Joey and I have both made it back to the USA. Joey lost 15lbs in two weeks of hard training and clean eating (well mostly clean eating). Like always the trip was far too short. After leaving Ao Nang we flew to Bangkok. That evening I took Joey to his Lumpinee Stadium to watch the fights. Lumpinee is one of the top stadiums in Thailand and is where some of the best in Thailand fight. We got to watch 8 very impressive bouts. The heart and courage some of the fighters displayed was amazing.

We met up briefly with Will on Sunday. He won his fight in Bangkok on Sunday by KO. So he is going to be fighting again on December 18^th. He introduced me to Fabio Pinca who is fighting Buakaw in march at Lumpinee. It is amazing the level of talent you can find just hanging around in Bangkok.

In Thailand the guys train every day and most train twice a day six days per week. Their entire life revolves around being a martial artist. They very literally eat, breath, and sleep Muay Thai. Here we have 8-12 week “fight camps” where we train like this to get ready to fight and cut weight. There they are ready to fight on a few days notice. They live at close to their fight weight. Since someone at the camp is always preparing to fight soon there is never a lull time. It really makes training more enjoyable with the guys fighting so often. We take fighting so seriously here that it takes much of the fun out of it. Guys are so nervous about fighting that they sabotage their training to avoid it. In Thailand guys are fighting every few weeks or so until they work their way up to the big shows.  This is not to say the guys are not serious about their fight careers and about winning. They are very serious about it but they also have a lot of fun with it. The training is intense but there is so much laughing and yelling during it that you would think it was a bunch of kids playing tag rather than professional fighters punching each other in the face.

Yves and Valentine were back to training twice a day within a few days of their fights last week and both will most likely be fighting again soon. Knowing Will he is back to training again today after his win Sunday preparing for his fight in December. I believe this is how it should be. I wish there were more opportunities for Muay Thai fighting in Georgia so that the guys here could experience this.

I love training at martial arts gyms around the world each year and learning from the best the world has to offer. The journey of learning martial arts never ends. Every time I learn from another master I discover an entire new way of looking at fighting. My concept of what Muay Thai is continues to evolve as a result. Even my belief in how to train to fight Muay Thai continues to evolve with one constant- you have to train hard every day to ever accomplish anything in this art.

Today is my final day in Ao Nang for this trip. The last time I make the short trip up the road to Emerald Muay Thai. I am finally really starting to improve my skills and it time to go. I remember this part from last year but it bothers me the same this time too. I feel that I have been given the best appetizer at the finest restaurant but am denied the full meal. I can see why most of the guys stay for 1-3 months.  I will miss this place.  In a few hours I will be on a plane headed to Bangkok.

Saturday training is nice and laid back. It is technically an active rest day. We start with a quick run and shadow boxing. We then do three rounds of continuous punches on the bag for 1 minute on 30 seconds off. I stop counting at 300 punches...

There are only two trainers today since Will is fighting tomorrow in Bangkok. Mak has Simon and I spar after bag work. Simon is the 185lbs MMA fighter from Sweden that is fighting for a title when he gets home. We do 4 fast pace rounds and have a lot of fun. Using the techniques and strategy that Pee Pa has been working on with me helps me tremendously in moving around with this significantly larger opponent. Its all hugs and smiles after the final round of our sparring.

I work pads with Mak after this. We work a lot of crosses and right upper cuts. Will had mentioned to me that Mak was very skilled in boxing and it is apparent from how he holds pads. Our rounds go by quickly and he helps me fix some issues I have been having with my advancing cross.

We finish up with several hundred walking punches, knees, stretching, and 50 push ups.

I slept for nearly 10 hours last night and awake feeling better. I make it to the gym just in time to run alone, which is to say about 5 minutes late. I make the run in time to get back before shadow boxing begins. After shadow boxing we do three rounds on the heavy bags but the last 1 minute of each round is continuous hard punches.

Will is out and in his place he has Pakda, my coach from last year, helping out today. Pakda is now a fight promoter rather than a full time coach. I work 3 rounds with Pakda and he tells me that he is very impressed with how much better I am than I was last year. We fall into the familiar routine of double punches, elbows, and upper cuts. He pushes the rounds 30 seconds into each break testing my stamina. It is a grueling pace but my body is working well today and I get though it.

Pee Pa calls me up for three more rounds on pads. We work new jab (ish) techniques. He has me watch his head position to determine which type of jab to use. I have to determine whether to use the straight jab, upward moving jab, or the backhand slap jab. It is challenging and fun.

Pee Pa puts me on a heavy bag and has me to 200 hard continuous punches. We then do several hundred walking punches, then upper cuts, then knees. We finish up with stretching and 100 push ups.

The evening training comes after a nap that was not near long enough. Two a days are really starting to take their toll on my body. We start with the normal rope and shadow boxing. I am a bit light headed during shadow boxing. I slam an electrolyte powder.

I work on the heavy bag until Pee Pa calls me up for pad work. He pushes the pace having perform many kicks on the pads. Most of the time he has me triple my round kicks. I push hard to keep up with his demands.

After pad work I take a few minutes to rest and drink water. I do some light work on the heavy bag while the others are finishing up their pad work. Joey and I then do four rounds of catch and return kick drills. After this we start doing light full sparring. Pee Pa watches us for one round and comes to me and takes away my right glove, makes me hold it to my head, and tells me that I can only jab and Joey can still punch, kick, and knee. Joey and I do three more rounds like this. Pee Pa coaches the rounds telling me when to use the various types of jabs that he has been teaching me. Even without my other techniques I am able to do well with only the arsenal of jabs he has given me.

We finish up some light stretching and 100 push ups.

I woke up this morning not feeling so hot. I had to drag myself to the gym. I ran the morning run with Simon who is a MMA fighter from Sweden that is fighting for the 185lbs title there in two weeks. I was glad he was there to help motivate me to run. Alone it would have been tough. After the run we do 10 minutes of shadow boxing. Will then has us work on the bags for 3 rounds of 1 minute of continuous punches followed by 30 seconds rest.

I am sweating too much and my head aches. I down an electrolyte packet and drink water for a bit. When Pee Pa calls me up to work pads I am still not feeling well. I think he can tell so he pushes me hard and works on the technique that he dropped me with yesterday. By the second 5 minute round I am feeling better but still not 100%.

After the pads I do boxing sparring with a Muay Thai fighter from Spain. For the first time I am able to put to use the movement that Pee Pa has been working with on me. It was a breakthrough sparring session for me. It always amazes me how on the days that I feel the worst sometimes I perform the best.

Time for food and a nap!

The evening training starts as always. I am still feeling a bit off but determined to have a good session. Pee Pa calls me up for rounds. Today he is really pushing the pace having me to kick after kick after kick. He wants commitment in every round kick. It is a grueling few rounds.

I work on the bags working my movement, kicks, and knees. My knees are much better than ever before. Throwing well over a thousand techniques every day (heck probably every session) has made it so throwing techniques on the bag feels like it requires no effort. My body easily complies.

Pee Pa coaches Julian and I as we do clinch. We work under his guidance for about 15 minutes. I can easily see that my clinch has vastly improved since being in Thailand.

We finish up with knees, disco knees, stretching, and 100 push ups.

Good training = Happy days!