start. However, once he had eaten a big right hand to the face he woke up and started using his reach to pick out at his shorter opponent. As is fairly normal in Thai fights, the first round was uneventful as both fighters felt each other out. Then, in the second round, both guys picked up the pace and started landing combinations. With his big height advantage, Michael was scoring on the outside and had a big advantage in the clinch - he was doing a good job of keeping his opponent out o the pocket. Then, in the second round, his opponent got too hasty in stepping in. Michael grabbed the clinch and smashed a knee into the man's face. He dropped straight down and the ref stopped the fight immediately without a count. 2nd round KO in his first fight, well done!!
Loads of pics after the jump! Click 'Read More' to see them!!
Friday, 25 June 2010
Double Whammy
Finally managed to do 2 sessions in one day again! Morning session was a long drag without any padwork but I got a lot of nice technique work done with the inimitable 'X' (who, as it turn out, is a WMC champion!) Lots of footwork and counters - sidesteps to knees, spinning elbows, kick catches and follow-ups. Some of the stuff was pretty brutal - one combo was: kick catch, drag, top knee, uppercut elbow, top elbow, sweep. All very nice - this is the stuff I really came for. Some nice technical Thai destruction.
After the partner work was done I saw Jackie in the ring with his gloves on so I offered to do a bit of boxing sparring. Now, anyone who has seen me box will know that I'm a bit of a spaz (but an enthusiastic spaz) defensively as I tend to rely on my legs for counters. Jackie is a good amateur boxer with a 30kg weight advantage over me. To say I got lit up is a bit of an understatement. I got him with a good right hook when I switched stances but that was pretty much it. I got a lovely black eye in return! Still, it was good fun and I think I was technically sound just pretty badly outmatched!
However, Jackie has been pestering me to do some grappling training so I took him up on it once the session was over. Touched gloves, bit of feeling out then a bit of a crap double-leg (I was tired!) that I finished by hooking the ankle. Straight into side control, mount, arm-triangle, back take, RNC. Over in about 45 seconds...the spectators seemed to agree that the score was settled! We went through some escapes (guard to standing, side control, mount escapes) and armbar defence. I really enjoyed a bit of grappling after my long hiatus!
This afternoon I had Bao (Sing the gym owner's brother) on the pads. In keeping with the morning session, I had a lot of technique rather than a thrashing...I think as the week goes on, the training gets less physical and more technical, which is pretty good. Plenty of defensive stuff (sure he was watching me get beaten up this morning) and some nice counters as well as more fine-tuning of my left kick. Again, a tiny adjustment (this time to the amount of pivot on my right foot) made a massive difference in power and speed! Basic, basic stuff but these tiny adjustments are making a world of difference.
After the partner work was done I saw Jackie in the ring with his gloves on so I offered to do a bit of boxing sparring. Now, anyone who has seen me box will know that I'm a bit of a spaz (but an enthusiastic spaz) defensively as I tend to rely on my legs for counters. Jackie is a good amateur boxer with a 30kg weight advantage over me. To say I got lit up is a bit of an understatement. I got him with a good right hook when I switched stances but that was pretty much it. I got a lovely black eye in return! Still, it was good fun and I think I was technically sound just pretty badly outmatched!
However, Jackie has been pestering me to do some grappling training so I took him up on it once the session was over. Touched gloves, bit of feeling out then a bit of a crap double-leg (I was tired!) that I finished by hooking the ankle. Straight into side control, mount, arm-triangle, back take, RNC. Over in about 45 seconds...the spectators seemed to agree that the score was settled! We went through some escapes (guard to standing, side control, mount escapes) and armbar defence. I really enjoyed a bit of grappling after my long hiatus!
This afternoon I had Bao (Sing the gym owner's brother) on the pads. In keeping with the morning session, I had a lot of technique rather than a thrashing...I think as the week goes on, the training gets less physical and more technical, which is pretty good. Plenty of defensive stuff (sure he was watching me get beaten up this morning) and some nice counters as well as more fine-tuning of my left kick. Again, a tiny adjustment (this time to the amount of pivot on my right foot) made a massive difference in power and speed! Basic, basic stuff but these tiny adjustments are making a world of difference.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
It happens...
*WARNING - May contain too much information*
Well, the long-anticipated bout of Bangkok Belly has finally hit...well, it might be beershits after all of that lovely lovely Chang I downed last night (I'm becoming quite partial to it - and at 6.8% its hardly another pissy foreign lager) but my padwork this afternoon was slightly affected by griping guts. I managed to go all five rounds without stopping and I didn't need to run (gentlemen shouldn't run - it scares the horses and worries the men) but I stepped out of the ring, slipped on my flipflops and needed to head straight to the shitter. The breaks between the rounds were the worst. Still, I didn't spray faecal matter all over the ring when I threw a kick so I call that a win.
Sadly, I couldn't finish the session...just feeling really washed out. Still, all that was left was the horrible, horrible bagwork...I'd gotten through the cardio, shadowboxing and the pads so I guess I got the best bits(!) done with. Once I managed to rehydrate (lots of powder and gatorade) then I just unwrapped my hands and hit the weights instead. I did some plate workout stuff (around-the-world with a 20kg plate is pretty fun) then the 3 big compound lifts - didn't lose my guts while squatting either!
Comedy moment during the shadowboxing, I managed to stand on Det's toes while throwing a switch long knee. I felt bad but couldn't help laughing.
Oh and Sing (head trainer, big time star and ex Lumpini champion) finally acknowledged my presence today and he wrapped my hands for me! Hurrah! He seems like a nice guy but he's understandably more concerned with the guys who are fighting.
Well, the long-anticipated bout of Bangkok Belly has finally hit...well, it might be beershits after all of that lovely lovely Chang I downed last night (I'm becoming quite partial to it - and at 6.8% its hardly another pissy foreign lager) but my padwork this afternoon was slightly affected by griping guts. I managed to go all five rounds without stopping and I didn't need to run (gentlemen shouldn't run - it scares the horses and worries the men) but I stepped out of the ring, slipped on my flipflops and needed to head straight to the shitter. The breaks between the rounds were the worst. Still, I didn't spray faecal matter all over the ring when I threw a kick so I call that a win.
Sadly, I couldn't finish the session...just feeling really washed out. Still, all that was left was the horrible, horrible bagwork...I'd gotten through the cardio, shadowboxing and the pads so I guess I got the best bits(!) done with. Once I managed to rehydrate (lots of powder and gatorade) then I just unwrapped my hands and hit the weights instead. I did some plate workout stuff (around-the-world with a 20kg plate is pretty fun) then the 3 big compound lifts - didn't lose my guts while squatting either!
Comedy moment during the shadowboxing, I managed to stand on Det's toes while throwing a switch long knee. I felt bad but couldn't help laughing.
Oh and Sing (head trainer, big time star and ex Lumpini champion) finally acknowledged my presence today and he wrapped my hands for me! Hurrah! He seems like a nice guy but he's understandably more concerned with the guys who are fighting.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
A Revelation
Yesterday, Det (who is definitely now my favourite padman) did something awesome for me. Its amazing how tiny adjustments can have massive impacts.
I've been slightly hunched over, looking to load up on my punches and throw hooks. I had my hands close to my jaw, elbows tucked in. Basically it was more of a boxing style than a Muay Thai stance. All Det did was put the Thai pads down and make me stand upright and raise my elbows. All of a sudden, my hips were free and my straight punches and kicks had 100% more power behind them. It was just an adjustment of an inch or two in terms of my hips and just and inch higher with my hands and elbows. I guess that's the genius of an experienced trainer at work there. Armed with this new found power as an upright fighter I hit the pads with renewed vigour. I can always hunch and tuck up when I get on the inside but from now on, I'm all about the traditional Thai stance on the outside.
I also had a rather geeky moment. On the last round on the pads he did what he usually did and started up with some combos and then had me throwing power shots. On the '10 uppercut, go!' I couldn't resist thinking 'TIGER UPPERCUT' as I threw each one. Sad, I know....but I still got a bit more vim into each one because of it. And, for the record, it was the Super Street Fighter II sound, not the modern SF4 sound!
Had an awesome chicken massaman curry and 2 helpings of rice for dinner for not much money and then headed to the hotel to watch the England match. I got wasted on a couple of six-packs of Chang that I bought at Tesco on the way home and I have a bit of a hangover this morning...d'oh. Well, at least we won!
I've been slightly hunched over, looking to load up on my punches and throw hooks. I had my hands close to my jaw, elbows tucked in. Basically it was more of a boxing style than a Muay Thai stance. All Det did was put the Thai pads down and make me stand upright and raise my elbows. All of a sudden, my hips were free and my straight punches and kicks had 100% more power behind them. It was just an adjustment of an inch or two in terms of my hips and just and inch higher with my hands and elbows. I guess that's the genius of an experienced trainer at work there. Armed with this new found power as an upright fighter I hit the pads with renewed vigour. I can always hunch and tuck up when I get on the inside but from now on, I'm all about the traditional Thai stance on the outside.
I also had a rather geeky moment. On the last round on the pads he did what he usually did and started up with some combos and then had me throwing power shots. On the '10 uppercut, go!' I couldn't resist thinking 'TIGER UPPERCUT' as I threw each one. Sad, I know....but I still got a bit more vim into each one because of it. And, for the record, it was the Super Street Fighter II sound, not the modern SF4 sound!
Had an awesome chicken massaman curry and 2 helpings of rice for dinner for not much money and then headed to the hotel to watch the England match. I got wasted on a couple of six-packs of Chang that I bought at Tesco on the way home and I have a bit of a hangover this morning...d'oh. Well, at least we won!
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