my interview of Chocolate at Petchrungruang in Pattaya (above)
Chocolate lets out these “oh-hoy!” exclamations when I land a good knee or give her a quick turn in the clinch. They’re similar to the “oi!” of calling out a point in the Thai habit, but there’s a small hint of protest in the sound as well – it’s joyful, but it’s got this wonderful, “oh no you didn’t!” hint to it as well. And she’ll get that point back, no doubt. Chocolate doesn’t stop.
We were in the smaller ring at Petchrungruang, where the kids tend to gather and just play fight for hours at a time. The canvas is cushy, giving a feeling quite like training on sand, and the bare bulbs that are meant to light the area don’t so much offer any light as just allow you to realize how low the ceiling is. But it’s like training in a little cave, or for those of us who have ever sat in an orchestra pit, it’s like that. So there’s this feeling of privacy that the big ring doesn’t offer – the big ring feels like you’re on display and you’d better act accordingly. But starting out in the small ring, it felt like a practice round before we carried on our training in the larger ring: both of us doing padwork and then getting right back into clinching. But training with Chocolate, because of her lightness of attitude but sincerity in work, is very much like how the kids play together in the small ring – but it carries over because it’s the way she is, her modus operandi – which is awesome. You can see it in her social media presence, the way she comments on photos, the faces she pulls, her absolute love for food… she’s just fun – check out the elbow she bombed at the top.
When we sat down for our interview, Chocolate was very nervous. She said she was “so awkward” on camera, which her trainer and the owner of Onyx MMA, Jack, seemed to confirm. But I thought she was delightful on film, because it’s just a slightly uncomfortable version of how she normally is. Sweet, but thoughtful and sincere. Pretty awesome.
Onyx MMA in Singapore
If you live in Singapore, or find yourself in Singapore and you’d like to give Onyx MMA a try, everyone there seems to have a great attitude with top notch training. You can find their website here onyxmma.com and you can reach out to them on Facebook here. Or catch them on Instagram. Below is a Google Map of their location:
Onyx MMA is my valued sponsor and their support goes a long way toward helping 8limbs.us survive, keeping me writing. When you support them, you are supporting me. I was terribly happy to finally meet Chocolate and Jack in the visit to Pattaya, and really look forward to training with them again.
Female Fighter Interviews
If you enjoyed this, you may like to watch some of the other female fighters I have interviewed over the years.
