Text Box: The experiences of a returned Muay Thai Gapper. It was a cold dark night in September when David Cook finally succumbed to a long burning desire. Fuelled by a combination of his interest in the Thai national sport: Muay Thai, abysmal UK weather and his repetitive job and lifestyle: he decided to get away from it all for a while, to have a short career break: to engage in his passion for kick boxing. He wanted to become a better fighter, and at the same time have a decent break on a paradise isle in Thailand: The land of a thousand smiles, where it is always hot, the beaches are idyllic, the food fragrant, healthy and stupidly cheap. Taking advantage of a new Gap year provider’s (Xtreme Gap) Muay Thai program he set off for 2 months to the motherland of Muay Thai. We caught up with him after his trip, looking brown and smug to find out a little bit about his experiences and what it was like… XG: “So tell us about what made you decide to set off on this adventure?” Dave: I have been training in Muay Thai for a couple of years at a couple of different clubs, so it has always been a sport that I have enjoyed, then I heard about this Xtreme Gap program where you get a true sense of the sports roots: training with the Thai and being trained by Thai champions. The setting looked pretty spectacular too: a small little tropical island north of Samui in the gulf of Thailand, so I figured what the hell – what have I got to lose. Looking back on it now I believe that any avid Muay Thai enthusiast should take a pilgrimage there, not just to watch a fight but to train and take part in a contest. So I looked into it, and worked out that it would actually cost me very little to take a 2 month break and give me proper time to devote to myself and my training. Tropical Island sound nice… It was. Stunning. Turquoise blue sea surrounds gorgeous little white sand beaches with palm trees everywhere, in fact some say 3 million coconuts are grown there a year, so much so that they warn you not to fall asleep under trees in case you get hit by one! But it makes for a spectacular setting, on the islands interior is a tropical jungle, not quite Robinson Crusoe but not far off it. The perfect place to spending your recovery time relaxing your muscles and building your strength with amazing Thai food. The Gym itself was nestled up a sandy track a few minutes from the sea, best looking gym I have ever been to… So what can you tell us about living there? What a place, you live in an environment where everyone is happy, and interested in making new friends and having fun. The weather is great, as you would expect, but there is more to it than that. The Island seems to have a magical attraction to it, people go there for 3 days and end up staying 3 years. A combination of the easy happy lifestyle and total lack of outside world influences creeping into spoil your day. Some day’s your toughest decision will be what colour Thai curry to eat. At night the beaches come alive with fire shows and happy revellers drinking Thai Whiskey buckets, I mean seriously? Who ever came up with the idea of serving drinks by the bucket knew how to party – but it is not over done, it still has a lot of charm of a small island. What about the training? How did it compare to the UK? Were there any language problems? Well first lets just say that the Thai are 110% committed to the sport, in Thailand becoming a Muay Thai fighter brings great honour on the fighter and his or her family. Not to mention it can be a respected form of income for their families. So much so that they start training at a very early age, I have seen 6 year olds go at it in the ring. This national love of the sport translates to the training very well, whether you are a “farang” (Thai word for Western) or Thai national. They are so passionate about the sport that even if you are inexperienced, yet show desire or interest to learn, they embrace you and will give you the training of your life! The instructors language skills were not great, but it really did not affect their performance, their enthusiasm was infectious, and you always knew what they wanted you to do. Also there are many westerners on the island, dive instructors and other nationalities living and training there, so you meet lots of people and make new friends, you never feel that you are alone in a foreign country. What did the training actually involve? Every day in the early morning hours, when it is was not too hot, we would start. The training consisted of skipping rope and shadow boxing, bag work, and then 3-5 minutes of punching, kicking, kneeing and elbowing a kick bag. Pad training with the Thai Trainers – former national Champions where the trainer wears shin guards, a stomach pad and two pads held in his hands, so he can interact with you and make the training more exciting and focused. Clinch training followed where you practiced close up knee strikes and elbows techniques as well as grappling and foot work for 10-30 minutes depending on your strength and fitness. Finally to cool the body down slowly, we finished up each Thai boxing training session with some light shadow boxing, sit ups to strengthen stomach muscles and stretching. Did you compete? What was it like? It was the most incredible mix of sensations I have ever had in my life: nerve wrecking and exciting at the same time. I was out there for 8 weeks, so I had some time to prepare and watch a few fights, but nothing really prepares you for the sensation of stepping in the ring with hundreds of spectators watching. Some of whom have become your friends over the weeks. You know that you are going up against a determined opponent who does not want to loose. The drone of the Pi Muay really gets you into it though one of the 4 instruments used to create the sound of the “Wong Pi Glong “ fight music. It focuses the mind on the fight and helps prepare you mentally. Before the fight starts it is tradition to perform a ceremonial dance Waikru a demonstration of respect to your teacher and it is while you are doing this the adrenaline really starts to kick in. The fights last for 5 rounds, 3 minutes a round my opponent was tough, I had a reach advantage but hitting this guy was like punching a wall and he moved really fast. It was a close call but I beat him, thanks to my brilliant instructor Pi Toon and all weeks of training. After the fight I was like a local hero! All the Thais were shouting my name when I arrived at the bars that evening for a well deserved Singha beer. Well done. I bet it tasted good! Any Advice to budding Muay Thai Champions? Don’t have any pre-conceived ideas, just do it will be the experience of a life time. I went out there for 8 weeks and I only spent a little over £1000 on the program including accommodation and travel insurance, and the cost of living there was so cheap, that I came back with spending money to spare. I experienced a new culture, learned a lot and came back feeling fit and healthy: ready for my next fight, the only down side was coming back, but I know that one day I’ll be back out there.
Freediving
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