The Muay Thai Experience

This is actually a reprint of an article I wrote when I came back from Thailand. Hope you enjoy it.

I arrived in Bangkok on June 21, 2008. The flight was long and miserable, from San Francisco to Bangkok the flight took about 20 hours. I don't know about you guys, but I have a hard time sleeping on a plane. I rarely slept and I kept feeling antsy because I was so far away from home. I tried watching a few movies but none of them really interested me. I thought 10,000 BC was garbage.

When I landed in Thailand I ended up taking a taxi from Bangkok International to Pattaya. When they were loading my luggage into the car, I was lead to what I thought was the driver's seat. I was like 'what the fuck', I didn't rent a car? I wanted to use a taxi. And then it hit me, the Thai's drive on the right side of the car. The taxi ride was about 45 minutes, there's an expressway from Bangkok to Pattaya. I remember telling myself that the expressway reminded me of southbound hwy 99. I know I know I got a shitty imagination.

When I got to Pattaya my taxi dropped me off at Fairtex Muay Thai camp. Don't let the word 'camp' fool you, with a hotel, fitness gym, boxing gym, tennis courts, swimming pool, and a fighter dormitory; Fairtex is nothing like a camp. After I checked in and deposited my bags in my room I jetted off and took a personal tour of the complex. And even though I had just arrived I wanted to check out the training. I found my way through the complex by walking past the tennis courts, through the in house restaurant patio, and finally past the pool. I walked up the steps and there it was the Fairtex Muay Thai boxing gym.

A few of the staff members told me that even though training is seven days a week, I found out that for many foreigners Sunday is a day off. And it took only one glance in the ring or rings to see the truth. There was only one person training when I got there, it was WBC Muay Thai super featherweight World Champion Kaew Fairtex. Just watching him train inspired me to train. Kaew only weighs about 130 lbs. but watching him kick the pads was awe inspiring. Every kick he threw sounded like a shot gun going off. With his trainer Teelek holding the pads, Kaew went through the whole arsenal with his kicks, punches, knees, and elbows. I later found out that he was training for a fight that was to take place in Japan.

After watching Kaew destroy the mitts and pads I made my way to the restaurant for dinner. The package I paid for also included breakfast. For the majority of my stay I ate typical Thai food, but for my first night I ended up eating spaghetti. It was actually pretty good and because it was all you can eat I ended up eating more than I should have. I was thinking at the time that I was going to burn it off and then some anyway when I started training.

I made my way back to my room. My room was actually not bad. I had cable TV which showed commercials on how you can get a visa for your Thai girlfriend, air conditioning, a decent bed, shower, and a balcony. And even though Thailand was like 14 hours ahead of PST, I was able to sleep peacefully that first night.

I woke up at around 5 am and made my way to the balcony. I grabbed a bag of chili con carne corn nuts and started munching away. Back home I would sit on my second floor living room with the window open and just chill with the nice cool breeze. In Thailand there is no such cool breeze at 5 in the morning. Instead it was warm and humid. But as I sat there just relaxing it finally hit me. I wasn't home anymore and I was in a different country almost halfway across the world. I smiled and thought it was awesome.

After breakfast I got my gear ready and headed off to the gym. It was 7:30 am and I saw a bunch of people running on the treadmill. I joined them and started running myself. The treadmills kind of threw me off since everything is measured in kilometers. I couldn't really find my comfort zone and I actually made the grave mistake of trying to run at the speed the fighters were running. After thirty minutes of my cardio running on empty I finally got off and made my way to the boxing gym.

I have never seen a Thai boxing gym quite like Fairtex. They had a wide open bag area with heavy bags, tear drop bags, and padded kicking poles. Across from there were 4 olympic sized boxing rings all right next to each other. There was a high ceiling and the gym was open air which made the complex feel like a sauna.

I saw most of the trainees wrapping their own hands. However, I had one of the trainers wrap my hands for me. It was then that I heard a few Aussie's say "look at the cocky Amerikuhn baastard". I was like 'what's there to be cocky about?' All you had to do was ask. I was taped up and ready to go, while the other guys were fumbling around with their wraps as if it was a used condom.

My liaison Lynn told me that I was going to start training with Chai. I was told by Lynn to take it easy for the first day. When I got into the ring with Chai I was not nervous at all. I was actually excited. Chai was one of the older and more experienced Thai's. He didn't seem hardcore to me at all. As a matter of fact as soon as I got into the ring I called him Uncle Chai. My Filipino friends Rolando and Jake who were there as well from San Jose started laughing as they were the only ones who got it.

Chai worked me on the pads for five four minute rounds. That first session was grueling. The fact that my round kick sounded nothing like Kaew's was kind of discouraging. There was no shotgun sound effect from my kicks. And every time I kicked my foot would feel a strong sting. My punches had good technique but were slow and methodical. And even though I trained at a local kickboxing gym to prepare, I was still overweight and out of shape compared to everybody else. And because I was sucking so bad I was afraid that Chai would see me as a "tourist" who was trying to "play" Muay Thai.

There were a few bright spots on that first training session. For one thing I met Lynn from the UK and Veera from Finland. Lynn actually worked at Fairtex and has trained and fought in Thailand before. Veera was a business professional who just happened to be on vacation. Unlike me, Veera has had three muay thai fights in Europe.

After that forgettable session I went back to my room to relax. In Thailand it is not only hot but super humid. I was not really used to it and I wore Nike Dri-fit shirts most of the time because I hated the sticky feeling that I was getting wearing cotton shirts. My friend Eddy and I nicknamed our room the ice chest because our room had a ceiling fan and air conditioning. Our ceiling fan was on most of the time we were in the room and our air conditioner was full blast almost 24 hours a day. Even though I slept really well the previous night I ended up sleeping again for a few hours. I was just so tired and exhausted that I had to rest up before the grind. I was going to train again for another two hours and thirty minutes.

The second training session went better than the first. I still worked with Chai, and though I thought he was pushing me hard I soon realized he wasn't pushing me as hard as he could have. To be fair, I didn't have the best technique and my legs were not accustomed to the canvas of the ring or the constant shuffling and moving. My feet were always sore and my legs were constantly aching. For my first few sessions I rubbed flex-all generously all over my shins and thighs. I had to do this because for one I am not a pro and second my body was not used to the two training sessions a day.

However after a few days I was finally in shape to just last through the sessions and then some. For the majority of my stay I trained with Teelek a former fighter. I actually started training with Teelek on the morning of my second day in training. The previous night I was invited to go to Walking Street which is the red light district of Pattaya. You want to get laid? Walking Street is the place to be. And with most of the guys inviting me I got to admit, I was a little tempted. Not because I wanted to get laid but because I thought it would be a cool adventure and that I would have great stories to tell. However I did realize that I most likely would be going home late and that it would have a profound affect on my training since I would most likely be drinking as well. So in the end I actually did not go.

The following morning as I walked into the gym I noticed that it was super empty. Only a handful of people showed up for training. I was actually just going to wait for Chai to finish up training this one nice little kid and then I would go in. I started my routine of stretching out and doing some shadow boxing. On the corner of my eye I see Teelek looking bored as hell with nothing to do. All of a sudden he motions me to come to the ring. Without hesitation I run up the steps and climbed into the ring. I was pretty excited but also a little nervous. I was thinking to myself, "what if he notices that I'm just a scrub?"

Teelek started me off by working the hands. I would work my jab, then my cross, my hook, and so forth. Then I would throw my kicks mostly the round kick with my rear and lead legs and the front kick. I would then work my knees and my elbows. For the first few rounds it would be like this. Later on I would be able to blend in the strikes effortlessly and throwing combinations with the hands, elbows, feet, and knees would be second nature. On the third round I noticed something a little different, the pace was a little faster and Teelek started moving around the ring. I had to follow him and strike while he was barking instructions. And then after I threw a left round kick at the pad he threw his own kick and I caught it with my arm. That kick stung and it wasn't even hard. I made a cardinal sin by reaching out with my hand to block the kick; you're supposed to block it with your shin. Round 4 was just like round 3, throwing combo's while getting my ass kicked at the same time. Round 5 was different all together, Teelek would then put on the focus mitts and just work on my boxing. I would later find out that Teelek was a former champion and a big star in Thailand.

That first session with Teelek was the reason why I went to Thailand. I wanted to experience hard core training in a hard core environment. Because it is open to the elements the gym was hot and humid. I would routinely lose about 6 to 8 lbs. of water a session. After the ring work with Teelek I finished off by kicking the bag and doing push ups and sit ups. After I was finished there was still about 45 minutes left in the morning session. It was then that I saw George walk into the gym. George who was from New York was like me in that he was in Thailand for a few weeks to train. However the previous night he was a part of the crew that went to Walking Street. I asked him what happened and why he missed training, he told me what had happened not only to him but to my other training partners as well. I asked him if he got lucky, he said matter of fact "oh yeah man, actually she just left."

That first week I worked with a total of 4 trainers. I worked with Chai a few times that week, both sessions on my first day and one or two after that. I tried to work with Teelek as much as I could but he was always in demand. I was able to work with him more than anybody else that week though. I did train with Preecher who was one of the older trainers. I got some good work with him holding the pads for me but the biggest thing that I learned from him was the Muay Thai clinch. If you've watched the first fight of Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin you'd know what I'm talking about. Instead of just showing me the clinch I had to clinch spar with him. I took a lot of knees to my ribs and legs.

Another trainer that I worked with was a younger guy named Wangjun. He looked younger than everybody else (he was 28 but looked 18) but I found out that he has had 370 fights in which he won like 320 of them. His style of pad work was also a little different. He did not work you to death like Teelek or Preecher nor was he jovial like Chai. Instead he was constantly correcting my technique. I never had one fluid round with that guy. There was always a case in which I would throw a combo, then another combo, and then he would stop. He would then start correcting my technique and show why I should throw a technique this way instead of that way. He would often show why I shouldn't throw it the way I was doing it sometimes with consequences. Honestly, him correcting my technique enabled me to get the most of my training later on in my stay.

After the day was over and after I had dinner, I would sometimes go over to the fitness gym and talk to some of the personal trainers. I got along with all of them but there was one that I talked to that was pretty cool. Her name was Susan and she was from Holland. It didn't hurt that I thought she was cute. Even though she claims to be pure Dutch she looked like a Chinese/Dutch hybrid. We got along really well so well that I would have her walk barefoot on my back and legs (ala John Saxon and Ahna Capri in Enter the Dragon) or give my legs a rub down after the training. I would later find her on a local magazine spread posing in a bikini.

Then one day after I was finishing up e-mailing friends at a local internet café I see Wangjun walking by. He then asks me if I want to go see his place. I thought "cool, maybe he's got some videos of his fights." I was totally cool about going to his place which was just across the street from Fairtex.

When I walked in to his apartment I just saw a typical apartment. There were a few mementos of his fighting career on posters and programs. Then I saw Susan chilling in the living room. I then see couple pictures of the two taped to the walls. I actually thought it was kind of cool. I even asked Susan if they were going out and she confirmed it for me. It didn't bother me and I didn't think much of it. I spent about another half hour just talking about training and Muay Thai.

After I left Wangjun's place it was then that I started thinking. "Why did he go so out of his way to bring me here?" I really wasn't close to him as a matter of fact I only trained with him once. The trainers that I hung out with were Teelek, Chai, and world champion Kaew. It was then that I realized what I was doing. I was always asking Susan to give me a rub down or a massage as if I was Bruce Wayne. And even though I went to the fitness gym after dinner to kill time and socialize, I did spend a considerable amount of time talking to Susan mainly because she spoke English. So a part of me feels that it really was not a big deal, I mean I was invited to the other fighter's places. But yet another part of me feels that Wangjun was telling me something. He was telling me to leave his Dutch princess alone. I did not train with Wangjun at all after that and out of respect for him I did not go out of my way to speak to Susan unless she did. And towards the end of my stay she did go out of her way to speak to me and I was still able to get my rub downs and massages.

That first week I also saw my first live Muay Thai fight. Fights are always held at Fairtex Threppasit Stadium but on this particular day it was a little different. Marc who was from the UK was fighting that night. I never trained in the same ring as Marc but we always showed up to train both sessions every day. In my opinion he was more passionate about Muay Thai than I was about MMA. Almost all of us who congregated together in training are college graduates and Marc holding a degree in sports medicine was no different. But unlike us he is currently ranked the number 2 super featherweight in the UK and has had at least 60 Muay Thai Fights. Whereas I ended up training with Teelek most of the time, Marc trained with Jaroom exclusively. Jaroom is a good fighter and actually a great trainer. I never trained with him but the work I see him do with Marc was fun to watch. Their pad rounds looked like actual fighting rounds and the two of them would spar full contact at the end of the day.

Marc ended up fighting a Thai on like the 3^rd match of the evening. The fight was awesome to watch as it was cool to see the contrast in styles. The Thai had a classic Muay Thai style with his weight back, hands out, and his front leg rhythmically tapping the floor; his rear leg cocked and ready to deliver some damage. Marc on the other hand had a nice K-1/Muay Thai hybrid stance. His stance was reminiscent of K-1 star Masato of Japan. The match started slow for the first round but by the 2^nd round the pace started picking up. I later found out from Marc himself that he upped the pace because he got cut by an elbow. From the 3^rd round on it was all Marc and he was annihilating the Thai with hand and feet combinations. At the end of 5 it was a unanimous decision for Marc. After the match I was told that this was a tune up for Marc. A few weeks later he was going to have his dream bout in Lumpinee. Lumpinee is the MGM Grand of Muay Thai.

While watching the carnage first hand I got to know my stable mates a lot better. There was Jamie from the UK who was a really cool bloke that I hung out with often. It was awesome sparring with him because his low technical level made me look like the second coming of Buakaw. I already met Veera in training but I was introduced to Mirka and Jani from Finland. I really got along with both Veera and Jani. They were really fun to be around and I did share a few beers with them as well.

By the end of my first week a lot of people had left. Some were already there a few weeks before I arrived. My friends from the Bay area Jake, Rolando, Melanie, and Eric had left and were going to train at the Fairtex complex in Bangkok. From what I read that complex is nice but not as nice nor as big as the one in Pattaya.

It did seem kind of dead because some of the guys had left but it was actually better for me. It was then that I would train with Teelek fulltime for the rest of my stay. He always went out of his way to wrap my hands before training. And it was during the second week that I started to really grasp the training.

To give you a guideline to what my routine was like I would start by running at least 3 miles. From then it was on to stretching, then to shadow boxing for three rounds, and then finally I would do pad rounds which were the heart of training. At the start of my trip I would struggle to do five rounds but I always did it. On my second week I could do five rounds and then some. By the end of my stay I was doing seven four minute rounds. I really loved those pad rounds and I was finally building student/coach chemistry with Teelek. No longer did he have to bark orders at me; with the way he held out his hands I knew what to throw and I did it as if it was second nature. I would then throw fifty consecutive round kicks with both legs at the bag, work the speed bag, and finally do my sit ups and push ups.

It was also at this time that I started imitating Marc's training methods. I'm always on the look out to learn new things. I really liked watching Marc train; he would throw combinations that I have not seen before. He probably did not notice me because he was in the zone but I watched him intently.

The two people that I really liked to watch train were Kaew and Ganchai Fairtex. Kaew was fun to watch because he was the world champion. He would go out and give it 100 percent and just get the job done. But then I noticed he was always doing the same thing which was fine because it obviously worked for him and it was really cool at first but it got repetitive. Ganchai on the other hand is what I would call an entertaining fully artistic expression of Muay Thai. He not only got the job done but was entertaining as well. I recall a few times that I saw the gym stop what they were doing just to watch him hit the pads and spar. And Ganchai was not even the world champion but I heard he will be very soon.

With all the training that we did; we had to eat just as much to fuel us for the next work out. I ate the majority of my meals at the in house restaurant of the complex. It was an unlimited supply of fish, chicken, shrimp, pork, and exotic fruits. I normally ate mostly fish and some chicken. I also took in my fair share of fruits. It was always prepared differently but it always tasted good. I ended up falling in love with this one spicy sauce that you would use for your pad thai, chicken, or even fish. I really do not know the name of it but it is so hot that it makes Tabasco seem mild. I used a fair share of Tabasco as well over there but not as much as this new spice of life. Just the fact that I would burn my mouth and have sweat on my forehead brought me much glee. I really do miss it now but back then towards the end of my stay I kind of got tired of it. I later ate at a few restaurants that served American food. I remember Jani always criticizing me for paying 25 us dollars for a steak at Hard Rock. For me I thought it was normal since that is how much I would normally pay for a rib eye, prime rib, or a Filet mignon back home. Plus with beef being a commodity in Thailand I was not going to take a chance on steaks sold at the street. But I guess to other people like Jani the price was ridiculous. He would end up buying a cheaper steak on one of the street vendors behind the complex. But as luck would have it I would be thrilled with my steak and I was ready to train later that day. Jani, well he got food poisoning and ended up staying in his room.

Towards the end of my second week I really felt that I was bonding with the fellow Thai's. I really liked hanging out with them and sometimes during the late hours you could find me at their places playing playstation. Whenever I would do my roadwork in the gym I would always be speaking with some of the personal trainers. There were a few people in the gym that asked me for my shoes which were a semi-new pair of Adidas. I was going to give it to one of those guys until Uncle Chai asked me if he could have them. It then made my decision a little easier because Chai trained me for a few sessions and when Teelek had a day off on that first Saturday he took me in and gave me two quality sessions that day. So when I gave him the shoes he was so thankful. Giving Chai shoes made me feel really good. But then I realized what was I going to give Teelek? I ended up going to the finest mall in Pattaya and purchasing a pair of Nike's and a Levi's t-shirt. I didn't get a price break on the Nike's but it didn't bother me. I am always a firm believer of taking care of the people who take care of you. And when I gave him the stuff that I bought he was so happy. He ended up giving me a DVD of his fights which for me is priceless. That last day before I left both Teelek and Chai asked me when I was going to come back. I told them that I would be back in the spring. Teelek doesn't speak English but Chai who does did most of the talking. He told me that he wanted me to come back soon because I was a good person and that I trained hard. Another trainer named Ram would soon say the same thing to me even though I never trained with him. Smart ass Jamie would then tell me that it's because he wants a pair of Nike's.

Honestly, I think I really endeared myself to those guys. It was like when I endeared myself to my wrestling teammates by training my ass off and trying to earn their respect. It's a great feeling when you're doing something you love even though you're not good at it but you push yourself past your limits. I also believe that because I am Filipino that I was more like them than the other trainees. The other trainees were from the UK, Finland, Canada, and Australia. I'm already planning my return trip out there. Of course I'll go back to Fairtex Pattaya for a couple of weeks but I might go to the Swish Gym in Hong Kong for a week. Swish is Hong Kong's biggest Muay Thai gym. A slew of girls from that gym trained at Fairtex for a few days and I was able to trade contacts with the owner. Or I might train at Kaewsamrit which is a hard core Fighter gym recommended by Marc. Whereas in Fairtex it's up to you if you want it to be either easy or hard core; at Kaewsamrit it's always hard core and you have no say in the matter.

Finally after two weeks I gave Lynn a kiss, said good bye to my heroes, and I took a taxi from Pattaya to Bangkok. I flew out from Bangkok International back to SFO where my cousin Vince picked me up from the airport. My cousin asked me how my fantasy camp went. I looked at him with a smirk and replied "I left my heart my heart in Thailand bro."