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5/07/2008

Phuket - first day of muay thai training

by BethBeth

Hotels2thailand.com

today was my first day of muay thai training. absolutely exhausting!

it was supposed to begin with a 6km run (yikes) but it was raining, and at tiger muay thai they are all about guest services, which includes making sure you don't get sick.

instead, we were subjected to 30 min. of skipping rope. which i DARE you to try. remind me: why was this fun as a kid? why did i voluntarily do this act during recess?

joking complaints aside, what a workout! wow! after that, they taught us how to wrap our hands, and we did 3 hours of muay thai training with bags: kicks, blocks, punches, elbows, etc.

those of us who were there for our first day were encouraged to go home after the first training session. i got sucked into the weights section and a geriatric man who could easily kick my ass decided to take it upon himself to coach me (in thai) in weight training.

i made friends with these two guys who have a NICE bungalow next to camp. nick, who insists that working in a cubicle is nothing compared to a crowd chanting your name as you enter the fight ring (imagine that), brought a ton of movies. he and brandon and i will likely spend some time between training sessions watching them. i like that i probably would not have become friends with these specific guys in any other context. for all the macho magazines and books they keep in the bungalow ("TAKEDOWNS!" and "GRAPPLING TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNERS!" and "PROFESSIONAL FIGHTING FOR DUMMIES"), at one point we found ourselves belting out the lyrics to an avril lavigne song on nick's mp3 player. a true sign of a quality group of people.

my calves hurt so much it is hard to walk. did i mention that all muay thai everything ever always is done on the balls of your toes? sheesh. (but i love it.)

i go to bed early these days (9 or 10pm) and i get up as the sun rises and the roosters crow outside my open window. i've already read two books since i left korea. i feel healthier than i have in a while. (it's been one day. perhaps i'm getting a little ahead of myself? we'll see how i feel when i wake up tomorrow.)

for now, dinner down the road at a thai restaurant.

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