Afternoon Training

I didn't go this afternoon, but I'll be at training the rest of the week. Elena, Tuk's 4-year old daughter (and you can SEE the resemblance), came by my place to "visit" and we ended up going to the gym to take pictures of what a typical training session is like . . . . something I've been meaning to do for awhile. I also got some fun pictures of a lot of my trainers, too!

Generally, training starts with Shadow Boxing, with sit-ups and push-ups in-between rounds. Then a few rounds on the bags, with more of the same between rounds. Then, five rounds with a trainer in the ring and then usually some sort of technique work, like grappling or the Wai Ku --- which is the ceremonial dance you do before a fight.

Buay, pronounced "Boy",19 & a Fighter, is a much-loved trainer at Rawai.

He's sweet and nice as can be, but lethal in the ring. This shot is also of

Phuket's first and only Big Foot sighting, LOL! (Sorry Caspar!)

Ot is an EXCELLENT fighter & trainer, and has a lot of

patience. His VIP sessions are in demand. I did

one with him last week and it was awesome!

Fahd is just great. Here he is in-between rounds,

looking for his other pad . . . It was on the ledge of another ring,

so I fetched it for him.

Yib is excellent as well and usually works with

the big dudes. By "works with" I mean tosses them around . . .

This is one of our gym's youngest fighters,

putting on his gloves. What a DOLL!

Joy ALWAYS lives up to his name; full of smiles and fun,

and yet a seriously great trainer. Here he is chillaxing

in-between rounds with Paula..........He started laughing when

he realized I was taking a shot of this, uh, 'pose'.

Here's Deng, who's phenomenal in the ring and

the loudest trainer of all, hands down. He's also a total

ham when he wants to be, and always makes you do

tons of knees. Ug!

This is Fin, my first trainer here. He's GREAT at

correcting your form. And catching your leg and making you

hop on one foot when your form is off..... LOL!

Fin in action, training . . .

Theng teaching the beginners class. This

is him demonstrating a "right knee".

Here's Bang, the whistleblower. He

coordinates everybody and everything,

yet is also pretty wicked in the ring....

Mondays are "grappling" days. Grappling kind of stinks, honestly!

Bung Yi used to train Tuk. Now he works with our pro fighters

and kids, training them. He's a big dude and can take a beating, so

he's perfect for our fighters to wail on.

The next two shots are of Joy training

Paula from New Zealand. She's been

here for 2 months and leaves this week.

This is Elena, Tuk's 4 year old daughter, carrying

the cup of water I gave her as we walked over to the gym. She just

kind of "showed up" in my house, what a kick in the pants!

She is half-Mexican, half-Thai, and as smart and sassy

as it gets. What a cutie!

Theng teaching the Beginners Class,

usually right along with Fin.

One of our kindest and best trainers, by far, is Bang Man.

Here he is, striking a pose, then the next 2 are of

him in action, training. He's so fast, you can see how well

the blocking is going for his student, LOL!

Lindsay training!

Tuk training Lotta, one of our prize fighters from Sweden.

Lotta is the sweetest, quietest girl........and wicked in the ring!

This is just a sick shot of Yib training someone!

In between bags and rounds in the ring, sometimes there's a bit

of (usually much-appreciated) down time. Here's a crew waiting, "on deck"

to get in the ring. My neighbor Big Matt from Oakland is at the front of the line-up.

In-between rounds on the bags, you do either sit-ups or push-ups,

or - in Caspar's case - squats.

Here's our youngest fighter again. His grandpa was siting right beside me

while I took the picture. His older brother (about 9) trains here too.

Johnny from Norway, who is here to train for a month!

Fin training again, while two smaller fighters suit up.