My Fight!!!
So I know that I have been teasing some really exciting news for a while now and here it is! I fought in my first Muay Thai fight. I got paid to fight so I guess I can very technically call myself a professional athlete. That’s pretty cool, or at least I think so.
The reason I didn’t let people know ahead of time was because I didn’t want my mom calling me convincing me not to fight. It’s kind of been part of the plan since the beginning of the trip and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. So I didn’t want anything to interfere, even my mom’s welling wishing concerns.
Training Prior to the Fight
Once I told my trainers that I wanted to fight they started being a little rougher on me. Two weeks out from the fight They really started training me hard.
In the morning we typically do technique with partners, but both luckily and unluckily for me I got one on one training with trainers. Typically if you want one on one training with trainers you have to pay for a private class and it would take place outside of normal class hours. However, since I had been there for a couple months and I was starting to show some promise one of the trainers took me under his wing.
Tiger was that trainer. You can see him pictured in the photo above wearing a black tank top in the row behind me to the right. Tiger, like most Thais, had a good fight career with over 200 fights. He’s one of the more technically advanced trainers in the gym and working with him really improved my game.
Padwork with him was grueling. On the first day of working with him he made me do 20 burpees and then 20 kicks each leg just to start the round. After I finished I was completely gassed and then he started attacking me with punches and kicks and I was so tired I could barely defend myself. If I didn’t learn any physical techniques from that training, I definitely learned some mental toughness. The first morning was 3 rounds. Each day we add another round until we were at 5 rounds, the amount of an actual fight.
There were so many times during padwork that he got me to the point of breaking and giving up, but would remind me that we train hard so we can fight easy. Another trainer, Noi, also did padwork with me in the mornings leading up to the fight. Another trainer Tee Noi did clinch work with me as well. Between all the trainers working with me I knew that if I could make it through training I could make it through a fight.
I am so appreciative of all the extra time and attention I got from the trainers. It was truly a blessings and incredible to think how much better I got from my first week of training to 2 and a half months later!
The Fight
Fight day was relaxed. I sleep in and then went and help out at Thai Village for lunch until around 4pm. Then I want home and ate a light dinner and showed up at the gym around 5:30pm to have one of the girls do my hair. She did some really awesome looking cornrows.
Then I went home and relaxed until around 8pm. Then I went to a buddy’s apartment and we headed to the stadium at 8:30pm. We got there and I just relaxed by where are gym would be sitting. I sipped water and tried not to get to nervous.
After a couple of fight my trainer started wrapping my hands. Then A couple fights before mine we went to the back of the stadium and I got geared up and then they gave me an oil rubdown. It was funny because in the back there are some old mats you lie down on and they rub oil all over your body vigorously, while your opponent is just chilling a couple feet away having the same thing done to him. The whole while there are people headed to the bathroom since they were located in the back as well. So laid back and not what you would except in a western boxing match.
Then before I could even think about it I was walking up into the ring. In the ring there are a couple of traditional and ceremonial Buddhist things that need to be observed. First before I get in the ring a mongkul is put around my head and then a quick prayer is said. Then I step over the ropes into the ring. In the ring I bow in every direction to the crowd. Then I wait for the official. After I check in with him they play the traditional Thai fight music. At this point I begin to “seal” the ring. I walk around the entire ring stopping in each corner to a stretch and I would do a sign of the Cross just to distinguish the fact that I wasn’t Buddhist.
After that I bow three times to my corner out of respect for my trainers and my gym. Then I added in a quick Lord’s prayer, but I had so much adrenaline I couldn’t even fully reciting it without forgetting it. Then the refs called me to the middle and went over the fight rules in Thai and I just nodded like I understood. Then fight!
In the fight it goes so much faster than you expect. I felt really sloppy and I tired quicker than I thought I would. After a couple rounds I didn’t even know what round it was! That’s why it’s important to have a good corner there supporting you and leading you through the fight. I definitely couldn’t have done it without them!
At some point in one of the middle rounds I took a headbutt above the eye brow and had a gash open up. In the moment I thought I felt it open up, but it the blood pouring out felt like it just as well could have been sweat. My the end of that round I had blood all down my arm and on my legs. With a little vasoline we got the bleeding to stop and I didn’t have to deal with it the rest of the fight.
Then after the fight everyone is pumped for you and it is really exciting! High fives all around and everyone wants to get a pictures. I took a lot of pictures with random tourists and that was really cool. Made me feel like a true pro, which on technicality I am since I got paid the US equivalent of $90 for that fight. In Thailand that’s enough to pay my month’s rent.
I was really lucky to have a lot of the people come out from the gym to support! Also a lot of the people from church came to cheer as well! It meant so much to me and it was awesome to see everyone so happy for me!
This blog post is already getting pretty long so I will have another post with the whole fight video posted and more details about my cut above my eye brow. I got another 7 stitches! I do have a ton of awesome photos from the fight so check out the gallery below!
Reflections after 100 Days Abroad
I meant to write this post yesterday, but hey I’m not perfect. So today is actually my 101st day since leaving the US. I thought I would do a little post on how it feels to be away for so long.
Reflection #1
My first and probably my biggest reflection is how much more I appreciate my family and friends. I like to think that I was already appreciative of my friends and family before I left, but it’s a tough thing to go through Thanksgiving and Christmas without being around family. There probably isn’t a single day that goes by with out an occasion that makes me think, “Oh hey this friend would laugh at this or find this interesting.”
Also, I feel pretty fortunate to have a family that is cool with me just doing whatever it is I’m doing. I hope I haven’t caused my parents to many grey hairs.
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, or at least that’s what my dad says, and it seems pretty true! So to any friends or family that are reading this (that’s probably the only people who read this) I miss and love ya!
Reflection #2
A culture can seem completely different, the buildings can look different, the climate can be different, but the people are essentially the same. Most people, no matter where you go, are kind, generous, and super caring.
I have a lot of friends who will make small comments in passing about how the people must be or the dangers of being a foreigner in a strange land. Let’s be honest, how much worse can it get then certain parts of Saginaw and Detroit? In reality the people are just as nice and well wishing as people in your hometown. I honestly find them more hospitable. Maybe they enjoy the novelty of meeting a foreigner.
I couldn’t tell you the amount of times I’ve had grinning old men shadowboxing at me as I pass them on my morning run from the gym. They love to see foreigners embracing their culture.
Reflection #3
Visas are hard…
This is the exact picture I used for my Cambodian visa and the Chinese consulate says its to far away. It needs to be more of a close up on my face.
The amount of insignificant paper work they need is frustrating too. I had to put together the “return” flight for my Thailand visa and I have to figure out some type of hotel reservations and return flight for my Chinese visa. Visas work fine if you have an exact itinerary and know exactly what your plans are. That’s not really how backpacking works though. So hopefully with my scrappy paperwork put together I can sneak into China!
After I get my Chinese visa I have to focus on my Russian visa, which is apparently harder for US citizens to get. You are supposed to only be able to get a Russian visa in the country you are citizen of unless you have an affiliate like a work visa with a third country. I don’t have that so we’ll see what will have to be done to get into Russia.
I’ve been really blessed to have over a 100 days of experience out of the US and I look forward to who knows how many more! Thank you to everyone who has supported me while I’m doing this. Just know I miss you more than you think and it’s always a comfort to know people are thinking of and praying for me.
In other news, I did get the job in Bangkok and will be cutting my Muay Thai training a week early to fly to Bangkok on January 22nd. I’ll probably talk about that more later. In the meantime I have some super exciting news that will be popping up next week. Stay tuned! It’s most exciting thing maybe to happen this whole trip!