Tyler Byers

Thanks for sharing! I hope more will chime in. I might also start a thread on recipes (I've got some really easy and healthy rice cooker recipes!), it would be fun to see what kinds of things people are cooking up.

I am a big believer in the idea that different diets work for different people. I really don't think there is only one way of fueling your body while training. I am always experimenting with my diet, and everyone (myself included) seems to be pretty curious about what a fighter's diet entails. Because of this I thought I would post my current diet/training plan. This is simply a log of what I have been eating for the last week or so, please don't take it as a recommendation of "eating right". Also I use MyFitnessPal to track all my foods, if you have never used this app I think it is worth checking out. Very helpful, especially if you are living in the US. Please feel free to post the same sort of logs, it might be fun to compare! DAILY SUPPLEMENTS: BCAAs (20g?), Fish Oil (8000mg, 14.4g EPA, 9.6g DHA, .112g Vitamin E), and a multi-vitamin DAILY WATER INTAKE: 8 - 10 Liters PLAN ONE: 7:00am I have green tea and 8 grams of BCAA (Gaspari Aminomax 8000) Train from 7:30 - 9:30 10:00am I take another 8 grams of BCAA 12:00pm I eat Guay Tiew (Thai noodle soup), two hardboiled eggs, 250g watermelon, 140g of pineapple, and 220g of rose apples 1:00pm I eat four thin rice cakes and two TBS of all natural peanut butter (rice cake sammiches!) 2:00pm I have Kana Gai Kang (1.3 cups white rice, chinese kale, and chicken covered with two eggs) 3:30pm I have a protien shake (Musclepharm Combat Cookies and Creme at the moment) Train from 4:00pm -​6:00pm 7:30pm I eat half a chicken (with skin because that is the best part), spicy papaya salad, and two bags sticky rice (about one cup) PLAN TWO: 7:00am I have green tea and 8 grams of BCAA (Gaspari Aminomax 8000) Train from 7:30 - 9:30 10:00am I take another 8 grams of BCAA 12:00pm I have 250g watermelon, 140g of pineapple, and 220g of rose apples 1:00pm I have Guay Tiew (Thai noodle soup) and Khao Man Gai (1 cup white rice topped with 4oz chicken) 2:30pm I eat four thin rice cakes and two TBS of all natural peanut butter (MOAR rice cake sammiches!), two hard boiled eggs 3:30pm I have a protien shake (Musclepharm Combat Cookies and Creme at the moment) Train from 4:00pm -​6:00pm 7:30pm I eat half a chicken (with extra skin! J/K

Everyone has pretty much said everything I would have lol. The certification Master Toddy has is pretty much his own thing that prepares people to start their own gyms, it often times gets confused with becoming a "certified trainer" (there is no such thing). He shows those in the course how to create a structured system to teach Muay Thai (much more important in a Western gym), how to hold pads, how to market your program, etc. As Kevin mentioned, the Kru title is nothing special, simply a Thai word.

I wonder if I just got a crappy set of Top King, or maybe a knockoff. I was very surprised that my stuff fell apart as quickly as it did. Good idea with the swamp glove prevention!

I don't think you should give up. Goals are there to give you something difficult to strive towards, not necessarily just so you can accomplish something. Sometimes falling short of a goal is more helpful than succeeding (it can give you added motivation for the next shot). I say stick with your plan, and see where it gets you. If you don't make it in your desired time frame, just keep on rolling until you hit your mark. Then set a new goal and try again! We don't improve without falling, and only truly fail if we quit. On a side note, doing something you enjoy outside of work will often make you better AT work. You don't have to be a professional fighter to enjoy the workouts. You will be more relaxed and hopefully less overwhelmed when things do get crazy at work. I dove head first into my last job and its literally the only thing I had in my life. If things were stressful or bad there, I couldn't escape it. It ended very very poorly lol. But I learned from it and whenever I do go back, I am going to try my best to use moderation. Your career is always going to be a part of your life but you've gotta have other stuff outside of that that keeps you sane as well :)

Just keep hitting these little milestones. Almost to 50 now, next look at 100. Everyday is hard, but everyday is a step in the right direction towards completing your goal. Hahaha you're not alone in lacking motivation some days. I live two floors above the gym and some days it still takes some serious convincing to get myself downstairs. It is always worth it though. And sometimes the days I am the most tired turn out to be my favorite training memories.

I started out with 16oz Top King gloves for sparring. I liked them, but they fell apart after about 5 months of daily sparring. Using Master Toddy's gear now, and I really like it. The sparring gloves took me about a week to break in (I was pretty skeptical I was gonna keep them), but now I love them. Been using his sparring gear and 6oz (?) bag gloves for about 3-4 months. Only issues I have had is some of the lining falling off, but its just decoration, not part of the gloves actual structure. Oh both gloves have an internal portion which pulls outwards to help them dry which is pretty sweet. My gloves are almost always dry by the time the afternoon session rolls around. Lol and I do have a strong suspicion that when they aren't dry, other people have been using them (everyone loves to borrow my gear for some reason lol). For shin guards I also had Top King, which fit wonderfully, but fell apart after about 2 months which was pretty disappointing.

It is quite shocking once you see it in person, I am sure even more so when you can understand the language and what is being said indirectly. Lol if I had a nickel for everytime a Thai has said they want my skin or my eyes... The contact thing freaks me out as well. It is probably more prevalent in Bangkok, but it weird me out everytime I see it.

I am another one who seems to always get chucked in there with new people or people who are going hard. I imagine it is for the same reasons as you Emma, I usually go pretty light, and I think we both do a good job of controlling the tempo. I also have used this at times as a venue to learn how to just get out of the way more or work on my defense. Hahaha maybe they just think we make good punching bags? I usually handle a situation when someone is going to hard by just really really slowing it down. Often times it seems that my partner just wasn't consciously aware of their speed/power, and when I slow down they subconsciously slow down as well. If I don't feel that is the case I try to stop it early and just tell them I think we are beginning to speed up or lose a little control. If that still doesn't work I just hit them back lol. That is real rare though.

It happens to all of us. I typically get angry/aggressive, but I am angry with myself. I usually ripping into the heavy bag for the next round, which just wears me out and I don't have the energy to be angry anymore lol. It is the trainers job to push you outside your comfort zone, those this can easily be a fine line between ok behavior and abusive behavior. So just be aware of that in case you see it.

How do you like the BCAA's? I am constantly experimenting with stuff lol, that's up next on my list. Still working on a new diet plan, but I will post it up when I have at least a couple days of different meals since a lot of people don't like to eat the exact same stuff constantly.

I really try to focus on letting my punches setup my kicks while sparring. Whether that comes from fainting, punching, or physically pushing/moving someone. Seems to work pretty well for me. Once I start bag work I try to work on anything that just didn't go well in sparring, or something I know I am weak at. Every day I just try to work one specific thing. Sometimes this is really frustrating, but I think the repetition is good. It allows me to break a strike down and work on small technical things (like turning my hip over more while kicking, or using my legs/hips more when throwing a hook).

Some morning if you are here and I actually wake up at a decent time (I seem to not be a morning person in any way shape or form lol) I will join in with the face punching! Looks like you two had fun!

The first and worst metatarsal injury I had took about 10 weeks to heal. Lol I couldn't believe it. I didn't take great care of it though, tried to tough it out and kept walking on it. I don't recommend that course of action lol. You might try getting a tub and filling it with really hot water to soak your foot, then switch to ice water. Just keep alternating. That seems to help me a little bit. Hope you heal up soon!

1) I think jumping in to 2x a days here is definitely doable, just make sure you really take care of your body and listen to what it is telling you. The heat really can take a big toll on you so I would shoot for 2x a day, but take it easy at first and don't sweat it if you need to slow it down a bit. 2) Not sure on this one, but in my experience places will only accept Thai baht (and many times only accept cash). 3) As mentioned by Naiyana, this will totally depend on the gym you go to. Here everyone spars (if they want to), and the trainers usually try to pair up someone more experienced with you if they know you are new. This is so the more experienced person can control the sparring session a little bit and let you know if you are going too hard. 4) I don't know if there are any articles (or if Sylvie has blogged about this) specifically regarding this issue, but I think if you always try to look at things from the other person's point of view then you will be doing better than most people who visit Thailand. Just try not to embarrass anyone or be disrespectful (insulting/arrogant), and I think you'll be fine.

I wonder if wearing both might be a solution to this? Just toss on Muay Thai shorts over the leggings. Shouldn't impede performance in any way and seems like a win win to me?

Gavin, I was essentially working a job that I hated and also made it nearly impossible to work out. I also have struggled with sleep issues for many years related to depression and PTSD. I went a little nuts one day realizing I really really needed to change, I was caught in a downwards spiral. I sold everything I had and moved to Bangkok to train full-time. People thought I was nuts, but when there's a will there's a way. I haven't regretted it for an instant. When I got here I was 93 kilos and now I'm walking around at about 73 - 75 kilos most days. Just had my first fight at 75 kilos last week, I'd like to get down to 70 for the next one! Keep it up, being tired just means you're doing it right! :D

I am the king of foot injuries I think I've gotten some nasty metatarsal/toe injuries three times in the last six months. They take FOREVER to heal. Try to keep your feet elevated whenever you can, not a lot you can do to heal faster. I haven't figured out how to correct whatever I am doing, but they have all happened during offensive teeps while sparring. I think control and working on accuracy are great responses though. Practice, practice, practice.

I've seen this as well Matt. It is pretty normal for Thailand I think, but certainly a conflict of interest in Western culture! Gambling here is also very very....complex. Lol it's not as simple as betting for one fighter or the other as we would do in the West. Odds change between rounds, and that has the potential to lure in even those who would not normally be tempted to bet against their own fighters. I wouldn't sweat it too much.

Sounds like you've already got plenty of good advice here. I'll also endorse relaxing, going in with a plan, and focusing on just one thing at a time. Every session before I go to spar I have something specific in mind that I will work on. Even if it is something simplistic like moving more, being more cognizant of where my weight is balanced, etc. If you have a plan and chip away at it little by little it will get there. And make sure you are having fun! Sometimes it is hard to recognize that you aren't relaxed. Sylvie has mentioned in her blogs the importance of "playing" and I really think it goes a long way into making you fluid and able to incorporate new things into your style.

This is awesome man. A log is a great way to keep yourself accountable and also get some extra support if you need any. Don't be afraid to ask for help, and please give a shout if you are feeling burnt out at some point. Everyone goes through it, and I'm pretty sure everyone here is more than willing to get you over the hump. I also have lost a lot of weight through Muay Thai, it's a great medium for that. Keep us posted!

I'd say go take advantage of that free class for sure. If nothing else you will learn more about what you want in a gym so you'll be more informed for the next one if you decide to move on.

Interesting you ladies mention this. Lol I always am very careful to throw a shirt on any time I leave the gym (even if it's just stepping outside briefly), even when it is deathly hot out. Surprised how many people come to other countries and don't respect the local culture. There are always going to be mistakes made, but at least try!

Hahaha yeah there is no getting around the heat really. Everything written above is great advice. I have a lot of experience dealing with heat injuries and I assure you it is something you want to avoid. Drinking water is easily the most important piece, but making sure you have enough electrolytes (salt, sugar, and potassium) will ensure that you body can actually hold onto that water for use. Typically we get enough of these through food intake, but with the amount you sweat during a Muay Thai session it is better to be safe than sorry and use electrolyte packets if you have any doubts. Personally I rarely use them; but I eat tons of fruit, put salt on everything, and drink horrific amounts of water lol. As an example, yesterday I drank 10.5L of water and two 500ml Gatorades. I likely weigh more than you so to drink that much would likely be excessive, but as a rule of thumb you should be drinking about one liter every two hours. Hope that helps!

I'm currently here on an ED visa. The only hassle has been going to immigration every 90 days, but they are currently in the process (might be finished now) allowing students to report to immigration online. Fingers crossed for five year ED visas...