After I wrote my journal yesterday I had a couple hours to kill before the next training. I was a little antsy. Most of the fighters have been here a lot longer then me so there are exhausted and only want to lay around and sleep between workouts. There is really not much to do here besides train; which is a good and bad thing. Definitely keeps you focused. So I sat in the camp living room and talked to Don for a bit. He told me his story; that his mom passed away a few years ago of breast cancer. He and his brother took it really hard. His Dad was so grief stricken that he said he couldn’t live without his wife and he committed suicide. To cope with the tragic death of both his parents he started drinking heavily and became an alcoholic. He was in an accident last year that crushed his ankle and he was in a wheel chair. He hit rock bottom and that is when he found God and began studying to be a minister. His ankle is still messed up and he uses crutches sometimes but he trains anyway and does whatever he can. He kicks with his shin. Pretty inspirational.

The trainers live here at the camp with their families. My trainer Ed has a 10 year old son who is a champion fighter and he trains with us. There are a lot of little kids who train here and they are HARD CORE. They start training around the age of five. Prime fighting years are ages 14-21. More fighter retire around age 21.

During meal time we eat in the cafeteria and I get to converse with the fighters from all around the world. There is one guy here (forget his name) who is 19 and from Estonia (tiny country of 1.6 mil next to Russia). I call him the human computer bc he speaks 5 languages and knows the answer to almost every question you ask him. When we need to convert dollars into bahts or what the minimum wage here in Thailand is (it’s 20 baht- about 60 cents/hr) or facts/laws/government about any country he spits out the answer. I asked his what Estonians think of Americans and he said ‘they think very poorly of Americans. They think Americans are stupid, lazy, uncultured, and ignorant. (LOL! I guess that’s what we get for having Paris Hilton and George Bush as cultural icons). He is attending a very strict boarding school (university) here in Thailand and is on a full scholarship (no surprise). He said the students wear a uniform and are not allowed to use hair gel or hairspray and are not allowed to go within 1.5 meters of students of the opposite sex.

We went to watch the professional Muay Thai fights again last night. They were great; but too long… from 6-11pm. I was in the second row again. There were big signs all around the stage that said “NO WOMEN ARE PERMITTED TO TOUCH THE STAGE”. I asked one of the fighter what that meant and he said that each stadium has it’s out rules and traditions. At this stadium they believe that women will bring bad luck to the fighters and curse the ring if they touch the stage. I have to admit I was offended. Obviously women are not allowed to fight there. It pisses me off bc some of the Thai female fighters are AMAZING and they have earned their right to be in that ring. That stadium is the most coveted and all the fighters dream of going there. Not fair.

Up until recently this camp was open only for male Thai fighters (no foreigners or women were allowed). Then I supposed the owner realized how much more money he could make and opened it for everyone.

It’s 1045 am rights now. I woke up around 630 and started training about 7. My legs are COVERED in bruises. The bruise on the from of my ankle hurts and I feel it when I walk. Once the adrenaline gets going I don’t feel it as much. I’ve been kicking with my shin to avoid injury. I’m just going to work through it. Only a couple more days. Not that bad anyway. My joints bones, and skin are NOT used to the constant impact. My endurance is great but my technique sucks. The long time fighters kick constantly and have no bruises. My body will adapt. I remember when I first started lifting weights I used to get blisters on my hands. Not I never wear gloves and I haven’t had a blister in 9 years.

I know it’s only been a couple of days but I get really frustrated with myself when I don’t get the technique. My trainer Tim is strict about form, which is good but frustrating. I’m always doing something wrong. Either me stance is wrong, or my wrist is not straight or is walking to fast or my shoulders are too tense or my fingers are clenched when they should be straight or or I forgot to block my face or keep my chin down. I tell myself “Patience Tania. Focus Tania. You will get it eventually. Keep going. You came to learn. You came to be a fighter.”

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