Part 1
Being injured doesn’t mean you can’t follow your dreams; rather, you may have to reconsider your path. My first journey to Thailand to train Muay Thai began on January 1, 2007. Plagued with allergies, eczema and a dysfunctional hip due to being hit on foot by a car, I encountered more debilitating challenges in my six months in Thailand. In 2009 I returned to Thailand to follow a childhood dream – to train a martial art full-time and begin my nomadic life.
This is Part 1 of how I disregarded the the diagnoses of various doctors and my chiropractor, followed my intuition and ultimately healed beyond what I was told was possible. It is also a look back to the beginning of my time in Thailand. This series will run every week until completion.
The following excerpts were originally published in a larger entry on my now defunct MySpace page. This entry was meant to update friends.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
San Kamphaeng….The Beginning…
Everytime I sit down and try to write, I don’t know where to start. As each day comes and passes, so with it a new challenge. Past difficulties are replaced by the new and what seemed challenging, interesting, and sometimes surreal quickly becomes the norm. I’m in San Kamphaeng now, a small village in the north, about a half hour commute from the the northern capital of Chiang Mai. Although the city is close, San Kamphaeng is very different than the tourist friendly Chiang Mai.
San Kamphaeng is a small industrial/farming village. There’s one main road and you can walk its length in about 20 minutes. English is scarce here including anything written in Roman script. It’s all Thai, all the time. It’s alright, but Bangkok with all its hustlers and deviants felt a lot more like home. For me, that’s a good indication. I’m in the right place.
My room is large, full of light and came complete with a Western toilet, new tiles, bloodstained pillows/sheets, an ant infestation and the Thai equivalent to, hell I don’t know, my neighbours seem nice enough but are surreal as fuck. Mullets, beer, bikes, Thai pop all day, karaoke all night and random dry heaving in the mornings. I didn’t know this shit existed here. It’s amazing. I’m on the other side of the world and I move in beside people from my hometown…. I haven’t had the chance to try my Thai on them as their dog tries to eat me. Daily.
There’s so much to go on about, but I’ll leave it to other posts. I’ll end this with something about my training, as that’s what’s brought me to San Kamphaeng. It makes every challenge and bullshit experience worth it. I’m training under two past Bangkok champions, in a family atmosphere. I have a long way to go and my endurance is shot, but I’m currently training about 3 -4 hours a day running, bag work, shadow boxing, pads, sparring – 6 days a week. I get a lot of individual attention and even more support.
Much respect and many thanks to everyone I train with, past and present and for all those that helped me get here.
Sawadee Khaa.
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