This week like the week before has been a good week training. Over the past couple of weeks  on average I’ve been training a couple of times a day (give or take the odd day off due to colds or moody prawn salads)  7 in in the morning till 9 in the morning, for those that are running a 6.30 start is the norm. Afternoon sessions have been from 4 till 6. I’ve not run as much as I intended to (being honest I’ve only managed one big one ) but still feel that I’ve trained pretty hard, although being honest you can always train harder.

Morning and afternoon sessions will usually start with a warm up on the bags ( punching )followed by a circuit of knees, I think I talked about this last time I came and no I still don’t always manage to last the entire circuit. I told Pentai yesterday I have my lazy moments and he said ‘no lazy!’ so I guess I still have a lot to learn. After knees its push ups then a rest then hooks on the bag, then knees again, then more push ups, then we move into bag work. At this point your free to do whatever you chose technique wise, whether it be practice that kick your wanting to make better or work combinations its down to you to motivate you. This isn’t always an easy process but its something I got used to doing training at my old camp as I mentioned last week so it’s still very familiar to me.

I noticed the gym by this point has usually become charged with  energy (be it busy or quieter it’s always there morning and afternoon ) and with the trainers in the ring calling you individually to work rounds on the pads, you find yourself in a zone very quickly. Again the hardest part is keeping working throughout but there’s usually other trainers or fighters watching people on bags, helping individually and making sure your training rather than taking a cheeky breather in the middle of a round.

My trainers here have been very good,and incredibly patient with me. I’ve got a long way to go and I still need to work on getting more twist into my kicks but I think my left kick has improved since I came here, and my low kicks aren’t too shabby. I’ve been shown some good tactics and tricks by both Pentai and Air and they’ve both pushed me a lot since I came. Air knows me from my brief stay last year and now and again will give me something different half way through a round to work. His clinching is excellent and I’ve had a lot of fun sparring with him as well as the other guys and girls I’ve been training with.

Pentai as I mentioned last time is a great trainer with a good sense of humour and keeps pushing me, despite seeming like a Thai version of Victor Meldrew at points. He’s also been a good sparring partner (never under estimate someone shorter than you with pink gloves and bright green shin guards on) and like Air keeps giving me pointers to help. I think my punching, knees and elbows have improved from pad work and as I said my kicks are getting a little better. I’ve spent time kicking and kicking and that always helps. I’m pleased with my teeps though, There’s been lots of them.

We’ve been clinching morning and afternoon as well as sparring in the afternoons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and I’ve been training quite a lot with a lad from Australia called Adz who’s a tough boxer. He’s given me a good push and made me realize that fighting out here is very different from at home. It’s been good to have someone constantly in my face constantly walking into me, and giving me a hard time in the clinch and with everything else. Muay Thai is a hard fight and I’ve been made to remember that.

There’s a lot of  fighters here although some people are just here to train, and its nice to be in an environment where everyone is reading from  the same page. It’s very true that you need to surround yourself with people with the same goals (or on the same ‘mission’ if you will )as you and I’ve found that’s very much the case both times I’ve trained here. Although Thailand has a wealth of gyms to chose from, I think for myself I’ve found a camp that I enjoy coming to and intend to visit again in the future. I’m coming for longer next time round and with only a couple of days left till home time, feel a little sad I’m leaving but accomplished that I came back and can see it becoming a part of my training journey.

Coming here again,  I felt smack bang on the bottom rung again compared to the standard of some of the guys I was training with. ‘Their all better that me’ I thought sheepishly. It took me a couple more days to settle in till I realized the places that make me feel like that are usually the ones where I’ll learn the most. And besides, that feeling was down to me and no one else, and the best way to deal with that is just to train. So I have. And it’s been good and more than worth my time.

So, today has been a good day of rest, and I’m heading back to the UK on Tuesday. It’s my last full day of training tomorrow and I intend to make the most of it. It’s going to be good to back and I’m going to make sure I keep working on what I’ve been shown here and take it back to the gym. And of course, I’m already thinking about the next trip out here. Have a good week, train hard, and just like the last time.. I’ll see you on that road.