Okay..Okay…better get back to blogging again ;)
Queens Cup was a good experience. Chantal win her fight–Vargas had a tough matchup and injured his knee in the first–whil Dalia lost a controversy decision.
Put Joe Ray through a tough 25 minute circuit today as his last training session b4 Singapore.
Enjoying an afternoon of shopping when I passed by this guy making balloon animals ;)
Just got done grabbing lunch @ Bully’s on Sukhumvit with BKK Bjj head instructor Adam Kayoom. Adam is a Bjj black belt under Ricardo Liborio.
He will be fighting for Mike Haskamp’s “Legends” mma event in Hong Kong this Sept. Look for Adam to be spending the final 3 weeks of his training camp with Tiger Muay Thai ;)
This week is going to be the Queen’s Cup event in BKK. It is held at Sanam Luang over two days, and features many of the top fighters in the country. The event is shown on Live TV, and at the peak has nearly 200,000 live spectators. Held in honor of the Queen’s Birthday it is a very prestigious event to compete at.
This year TMT has three fighters competing.
The first two fighters will compete on the 11th of Aug. for the WPMF fight card.
Fights will be shown on TV channel 7 in Thailand from 2300pm-0100am. (That’s right…Fights start at 11 at night and go until 1 am!!!!)
*John Vargas will be fighting Alex from Chiangmai Muay Thai for the vacant WPMF Superwelterweight belt.
*Chantal Ughi who is back at TMT after losing to Claire Haigh last year at the Queen’s Cup will face Tracy Sithchamong
*Dalia Hosny will face Saovarin Sithrujieb on the 12th for the Thailand Vs. Challengers series.
Dalia’s fight will be broadcast on ESPN, True Visions, and Eurosport.
Here in Thailand True Visions and Live TV will cover the fights on the 12th from 7pm-12am.
I’ll be in BKK starting Tonight until Friday evening…if any of you are gonna be in the area—hit me up and let’s try to meet up. I’m pretty sure Wed. we are planning to head to ROUTE 66.
Well after the motorbike accident…I had to get some new glasses.
Just stopped by the shop to pick em up. -4.75 is my vision in both eyes…
I’m going to get through my Martial Combat fight in Oct…then will probably be visiting Yanhee hospital in BKK and scheduling a corrective eye surgery.
Thanx to UFC vet Mike Ciesnolevicz for making it to the evening “Advanced” MMA training tonight. Mike fought 9x’s for Pat Miletich’s ‘Silverbacks’ team during the IFL. He is also a 2x UFC veteran who wrestled collegiate at Lock Haven University. Holding a purple belt in BJJ he is a very well rounded fighter, who has been training at Tiger Muay Thai in an effort to increase his striking skills.
Helping Brayden Summers and Joe Ray finish out their training camp for Martial Combat, we worked takedown defense and getting back up to our feet.
Joe Ray will be fighting UFC Vet and TMT alumni Chad Reiner for a Superfight Championship belt on the 18th of this month. Reiner is from a wrestling background and has made the mistake of scheduling another fight after his bout with Joe Ray in Martial Combat against Chris Lozano (9-1) less than 9 days between the slugfests. Joe Ray’s gameplan is going to be simple–avoid the takedown and work your way back up to the feet.
Brayden Summers will be facing a fighter from China that we know little about. We suspect he will have tough Sanda striking, but probably limited grappling experience. Brayden will be looking to GNP the win.
Good start to their last week of training!
We have a large mall near my house called “Central Festival” and these guys were preforming for the Concept Performance Arts program. They had a good sized crowd gathered around them as they “pop-locked” for donations.
Besides the breakdancers…they also had a live violent concert and a few young singers on a stage.
Needless to say…before I left…they managed to entertain me enough that I dropped a few bucks into the collection box :)
Ugh—the thing that makes motorbikes (or Mo-sigh if you were Thai) so dangerous in Thailand…is that while YOU might drive carefully…you can’t control how the person next to you is driving.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have a friend—John Flicker—loan me his truck until October—but…sometimes it is just easier/quicker to get around on the motorbike.
Last night while the sun was setting Kitty and myself decided to go grab dinner at a restaurant near the Chalong Circle called ‘Anchor Inn’. It was ’streetlights turning on’ dark-when we headed out. Driving about 60KM I noticed a motorbike preparing to make a right hand turn across our lane of traffic and onto a side street.
I flashed my brights, honked my horn, and began to slow down just in-case the Thai driver decided to “attempt” the turn. Needless to say, even with my flashing lights/honking horn…she ignored oncoming traffic…
Unable to avoid the collision I tried to slow down as much as possible, before eventually laying the bike down and jumping off the seat. Kitty–ridding as a passenger–was also forced to “jump” before the two motorbikes crashed into one another. Watching my bike slide like a Chinese Star thrown by a Ninja into the other driver…I covered my head and slid across the street towards the accident as if I was Pete Rose stealing home-base.
My glasses flew from my face, and Poor Kitty was on “tumble dry” as she rolled past me. Quickly accessing the situation (looking to see if I had all my toes,fingers, and other body parts)…I realized both Kitty and myself were alive. My glasses—flew across the street, literally smashing the “lens frames” flat. Picking myself up from the street–my next thought was the driver of the other motorbike—who did not jump off her vehicle.
My bike crashed into her leg as she was unable to get out of the way. Falling on impact she had minimal “road rash” (or Phuket Tattoo as the Thai’s call it). She held her knee a bit where my bike had smashed into her leg…but generally was “okay”.
Asking her in my best Thai voice “WHAT YOU DO?!?!”…She had to take the earphones out of her ears to hear what I was saying. I couldn’t believe it…EARPHONES. What Thai music could she have possibly been listening to that was more important than my warning sirens and flashing lights prior to the collision?!?!
Having passed a Police officer moments before the accident, he finally caught up with us. Here in Thailand the “foreigner” is usually at fault…but NOT TODAY~! It was obvious that the accident was not my fault, and without much delay the officer asked me how much my glasses cost. I told him 2,000THB and he quickly told the lady to pay for the glasses.
Overall the accident cost me more then “2,000thb”. I went down to buy new glasses today, and they were a lil’ over 3,000. Our clothes were not salvageable after the “breakdancing” we did across the asphalt. Adding insult to injury…because I was unable to see–I had to take a “Tuk-Tuk Taxi” back to my place to put my contacts in. The Police officer quickly called a cab—which charged me 400THB for a 2 minute ride to my house and back to the scene of the accident…can you say “hustled?!”
Even though the 2,000thb I “earned” for the accident didn’t cover the estimated 5-6,000THB in damages…I have to admit…I am still glad to have all my fingers, toes, and no additional stitches after the incident.
I was hoping to get back into training this week after missing the past two with lower back pains…but I’m going to be on the shelf a few more days while the “road rash” heals. I don’t want to risk an infection by training on the flesh wound. Kitty…had to call in to work today, as her body is really banged up from the collision. I can’t help but to think to myself—”Did all the BJJ Training Kitty and myself have done over the years keep us safe!?”—I’m sure learning how to fall, and protect yourself during a fight–all played into our bodies “muscle memory” as we ricocheted across the pavement.
Just wanted to thank everyone who donated to the Jonathan Chan raffle. Being able to raise 23,000THB just goes to show that when you become a member of the Tiger Muay Thai family…it doesn’t matter if your in Phuket or not…we got your back :)
Jonathan, spent 6 months training at TMT. During that time…he was the perfect example of what a teammate should be. He never missed a practice and was always their to help with sparring, drilling, or whatever other task the coach gave him. As a fighter he competed in 3 amateur fights winning them all. At the end of his stay Jonathan headed to Australia to compete in a professional MMA fight. Winning the first two rounds of the bout, he was dropped in the third with a head kick. Recovering from the strike…he was still “rocked” when his opponent latched on a RNC to get the submission victory.
Following the fight a noticeable “indention” was on the side of his head. Rushing him to the hospital it was discovered he had a decompression fracture of the skull. Undergoing surgery, he had to change his flights back home to New Zealand and incurred several unexpected costs due to the injuries.
Wanting to help…we organized a raffle…some of the items included;
WEC Vet Muhsin Corbbrey donated a set of WEC gloves which he Autographed to the winner
UFC Vet Mike Ciesnolevicz signed a pair of TMT MMA gloves
WEC Vet Chan Sung Jung donated two of his Signature “Korean Zombie” T-shirts
Custom Mouth Guard from the premier manufacture Kombat Mouth Guards!
Free Week of training, Free Week of Meal Plan, Two MMA-One Body Fit Private, and several other prizes.
…A special thanx to Dave Davies, Andy Henry, Phil and Sharon Sayers, Adam Underhill, Lisbeth Nillson, and Alex Bijlsma who also gave money via paypal for Jonathan’s recovery.
