It rained hard last night so there was no running this time around. I spent most of the time before 7 am stretching and getting myself limbered up. Once my body was greased up and ready to go, Master Cheng calls me into the ring to work with him.
Working with Master Cheng was great. However, I have a definitive bad habit; I tend to keep my right hand low. Apparently this was a glaring weakness as Cheng spent a good majority picking at my low right hand. By the time I got the message I was just so damn tired. However, morning session is always the best as the weather is cool and the training is not as long.
After working the bag and doing the customary exercises it was time to call it a session. The morning session happens to be the favorite session among us foreigners. After 4 rounds of pad work and 4 to 5 rounds on the bag you are pretty much done. Take in the customary 4 - 5 mile run and you have a workout that burns a lot of calories.
However, the morning session still takes a lot out of you. Most of us take a nap after breakfast. Today myself and two of my friends from Canada decided to head over to the Top King store to buy equipment. I bought a new pair of shin guards and Robert and Andrew bought some new gloves. After a taxi ride home it was time to crash. I was able to sleep for a few hours before the carnage which is the afternoon session started to take place.
The afternoon session is the session that everybody dislikes the most. It is long, hard, and grueling. After skipping rope for about 30 minutes it was time to stretch. After stretching I was called into the ring to work with Ta. Working with Ta was great this time around. The pace started slow but by the 4th round the pace was at fever pitch, at least for me. I was able to finish the work and then I started to work the bag. Working the bag is sometimes boring as you have an apparatus that does not hit back or bark instructions. All you do is hit it with your techniques for what seems like an eternity. And with more people showing up at the afternoon session, the session just drags.
Hitting the bag normally is not a problem for me, however I suffered a minor nerve injury to the bottom of my left foot. Running with shoes is not a problem and kicking the pads is not a problem either. You might wonder why kicking the pad is not a problem, it is because as a south paw I kick with the left leg. It's rare that I have to plant on it. But today it was really hard, I took 2 rounds off in between my bag rounds because the ache was totally screwing with me.
After 30 to 40 minutes of hitting the bag, it was then time to run. Because I have a custom fitted pair or Nike's with the custom orthodics, running was no problem. It was not a breeze, I was still dragging a**, but I was able to run. And after the run and the cool down it was time to call it a day.
While I was sitting, drinking my gatorade, and just pondering what had just happened I took a glimpse at the Thai kids that were still training. Both Robert and I observed their training. While Robert and I were suffering to just get through the bag rounds, the kids were throwing 200 to 300 knees at the bag per round. While we were doing four five minute rounds, the kids were doing close to 10. While we were finished the kids still had to spar. It was a rigid but spectacular display of will, technique, and determination. I always hoped that someday I would be able to get to that level.
That brings us to now. With dinner, I just ate enough to be satisfied. I was never a big fan of Thai food and I want to keep losing weight. Come Friday I'll treat myself to a steak dinner again, but for now just eating to be satisfied will do.
More to come tomorrow. Another morning training session to get psyched up about.
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