emma

Just to update, I have read that since the new 6-month visa started being issued, there is no longer a 60/90 day tourist visa option available. The rules are constantly changing though, so check with your local Thai Consulate before you travel!

I've actually been using this one for maybe two years. I haven't though to replace it because it has zero wear and tear and still works/fits as well as it always did. I just make sure I keep it clean and it's good to go.

I got mine custom-made at a dental clinic and I'd never go back to using another mouth guard now. They put this weird putty-like stuff in your mouth to take the mould, then form the plastic around it. I had to wait for three days to get it back, but it's the most comfortable mouth guard I've ever had. It's not big or bulky at all. In fact, referees will often have to double check that I'm wearing it before a fight because they can't see it, since it's also transparent. I usually won't take it out between fight rounds, partly because the tight fit makes it a little difficult for my trainer to get out but mainly because it doesn't interfere with my ability to breathe, drink or talk, so it's fine. It cost me 3,000 baht to get it made. I don't know how much it would be outside of Thailand!

The TV adverts for this one really get me for some reason. Just some dude repeatedly saying 'MAAAAAAAAAAAARWIN!'

I love this stuff. I usually only use it before fights, but occasionally put a little on in training when something feels really tight. Put it on before warming up, though. If you're already sweaty, it will burn! It doesn't stain, but it does smell very strong. After coming back from a fight, my whole room smells of it for a couple of days!

It's interesting to read something from a gym's perspective on this topic. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Maya, This is an interesting topic and a really difficult one to deal with. Even if your gym hasn't been giving you what you need or has been kind of shitty to you, it's still really difficult to leave. I agree with Sylvie that it wasn't cool for your original gym to not let you spar and then just tell you 'when you're ready' when you asked about it. I think people should be allowed to do light sparring from the start, but if that is the policy at their gym, then they should at least be building you up to that level. Seems like they just dismissed you when you expressed an interest in getting there, which is not cool. When it comes down to it, if you are enjoying the new gym more and getting more out of the training there than you were at the first one, you shouldn't feel bad about continuing to train there. You have to do what's best for you.

I did a solo trip to Thailand and only booked my first night's accommodation in a hostel and then just took it from there, and I wouldn't have done it any other way. Travelling alone is great because you have complete freedom (no need to compromise with anyone else about where to go or what to do) and although you're technically travelling alone, you're very rarely alone because you meet so many new people. Then, you can make your plans around the people you meet and whatever you feel like doing at the time. At least, that was my experience. Go for it :smile: If you have time while you're in Bangkok, let me know. I'd love to meet up!

Micc - Pimsleur's Thai is good for that. I downloaded that for free. There are 30 audio lessons, each around 30 mins long. I recommend giving that a go.

This is awesome! So glad to read this post. I hope you guys manage to meet up and train together again soon! :bunny:

In addition to what I said before about racist comments from my students: Yesterday, I was teaching a class about appearances and gave them pictures of different celebrities and asked them to tell me what they looked like. One of those pictures was of Wyclef Jean, which led one student to ask me "can I call him 'negro'?" When I responded with "absolutely not", they were puzzled. They genuinely didn't seem to know that it was an inappropriate or offensive term and thankfully, were very open to hearing my explanation, so I took time out of the class to make it very clear what words were OK and not OK for them to use and why, which is obviously not something I do when I have a student who makes an intentionally racist remark out of hate. I'm glad we were able to have that conversation. Today, I had a one-on-one class with a university student who has a very high level of English. We chatted about lots of different subjects over the hour, including drug laws, police corruption Thailand and the US, the death penalty (a Thai judge has just handed out the first one in the country since 2009) and racism. A very interesting lesson, for sure. She said "as Thai people, we believe that we don't have racism, but we do, that's why most people want to be white and think that dark skin is ugly" and talked about how every advertisement shows light-skinned actors and models. It was very refreshing to hear that kind of response. Most of my students would be completely unaware or ignorant about it. I told her about what had happened in my lesson the previous day and she laughed and said that she'd had a similar experience with her friends, and had told all of them not to say certain words. She's an awesome student.

If you're not entirely comfortable or confident with your gym, it's a good idea to seek out other options. If nothing else, you'll have something to compare it to. You might find another gym that fits better for you, or you might find that the gym you're at now is the better option. You won't know unless you look into it. You have such a short time in Thailand, it would be a shame if you spent its entirety at a gym you weren't happy at.The same goes with regards to your question about requesting a fight. I would definitely go for it. I don't think any harm can come of it. Once they know, they'll be able to train you accordingly and you'll be able to assess whether or not they're taking you seriously (as you said that was something you're concerned about).Do let us know what you end up doing! :smile:

Actually, we had a bit of an altercation yesterday, and it has become clear that she is beyond help. I should add that she has been having the same problems with everyone in the gym and constantly complains no matter what. When the trainers and Master Toddy try to tell her how to adjust things, she is incredibly rude and talks back to them, saying that she is right and telling them what her trainer at home says, which, as you can imagine, does not go down well. It's all quite embarrassing. She's told the trainers that they aren't holding pads properly, too. This is a complete beginner, here. We were sparring and to be fair, she was going very light, as was I. She doesn't block punches at all, so I was touching her only very lightly with my gloves to let her know that she was open, but she didn't like that. We got maybe two rounds in before she said 'can you go light? because you asked me to go light' I'd usually be very polite and reasonable, but I was already doing basically nothing there was simply no way I could have gone any lighter unless I shadowboxed in front of her, so I told her that. Frankly, we're all fed up of her shit, so it's hard to be patient with her. We started adding kicks and she got really angry any time I landed any on her, even though we were both still going super light. She stopped again to complain, and I started to wonder what the fuck was going on. This is the first time I've ever called anyone out in the gym. I told her that if she didn't want me to touch her at all, she ought to block, and that I was trying to help her learn how to do that. I also mentioned that she was getting annoyed because she wasn't 'winning' and that she does nothing but complain in every single training session. She said 'actually you are the one who is complaining', and I had no response, because none of this made sense. I just carried on sparring because I didn't want to waste time, but at this point, landing anything on her was too much for her to handle, so she stopped and said 'I'm done here, I'm going on the bag'. One of the trainers waved her off and said 'OK, then go!' He couldn't be bothered to deal with her, because she's like this all the time. Shortly after this, she was kicking the bag when Master Toddy approached her and said something like 'that's good, much better. Now, to take it up to the next level, you can start turning your hip over a bit more to get more power'. She screwed up her face and said 'but my trainer at home doesn't tell me to do that', refusing to do it. Well, he WENT OFF at her. This is the same attitude he's had from her the whole time he's been here. He said (because she is studying teaching) 'if you had a student who kept telling you that you were wrong and didn't want to do anything you told them and fought you back all the time, would you still teach them? Would you?' She said 'yes'. SERIOUSLY, SHE WAS STILL TALKING BACK AT THIS POINT. His response was, 'I can't help you. Go your own way', and off he went. We've had some frustrating people come through here at times, but she is undoubtedly the worst. She's here for another week before she goes to another gym for a couple of months. Should be interesting! I don't understand why anyone would pay to be taught at a gym and then not actually want to learn anything. Sylvie wrote a post about why people sometimes think their opponent is going harder than they are: Brain Science: Why Sparring Gets Out of Control – Neurology and Muay Thai

We have a girl at my gym right now who is a classic case. She spars mega hard, but will stop in the middle of the round and complain to the trainers if she thinks anyone else is using any power at all. One of those who can give it but can't take it, and thinks everyone else is the problem. She genuinely doesn't know that she's doing it, which makes it difficult. She throws a bit of a tantrum even when people are going light with her, and then talks back to the trainers when they try and tell her what's really happening. It's all very awkward. I was sparring with her yesterday and let her know that my left shin was a bit banged up from my last fight and also that I was due to fight in two days, and she still tried to smash me, and dug her elbow into one of my legs when blocking. As a result, I was walking with a slight limp just before a fight and feeling rather grumpy about it, haha! She's here for a month, and we're trying to work on it, so I will let you know if we manage to improve the situation somewhat.

Yes! I absolutely loved it. I feel like the whole documentary was on Youtube somewhere. I will have to find that and post it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j8c7ZIt6aM I don't 'fangirl' over anyone, but I make an exception for Lucia Rijker because I think she's just incredible. This video has lots of her fights stitched together, showing the name of the opponent, the date and venue before each one. Enjoy!

Here's a blog by an African-American guy living in Thailand and working as an English teacher (which is hard because many employers simply refuse to hire black teachers), FarangDam - Life in Asia from a Black Perspective.

This thread is nice because I can complain about this for someone else's benefit, haha! One thing that I really can't stand is when people throw punches at my guard rather than aiming them at my face. It's as if some people are trying to hit my gloves, but I suppose it's more that they're not consciously aiming, they're punching just to punch. It ends up being bad for both people because one person isn't learning to block and the other isn't learning to be accurate. As NewThai said, the blocking kicks thing, too. I've had a lot of people bring their elbow down onto my shin instead of bringing the knee up to block, and that hurts a lot. It also leaves them open for head kicks. This is just a personal one, others might not agree with this one, but it becomes irritating when people want to catch/grab every single kick. I find that it can become a hindrance to learning for beginners because the one kicking is always wary of having them caught, so starts throwing them with less effect (and then you get the problems that Sylvie talked about), and the one catching is less likely to learn to block, so I think it's something that should come later on. This is a question of style for a lot of people, though!

This amazing TED Talk by Australian fighter Nadine Champion, '10 Seconds of Courage' just made me cry. She talks about her journey as a fighter training under Benny 'The Jet' and also as a sufferer of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and shares what both those things taught her about fear and courage. She remains undefeated as a fighter and as a cancer survivor. "When you're getting punched in the face, whether it's in the ring in a fight or metaphorically by your life, it doesn't hurt any less if you close your eyes. In fact, if you turn away from that pain, usually, the impact is worse. You're far better off taking it on the chin, at least then you can defend. You see, some shots are unavoidable, but it's how we take those shots that matters"

Well, look at that. Aaron Jahn has managed to produce something that is actually worth reading! I also usually ignore his posts because of the sexist stuff I've seen come from his page, but this is actually decent. I also don't run before morning training because I'm rubbish at getting up that early and I prefer to keep my energy tank full for sparring and padwork. I also just really love using it as a way to cool down afterwards. It seems like your schedule is a little packed for that, so running on the weekends is definitely worth doing if you can't fit it in during the week. You'd be surprised how quickly it starts to get easier once you go through that initial period of feeling like it's the worst thing ever. Maybe during the week, just try a few short sprints? That won't take very long and will also build your cardio in a more explosive way, so you'll get the benefits of both.

I hate this idea, too. It's unfortunate that such a large portion of the Muay Thai fan base consists of the 'bro' crowd, who lap this stuff up. As much as I can see his point that it would help promotion in the West, it's definitely not something I'd like to see and certainly not something I can imagine happening in Thailand. In fact, I think it would defeat the whole point of the sport. The fact that it doesn't have this bullshit is part of why a lot of us love it so much. I'm with Sylvie in that I can't watch most of these new, Westernised Muay Thai shows like Max, Thai Fight, etc. I've never even bothered to watch a Glory show. For me, they have no appeal, so I disagree with his idea that 'the snobby 1%' will be there no matter what. This is something that Ronnie Green has been telling me constantly, ever since I met him last year. He also hates the 'tough guy' aspect of Western combat sports and desperately wants to find a way to show the stories and personalities of Thai fighters to the rest of the world. It's something that he's really passionate about. I agree that this is something Thailand is missing.

I should also add that when my boyfriend was running, he passed a group of police officers, who stopped him and demanded to see his passport. Lots of locals came over to tell them that he was a fighter who they saw running along that same road every day, but they weren't interested. Of course, he didn't have his passport on him because he was running, so they took him back to the gym and demanded again to see it. There, the trainers spoke to them and managed to sort it out. Later, I went running alone on that same road and passed a group of police offices at the same spot where he'd been stopped. Not only did they not stop me, but one officer actually gave me thumbs up and shouted 'very good' at me as I ran by.

Thanks for posting this topic. I came across this video a while back and meant to post it here, but forgot. It's a compilation of some more ads, which also includes the bear one, all translated into English. They're really quite shocking. I can't tell you how many times students of mine have made racist comments in my classes. It happens all the time, but here are a few examples, all from Thai students: One student had been on vacation in LA, and I asked her if she enjoyed it. We got onto the topic of transport, and I mentioned that I'd assumed you would have to get around by car. She remarked 'yes, public transport is very dangerous, a lot of black people get on'. An older lady had lived in Chicago for a few years. She said 'I'm afraid of black people. They're so big'. When I was discussing the idea of going to India with a student: 'No, I don't want to go. There are a lot of murderers and criminals'. When I asked her why she thought that, she simply said 'they have black skin'. Another student who'd just come back from a holiday in Bali said she had a lovely time there, 'but I don't like black people'. There was one particularly horrible student; a young, spoiled kid from a rich family. He boasted about how he'd attended Eton College in the UK, and liked to look down his nose at everyone else. He actually got kicked out of Eton for carrying a knife, which he claimed he needed to protect himself because he feared for his life after he'd called someone the N-word. Obviously, he didn't realise that he couldn't just say anything he wanted over there like he could at home. Thankfully, he thought he was too good to learn English, so despite his parents paying for a year-long course, he never came back, so we didn't have to deal with him. Good riddance. My boyfriend is black, and we do get a lot of looks when we walk around in public. One student told me 'they don't look because they're racist. They look because it's something different'. A woman once got up and moved when he sat down next to her on the train, and there's no excuse for that. It's awful. He definitely feels very unwelcome in Thailand.

Rosy, did you ever see the TV documentary about Lisa Howarth, Anne Quinlan and Ella Yee? Master Toddy has told me about it so many times but I can't seem to find anything on it! Would love to see some footage if any survived.

Well, I imagine that it has to be a super-expensive place to live. However, it's on the BTS and therefore really easy to get to, so it would still be fine for people who live in more reasonably-priced areas. I only know of one fighter from that gym. Her name is Khadja Aiyada (Amanda) Verpoest and she's half Thai. She's only had 5 fights so far, but her second one was on the undercard of the last Muay Thai Angels show.