4 year old ninja me
As long as I can remember I have been enamored with martial arts. As a young child I begged my mother to let me take karate and I began formal lessons when I was 4 years old. By the age of 9 I had earned my first degree black belt. I trained daily until I was a teenager when life finally got in the way. I stopped training but always felt that something was missing in my life. When I was 24 I started training again but instead of taking traditional karate classes I joined a mixed martial arts school. Within a year I had my first golden gloves boxing match. One fight turned into two and then five and then ten and so on and so on.
Getting my hands wrapped for war back in the states
Although fighting is a physical chess match it is about so much more than punching and kicking. For me it gives me the platform to test myself physically, mentally and emotionally. Each bout and opponent brings it's own challenges to overcome. I've learned through fighting to be patient, to control my emotions, to accept humility and how to never, no matter what give up or give in. When you walk in the ring you walk in by yourself and you either succeed or fail on your own accord. There is no one else to blame....it's true accountability. Each and every time I leave the ring I leave a different person and fighter than I was when I climbed in through the ropes. That growth although occasionally painful is beautiful and pure.
Muay Thai Fight in Pennsylvania
Thailand Pre-Fight Oil Massage
Thailand Pre-Fight Oil Massage
If it wasn't for my dear friend Sylvie Von Duuglas-Ittu I would have never had the opportunity to check this off my list in Thailand. Sylvie is currently living in Chiang Mai pursuing her dream of being a full time professional fighter. Before she left on her voyage a year ago we discussed me coming out at some point to stay with her and train. It took about a year but we finally made it happen. I was aware a few weeks in advance that I would be fighting for sure while in Chiang Mai but only shared the information with a small select group of people. Frankly....I didn't want my mother worried sick the entire time I was there. Besides as my mother she's pretty used to the "Mom, don't be mad BUT...." phone call.
Closing the ring
Receiving my pre-fight blessing from Den
The fight
I trained for 8 or 9 full days before I fought. Training days are 7 hours long and split up between a morning and evening session. The training is grueling but the amount of technique and information you receive is overwhelming. I would get on a plane tomorrow and go back if I could. It's that good.
Not my blood....
Taking instruction in my corner between rounds
Spectators and gamblers looking on
Were going for a ride
I fought a girl who was the former channel 7 champ. She was a lefty with 40+ fights. Our fight was a good fight and I felt we complimented each others skill set well. The two goals I had set for myself for this specific fight was to cut hard angles and land an elbow. In the United States as an amateur fighter very rarely are you allowed to throw elbows so having the opportunity to throw them was a big deal. I had specifically trained them all week with Den. Thankfully I managed to complete both goals multiple times. In the fourth round I finally let go and let the elbows fly. Towards the end of that round I hit her with some strong elbow combinations followed by a knee kick to the head which earned a standing 8 count. She rallied back hard in the fifth before I finished the fight with a well placed elbow knocking her out and knocking this off my list.
My corner: Neung to the far left in back in the white T-shirt (he is a WBC world champion boxer), Sylvie up front in the dapper vest, Little Neung in the Pirates hat, Off behind him, Den (over 300 pro fights) in the orange Lanna shirt and Deang hiding behind him.
Sylvie in the corner with me right before the 5th round. (Photo credit Kevin Von Duuglass-Ittu)
Be sure to check out my other bucket list blog posts from Thailand:
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