Muay Thai So Far

Training Muay Thai with Singhao has been amazing, and I still can’t believe I accidentally ran into him on that rainy day. He’s introduced me to another coach, Kru Mai, who comes a few times a week, and I’ve met six other Muay Thai students: Bam, Non, another Non, and three absolutely adorable girls who are probably around 7 or 8. I’ve brought both Tiffany and Melissa their first practices (check out Melissa's blog on that!), I’ve learned the Wai Kru dance, a traditional Thai dance performed before a fight to pay respect to teachers, and I’m slowly picking up on the rich culture and traditions of Muay Thai. I’m diligently studying how to say everything in Thai so I’m a bit less clueless during practice, and the older Non, who is the only one there who speaks English, has become my Muay Thai Thai teacher, translating everything I don’t understand– which is a lot.

Me and Singhao!

I’ve been going to practice pretty much everyday, and while we do slightly different things each time, it pretty much goes like this: at four, we start by running some laps around the school, and Kru Mai steps in to add some obstacles– sometimes we have a basketball to jump over, sometimes he sticks his arms out for us to roll under, and sometimes he holds his hands up and calls out a combo. Today, he sent the three little girls chasing after me, and I ran my warm up laps with them laughing and squealing behind me, trying to tag me. After running, we do three rounds of jump rope, and on the days that Coach Mai is there, Singhao sits on the side, watching. I shadowbox three three minute rounds, with Singhao keeping track of time. During the last thirty seconds, he always yells, reo reo, QUICKLY! and no matter how fast I go he’s always laughing and yelling reo reo! The next hour is filled with footwork, pad work, and bag work. At five, Singhao heads to his parking permit booth to start work, and I continue training with the other students. Some days, I hold pads for little Non (who’s 13) and Non (who's 17), teaching them the boxing combos I’ve learned. Some days they’ll hold pads for me; little Non is always dramatic, yelling out combos and collapsing on the ground when I land a decent kick. While we can barely communicate with my broken Thai, I always love seeing little Non at practice; he always greets me with a huge smile, and (I think) he’s always excited when I grab some pads and ask if he wants to do a few rounds. The other Non is always playing music on a speaker, singing along, and while he used to only play American songs, he’s been playing his favorite Thai songs after I asked for some recommendations.

Non and I soaked in sweat after practice, Melissa and I learning the Wai Kru, and a pad session with little Non

Toward the end of practice today, Coach Mai called Non and Non into the ring to spar, delegating me as the referee. I awkwardly shuffled around the ring trying not to crash into either of them, refereeing for two rounds and then doing a round with Non. When we finished, the three little girls crawled into the ring and put on gloves that practically reached their elbows. Coach Mai sent two of them to opposite corners, told me to ref, and I proceeded to witness the most adorable Muay Thai match I have ever seen in my life. The two of them bounced up and down, circling each other, trying to tag each other’s shoulders, occasionally giggling when they landed a good shot. After they all had their turn, one of them decided that two hours of training was not enough for her, and she wanted to play tag with me. I chased her around the school until we were both completely out of breath, exhausted and laughing. Unable to communicate much with them, I communicate through thumbs ups and high fives, and each time I stick my hand up for a high five, the three of them come running, jumping as high as they can to reach me.

We usually wrap up a bit before six with calisthenics and stretches, and every now and then, Coach Mai will throw in something different. Today, we did leg lifts, and he would point at each of us to collectively count to twenty in English, making us start over if someone messed up on a number. He asked me to lead the end-of-practice routine, which includes a salute, a thank you to the teacher, and a short cheer. I absolutely butchered the entire thing, but I did record Non running through it, so I will hopefully be more prepared tomorrow.

Post practice meals with Singhao and the occasional trek back home in the flooding streets with Non

If practice runs late, I usually have a few missed calls from Singhao, and when we finally wrap things up, Non and I walk over to Singhao’s booth, where he always has a bag of pineapples waiting. On some days, I’m able to make a run for the street food vendor across from us to pay for my own dinner, but on other days, like today, Singhao has a plate, a bowl, or a bag of food waiting for me (or sometimes all three). Non and I eat there, chatting in English, and Singhao will occasionally jump in to say something in Thai. I write down all the new vocab I’ve learned that day (today I wrote down everything I need to say for the end-of-practice routine), and I try to form coherent sentences in Thai to Non and Singhao, as they both laugh and correct my pronunciation. Some days we sit under Singhao's little booth, listening to the sound of thunder and pouring rain, watching the sky light up. Non always walks back with me, and on the days where it's pouring, we walk through the streets in ankle-deep water. Non always jokes that we need to take a boat back, and I tell him that one of these days we'll swim back.

A few of the things Singhao has gotten me

Singhao is always eager to meet my friends, and last week, he told me that he would bring me bpai tiao, to go on a trip, telling me to bring a friend. I’m pretty sure he said where we would go, which I wasn’t able to pick up on, but I eagerly agreed. On Sunday, Melissa and I arrived at the temple at 9am, where Singhao was waiting. After bringing us inside the temple to wai one of the monks, we hopped in the car, and he drove off. We weren’t exactly sure where we were going, but along the way, he pointed out different temples, malls, and parks. He drove around the police department where he worked, showing us the police car he drove (reo maak, very fast). We finally figured out that we were heading to his home, and around an hour later, we pulled into a small street of houses. I realized then that Singhao drove an hour to work everyday, and he had driven an hour to the temple that morning just to pick me and Melissa up! Walking into his home, we were first greeted by Heeng, his dog who loved rubbing his face all over my pants. Unsurprisingly, Singhao immediately began feeding us, bringing out two plates of papaya and pineapple, and then following that with bitter melon pork soup, rice, and fried fish. Everything was so delicious, and as we ate, he brought out photos to show us: photos of his wife, of his children, of his grandchildren. Photos from when he was training to be a police officer at 18. And of course, photos and photos of his time as a professional Muay Thai fighter. Photos of him and the king. Photos of him receiving his belt. He even gave Melissa and I two signed (per Melissa’s request) copies of his championship photo! After lunch, we sat out in his backyard, which was overflowing with different plants. He pointed out a basil plant, telling us to try one of the leaves. Pulling it straight off the plant, it was fresh and fragrant. He then convinced us to try a green Thai chili pepper, promising that it was still young and therefore mai phet, not spicy. I took a bite, decided that it was in fact phet, and Melissa (almost) finished the rest. We sat in the garden for a bit, chatting and asking about all the different plants. Oh, and he also asked me if I would marry his 23 year old grandson.

Singhao's Muay Thai Wall

When we went back inside, we were greeted by his wife (Khun Yaa) and his daughter (P’Jib). And then we were in another car, the five of us heading off to some unknown adventure. We stopped by a small plaza for a snack break, and munched on fried seafood and smoothies in the car. An hour later, we arrived at a giant temple in Chachoengsao. Singhao brought us inside, and we made our way through the temple, copying Singhao’s motions, making offerings in the form of flowers and dropping coins in the bowls lining the temple. We took turns using the fortune sticks, a container of red sticks that you shake until one falls out. While neither Melissa nor I could not read our fortunes, according to Singhao, they were both dii maak, or very good.

After piling back into the car, we did a short drive to our next destination: food! I'm definitely learning that any proper Thai adventure involves a lot of eating. The restaurant was outdoors, surrounded by Banyan trees and overlooking the beautiful Bang Pakong River, where Singhao and Khun Yaa treated us to a delicious meal. When we were all full, Khun Yaa started throwing the leftover rice into the river, and we watched as the fish enjoyed their meal.

Family photo!

On the drive back, Singhao occasionally pointed out buildings and landmarks, and P’Jib drove us all the way to our hotel, despite the fact they lived an hour away. While I love having the opportunity to practice my Thai, seven hours of intense listening and attempts to form coherent phrases and sentences is definitely mentally exhausting. I felt so grateful to be welcomed into their family that day, but I also felt the frustration of not knowing how to convey that gratitude with my limited vocabulary. Melissa and I did our best to thank them when they dropped us off, and Singhao told me that he'd see me the next day at the usual time for Muay Thai practice. Our adventure that day not only improved my Thai language skills but also made me realize how much more I have and want to learn. I've showed both Singhao and Non my blog... and maybe some day in the future I'll be able to make a post in Thai. We're in our final week of our language classes, and I'm definitely feeling a bit more motivated. So here's a popular phrase I learned the other day that I love using, especially during Muay Thai practices: susu, which means keep fighting!

Some film by the talented Melissa!