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Welcome to everyone once again, we have had another hectic two and half months since the last update. We are fully into the rainy season now but this year has been relatively mild so far compared to some years, it rains each day, just enough to keep the heat down!
We have done a lot of traveling this past two months and spent too much time away from home! The wins have been hard to come by and we have had a few good lessons learned.
The first fights came on the 2nd June when we traveled down to Uttaradit, about 400km south of Chiangmai, where Alex and JR both fought hard five round fights. Alex was up first against a very tough fighter from Isan, who came out in the first round as if there was no tomorrow, catching Alex with several elbows as well as everything else! Alex, showing no fear, worked hard and stayed in the fight The second round was more of the first with both fighters throwing elbows every chance they had. Alex was the first to draw blood, catching his opponent just above the eye at the end of the second and then in the fourth Alex was cut, by the fifth both fighters were tired but Alex ran out of steam first and lost the decision on a very close fight.
JR fought out a fast paced fight against another fighter from Isan, that saw both fighters standing toe to toe for most of the fight and for once the draw was a deserved decision. It put JRs' record at 14-0-1, still unbeaten in almost a year and a half!
Most of June was a month of solid training, preparing for the upcoming events in July, and next fight came at the end of June, the 28th, when Chris Pollack from the US had his first fight at the Bar Beer Centre in Chiangmai. It was a well matched fight that ended in the third when Chris caught his opponent on the chin with a straight and in the stomach with a knee to win by KO.
On the 3rd July we traveled with Chai one of our consultant trainers, Carla Fox of the US, and Eric Wu from Canada/Taiwan, to Ubon Ratchatani in the East of Thailand. It was a 2000 km round trip and my first visit to Isan, the land is flat but quite beautiful, farming is the main industry and the people were friendly and welcoming. Though this is Chais' hometown he had not fought here often and was hoping very much for a win. He was first up, a hard fought fight that went five rounds and despite landing a precision reverse elbow in the fifth it was not enough take the decision. Carla was up next but just 15 minutes before fight time, with hands wrapped, she was ill to her stomach having eaten something bad during that afternoons visit to the local radio station to promote the fight. Everyone was disappointed, not least Carla, as she would have made history being the first woman foreigner to fight in Ubon. Eric finished the night for us with a win in the third round against an old fighter who could not match the fitness level of Eric. Though Eric did not have a hard fight his opponent did show up a few of Erics weaknesses and Eric and Buem spent much of the 1000km trip home reviewing over and over on the video camera the tape of the fight and discussing what needed working on.
Five days after getting back to Chiangmai from Ubon, I flew to Guang Zhou, formerly Canton, in southern China. My second ever visit to China and the first to Guang Zhou, a city of 40 million, it was hard to believe this city alone held two thirds of all the people in the whole of Thailand! But hospitality was excellent and the whole visit a great learning experience. Chun has been in Guang Zhou for almost one year working as a trainer and Boon has now joined him, also on a one year stay as a trainer, while Supot, Kem amd Solam are staying for a three month stint to help with training and to fight. All five of the lads had fights on the 13th July and what a farce it turned out to be. The fights were billed as Thai Boxing when in reality it was WWF style throwing and some very undisciplined Kung fu style front leg kicking (did not see the Chinese fighters throw a single rear leg kick the whole night) and undisciplined boxing. The fights were four two minute rounds with two minute breaks, no knees to the head and no elbows and you are allowed to dive for the legs and throw down anyway possible, in a ring that had a slick surface mat, on which the slightest bit of sweat or water turned the surface into a skating rink! No matter what style you fight it turns the whole affair into a melee! Not nice to watch and no chance really for real skill to show through.
Chun was first up and won his fight easily, but only after fighting six rounds! His opponent had been hanging over the ropes exhausted while the referee allowed time for him to recover in the forth, then again picked up off the floor in the fifth by the ref and his corner and urged to fight on, but the judges deemed it a draw and called for the sixth round with only more of the same from the Chinese fighter. It should have been a sign of things to come!
Next up was Boon who won his fight by virtue of his opponent being so exhausted after three rounds he could not stand, despite every effort of the ref and cornermen.
Supot was up next and his opponent was as wild a puncher as I have ever seen with little else to his technique. Supot tried hard to maintain his composure while being overwhelm by the wild boxing and throw downs from leg dives and finally reacted impulsively in the third round by dropping two elbows into the exposed back of his opponent who was trying yet again to throw him bodily over his shoulders, a natural reaction for any Muay Thai fighter! Nevertheless this brought first a disqualification from the ref, and then a barrage of water bottles(plastic thankfully, though some were full) and a physical attack on us was prevented by the organizers only at the last minute, a very scary moment! After all had settled down and I was persuaded not to leave with our fighters, Kem and Solam both went on to lose their fights even though, and even by the Chinese rules that we were fighting by, they under had clearly won. The Chinese were trying to save face, otherwise except for Pots disqualification, it would have been a clean sweep for all the Thai fighters competeing that night.
Muay Thai in China has along way to go, but their fighting heart is very strong and with the background of Kung fu discipline and dedication, the Chinese will one day be a powerful force in Muay Thai if they embrace the "Art" fully.
The day after the fights in Guang Zhou, JR and Manat, both had fights in Mae Rim just outside of Chiangmai. Once again I missed Manat fighting. This was his fifth fight, the forth in a row I have missed, and he lost again after dominating the first two of three rounds but losing in the third! Not to worry at 12 years old Manat has a long way to go yet and he remains positive. JR on the other hand continued his winning ways by once again KO'ing his opponent with his now trade mark low kick straight punch combination. His record is now 15-0-1. And his next fight is in Bangkok on the 25th August!
Again, only a few days after arriving back in Chiangmai, I was once more on the road headed for Bangkok, our pick up and Buem, with his van, loaded with Alex, Eric, Joey, Carla, Jaime, Guerra, Halfdan and Matt. An over night drive had us arrive on the morning of the register and weigh-in. We ended up representing several countries including Canada, Taiwan, Spain, Denmark, and the USA. Over the next seven days of competition, with the exception of the day off before the finals, we had one or two fighters in the ring each day. The first day, in the class A division, saw Joey fight and lose to a Russian boxer who eventually fought through to the final. Joey got caught with a spinning elbow within the first minute and was unable to recover properly and after a few more shots on target the ref stopped the fight. Carla fought next against an opponent from Finland whom she should have been able to beat but having had a cold for the four days prior to the fight had drained her of energy and she lost the decision. Eric fought next against an Irish lad who showed heart and boxing skill but lost to Eric on points. Next up was Guerra, our first fighter in the B class, he was having an excellent first ever fight and on his way to winning when he landed awkwardly on his foot and could not fight on! Next was Jamie, and though he showed excellent technique in the first round his lack of fitness let him down and he could not deal with his Thai opponents strength in the clinch and knees, losing the decision.
The most anticipated fighter for me of the tournament was Alex, having fought all over Thailand, including Rajadamnern, he should have been able to make a good showing but instead had a terrible fight where nothing would connect and his Finnish opponent forced him into making a few basic mistakes in the clinch and only the lack of experience from his opponent saved Alex getting a knee or two in the head. In a departure from my normal post fight reaction to people who lose I tore a strip off Alex, and he took it to heart and has worked hard since and we will get a chance to see what he has learned when he fights on Friday, 9th August here in Chiangmai. The fact that his mother and two of his friends arrived from Canada the day of the fight had nothing to do with him losing! Next to fight was Halfdan, he was our second B Class fighter and he was overwhelmed by a fighter from Italy who charged forward arms flying only to catch Dan on the side of the head early in the first round and after a second hit to the head and despite Dan protesting that he was okay the ref stopped the fight.
On this day also, Eric fought his second round fight and was up against one of the toughest fighters in the tournament, Kirk Finlay from Australia, it was a non stop fight from the first bell to the last, Eric fought with all he had but in the end lacked the experience to overcome such a tough opponent. But he came away very happy with having gone the distance and once again a few good lessons learned.
The last fight for us of the tournament was Matt, straight into the final of his B class where he fought against a Chinese fighter, who, though inexperienced like Matt had the upper hand for most of the fight and won the decision. All in all it was a tough tournament for us, but we learned some good and valuable lessons and will be back to fight another day!
The tournament also showed beyond a doubt how much Muay Thai has spread around the world, with a very high standard of fighter competeing and most people showing a good attitude and being true to the traditions of Muay Thai, it is very promising for the future of Muay Thai around the world. We all made some new friends too!
Back in Chiangmai and catching up on a month of not being home, both training and answering emails has kept me busy, apologies to those of you who have been waiting to hear from me and those who I have missed at the camp and especially to one man from Austria, I dropped him off at the Up North guesthouse as we were full at the camp late on one evening before we went out for a good bye dinner for Alexs' Mom and that was the last we heard of him. I am slowly catching up but only in time to leave again, this time for Macau, where we will have Jaime and Ahmed fighting on the 17th August. We are also hoping to be part of a fight promotion in central China in September, more news on that one later, and there are going to several more good fights coming up in October and November. As I mentioned before we are especially looking forward to JRs' first foray into the Bangkok fight scene on the 25th August.
I hope you enjoy the photos I have included this time, I wish to thank all of those who contribute their photos to these Camp updates, without you I would not have any photos! I wish everyone strength, heart, and patience in Muay Thai.
Take Care
.Andy
After the fights at Rajadamnern |
A Typical Training Day! June 2002 |
Manat, heading on a run. |
Talking Muay Thai! |
Yu, Nits son
Dtung, Boons nephew
Keng, Supots son
Champ, Taywins daughter
Future Champions?
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Lanna / Kiat Busaba in Guang Zhou |
After Erics' first round win at the World Cup in Bangkok! |
James, looking good while hard at work! |
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