Xtreme Gapper in the Ring!

Posted on Apr 15th, 2010 in Gap Year Reviews, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, gap year Asia, gap year South East Asia, gap year Thailand, sports

: Dan after winning his fight.

Dan, Muay Thai training in Thailand, April 2010

I learnt that I was definitely going to fight around 10 days before the date- set for Monday the 5th April. Seen as a trip to Thailand includes more than just Muay Thai training in Thailand (some of the drinking and partying was pretty intense beforehand!) I decided that I needed to get into even better shape and improve my ability to fight and train in temperatures hitting 40 degrees centigrade. Instead of opting for the twice-daily sessions in the morning and late afternoon, I decided that running in the early morning and training in the afternoon was the way I was going to approach the week leading upto the fight, gradually increasing the distances and intensity of my rounds on the bags and pads and clinching in the ring.

One thing is for sure, that the 10-days of no drinking, healthy eating and relatively early nights certainly took self-discipline that until this time, didn’t know existed in me- my susceptibility to peer-pressure when it came to drinking was well known! Nevertheless, I knew that after only 3-weeks training having never done Muay Thai before, I had to give myself the best opportunity of coming away with a win, preferably by knockout.

Throughout the week before the fight I started to up the pace on my running and distance- doing around 3 1/2 miles in roughly 25 minutes and gradually increasing the speed and time of running. I struggled most with the heat- more than others undertaking the training. I would sweat around 3 liters of water in one single session and knew that come the fight, that that was going to be my biggest obstacle. Nevertheless, the closer the fight came, the better I felt.

I was also eating extremely healthy food- in fairness, it’s hard not to in Thailand! Lots of chicken, rice, veg, vitamins and electro-lite drinks to keep me hydrated were followed up by a massive carb. intake 2 days before the fight where I kicked on to around 5 large meals a day. I have never had a problem controlling weight inspite of loving my food, so the dieting aspect of the preparation was not really much of an issue.

Two days before the fight, the tension was building, the posters were up around the Island and you felt like a bit of a Koh Tao celebrity! The island was rammed from Full Moon the previous week so I knew the crowd would number around 300 people- what an adrenaline rush! The inevitable questions followed such as ‘was I nervous’, but truthfully, I only began to feel nervous in the buildup period on the day of the fight around 3 hours before. By this time, I learnt that I was fighting a Frenchman with previous experience, so it added a little more spice to the occasion for sure!

The fights on the night began and I was waiting around, just wanting to get into the ring, do what needed to be done, enjoy the experience, and get out and party. When they called me over for wrapping and tighr-balm rub, I knew it was not far off. The nerves left and the only thing I can remember is a calm flow of adrenaline through my body that shot up the moment the fight started.

Once the bell rang having done the pre-fight dance, it was really on. I came out and looked for a first-round KO. I could see my opponent had nothing in his eyes and the training kicked in, I felt pretty happy with the way I blocked his kicks and my own assaults were based on big uppercuts, jabs and kicks to the thigh. At the end of round 2, I knew I had him though I was exhausted. Only adrenaline brought me through the final 3 minutes of which I can remember very little!

When I learnt I had won officially, pride and achievement were the two underlying emotions that took over. To anyone that’s out there, it takes an emperor and a warrior to step into a Muay Thai ring, but it’s still not quite the same if you don’t win! The night out after? Well, I haven’t got a clue because I cannot remember a moment of it and a sore head the following morning were my only lasting injuries from my fighting escapade!