Claire

This video shows some of the heavier clinchers at Kem Gym:

Yes, I have stayed several months and I love it. The training is hard - a typical day starts at 6am with a hilly 10-12km run usually followed by sparring then bag work and often high rep kicks and/or some clinching, depending on who has a fight coming up. Afternoons sessions begin at 3pm with a short run then skipping, pad rounds, bag work and a lot of clinching. Both sessions go for around 2.5 to 3 hours each and also involve the usual pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and 100s of knees and teeps etc on the bag, all of which is supervised by the trainers. Foreigners and Thais are very integrated. It is a great gym for people who want to focus totally on Muay Thai without any distractions.

Indeed, Kem Gym has excellent clinch training, including for larger guys. Kem and a couple of the other Thai guys fight at around 68-70kgs plus there is a heavy trainer (85kg+) who is retired but clinches daily with the fighters (Thai and foreign). They don't sponsor but they do offer plenty of fight opportunities and they take good care.

I use a custom-made from a dentist and wouldn't want to use a regular kind as I think even if they are comfortable and allow for easy breathing and talking, it should be a really tight fit. If it is going to to its job right, it should be very difficult to dislodge. I've had my dentist-made one for several years and it remains good as new, no wear-and-tear at all. For cleaning I soak it in a mix of hydrogen peroxide with water or, previously, with the fizzy tablets made for soaking dentures (more expensive but I think no better than hydrogen peroxide with water).

My take on her comment about suicide was that it was a fleeting reaction to the shock of that KO. There was no talk of serious or sustained suicidal tendencies. I can see how being beaten so spectacularly could have prompted something of an existential crisis for her, since her whole persona was built upon her supposed invincibility. There is a psychological link between existential crises and the desire to reproduce, i.e. people who are grieving or have nearly died may feel a sudden urge to have a baby (obviously I’m not saying she literally nearly died but her sense of loss was clearly enormous). She also seems to be very in love with her boyfriend. On a more cynical note, the confessional, teary interview, and viral headlines about babies, “suicidal thoughts” etc. has got her rolling through everyone’s newsfeeds once again, and in the absence of any imminent fighting, she needs the publicity. Either way, I think she’s more interesting now than ever, and like Micc, I really hope a pregnancy doesn’t prevent that rematch!