That Sweaty Kid

After an epiphany had during the rest between morning and afternoon MMA training, I've decided to dedicate my time here in Thailand entirely to Muay Thai for the duration of my trip. Honestly, having come to Thailand, why practice anything other than the national sport where I have access to some of the top fighters/trainers in the country and world. This is saying nothing to knock the training I've had with Ray Elbe, who is a master of jiu jitsu and MMA, but I feel that MMA training can be had back home, but the muay thai kickboxing will never compare.

The training is vastly different; you're starting every session with 30 minutes solid of skipping rope, then shadow boxing, stretching, pad work, sparring, and a grueling ab workout that keels everyone over. The weather is clearly hot as hell and with the hard cardio, I've been struggling to quench my thirst as my pores drain out liters of water over the 3 hours. In the last two days I've had 18 liters of water, I kid you not, yet still don't need to go pee. I've gained the reputation of being that sweaty kid in class, leaving a massive puddle beneath me even after only a brief stretch.

The trainers here are fantastic though; they bust your chops constantly and are righting my poor technique aquired trying (and apparently failing) to teach myself boxing solo. My stand-up game is actually starting to exist and I really am enjoying throwing my hands and legs. Muay thai is all about the 8 point strikes - 2 hands, elbows, legs, knees. So you exhaust yourself using your entire body as a weapon. I'm happy to say after 2 days they've moved me up to the intermediate level where I'll see more sparring, which I really enjoy; a punch to the nose never hurt anyone! My goal is to see a couple lessons in the advanced ring before I leave, which is reserved for those few training for a fight and is home to some hardcore badasses.

I'm also in training for one of my next challenges, which I'll be taking on tomorrow. I'll be taking on the task of bringing home the Phuket Eating Competition 2008 title back to Canada. I've been training hard, eating enough to feed an army on a constant basis and think that I might have a chance. Once you've seen the small stature of the Thai folk, you might consider me a contender, though they can really tuck in and eat a fair bit. I hope you're all cheering me on, I'll do my best!

To all of my so-called "friends" drop me a damn line while I'm here; it's always nice to hear news from back home and I will be home eventually and might just have to use my Muay Thai on your faces otherwise.