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| Camp News: August 21st, 2003 (Part 2) |
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Next on Friday 18th April, we had two fight locations. First we traveled two hours south to Li, where Gat and Jin fought on an afternoon promotion, part of the towns Song Khran celebrations. Gat was first up and pulled off a great KO win in the third against much better opposition and then Jin fought hard over five rounds only to lose the decision. We then drove an hour back towards Chiang Mai to Ban Hong for the evenings fights where we had a young Thai lad, Bowie, have his first fight and at 12 years of age he show great calm and vision as well as heart for a lad so young, taking the fight in five rounds. Though Bowie is now continuing his boxing career elsewhere we wish him well and Muay Thai fans will be hearing a lot more of him in the future. Last for this day of fighting was Solam and he was up against a bigger lad, Jod Keng, and had a tough fight over five rounds and though we all thought he had won, the fight was called a draw.
After this we had a break of over a week until the next fights on the 27th April, when we traveled to Lamphun district where Steve Binggeli from Switzerland fought a good fight with heart only to lose the five round decision against the hometown boy.
On the very next night at a temple near the town centre of Lamphun, Dtung fought for the third time, an amazing fight by both boys with all the heart and technique you ever wish to see. Though Dtung was outclassed he never stopped fighting and the ref had to step in to save him from the older boy at the end of the third round! Later Jin stepped in and produced one of his best fights yet, showing strength to go the distance and smarts to outpoint his opponent over five rounds.
The last fights for April came on the 30th with Alex and Wang fighting on the under card of a televised afternoon promotion from Mae Jo University just outside Chiang Mai. After the main program of Burmese fights and a Champions fight, Alex stepped in to give the fight of the afternoon with a measured and controlled first two rounds and then producing a classic KO, low kick high kick, good night! Wang followed next but was completely outclassed, not that it stopped him from giving it all and despite going down three times in the first round he came out fighting in the second to put his opponent down before enduring an onslaught that the ref stepped in to stop. Wang said afterwards, "next time!"
Our first fights of May came on the 8th in Uttaradit. We were in the grip of the hot season, everything baking, the heat dry but oppressive and after a long drive and a hot afternoon with dust storms the evening produced three very good fights, with Jin winning five rounds against the hometown boy, JR turning a fight around with some very good combinations and control to win in five and Solam producing the fight of the evening to take the favoured boxer from Bangkok to five and getting the decision. This fight showed that all the knee work in pad training has paid off!
The next night in Chiang Mai, Jay from Canada, after losing his first fight in five rounds at Gawilla came out again at the Stadium this time against an opponent from France. Jay went in from the bell and used all his weapons scoring heavily with the low kicks. Though his opponent managed, to his credit, to come back later in the fight Jay held on to win a very good decision.
On the 16th at Thapae Bar Beer Centre, Boon stepped out of his semi-retirement once again, only to lose a lopsided decision, judges sometimes!! Then David Le Blanc from Canada stepped in the ring for his first Muay Thai fight and gave a good show of control, technique, and power to keep his more experienced Thai opponent at bay and win in five rounds.
The following Wednesday we traveled to Hot, an hour and a half south of Chiang Mai. First up was Jin, who fought out a hard five round fight, winning a good decision. Gat was next and he also out fought out his more experienced opponent over five rounds to take the win. Alex fought next against the experienced Yod Keng who stood off against the ropes and in the corners to win with a superior defense and counter. It was good lesson learned and a rematch is coming up! The finale of the night was Natasha, from Canada, fighting a local girl. With David more nervous for Natasha than he was for his fight five days earlier, Natasha stepped up to give a solid fight with clean sharp technique and control against a less skilled but enthusiastic opponent, winning with a third round TKO.
Two days later at Gawilla Chun fought out another five round loss, unable to find a convincing way past his taller opponent, one of the stories of his fight career, always being the smaller opponent, but with the biggest heart!
At the end of May and start of June the rains came thus signaling the end to the years fight season. With Gawilla closing for the month of June and the daily rains preventing outdoor venues we expected a quiet time ahead for the next month or so, but nothing quite prepared us for the next two months when the Dengue Fever struck the area around the Camp. The mosquito borne illness generally lays people low with a high fever for three days followed by five days or so of lethargy, not better but not well either and when the potential danger from the fever is at it's worst. We spent more time at the hospital than we did training but thankfully in the end everyone has recovered and are back to full health and fitness again.
So after the imposed break from the fight scene we re-entered the fray exactly two months later on the 25th July at the WMC Championships in Bangkok. Jaime Luengo from Spain, back again after several months, and Alex Ricci, took on foreign opposition for a change. Jaime was up against Trevor Symandech from Canada, and though the Canadian was far more experienced, Jaime once again demonstrated that innate talent he has, to hold the strong and determined Canadian at bay and though losing the decision, his fitness once again letting him down, many of the audience considered his fight one of the best of the day.
Alex fought against Alex Dally from England and though our Alex clearly dominated the fight with better technique the English fighter wore him down with strong low kicks which at the start of the fifth round Alex went down to two well placed kicks that took all he had left in legs. Though Alex was bitterly disappointed to lose after being so close to taking the decision he learned a valuable lesson and was also privileged to be treated for his extremely sore legs by an avid fight fan whom also happened to be healer. She had special massage oil for his bruises and it seemed to work as he was up and dancing that evening!
At the fights we were happy once again to meet up with many of our friends in the Muay Thai world, with the Australians and English there in their usual numbers and the Canadians led by Mike Miles, after all these years! With the local Bangkok, Koh Samui, and Pattaya gyms in attendance there were familiar faces as well as many new ones and it is very good to see that Muay Thai continues to grow around the world, long may it continue. Despite our losses at these fights this was one of our best showings on a WMC Fight Promotion and we are looking forward to the next one!
The last two fight nights of this report are quite extraodinary and one of the many things that makes all this hard work worthwhile, First on the Monday, 28th July, following our Bangkok fights, we visited the Thapae Bar Beer Centre in Chiang Mai city with four fighters. First up was Jin against a bigger and stronger opponent and though having a tough time of it initially Jin work away with strong knees in the clinch before finishing off in the third round with a solid body punch to the solar plexus that sent his opponent to the canvas.
Next up was Zagar, from Holland, entering the ring for his first fight and though he was both taller and out weighed his opponent considerably he fought an excellent fight showing control of both his temper and technique to go through four rounds before the referee stopped the fight. Though Zagar could have used his weight and height advantage to end the fight in the first instead he learned some valuable lessons, one of the most important being his fitness, which was not good enough, despite what he thought was all that hard training!
Following Zagar, was Solam, fighting for the first time in almost 3 months and up against Yod Keng whom he drew with last time they met and who defeated Alex in May. The fight promised to be a good one with Solams attacking style against the more defensive Yod Keng and so it proved, as the action was full on from the first bell. With both fighters being caught and rocked, Solam, found the spot in the third round with his trademark straight right, lovely!
Last of the evening with all the pressure on after three wins by KO, Blake stepped into the ring for his third fight in Thailand. Against an evenly matched opponent who attacked Blake's legs unrelentingly through the first round Blake came back in the second to block the low kicks and counter with good punches scoring a KO late in the second. An exciting fight which topped off a very good night for the Camp.
The last fight night for this report turns out to be even more amazing than the previous fight night. This time we traveled to Hang Dong, just south of Chiang Mai and in the grounds of a local school on a large gala night we had Dtung entering the ring first for his fourth fight and though he was up against a much bigger boy he fought with heart and determination to completely overwhelm the older boy with a second round KO high kick punch combination! Next up was Blake, fighting this time against a good but shorter opponent and after two hard rounds a couple of sharp downward elbows caught his opponent on the head and a rather bloody fight was stopped in the third. Next up was Manat, coming back too after a long lay off, fought a furious three rounds which though he was scrappy at times was also unstoppable and won by a third round KO straight! Following Manat into the ring was Gat who started out with his usual swaggering style and showing a sharp eye he caught his opponent with a perfect elbow which though seeming to go through air opened a large cut on the forehead to end the fight.
Last up on the night was Michael, our newest young Thai lad, at thirteen and a young Mike Tyson look alike, entering the ring for the first time. He was up against a much taller boy who had already had several fights but in two fast furious rounds which had the crowd on their feet, Michael plowed forward with heavy accurate punches and the occasional low and mid range kicks for good measure to win by second round KO punch. Not a bad first fight! And a perfect way to end another good fight night for the Camp. It is not often you will have nine fight wins in a row, let alone none going the distance. It has been a good set of results for us since coming back from the Fever and the long break and we are continuing to work hard at our training with several important fights coming up soon.
The past six months have been one of the most eventful times I have seen at the Camp and with all the people who have come through there have been a few problems. In hope of avoiding these problems again I would like to try and clarify a couple of things about training and fighting here.
Concerning training at the Camp, we train every day, it is our life and when a person comes to train with us they join in and train along at their own level and pace rather than in a group all doing the same thing. This means working with their own self-discipline and desire to train, to be fitter and improve technique because they want to and not because someone is telling them. And if the desire to learn and willingness to work hard is shown, then the Trainers will be more than happy to teach. We do our best to make sure everyone gets proper training, but you also have to stand up and ask for what you want, it will not be handed to you, and you may need to wait your turn too, but then that is part of the training, learning patience. And if there is a problem then speak up instead of waiting to the last day of the stay to unload. People in Thailand and especially at the Camp are more than willing to help and accommodate, or explain! Criticize by all means, we are not perfect and welcome constructive criticism, it is how we learn and grow, but also respect where you are, things are done differently here for better or worse, that is life.
So, the more you put out the more you will get back. And remember, as with all Martial Arts, there are no short cuts, you must spend years of training to achieve a good standard. So put it into perspective with the two or three month visit.
Fighting in Thailand, is for many people from beginners upwards, part of the reason for visiting and training in Thailand. And yes, we can arrange fights for most people up to about 75 kg and though we always do our best to ensure a balanced match up it is often difficult where beginners are concerned, as most Thais over 16 who are fighting have had considerable experience already. Having said this if you truly want to experience the fight and are sure in your heart then a good month or two at the most of training and you will be ready for your first fight. The first fight is not about winning or losing but it is about testing you heart (or mettle as others would say) and about learning and understanding just how much more training and hard work you will need to apply to become good at this! The Thais attitude towards fighting is of making a good fight and not taking unfair advantage of the lesser opponent, though beware anyone who steps into the ring with a bad attitude! And also remember this is a fight and even beginners can be dangerous and hurt each other so do not take it lightly and be prepared for some hard knocks or else do not get into the ring in the first place. And in most cases, win or lose, it is going to hurt, a lot!
For over ten years now we have been matching people up to fight and though we have always done our best to ensure a good match up there have been some bad fights in that time but everyone has survived, including myself, matched up with a small Thai (no problem for this big farang!) who I later learned had had over 100 fights and my legs knew all about that by the end. Some of the worst pain I have experienced in my life came on after the fight! Still it did not put me off, but instead taught me much respect for Muay Thai and the Thai fighters.
To finish this marathon Update I would like to thank all of you, who have managed to read through this far, for your attention and I hope you have enjoyed the news of the past six months. We said so long, "See you again soon", to many good friends over the past few months. Ursula, home having a child now, good luck and we will be looking forward to meeting the next world champion! Mel "the beautiful" Bellissimo who despite having the nastiest fight, never lost his love or faith in Muay Thai, you are sorely missed and need to come back soon! David and Natasha after what was a very short seven months have returned the rigours of the real world. As have Todd and Amy, you are all missed, and Azi I hope your motorbike ride round Thailand is going well. And to all the others who are many, it was wonderful to have you all here, our Muay Thai family continues to grow and gain strength and I hope to see you all again in the future. Finally Mingson, thank you ever so much for your kind words, they make it all worthwhile and they give me much strength to continue in the Muay Thai world.
Good Luck to all in Muay Thai
Take Care
Andy
A group photo from April 03 |
James after winning his first fight in Australia! |
Alex in action at the WMC Championships in Bangkok |
Stronger than ever! |
Knock Out Gym, Buenos Aries, Argentina |
Zagar, looking sharp! |
Solam in action |
Den and Jaime working on Blake between rounds |
Jin in action at Bar Beer |
The champions, one former, two current |
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