Travel Day 11 / Training Day 8

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Totally acclimated to the sleep schedule now. Got up with enough time to pack and do some extra stretching. Legs are still tight from the sparring on Monday. Looked out the window and was surprised to see the overcast sky and a light rain. That’s not good because that means it’s all jump rope for the cardio. From the gloomy looking start, and still being a bit sore, I planned to take the afternoon off. I was even thinking about skipping the morning. But I loaded up and went to the BTS. The rain was stopped on the walk to the train and to the gym, although the sky was still dark and threatening. I got to the gym and Santafaa was jumping rope. No running in rain so he doesn’t get sick. I decided to start since it was not raining yet. The first lap was a bit slow at first , because everything was still a bit stiff. As I turned the corner, the wind really picked up and the first few raindrops started, inspiring me to pick up the pace. I made it to the homestretch alley just as the rain started to come down, and ducked under the gym cover about 30 seconds before the deluge let loose. Unfortunately, the only other guy who showed up, Thomas, started after me and was still out. He also had his nice headphones on and his phone/wallet. When he got back, he was completely soaked, obviously. The rain kept away most people. Jumping seemed to last forever, and was a little over 30 minutes. It was raining so hard that it was impossible to hear people talking or the beat of the jump ropes on the floor. The only other person who came in was the guy on the scooter, and he shows up, later anyway. He came after the rain. Before I hand wrapped, I asked Santi to video how he does it, so I have no reason the screw it up again.

Thomas took the ring first with Fahlaep and while he and the other guy worked the pads, I did between 4 and 5 rounds on the heavy bag. Then Santafaa said we would spar for a bit. Again I imposed on Santi for some pictures and video. I think I did ok, but again, there’s always something to learn. We did one round of boxing only, and he covered a lot, letting me hit him a few times. It was a great opportunity to actually train with such a great fighter, and I’ll have to watch the video to be see if I really did any good or not . I still don’t feel as relaxed as I should be. Next round was just a light pad round with him and boxing gloves for technique. That was good experience. Good thing I proofread, I forgot to include the last bit of fun. Santafaa said 50 punches to the stomach, which I thought I was hitting him. That was not at all what he intended. I had seen this before, so I knew what to expect. Thankfully, he wasn’t hitting terribly hard, but it was quite hard enough though. I would have been very disappointed if I had for gotten that part.

But I still had padwork to do. Only 3 rounds with Fahlaep this morning. Still getting fine tuning on techniques and adding a few more counters. Round 2 had all of the multiple kicks, and luckily were able to work in a set of 20 on each side. Round three was more technique on boxing, and no kicks. That round finished with 30 seconds of machine gun punching. I was going to do some weights, but it was almost 9:30, so by the time I packed up I was a bit behind schedule. I did grab the rice and omelette breakfast this morning again. After eating and the break, I’m feeling good, so I’ll go back this afternoon. I’ll try and take it easy, but Fahlaep has already talked about sparring. Maybe I’ll do a bit less running….

The afternoon cleared up just a bit, but still threatening rain. I dodged a few raindrops to the BTS, and got to the gym with no rain falling. I jumped out to get my laps in before it started raining. I only did 6 this afternoon, and about 7 minutes of jumprope. I was trying to maintain my plan of a lighter workout. The crowd was again a bit thin this afternoon, compared to previous days, but still about 6 of us training. The rounds this afternoon were semi-sparring with Fahlaep. I put on my shin guards but wearing them just doesn’t seem to feel quite right when I’m kicking. Sparring rounds are so much more tiring than just padwork. And Fahlaep seems to enjoy pushing me around in these rounds. Aussie Steve and his son showed up this afternoon for their last workout before heading home. They gave them both a great session to remember. I had brought with me a pair of hand wraps still unopened as a spare. So I gave it to his son as a training present. Walking back with them to the BTS, then hotel, they were both sad to leave and greatly enjoyed the instruction, the time with all of the boxers, and other students.

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Photos

First day of rain
When it decides to rain, it really rains. This was the first rain this trip. The heavy rain lasted about 15-20 minutes, but it was enough to derail running. It rained for about an hour.

Thomas is from France, working in Australia and is on holiday before renewing his work visa in Australia. He says he has trouble finding equal sparring partners at the gyms he has trained at. I’m not sure I see it….

Sparring with Santafaa
Just boxing, and I was able to avoid a hook. I’m trying to break the habit of leaning in like American boxing, as I find out the hard way, it’s not a good idea against Thai fighters.

Hands Up
A constant reminder. If you drop them here, you get reminded why they want your hands up. Of course as the day goes on, the hands weigh about 20#, and it’s hard to keep them up to block

Final day for Australia!
Steve and his son, and Santafaa. The Thais love seeing the youngster training. Everyone gave him fist bumps, and thumbs up no matter where he was at. Steve’s gym in Brisbane is Bulldog Gym.