Next time I start thinking about leaving my wife for two months to come here and train, she should make me come read these blog posts to remind me of the pain I am going through. Holy Smokes, my foot hurts! It was throbbing all night from the beating I put it through yesterday, and I damn near fell on my ass when I got out of bed this morning. It took a good half hour to warm it up in the shower again just to be able to walk out the door. About half way through our morning run, the pain became excruciating. This was about as close to quitting as I have come since I’ve been here. As I was about to quit, I got lapped (Not passed…LAPPED) by a girl in our class. She is a little toughey, but it still smacked me in the ego. I sucked it up and finished the run. I can complain all day ling about this injury, but the fact is, we ALL have nagging injuries here. It is just part of it. I am sure she has her ailments too, and there she goes, passing me. The pain was still shooting through my foot during shadow sparring, and drilling. I decided in my head that I needed to weather the storm, and this would be my last class of the week. I need to let my foot heal…at least for 1 day. Tomorrow is Sunday, so there is no training at Tiger. I was going to take that day off anyway, but I have now decided that this afternoon’s session will go on without me. It’s crazy to me how an immediate injury can make all of your other aches and pains go away. I was concerned about lingering knee and shoulder injuries. They really hampered by training in preparation for coming to Thailand. I hardly even notice them now. I need to find a way to put those injuries on a back burner without having a more immediate injury. (I don’t know if that thought even makes sense…it does to me, and I’ll bet my wife would get it :) ) I got yelled at a lot today. The trainers obviously had a staff meeting, and my name came up. Half of the trainers yelled at me for going too hard. The other half for not going hard enough. I got yelled at for not using Thai technique. I get yelled at for clinching. It was another GIANT convention today. There were a LOT of really big guys, so the trainers gave them the ring to themselves. I was on the floor again. My first round of sparring was against a Chinese kid, who is beginner level. I was leaving my body open, to give him an opportunity to work. I would drop my hands, and let him build confidence by punching to my head. One of the trainers dressed me down for it. WHO IS YOUR TRAINER??? YOUR TRAINER NOT TEACH YOU THAT! THIS IS NOT THAI TECHNIQUE! YOU USE MUAY THAI!!! I tried to explain that my opponent was very small, and only beginner. This only got an even more heated response, with more yelling. This is a trainer that I really like too. I apologized and used better form for the rest of the round. The next round, they sent me up into the ring. I had some really fun rounds up there. One guy, complained because he thought I was hitting too hard. The trainers yelled at me for it. They said I was swinging like Mike Tyson. I was a bit, but I wasn’t putting any sauce on the punches. I was just fighting a guy much larger than I, so I had to swing wider. I had another guy that kept clinching with me. I got yelled at for it, because I was better at it then he, and ended up in better positions. I did find a new trainer that I really like. He is a much older trainer than most of them, and is miniature. (SEE PHOTO) He doesn’t have an easy Farang name, so I cannot remember it. ***Most Thais have a Thai name, and a Farang name like Robert, Mike, or something like that. He likes to coach a lot during drilling. Most of the other trainers just stand around or yell at you when you do it wrong. He is pretty hands on, and helps you with the nuances of the drill. I think I am going to try to train with him next week if my foot is up to hitting pads. I am off duty for the next 36 hours…PSSSSSHT…That was the sound of a beer being opened. The Author, Mike Stidham, owns and operates the Ultimate Combat Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. UCTC offers classes in Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA, as well as a wide range of Fitness classes to Men, Women, Children, groups, and private lessons.
