|
Welcome to our Camp news update. I am a bit late again with the updates and will in the future be attempting to update once every two weeks. And to all of those who are waiting on an email from me I will reply soon! Once again we have a lot of fights to report on and also a few photos included of the big fight day on the 31st Oct.
First though, to catch up with fights from back over a month ago. Solams' Northern Champions Lightweight title fight was a tough fight, as most of Solams fights are, and ended in a five round decision to the holder. Solam won the first three rounds but the Champion came back to win the last two with good control of the clinch and knees, dropping Solam to the floor once in the fourth and once in the fifth. It was a worthy win for the Champion and Solam will be back training soon. With his ranking in the North at #4, Solam will have a few months before he may try again for the Title.
On the same night as Solams Title fight, JR had a fought against Nat McIntyre from Minnesota, who turned up with his Trainer, Greg Nelson of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, and a film crew who were there to capture Nats training and the fight for a TV program back home. JR won the fight but it was a hard fight with Nat showing good technique and strong leg kicks, JR was hurting the next day!
Most of October was quiet until Sompong fought on the 20th at Gawilla Stadium. He fought against a former opponent who had beaten him in their previous meeting. This time though Sompong was a worthy winner of a five round decision.
The next fights were on the 31st October, the "Loi Kratong" holidays in Thailand. This turned out to be a very tough day for us when we were on the losing end of three top quality fights. In the afternoon we gathered in the centre of Chiangmai at Thapae Gate where a large ring and seating had been erected with live TV coverage of the fights. First up was Eddie fighting against Lakang Nueng from Uttradit. Eddie was mostly ineffective in the first two rounds, but then in the third he started getting the upper hand in both the clinching and knees. The fourth was more of the same with Eddie causing real problems for his opponent. Just when it was looking as if Eddie was going to win Lakang came off the ropes landing a powerful elbow and with blood pouring from the cut the Doctor took one look and stopped the bout. It was a tough fight for Eddie to lose but happily the cut is healing well and Eddie is back at training.
We had no time to catch our breath as next up was Solam, fighting against a big Moroccan, Hanine Khalid. This turned out to be a toe to toe fight of low kicks and power punching. Hanine had the upper hand for most of the fight with his extra weight proving tough for Solam to overcome. In the fifth Solam went for it with a relentless barrage of kicks and punches, but once again we were beaten by an elbow, when Hanine came off the ropes and landed a short elbow to Solams face knocking him out. Hanine and Solam were both awarded trophies for the best fight of the afternoon.
Last up for us was Jamie (Kasper) Luengo, from Spain. He fought against Siyak from Uttradit. Though Jaime was outclassed by his opponent he fought with style and landed many good punches and elbows before going down in the third round to some very strong low leg kicks that drained the last of his energy.
So our big afternoon of fighting ended in three losses, but they were very good exciting fights and everybody went home with a lesson learned. But that was not the end of the day for us as we had five more fights at a village fair in Hang Dong, just south of Chiangmai, that evening.
First up in the evening fights was Yu, at nine years of age he was stepping into the ring for the second time against a local boy who was bigger and more experienced than him. Despite the showboating of the other boy Yu kept his cool and fought an excellent three rounds but lost a very close decision.
Next up was Jin, having his fourth fight against a boy with fifteen fights and Jin pulled off the unexpected by winning with a KO punch in the third. Our first win of the day was much needed!
Dan Fine, from South Africa, was next up for his third fight, against an old man and though Dan was obviously able to win this fight easily he played the game and made a good fight of it, trying out some of the technique he had been working on in training.
Make, from Argentina, was up next. Make has visited and trained with us several times over the years but this was his first opportunity to fight in the ring and though he lost the fight in five rounds he was very happy with his performance and will be back again for more next year!
Last fight of the day was Carla, from USA. She was entering the ring for her third fight and was up against a tough Thai girl who made up for a lack of height with some powerful low leg kicks. Carla fought hard but eventually lost a five round decision.
So that was the 31st October, 2 wins and 6 losses, lots of lessons learned. "That's Boxing". We will be back again!!
November started with young Gat fighting on the 3rd, his second time and losing when the referee called the fight in the third as Gat was too inexperienced to deal with his opponent. The next evening, at the same village fair, Manat, our newest fighter and at 12 years the youngest brother of Sompong, who I have mentioned earlier, and Chun, who is teaching Muay Thai in China now. Manat is a small lad, like his two brothers, but has the same fighting heart. He lost his first fight in five rounds against a bigger and better fighter but showed that he is going to be going places!! The main fight of the evening was Sompong fighting a rematch against an old opponent who Sompong has lost to once and more recently beaten. In this third meeting Sompong prove the stronger and smarter fighter and took home a five round decision and the trophy for best fight of the night.
On the same evening but thousands of miles away in England, Den fought against a boxer from Scotland, winning in five rounds. Den said after the fight that he was glad to win as the other boxer had been very strong. Den has now been in England for three months and he is learning lots from Knuckles Muay Thai Gym on the different training styles between England and Thailand. With the cold weather settling into the UK now, Den is feeling the cold a lot. I shiver just thinking about it! But to help him keep warm, Den is now turning his attentions to his upcoming marriage to Sarah and I will post details later when they let us know their plans!!
The following day, on TV, Kem fought at Rajadamnern Stadium. This time he took no chances and fought a very smart fight. Using his powerful punching and low kicks he KOed his opponent in the third round. Kem is getting close to the chance of a Champions fight and in the step towards that goal will be fighting on the 29th November, in the main fight of the night at Rajadamnern Stadium. I am hoping to be there in person to see it!!
Our next fights are on the 23rd November and the 9th December. Ahmed was to have his first fight in four months on the 23rd but has now had to pull out to return home on a family emergency. We will be looking forward to his return in the new year. In the meantime there are several other fights slated but no details yet.
After I wrote about the problems in some quarters of Muay Thai in the last Camp news edition, I had a response from one of our students in Canada and I would like to quote a portion of the email he sent as it puts so clearly into words the essence of Muay Thai.
Jim M., Toronto
"I knew exactly what you were talking about when you described the fiasco which has become karate. Having now spent 32 years in karate I am painfully aware of twisted politics, self serving and chest pounding of people who are respected as masters and yet behave like 'yellow belts with one solid tournament win under their belts'.
The example has been set and there are now generations of karateka emulating their teachers - karate is doomed to degenerate further away from its basic truths as energy continues to be poured into the argument and not the practice.
The very things which captured me the moment I saw Muay Thai was the simple purity, the absence of any selling features, and the stand alone proof that makes technique either effective or not - the practical application of it.
The lack of belts, you must look around you to see who works out and who does not. Respect earned through teaching ability, and personal ethics, not power sold/conferred or demanded.
I hope that Muay Thai trainers and promoters worldwide will learn from the errors of Karate instructors and work to protect the integrity of their art.
I would encourage you to redouble your efforts to protect Muay Thai, this a fight most worth the effort."
I do not think there is much more one can say, lets hope that the future of Muay Thai is bright and heading in the right direction. I will bring this report to a close with one last piece of news on the Cancer fight. I am very pleased to say that I am now 90% better and only the side affects of the radiation still linger in the form of a tender mouth and tongue, no spicy food in the land of spicy food!!
I wish to thank all those people who continue to write with their kind words and blessing in the fight against Cancer and for Life.
Best of Luck in Muay Thai
Take Care.......Andy
Eddie in trouble |
Yu celebrating with Dan |
Carla in Action |
Yu and Taywin, prefight preparation |
|
