Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu

1. It's not really possible to say how many I used because each style and technique adds to over all understanding of timing, space and balance. Techniques are seen less and less like weapons (a hammer, a sword, a knife), and more like phrasing in a language. They all add to my fighting. 2. My Complete Fight Record is here. All my opponents, my decisions, etc. are there. My pro numbers are 129-57-7, 70 T/KOs as of today. 3. I've had almost zero issues with head injury. I've only been struck to the ground once in 200+ fights, and concussed only twice. 4. I use Namman Muay all the time, but never have used Tiger Balm, so I can't really say. It has a kind of warming effect.

When I started fighting, it was because I felt like I didn't really know any of the skills/techniques I was learning unless I could do them under pressure. For me, that pressure was fighting. I trained alone in a basement with my Ajarn - Master K - and he wouldn't touch me. He'd pad himself up like crazy so I could kick him but he wouldn't really hit me back. So, the first time I fought I'd only sparred, like, 3 times.. EVER. There are people who get that from their gyms, they get the pressure, the "fight experience," in training. It's not the same as fighting, no matter how realistic you try to make it, because you trust or know your training partners, it's more controlled, you're not (supposed to be) trying to really hurt or KO each other or cut each other with elbows. But it's pressure. I don't think everyone MUST fight, but there is something truly amazing about the experience that I recommend and urge everyone to experience at least once. But if you're not excited by it, then there's no "why," and without a "why" there's no drive or how or any of that. It's not age, it's not experience, it's not skill - none of those things determine whether or not you should or shouldn't fight. But not wanting to, that's reason enough.

I use Thai-Kla for my custom shorts and recently in their shop I saw a gladiator-type deal. I didn't investigate what was under it. I've also seen that style at Boon. These are both Thai companies, in Thailand, so shipping will be the main expense... but not $200... that's crazy. Due to the shipping costs, you might just want to order a few pairs at once. If you contact them, both speak English and if you send photo/image references you'll be in a position to find out what's possible.

Most salons in Thailand can do basic braids, but if you want cornrows it shouldn't be hard to ask for them at virtually any salon. I'd probably go to a slightly snazzier looking one because they take so long, but Thais are used to braiding hair - many schoolgirls wear braids everyday.

Congratulations on your first fight! You seem in a great way with being able to observe what you liked and didn't like about the experience. Identifying your style isn't something you necessarily can do after your first, tenth, or even 40th fight (or more). You have a style that's kind of brought out from how you train, then there's what you do naturally, then there's tendencies you develop or hone over time. So, just be patient and know that what feels good is guiding you toward your style. You sound right on track with that last sentence - it's always in development.

Attachai and Sagat are really good. I'd also look into Chatchai Saskul (https://www.facebook.com/Sasakul-Muaythai-gym-718000251678223/) and Jaroenthong (https://www.facebook.com/JaroenthongGymMengJai/) and Hippy Singmanee. Hippy's gym is called "Town in Town Gym."

This is my sense of Kem's. He's going to put you through tough, fighter-like training sequences. Just show yourself committed to the work and he'll respond to you. Don't look to other westerners to see what you should be doing, focus on the Thais. Imitate their energy, their relaxation and their work. In picking a gym though there is no way to guarantee that it is going to be what is hoped for. When you listen to what people have said of their experience, because all gyms change over time, week to week, month to month, definitely year to year, it may be different when you get there. Or, the things that appealed to others may not appeal to you, or happen for you. What you really want is a place to work, with good energy, with some focus of producing Thai fighters. Once you are there, ask lots of questions. Have Thais explain techniques. It's respectful to ask Thais to show or explain things.

I've only trained at Kem's a few times, but I did not get the sense at all that he was geared towards westerners in any sort of non-serious way. In fact, despite my size, I got to clinch with Yodwicha, one of the best fighters in Thailand, and spar with Yodwicha's brother (more my size). The pad work from Kru Dam was top, top notch. I really have never heard that it's anything but a fighters gym, and that you get really good work there, especially if you stay long term. Kem has an awesome disciplinarian energy, creating high standards. I think it's one of the best gyms in Thailand, if not the best, at least from my limited view.

Successfully working on timing is making me super happy lately. And when my partner is playful; I hate when sparring gets kind of serious and emotional.

Yeah, for sure she can clinch/spar with the boys. She'll just be matched with a partner that is appropriate to her size/level. That's how I train.

I agree with Kaitlin on the rage induced by the dude who only wants to go against someone much smaller or less skilled. I'm 100 lbs and scraping 5'2", so when a guy who is 180 lbs wants to spar with me instead of the far more reasonable partners available at the gym - and then fucking coach me - I get really annoyed. In a different vein, I hate when people go too light. There's a line past which being too light is just nonsense. If I'm pitching a baseball I do have to throw it hard enough to reach the damn plate so the guy with the bat can hit it, otherwise what the hell are we doing? Usually it's insulting as well because the person going that light is doing so with the belief that they can hurt me due to my size. I address this both physically and verbally, but some people just won't get it together. If Pi Nu can't hurt me, you certainly can't. (and he can, and does) And above all I hate when people get emotional. Just don't, it's not fun.

Hi Jess, Sorry, I was on the road so it took me a bit to get to this question. This is a question I get a lot, and to be honest about it when I've answered it in private communication it does seem like the parents don't really heed my advice, probably because it doesn't match up with what they have in their mind. So, I'll just put it out there and you can take it as you like. There are maybe two questions: What gym would give my kid or kids Thai style padwork, or correction? I think you could get pretty good attention at most big gyms that frequently take on westerners. Giving padwork or correction to kids isn't all that different than giving it to adults. Thai padholders tend to be very patient with kids, and pretty good at simplifying technique, as most fighters were trained first as children. The bigger question is: What gyms might train my kid/kids like a Thai boy (or girl) would be trained? And that is a very different question. Thai kids are not trained with lots of padwork or correction. And of all the gyms I've seen in Thailand I've not seen one (with fleeting exceptions), other than my own gym Petchrungruang, that lets western kids mix in with the Thai boys, just as if they were one of them. My gym seems very unique, not only in what it does, but that it's been doing it for a long time. By my advice you want your kids training with other kids. That's how Thais learn. There is no substitute. The important factors though are that this takes time. You don't go into Thai style training for a week and come out looking like a ninja. You don't learn tricks, or moves, or even combinations. You are put in a big pack of other kids and forced to just spar and clinch to find your own level. It can be a big adjustment for western boys who might be used to being special in their home gym. But gradually, and I've seen this first hand, boys learn to start responding in more Thai ways. It's not just a question of technique, but of spirit. My gym has had several long term western boys go through it, some of them at the gym for more than a year. Some are boys that come every year for a stretch. But all of them experience a kind of immersion teaching. If the gym you are considering does not have lots of Thai boys to play and work with then what you are probably looking at is technical training of some sort which is a very different thing.

I reckon the effect of this preparation will depend greatly on how frequently it's utilized. Those silly "altitude training mask" thingies may have benefits but they're not doing sh*t for altitude training. As someone from Colorado, I can assure you that it requires 24/7 dealing with the altitude to have any kind of true acclimation process going on. BUT, heat conditioning in the sauna suit to get your mind around it is a great idea. It's going to be a hard adjustment when you're actually in Thailand anyway - you can't avoid that bit - but having done the mental preparation is awesome. And just running at all in preparation is a great idea - mileage done is mileage earned.

I played soccer as a kid and learned to watch the hips because you can't move anywhere or anything without telegraphing there a little bit. So I look at kind of the hip/torso area. Sudsakorn told me to watch this area as well, although I've also been told to look at the chin and upper chest (like a rectangle that includes both those areas) because you can see everywhere from there. Namkabuan wanted me to look right in his eyes but I can't do it. With my own trainer I will occasionally look right in his eyes after a good shot or as a kind of moment of recognition when he or I get something good on each other, but that's based on years of becoming very familiar and playful with each other. I don't do that with anyone else.

I can't really elaborate because I don't watch or follow fighting in France or those shows. Youssef Boughanem's younger brother is on the show semi-regularly and I find him interesting because he's so skilled and smooth but his body-type throws folks off that assumption. He trained at my gym for a few weeks and watching him clinch with PTT was awesome - just awesome - so that's why I follow him at all but, again, I've never watched the shows. Anissa Mekson is interesting from afar and the few fights of hers I've seen she's got a nice, clipped style, but it's not Thai and the fights are in styles and shows that are otherwise pretty uninteresting to me.

I've been absolutely astonished by how limited the knowledge some of these guys who go home and are "krus" have in Muay Thai. Explaining Muay Thai in the west to my trainers out here has always been a bit tricky - expressing the drastic differences in time spent in the gym, the actual quality and types of training, etc. But the easiest bit has always been pointing to some muppet guy in the gym who thinks he's hot shit and saying, "in my country he would be an instructor; and in his country he probably owns a gym." That pretty much always gets a, "ooohhh," kind of understanding that encompasses all of it from my Thai trainers. I don't think you're wrong about people wanting a grading system, but I have always had (and probably will always have) a really hard time advocating for such a thing. My own original teacher, Master K, had a grading system of colored prajaet, which he clearly only did for western students who were kind of on their way to earning a Kru Certification or whatever. What I do like about Master K's version - which involves being able to do sequences of moves with flow and precision - is that the highest grades are for fighting, and then winning a fight. Fighting is included in the entire system. The reason I struggle with the grading thing as a "way for students to know they're advancing," is that you should just be able to tell that you're advancing by the actual commitment and experience of training. Hitting a plateau sucks for everyone and pushing past it shouldn't be a colored shirt, shorts, prajaet, or whatever; it feels, to me, like it goes against the ethic of Martial Arts as a battle with the Self. All that said, I don't train at these gyms and I don't have the same path as the folks who do. So it's none of my business. I've met PhDs who are total idiots, having gone through THAT grading system, and I've met bartenders who are absolutely brilliant and skipped the whole institution. So these kinds of things exist in all areas, I reckon.

I'm getting more and more into mental training and coming across resources in a way that's probably best to keep sorted. I'll try to keep compiling a list with this blog post, but if you all have favorite books, podcasts, audio files, movies, articles, quotes or videos - whatever - please use this thread to share those so we can all have a mental training library, so to speak. (Go to the link of the original blog post in order to have clickable links to all these references) I read a lot of mental training books, pretty much anything I can find. Much of the time it’s on Kindle, though sometimes its an audio book. Maximum Climbing: Mental Training for Peak Performance and Optimal Experience by Eric J. Horst I’m currently reading this one, so I can’t write an overall assessment. But climbing mentality has similarities to fighting mentality, so translating to our sport is easy. What’s unique about this book is that Horst separates out “brain training” from “mind training,” which is actual synapse reactions versus how we think, and refining how to train each of those things is invaluable. Joy on Demand: The Art of Discovering the Happiness Within by Chade-Meng Tan This one sounds real hokey-pokey but it’s not. The author does an incredible job of expressing concepts of meditation and mindset both with eloquence and remarkable accessibility. I’ve read a lot about meditation and it’s often just left me feeling like I’m not ready, or I’ll have to have some intermediate step before I can really start it. But Meng makes it immediately practical – immediately – and explains in words and concepts that I found really inspiring. I love this book and highly recommend it, for athletes and non-athletes equally. This isn’t just about meditation. It’s about becoming aware of how the mind thinks, and setting the best direction for it. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson The author takes a lot from Buddhism. In fact, he paraphrases the story of Prince Siddhartha in such a way as one might rattle it off sitting on a bar stool. But, he’s speaking to an audience who might not know anything of that story or of Buddhist teachings, so giving a groundwork in short-form is reasonable enough. Most of what he argues in this book is taken from Buddhist meditation practices, but it’s written in an incredibly informal and personable voice. Like if you read “Sermon on the Mount” or the teachings of the Buddha in a Maxim article or something. In short, we can only give a certain number of fucks in life and Manson argues that we ought to value those fucks and spend them on the things which really matter. How to stop caring about the things that don’t matter, which don’t express our values, is the hard bit and he walks us through that as well. I wrote about my own realizations and responses to learning how to not give a fuck in this blog post, which didn’t come from reading this book but coincided with reading this book. 21 Yaks and a Speedo: How to Achieve Your Impossible by Lewis Pugh I consider Lewis Pugh a personal hero. I don’t swim – at all – and his missions are very different from my own, but his methods and mindset is both similar to mine and more refined. I feel like I can learn a lot from him, even if it’s just nodding my head along to his words and saying, “yes, yes, so much so.” I wrote a blog post abut his commitment to achieving the impossible and have cited him in several other posts as well. He’s just amazing. This book is great because it’s 21 very short chapters, each dealing with a seemingly impossible situation and what it took to get through it. The stories are great, the writing is great, and the inspiration is intense. Achieving the Impossible: A Fearless Leader. A Fragile Earth. by Lewis Pugh I loved this book less than I loved 21 Yaks, but it’s still great. You can also watch his TED talk on swimming the North Pole. Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek There aren’t a lot of books written about or by fighters. A boxer here and there, maybe a super new book on an MMA fighter, but there’s no great books – either biographies on or from the minds of – from fighters. So we have to borrow from other sports. I’ve found that ultrarunners have challenges and mindsets that really speak to what I experience in Muay Thai. Scott Jurek is one of the most famous ultrarunners in the world and, thank God, he’s also a good writer. So this book reads well and has recipes and tolerable explanations on why he eats a vegan diet. He’s not preachy or overly praising of himself, either as a vegan or as a runner. It’s a good read and the endless, mind-bending nights of running speak to the path of a fighter. As a high-volume fighter, approaching 200 fights, I consider myself something of an Ultrarunner of fighters, so this book spoke to me. The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumphs by Ryan Holiday This is basically an introduction and elaboration on how Stoicism can improve the lives of modern folks, as a meditation on Manliness (I believe that this does not belong solely to men, even though they’re in the name) and how to face adversity and challenge with calm, grace. Meeting challenges as the manner by which we shape and improve ourselves in an absolute must in strong mindsets. We can’t just endure everything, we also have to improve by those hardships. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell Not so much a Sport Psychology book but the concepts will get you pondering and it’s in line with what mental training is about. Plus, I really love reading Gladwell. The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self by Alex Lickerman I had completely forgotten about this book when first making this list, but some of the ideas presented by the author are still with me. A lot of Mental Toughness is about being keyed into your “animal instinct” and all this, but what’s lovely about this book is it presents the softer side of indestructibility. Think of a vase that breaks and when it’s glued back together it is on that seam, on the flaw, which is the strongest point. The mind is like this. The soul is like this. And as fighters, this is an invaluable lesson. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey C. Ward Biography of one of my favorite boxers/fighters, the first African-American Heavyweight Champion, Jack Johnson. Reading about men who have done incredible, seemingly impossible things, is a huge part of motivation and inspiration. Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover (I listened to this as an audio book but I’m listing it here as a book because I hated how the guy read it aloud; just rubbed me the wrong way. So, maybe listen to a sample and make the call for yourself.) Grover is a coach, both a physical training coach and a mental training coach, to some of the biggest names in sports. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade to name the best. Michael Jordan though… could just leave it at that. I don’t love how this book is written, or at least how it was read-as-written, as the author is way into himself and has been eating his own ego for a long time. That’s kind of okay because there’s a lot of truth to what he’s saying and there are results to his methods, but there’s also a lot of talk about “darkness” in these top athletes that he kind of alludes to being animal instinct but also keeps really vague in a way that feels bullshitty rather than truly indescribable. But he covers a lot of the differences between the three categories he breaks high level athletes into: Coolers, Cleaners, and Closers. Those are good, better and best in order. He tries to tell you how to be a closer but also argues that you’re more or less born to it. Some great concepts, some really great thoughts. My Fight/Your Fight by Ronda Rousey I didn’t love this book but there are elements in there that give light to ways of thinking that probably aren’t common, especially for women. I don’t regard Rousey as a mentally tough athlete, but she presents herself as such and, deep down, she absolutely had mental fortitude to push herself to all that she has achieved. I do feel that this book also illustrates the holes in her mental training, which is also useful. The Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting by Sam Sheridan One of the first books I read and at the time I really loved it. I still think it’s a great book for those first starting out, because that’s where the author speaks from. It doesn’t hold up for me anymore, but I’m at a very different place than where I started and Sheridan simply never got to the places full-time fighters spend all our time, so it’s just not written for those folks. The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game by Same Sheridan I read this right after The Fighter’s Heart and wasn’t as impressed by it, but it’s a good read and the author talks to some greats. The downside is that it’s a lot of “bar stool talk” from men who have lived in gyms, rather than giving practical exercises and ideas for how to actually approach your own mental training. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a Wold That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain Emma recommended this book and, while it’s not about sports or mental training, it does offer a lot for those of us who are natural introverts. Especially in sports, the overarching rhetoric is that we’re supposed to be bold and outgoing, talking ourselves and our teammates up and loving to be seen. That’s not the case for many of us and hearing that this is okay, and a strength in many regards, makes a world of difference to those of us who are very consistently led to believe otherwise. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. This is more or less the book on mental training. It’s old and a lot of what we read now is derived from what Dweck wrote in this book, so this is kind of a primary source. There are books that are easier or more pleasurable to read that will offer much of the same ideas, but this is the O.G. source. The key point is the introduction of “growth mindset,” which is worth reading even if you don’t take in the whole book. Audio and Podcasts Because I run so often I listen to a lot of podcasts. It’s better than music for me. These are some of the mental training podcasts and audio that I’ve benefited from. Dr. Alan Goldberg “14 Steps to Mental Toughness” – I’ve gotten the most out of these audio chapters, partly because they were my first real step into practical mental training, but also because I re-listen to them so often. These are expensive, but for some reason they really clicked. I love his voice and his weird Jersey accent. Maybe not for everyone but definitely has been a great help to me. They are my go to when I get in a mental slump. Mental Training Expert Dr. Patrick Cohn – I listened to something of Dr. Cohn’s as an audio file, not sure if it was a book or one of his audio CDs I found, but he’s got a lot of experience and has worked with Miriam Nakamoto, which just means he has some degree of familiarity with fighters. A lot of what you find on Sport Psychology or Mental Training will have to do with specific sports like Tennis or Golf, with some carryover into business for CEO’s and suits climbing the corporate ladder. The ideas carry over just fine between sports and business, so they carry over between sports as well. You just have to do some legwork translating the sport-specific examples into fighting. Wrestling Mindset (Podcast) – Again, there’s not much of anything for fighters specifically. But wrestlers, man… they’re hardcore. My brother wrestled in high school and the mindset and fortitude required of wrestlers to get through their grueling training schedules is second to none. Even Joe Rogan, who loves to ask trainers about “overtraining,” always references wrestlers as being the most mentally tough dudes there are in the MMA game. This podcast isn’t high quality at all. It’s a guy on his computer, playing Eye of the Tiger through his shitty speakers to open every episode and there are long silences of dead-time when he’s inviting callers to ask questions. You just have to tolerate the informality of it. But the information and advice is solid, covering all range of topics from how to handle “off season”, training mentality versus competition mentality, how not to psych yourself out, how to handle the pressure of tournaments… there’s a lot here. The host also has a podcast on faith/spirituality for athletes (Christian), so if you’re into that you can check it out as well. Sports Motivation Podcast by I’m Not You (Niyi Sobo)- This is a really excellent podcast. Niyi Sobo was an NFL player who clearly benefited a lot and listened really well to his Sport Psychology training. He presents so much in each episode but, perhaps because he works with young athletes, the examples he gives are incredibly accessible. He has actual practical exercises as well as theoretical approaches. I recommend this podcast above all other resources on this list for immediate practicality, wealth of information, and direct approach to mental training. Episode #921 with Dominick Cruz by Joe Rogan Experience Joe Rogan is hit or miss but generally that depends on the guest. His podcasts are especially good for running because they’re crazy long (almost always more than 2 hours) and the conversations meander. So, if the guest is someone you don’t have interest in listening to, they suck; if it’s someone who is interesting, you wish they were 5 hours long. This episode with Dominick Cruz is the latter. I’ve always liked Cruz, but now I really like him. He talks a lot about his mental paths through his recent, really awful injuries in the last 3-4 years. Dealing with injury is something that most athletes will face at some point, hopefully not to the degree that Cruz did, but his notes on mentality are worthwhile for everybody. I really love this episode.

Another difference that occurred to me today is the very notion of "fight camp." I was recently at a camp up north where one of the very old, grizzled, probably perpetually drunk trainers was shaking his head about one of the fighters mentioning a fight that was still over a month away. He began this tirade about how it's simply too much time to even talk about it, that you only need - in his mind - 10 days for preparation. That's pretty standard practice in Thailand, I reckon. Since fighters are always training and in "maintenance mode," more or less, you just amp up your training for about 10 days, which includes a taper for the weight cut, and you're good to go. Western fighters, on the other hand, have this 6 week or 3 month build up to a single fight, that includes all kinds of "getting into shape" and weight training and then the final weight cut... it's SO MUCH TIME on the Thai scale of things.

Little Tiger (red) vs Koto Hiraoka (blue) - 45 kg 3 Rounds Krush Promotion - (Little Tiger is the WPMF 100 lb World Champion)

I second Sumalee. I've never trained in Phuket but Sumalee is owned by a woman and has a long and solid track record.

I've experienced this, thankfully, only twice. The first time it was my friend/opponent's first fight and afterwards I went into her dressing room and reminded her I'd lost my first fight, too, then we hugged and she cried in my arms for a minute. Friends are still friends. The second time was recently and it was complicated because we both thought we weren't going to fight each other. We kind of more or less felt like we'd only throw elbows if the other one did first and fought for real and with intention, but not seeking to KO or injure each other. Afterwards the bad feeling was knowing that the horrible feeling of losing was brought about by one's friend. But the way I reasoned with it is that I train with my friends every day in the gym. When I spar with Team, I'm trying to dominate and overwhelm him; when I clinch with Geng-Gat I want him to "lose," to me. No hard feelings, same like a fight, it's just a little more intense in a fight and there's actually a winner and loser, which is the shitty part, really.

https://www.facebook.com/sylviemuaythai/videos/1606048802762577/ link to Nongpeng's Gold Medal Fight at 51 kg, 2017 World Championships Nongpeng (Thailand, red) vs Moubarik Meriem (Morocco, blue)

Loma Lookboonmee's Gold Medal fight vs Belarus - 2017 IFMA World Championships: Loma Lookboonmee (red, Thailand) vs Liudmila Cryslova (blue, Belarus) - 48kg

When YouTubes of fights posted become "unavailable" (are taken down), I'm going to delete that post just to keep the thread clean. If you find another video version of the fight feel free to repost it.

田嶋はる VS 小林愛三 ROAD TO KNOCK OUT.1 2017.5.10 のコピー ROAD TO KNOCK OUT.1 2017.5.10 キックボクシングイベントKNOCK OUT(ノックアウト)公式サイト This is Haru Tajima (red) vs Manami Kobayashi (blue). Haru was unceremoniously stripped of her WPMF 105 lb world title, which she had won from Duangdaonoi Looklangtan, when she found out through word of mouth that two Thais were fighting for it out of nowhere, Phetjee Jaa winning that title recently.