Sometimes I follow that which I can’t explain and that which makes absolutely no sense to the people around me. Often, those are the moves that I benefit from the most. I’m not saying my life becomes easier, I just grow. Meeting Gai and deciding to train with him was one of those moves.
The general protocol at a muay thai gym in Thailand is as follows:
Mornings
– a 10 km run followed by bag work and three to five, five minute rounds on pads
Afternoons
– a 5 – 10 km run (or 30 minutes skipping), bag work, five, five minute rounds on pads, clinching and/or sparring.
An average day of training may be approximately five to six hours, split up between both sessions. The time between sessions is usually spent recovering. Training is anywhere from six to seven days a week.
Each gym has its own culture/way of doing things, but generally will adhere to the above outline. This works for some people, but not all. Oftentimes, for a variety of reasons that I won’t presently get into, training becomes more of a workout than a progression of skills. That’s one of the reasons why you’ll find people who have been living and training in Thailand for extended periods of time who still sort of suck.
I didn’t want to be one of those people.
So when I was offered to be trained privately by Gai, I took it.
I was going to train at an abandoned gym by a guy who I never heard of and who, I believe, had only trained one other person (a Thai male).
I was also going to train alone, which meant no clinching partners, no sparring partners and no other trainers to mix with other than him.
Gai was also only available in the evenings; I had to train myself in the mornings. I also had to buy most of the equipment. It was an exercise in trust and I jumped on it.
My basis?
First impressions. I saw him and thought, yeah, this is my kru.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Read the previous memoir, Beginnings – The Kru, here.
Read the next memoir, Muay Thai Training In Limbo, here.
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