PART 7 Note: This is a work of fiction based on the author's experiences training muay thai in Thailand. FEBRUARY Phuket, Thailand I don't hear from Gong until the next morning. He calls right after morning training. "Called you last night," I say. "Why didn't you answer?" "I was already asleep. You train this morning?" "Yeah, it was good. They all know you here." Morning training had been productive, a focus on clinching. The trainers at this Phuket gym talk to me between rounds. A couple of them flirt halfheartedly, mostly harmless. I smile without engagement. The ones who know Gong … [Read more...]
About Lindsey Newhall
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer: Everyone Lies And Everyone Cheats
PART 6 Note: This is a work of fiction based on the author's experiences training muay thai in Thailand. FEBRUARY Phuket, Thailand Hollie parks her motorbike outside the restaurant and I jump off the back, relieved I'm still alive. Even with my responsible friend driving, and even being allowed to wear her helmet, I still hate riding on motorbikes. "You just have to use motorbikes if you want to get around in Phuket," she said. "There isn't a good public transportation system. Taxis are expensive. They're run by the mafia." A couple cars cut us off on our way to the restaurant. I suppressed a gasp as Hollie swerved to avoid … [Read more...]
Beatty, Gateway to Death Valley: The Death Valley Nut & Candy Company
Part 2 The Death Valley Nut & Candy Company After catching up with Lindsey and Jacob for the last hour in Lindsey's Beatty trailer, she asks us what Beatty attractions we're planning to visit today. "Hot springs, brothel, Rhyolite…" I start listing. "But I need some candy first." "Eddie World," Jacob says in response to my sugar-request. "Yeah, Eddie World," Lindsey agrees. We pile into Jacob's truck and head to a magnificently large building attached to a gas station a couple miles up the road. The Death Valley Nut & Candy Company, also known to us as Eddie World. Due to offering food and … [Read more...]
Beatty, Gateway to Death Valley: The Dusty Jewel of Nye County
Part 1 The Dusty Jewel of Nye County The first time I'd ever heard of a place called Beatty was on a trip to Death Valley with my father in 2005. While on our way to Scotty's Castle in the northern part of the national park, we passed a road with a sign marking "Beatty" at the other end. Pops and I kept driving, though in retrospect I wish we'd turned down that road instead, as Beatty was celebrating its one-hundred-first anniversary that year, no small feat considering nearly all of the settlements that sprung up around the same time in this area have since died out. Unlike most boomtowns erected in this area of Nevada and California around … [Read more...]
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer: Fighting Muay Thai Or The Relationship?
PART 5 Note: This is a work of fiction based on the author's experiences training muay thai in Thailand. FEBRUARY "You don't care enough," Gong continues. "All you want to do during training is play cartwheel kicks with Glai. You train Muay Thai but you're the worst one at the gym!" "Okay Gong, maybe I'm the worst at our gym, but do you really think I couldn't win against someone in Phuket?" "Cut! Cut! Cut! Face!" he says in English, and slashes at the air with his elbows. He points to his brow and continues in Thai, "You want scars here, like what I have? I'm worried you'll get your face messed up. I don't want an ugly … [Read more...]
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer: Don’t Fight Please
PART 4 Note: This is a work of fiction based on the author's experiences training muay thai in Thailand. FEBRUARY It's Saturday night, just a week before my planned trip to Phuket. Gong, my nak muay boyfriend of the last six months, is at the wheel of his beloved Toyota Vios and I'm gazing out the window at the passing lights of Bangkok. We're cruising down the main drag on the way home from the local supermarket, groceries in the trunk. Gong calls it a "date." I call it "running errands." I still haven't told him I emailed a gym in Phuket about fighting. Now's a convenient time to tell him the good news. I interrupt his quiet singing … [Read more...]
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer: Entering A Romantic Relationship
PART 3 Note: This is a work of fiction based on the author's experiences training muay thai in Thailand. SEPTEMBER It's been exactly two weeks since Gong and I kissed in his room. Much to my utter relief, he has continued to train me well as before. In fact, he's been so normal and non-flirtatious with me the last two weeks that I'm starting to think what happened between us was a one-time mix-up. Tonight, Gong is over in my room studying English and Thai, as has been our Sunday evening custom the last couple months. We keep the door open and Camp Grandma walks by, smiling at the sight of us sitting on the floor with our … [Read more...]
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer: Romance or Rejection
PART 2 Note: This is a work of fiction based on the author's experiences training muay thai in Thailand. August 2013 I mention to Gong the prospect of taking my first fight. He laughs at me, seems surprised I want to fight, and says he doesn't think I'm ready yet. "Maybe three months, Linsee. Maybe. If you train really hard." A few days later, something in me snaps during training. I'm paired up in sparring with a lanky 15-year-old named Boom. Normally I enjoy sparring with him but today I'm being pushed to my limits emotionally. Every strike he levels at me feels like he's trying to knock me out. Boom is one of my favorite Thai boys at … [Read more...]
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer: Training Fulltime In Bangkok
The Perils Of Dating Your Trainer is a fictional series by Lindsey Newhall, based on her experiences training muay thai in Thailand. PART 1 JUNE Another afternoon session training Muay Thai in Bangkok. I've been here four months now. The sun is shining brighter than usual and everything is glowing. During the water break in between pad rounds, I dip the metal cup in the communal cooler and revel in the relief of ice water. My trainer Gong calls me over for another round on pads. I hurry back to him and put my guard up. I'm falling in love with him. But it's not what you're thinking, not a romantic love. He doesn't speak English and I … [Read more...]