Day 5

Morning Weight - 213

Strength/Olympic Lift

Strict Press

1 x 5 75 lbs.

1 x 5 95 lbs.

1 x 5 105 lbs. 

1 x 5 115 lbs. 

1 x 5 130 lbs. 

MetCon

5 RFT

6 knees to elbows

Dumbbell Walking Lunge, 50 lbs., 40 ft.

15 American Kettlebell Swings, 53 lbs. 

Time - 11:37

*I was able to only do one set of 6 knees to elbows.  The rest I modified it to knee to chest.  For the walking lunge I probably could't gotten away with the 50 lbs., but my lunges are weak from the beginning.  I modified it to 35 lbs.   

 Day 3 

Morning Weight - 216

Strength/Olympic Lift

Snatch 

1 x 3 at 75 lbs. 

1 x 3 at 95 lbs. 

1 x 2 at 105 lbs.

1 x 1 at 105 lbs. 

1 x 1 at 105 lbs. 

1 x 1 at 115 lbs. 

1 x 1 at 115 lbs.

1 x 1 at 115 lbs. 

MetCon 5 RFT

7 Hand Stand Push ups (modified to 50 lbs dumbbell straight press)

15 Hang Power Clean @115 lbs. (modified to 95 lbs. after first round)

200M Run 

Time - 17:50

Day 4 

Morning Weight - 214.7

Strength Work

4 RFQ

Handstand Hold

10 Ring Rows

Double Unders for 1 min

MetCon

Every 4 minutes for 20 mins do:

50 Double Unders (Modified to singles)

18 Ski Calories

10 Front Squats 135 lbs (Modified to 115 lbs. 

* I massively struggled on this one.  Due to a skier shortage my wife and I shared one.  I started with the skier and went straight to my front squat.  I wasn't fast enough on either one and really struggled with the jump rope. 

 Day 2 

Morning Weight 217.3 lbs

Olympic Lift Strength Cycle

Deadlift

5 x 1 - 105 lbs.

5 x 1 - 135 lbs.

5 x 1 - 170 lbs. 

5 x 1 - 205 lbs.

5 x 1 - 235 lbs.

MetCon

AMRAP 18 minutes

18 Row Calories

15 Wall Balls 20 lbs. 10 Ft.

12 Dumbbell Snatches, 50 lbs. 

9 Toes to Bar (* modified to knee to chest)

Result - 4 Rounds + 18 Row Calories (234 Total Reps)

 

Project Chaos

Opening Weight - 217 lbs

5 Min Run

Bodyweight Fit Test

100 Burpees

200 Squats

300 Long Flutters

Time - 18:55

Fairtex Muay Thai

I first discovered the Fairtex Muay Thai gym back in 2005 while I was still a student at Frank Shamrock's MMA academy.  On a Saturday evening in November I drove to the Fairtex Gym off of 140 Hawthorne in San Francisco to witness Boxing and Muay Thai smokers.  We had a few students that were participating in those and I wanted to show them my support.

Much to my dismay, by the time I arrived most of my fellow trainees had left the venue already.  There were still a lot of fighters that were going to participate but I did not know any of them.  Not only did I not know any of them but I did not have an interest in watching them fight either.  

So with nobody to really watch I decided that I should just tour the place.  At the time I had never entered an actual gym that specialized in Muay Thai.  The gym itself was really clean and I found myself hanging out at the pro shop.  I then saw that they were handing out free vcd's that promoted the gym in Thailand.  I got a hold of a few VCD's (I only needed one), bought a few items, and then I made the trek back home.

As soon as I got home that evening I popped in the VCD.  It contained about 4 - 5 documentaries that centered on the Fairtex Gym in Bangplee, Thailand.  I would end up watching all of the documentaries that night but one of them really made an impression on me.  

The longest segment of the VCD was a program that was produced by National Geographic.  The segment, which was aptly titled A Fighting Chance, chronicled American Sam Sheridan as he trains at the Fairtex Gym in Thailand for his first Muay Thai Fight.  The documentary itself was interesting and entertaining.  There was nothing really special about it but a few months a later something even more revealing was about to be released.  

While surfing Barnes and Noble online I discovered that Sam Sheridan had written a book.  Titled "A Fighter's Heart" it chronicled Sheridan's Travels to learn Muay Thai, Kung Fu, and even MMA.  I ordered a copy for myself and was delighted to see that the first chapter was dedicated to training in Thailand as well as documenting the same experience that I had watched on "A Fighting Chance." 

Reading that first chapter had made an impression on me and it was then I decided that I should try to learn Muay Thai.  I found out that Fairtex had opened up a gym in Mountain View and they offered a free intro session with one of the trainers.  On one of my days off from work I drove to Mountain View to train at Fairtex.  I was told that I would be training with one of their "junior" trainers who went by Christian.  

I liked Christian, that 30 minute session alone changed the way I threw kicks.  I liked it so much that I booked a private training session with him.  It was not practical for me to travel 2 - 3 times a week to Mountain View from Stockton to take the group class.  I figured that if I took a private lesson I could learn more, practice on my own, and after a month or two take another one.  

I was able to book a session on the same day that I took my parents to the airport in San Francisco.  So after dropping my parents off I headed south to Mountain View.  Unfortunately when I got to the gym I was notified that Christian had quit.  I was not pissed but I was really disappointed.  To the gym's credit, they did book me a session with Muay Thai legend Jongsanan Fairtex for the same price that I paid for Christian.  

A week later I came back to have my session with Jongsanan.  I learned all the fundamentals that day.  Stance, footwork, punching, and kicking etc.  I then did pad work for 5 rounds with 4 minutes in duration with 30 seconds rest.  I then had a follow up session about a month later with Jongansan and again I was blown away with what I learned.  

I was then told that if I wanted to experience more then I should make the pilgrimage and train in Thailand.  I have no contacts there and I did not know of any other gyms other than Fairtex.  Fairtex has two gyms in Thailand with locations in Bangplee, which is a about 30 minutes away from Bangkok, and the flagship gym in Pattaya which is about an hour and a half.  I figured that since I had the money I should just train in Pattaya.  

I wrote extensively about my first trip to Thailand on my January post back in 2009.  I have travelled and trained at Fairtex on five separate instances from 2008 to 2013.  Fortunately I was able to blog those experiences while I was staying and training there.  Familiarity, friendship, and loyalty has always brought me back to this gym. 

At Fairtex, not only did I befriend my fellow trainees but also the staff.  Ted Okuno had always assisted me in booking my trips.  The staff at the restaurant always remembers me (do not know if that is a good thing), and there are other members that still call me by name.  It is the most professionally run gym that I have encountered in all my years in going to Thailand.

The gym itself is about a 1500 baht (roughly $45 US) taxi ride from Bangkok.  Within walking distance (pretty much behind the gym) is an independent  taxi service that can give you a ride from the gym to the airport for about 800 baht (about $24 US).  

It is located by Pattaya beach and there are malls, high end restaurants, and markets that can satisfy your shopping cravings.  For better details about the training experience you should check out my older blogs.  Unfortunately I did not blog my trip in 2009 but I did blog in 2010, 2011, and 2013.     

       

       

Japan Prologue

It's been a few months since I updated the blog.  Actually the last post was not our last day in Japan.  On Sunday morning October 19, 2014 both Sherryl and I were prepared to leave Japan.

At our hotel, The Best Western Shinjuku, we pretty much braved the bland breakfast for the whole week that we were in Tokyo.  The previous day we had an awesome brunch at Slappy Cakes which happened to be a famous breakfast chain from Oregon.  Both Sherryl and I loved our meals there and we both decided to head back out there again for our last meal before the limo bus takes us to Narita International Airport.

After we packed we went to the lobby to check out, leave our stuff in the lobby, and get some food before our taxi arrives.  It was then that Sherryl notifies me that our flight is delayed.  Delayed 3 hours to be exact.  At first I was bummed out but then I realized that there's nothing that I can do.  The hotel stuff informed us that it is safe for us to leave our bags in the lobby while we go out to eat.

We head out of the hotel, hang a left, and walk straight for Lumine Shinjuku.  We get there without incident and have to take the many flights of escalators to the 7th floor.  Even though Sherryl and I get there before it opens a line had already formed.

Despite the line our wait was not long and we were promptly seated.  I then realized that this would be our last meal in Tokyo.  I ordered the same meal that I had the previous day and Sherryl had something different.  It was fitting that we had a meal like that before we had to leave.

After finishing up we walked back to the hotel, got our stuff ready, and before we knew it our taxi was right there waiting for us.

Taxi drivers in Tokyo are well dressed and the cars, although old compared to the taxi's in Bangkok and Singapore, are immaculately clean.  Our taxi driver takes us to the bus stop, we unload our bags, and in less than 15 minutes we load our stuff onto the Limo Bus and it promptly takes us to Narita.

I really wanted to look outside the window to get another last look of Tokyo.  I remember driving into Tokyo from the Airport and I really like what I saw.  However as soon as I got onto the bus I just fell asleep.  And when I woke up it was just a few minutes before we entered the Airport.  Couldn't believe that I missed that whole drive.

After we got into the airport and checked in our bags the reality of our delayed flight started to creep in.  I absolutely hated waiting.  What made things worse was that the WIFI at the airport was down as well.

Finally after a few hours both Sherryl and I were able to board the plane.  Our flight was uneventful.  We flew straight from Tokyo to San Francisco.  This was a first for me.  For my first three trips in the past we flew from Bangkok to Taipei, stayed a few hours, and then flew to San Francisco.  After I started adding Singapore to my Thailand trips we would fly from Singapore to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong to San Francisco.  One time I took a flight from Singapore to Seoul and from Seoul to San Francisco.  There was always a stopover.  I actually liked those as I got to stretch out and eat good food at the airports.  This time it was just a straight flight which is also good considering the time we would be saving.

When we landed, we went through immigration, baggage claim, and customs.  We waited for a bit but my cousin Edward and his gf Melinda were able to pick us up and bring us back home.

          

Last Day in Tokyo

This morning we woke up and settled on eating another bland breakfast from the hotel.  The food isn't bad but I ended up drinking a lot more orange juice this time around.

We didn't have much time from the end of breakfast to the start of the divine worship service at the church.  We quickly got ready and I was able to write the directions on a piece of note paper that was provided by the hotel.

We walked to the station and were told to get on to the JR Line towards Harajuku.  Harajuku is the same station we took to visit the Meiji Shrine last Tuesday.  Once we exited we crossed one of the main roads.  As we were walking down the street Sherryl notices that this area also has high end brand stores.  I immediately see Niketown and the long line awaiting its opening.

After a brief mishap we were able to find the church.  Tokyo International SDA Church is located on the ground floor of Tokyo SDA Church.  The top floor is for the Japanese Language service and the ground floor is in English.

Once we entered the church we were greeted by a filipino member and Sherryl signs us both in the guestbook.  We were then escorted to our seats.  After a few minutes I had to use the restroom and when I came back it was time for the pastoral prayer.  We all kneeled, which was fine and normal, but the floor was made of hardwood.  Initially it did not bother me but the prayer started getting really long and my knees, which took a beating in Thailand, started to ache.  I actually grimaced in pain and was on all four before I just toughed it out and got myself erect.  Finally the prayer ended and I went back to sit next to Sherryl.

The sermon was great and the pastor who gave it is from back home.  After the sermon we kept getting asked to stay for lunch.  I am not a fan of potlucks and I asked Sherryl what she wanted to do and she told me it was up to me.  I decided to stay to be polite.

We both ate but surprisingly none of the filipinos that were there really went out of their way to speak to us.  We ended up socializing with Asumi and Motoki.  Asumi is a 21 year old nursing student and Motoki is a 44 year old who spent 10 years in the States and earning two degrees from Union College and Oregon State University,

It was nice that they went out of their way to converse with us.  Honestly, in my experience Filipinos in general who I meet overseas really do not want to socialize with me.  Once they hear my accent and realize that I am not from the homeland the more they seem intimidated.

After lunch we got up and made our way out of the church.  Niketown was right there and we decided to look around.  There was a big line on both the first and second floors and I found out it's because of the new Jordan's that were released as well as the his new shirts that were being sold on the 2nd floor.  It's been over 10 years since he last played and in a country so far away from the US his stuff is still selling.  I guess everywhere around the world the people still love Michael.

I end up buying one nike shirt with the word TOKYO emblazoned on the front.  Sherryl wanted one too but they did not have her size.

After leaving Niketown we left Harajuku altogether.  After arriving at Shinjuku station we make our way to Lumine EST to have brunch at Slappy Cakes which is a famous breakfast chain from Oregon.  We make our way to the 7th floor and noticed that the restaurant was packed.  We were told to wait and after 15 minutes we were escorted to our table.  We look at the menu and noticed that it was much cheaper than Sarabeth's and the portions look to be much bigger.

I ended up getting the traditional breakfast and Sherryl orders a Chicken/Mushroom Omelet Skillet.  We also get an order of peanut butter based pancakes with butter scotch chips and apples.  Sherryl orders the waitress to bring the pancakes after our meal.

This meal was great.  My plate was huge and the pancakes that arrived were the best yet.  Sherryl also agreed that eating here is better than Sarabeth's.

After eating we head back out to our room to relax and start doing laundry.  It took a while but we got it done.  There's a washing machine on the 7th floor of our hotel.

At around 8:30 PM we head out to Roppongi to have dinner.  I wanted Mos Burger and Sherryl wanted to see Tokyo Tower again from a distance.  During the evening the tower is illuminated and looks really nice.

We make our way to Roppongi and notice that since it's Saturday night it's crazier than the last time we were here.  We make our way to Mos Burger and I order what I normally order at the Mos Burger in Bangkok.  In Roppongi a lot of the fast food places are multi storied and you have to make your way to the 2nd floor to dine in.  We do just that and the burger tasted the same but the soda I got definitely was not Coke but a Japanese Brand of Cola.

After dinner we walk towards the tower and take some photos.  It's unfortunate that Sherryl and I can't take photos together unless it's a selfie.  Nevertheless we make the best of it and some of the photos we take are some of the best yet.

We leave Roppongi and make it back to Shinjuku station.  Sherryl keeps telling me that she's craving cake.  Cake?  Like a birthday cake?  She replies yes.  We find a cafe that has great cake and we dine there for a few minutes.  I don't know the name of the cake but it was good.

Finally we're back at our hotel.  It's time to pack and within a few hours we're going home.