You know I’m pleased I’ve come back to Thailand. I’d forgotten what a contrast it is to the UK and there’s lots of things about being here that make me happy. Of course, training is one of them. There’s a massive difference between training here and training at home, I came from a gym in Bournemouth that was run and from what I understand still is run like a Thai camp to moving back to a structured class.(this is how my current gyms work in Bristol )

It was an interesting transition  because I loved that freedom and you still were still given as much help as in a usual class, but the training was always tough  and practically everyone was fighting. It took me a while to get used to the freedom of training there, and just like in Thailand my old trainer would be in the ring calling people in for pad work, and everyone else was on the bags,pads or sparring. You had to motivate yourself to work so again there was a degree of self discipline but I settled into the routine after a time.

Although I’m very happy training at my current gyms (I think I’ve come a long way since I came to Bristol) coming back to Sitsongpeenong has made me incredibly happy to be in an environment when your constantly being made to work hard but you’ve got that degree of freedom too. When your not in the ring your on the bags working on what you choose or have been told to work on and then its clinching… nuff said. My trainer here Air is excellent, and I’ve also done some pad work with Pipa Jockeygym and Pentai Singpatong both who are also world class with good sense of humour.

Pentai has made me laugh a lot this week and is a great person to spar with. He’s shorter than me so I’m in my element. Yes you’ve got your ‘technical’ moments but technical here is different to back home. Technical here is still a lot of work and there isn’t really anything like an ‘easy’ session. There’s no massive focus on technique breakdown, rather you get shown and then you do. Being honest that’s what I prefer. I think I understand what a lot of techniques can do and why you should use them, so for me its more about working on them to get them good. I spent a lot of time yesterday focusing on a rear leg teep I can see being a good weapon. (as an example)  This week I’ve been on the receiving end of a bad cold. (the winging will stop when the cough goes) so I’ve had to pull things back a little but I think I’ve still trained hard.

It’s been quite humbling to train with guys at the top of their game who are some of the warmest, patient people I’ve met with more knowledge between them then you can shake a stick at. It’s been a week of corrections, slow improvements an I’ve loved every minute of it. Of course it’s been a lot of fun too. This gym trains incredibly hard but has a collective smile on it’s face whilst doing so.

I’d forgotten what being here is like, and I’m pleased I’ve got all of next week to really work. I think I’ll thrown in some running next week too. I’ve pulled that back too, although last Saturday I ran a whopping 14k. It wasn’t intentional but one of the lads from Australia who is here shot off into the distance like a Gazelle  and after I looked behind me realizing no one was there, I thought I better keep going. You live and you learn, but hey I guess it keeps you fit.

So for now, that’s really all she wrote. I’m out here till the 23rd and I’ve started to think about getting myself out for longer next time round. There’s something that’s said to me ‘come and stay for a while.’ and you know something? I think I might just do that. Have a great week, train hard and just like the last time…Well, I’ll see you on the road.