The intent was to make the seven plus hour trip to Sitmonchai Gym, Thamaka, Kanchanaburi to hook up with friends, write a review of the gym and pick up on Sitmonchai’s style of delivering devastating punches and low kicks. Low kicks score minimal points in Thailand. As a result a number of gyms pay them little mind. For example, I had the habit of annoying a past trainer by delivering low kicks during our pad sessions. He kept telling me they were ugly. Not mine particularly, just in general. Sitmonchai fighters in contrast are known to utilize low kicks to disable their opponents by KO.
Ironically, one sentence into this post and I received a text that Pornsanae, a house nak muay, decorated champion and Thailand’s 2010 Fighter of The Year won his October 7 fight at Lumpinee in the first round by doing just that. Check the video below.
As I crafted the title before receiving the text, by KO, I was referring to my knock out here. Nothing to do with fighting, not even training, basically just me getting taken out by a piece of furniture. A wonky mattress to be exact.
Day One at Sitmonchai I took it easy and didn’t train. Night One at Sitmonchai, I slept, maybe four fitful hours. Night Two, I passed out due to exhaustion. Night Three, I believe I slept two hours, possibly. I didn’t pick up what was keeping me awake at Sitmonchai, a part of me was super giddy to be here (I got to train AND speak ENGLISH!!! ENGLISH ALL DAY!!! YAY! YAY! YAY!), so I thought that may have been the issue. Sort of like backtracking to primary school pre-Christmas wigglies.
However, by the fourth day (I believe) I could barely pull up my pants standing up. This dialed me in. I started sleeping on a mat on the floor. Definite improvement, but an over extended back and a stubborn sense of will can be a bad mix. Within a couple of days, I went for a round in the ring, and creeped myself out. My back definitely was worse, in a way I’ve never felt before. Extreme pain but most importantly, weird pain. This was new. One of the house nak muays had something similar happen to him previously and was out for a month.
After a trip to an orthopedic doctor in Nakhon Pathom, I was told I would be out for a week. I had planned to be at Sitmonchai for two. I had already lost one. My backside was in too much pain to make the trip back to Buriram. Sitting was a drag. I’m writing this on my fourteenth day here at Sitmonchai. My back is better, as is my tailbone, but for the past three days I’ve been hit with allergies. To what? I don’t know. The medication I was on? The rain (this is a real possibility)? Swollen eyed eczema filled fun. My head feels like it’s filled with five litres of water. And marbles. I have no idea when I’m going to feel fit enough to make the trip back to Isaan. I’m estimating within two days.
How is the training at Sitmonchai? I didn’t have one full regular training session where I feel I can comment. I think I may have to come out here and try this again.
However, I will comment on what I have experienced living here.
When I don’t feel like I’m using someone else’s brain to write you.
Friday, October 7, 2011
*Read my review of Sitmonchai Gym here.
Read the last memoir, Rain Veins On My Window Panes, here.
LOL, You are a good writter. You know how to keep em reading. I was reading thinking of how you got KO’d by a matress, thinking you kicked one and it bounced off of a wall then fell on your chin or something.
Lol. Thank-you!