Search the Community

Just finished watching Muay Thai Bones Podcast #10 - Losing Sweetness, No "Easy Fights", Thai Culture. The haircut story reminds me of Rose Namajunas. Her hair was getting in her way in training so she cut it. There is a lot a lot of cultural baggage in the West about hair being a "woman's crowning glory" and also a cliche that women will cut their hair after a breakup as a symbol that they don't care how they look/other people perceive them. I was really moved when Kevin was talking about taking a step back and appreciating the things that Sylvie has done. In the documentary leading up to her 50 fights. At 4:41 she talks about maybe a woman in Thailand having 200 fights. Sylvie is that woman and she's even surpassed it now. I asked on Facebook, "How are fighters fighting down in match up seen, especially if they lose? Do Sylvie's opponents receive criticism for fighting her with such huge weight mismatches?" Sylvie's reply, "I can't say that it's all one way or another. My own trainer says he would be embarrassed to lose to someone much smaller, which I'm sure happens, and that he'd be embarrassed to win over someone much smaller. But the way my opponents are boosted, in what I see written, when they beat me it doesn't seem to be the case that way. Beating me is still an achievement, despite the size differences, which are rarely outright mentioned in Thai comments that I see."

I'm only an hour and 20 minutes into the Muay Thai Bones #8 podcast but I already had thoughts to share. I plan to come back and add more reflections as I watch. Feel free to share your own thoughts. 1. Square-1-ism - Goggins, Shame & Discomfort (4:18-44:51) I struggle with intermittent bouts of depression. I'm climbing out of a valley right now. One of my symptoms is that everything feels difficult and overwhelming. The hardest part of my day is just getting out of bed. I feel a lot of shame about my depression. Like Sylvie's metaphor of the Iron Maiden/inner critic, I turn that shame inward and berate myself. I wonder why simple things are so difficult, why am I still struggling, why aren't I better that this, I don't have any reason to be depressed etc. The image of Goggins struggling to put on his shoes before running everyday really struck a chord with me. I decided to use that imagery when getting out of bed this morning. For me, getting out of bed is hard, so my goal when I woke up this morning was to acknowledge without judgement that it is hard, not wish that it was easier, and then get out of bed. Like everything it's a work in progress. Video on Western Philosophy of Mind and the Inner Critic. Why Do I Hate My Self? | Philosophy Tube I practice mindfulness meditation and one of the themes is grasping and aversion. During the my meditation, I focus on my breath but my mind inevitably wanders. My goal is to simply acknowledge that my mind has wandered and return to the breath. I don't want to follow my thoughts (grasping) or get frustrated that my mind wandered (aversion). I've been inspired to combine that with Goggins' square-1-ism. When I wake up in the morning and getting out of bed is hard, just let it be hard. Don't try to try to push away the feeling of difficulty but also don't grasp onto the difficulty and wallow in it. Sit with the discomfort, without judgement, and then embrace the task of getting out of bed. As part of my treatment for depression I am tracking my moods. It's amazing how quickly and often my mood fluctuates throughout the day. It reminded me of this post from Sylvie: Hills and Valleys – How 10 Minutes Can Make or Break Your Training Day

FightNetwork has a very interesting podcast/video series called the Mentality of Combat Sports. MMA fight analyst Robin Black discusses confidence, mental toughness and other topics with sports psychologist David Mullins. Full playlist here. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr7REBc1Y94_jCzlltyiJ5G584WWFc6fI

MTG 084: Building A Muay Thai Gym in Issan, Thailand with Frances and Boom Wattahanaya GoFundMe for building the gym.

Below is a link to a 50minute video podcast on Youtube where I am interviewed about my decision to quite my film career in London and move to Pai in Northern Thailand to train and fight: