Off to Thailand to train Thai Boxing

Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
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Well, I decided to just jump in and go train Muay Thai boxing in an effort to seriously jump start the weight loss which has, to be honest, been on and off.

I'm on a 1-way ticket and plan to spend between 3 and 6 months there, depending on a few things - finances, progress and how it works out for me.

I am knocking on the thicker end of 19st now and have not really set a target and just plan do do what I can, but ideally I would like to be much much closer to normal proportions.

Why Thailand and why Muay Thai boxing? "You could do it in a gym back home" I could try (and I have), but the distractions are plenty and the motivation to stick to it is tough. I had good results in the past doing high intensity boxing related fitness, plus I get to pickup a new skill which I can hopefully put towards a hobby in the future to keep losing weight, training fitness and keeping it off - bit of fun/variance that a typical gym routine lacks. I have always wanted to pick up a form of martial arts and the whole ordeal is getting a fair few birds in 1-stone. Weight loss, Fitness, Picking up Muay Thai, seeing Thailand and surrounding areas, a break from the rock of Jersey.

So, being "stuck" out there with a large part of the day towards training will keep me on-track, as well as trainers/other people to help push along. I certainly find it hard to push hard enough on my own. The costs are reasonable and less than what I am paying rent monthly back home, so why not!

I leave next week and suffice to say I am both excited and nervous to the same tune. :eek:

Once I get settled in and started I may start a progress thing off but I aint committing to that till I see how it starts to pan out :D

Might well poll opinion/information on some eating and weight based work for the out-of training hours times, not being very savvy myself and aware there are many knowledgeable folk on the subject here!
 
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Thanks for the pointers Skull. Am aware of the weather as of now and that it's going to take me some time to acclimatise. Probably will only be able to do little work until the body has hardened up to it.

I don't drink and have never had an affinity for alcohol and partying so that should not be an issue for me. Eating will take some discipline but I have managed it in the past and hopefully there are some decent healthy Thai dishes that can keep me appeased :p

I have a 12 Month Multi-Entry ED visa so get 90 days before I need to pop off somewhere and come back. Really did not want to be doing visa runs every 15 days!

RockLobster - The S2K is going in the garage and staying there till I return ;)
 
just wondering once you have achieved what you wanted there .....would you not just go back to your normal routine and put the weight back on when you return.

My normal routine is not THAT bad. I'm not putting weight on really it's just not coming off either.

Should not have any problems maintaining it once it's off and have picked up some things I do not do now.
 
Training is Mon to Sat with morning run, morning session and afternoon session. Any time between that is free as well as all of Sunday. You can buy extra VIP 1-on-1 1 hour sessions for about a tenner which can be used any time in the gym hours.

You are not committed to training everyday but being slack is not good for you and trainers who see you put the whole effort in are more willing to help you out. If you pay for a month there are no refunds for days you do not "use" training.

I am flying with Singapore Airlines on a one-way ticket which costs £450 including the connection to Phuket (Heathrow>Singapore>Phuket). The Visa cost £100 for a 12 month Multi Entry, Travel insurance cost £160 for 6 months of cover.

Monthly recurring costs for training+bungalow is ~£550 and the one off payments for gear is about £200. Whether I decide to save some and go for a shared bungalow will be dictated by who is there I would be happy sharing with/and them with me.

I am budgeting ~£1,000 a month all-in with food, some entertainment etc. It's more than I have calculated in hard numbers but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Edit - Oh and I paid £35 for a premium Seat on the Upper Deck with masses of legroom. <3 seatguru.com
 
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Arrived now and updates are occurring on the blog.

In a nutshell, hot hot hot, sessions are hard but I can just about manage the morning and afternoon pacing myself.

Getting used to the climate, much better than I was when I landed and can avoid the aircon now.
 
Really enjoyed reading this post so far.

Out of random interest, what Wordpress theme did you use for your blog ? :p

It was something like Pixie iirc! Was on the first page of "black" themes. Works quite well, I like dark and I do not need huge masses of space, some widgets and content :D

Edit - It's Pixel, just checked :p
 
As far as weight loss goes I am going to try track it on a weekly basis.

Want to get down to some of the beaches as well as get some more pictures of the area and the gym itself. Need to find time between sleeping, training and eating. Was going to try tonight after my 3-5 sessions but the 5-7 session is absolutely packed.
 
Couple of updates to the blog.

Took my mind of a small injury and some mosquito bites by going and shooting a gun :D

Dry weigh in indicates ~5kilos of loss since last tuesday which is a number I am very happy with, lets see how it continues over the coming weeks.
 
I am keeping a rough track of my expenses so will get a more realistic monthly figure but I personally am budgeting £1,000 a month all in. I am 9 days in and have so far spent £140 day-to-day (including shooting, go karting, food etc), £550 on training and accommodation for 1 month and ~£150 on one off kit purchases. I am using a conversion rate of 41 THB to the Pound which is under the current rate but a 'safe' value.
 
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It is tough, but I could get right into 2 sessions pacing myself and ramp it up as fitness increased and I got used to the conditions so in that respect it's a little less tough.

All the trainers are good and are up for a laugh but they are serious about their sport which is good, they will not let bad technique slide without trying to correct it but there is a fair learning curve. I have had my mid-kicks revised about 3 times, introducing smaller details to improve the overall form.

You have to keep in mind there is more than 1 way to perform a lot of moves. At the moment I suck at sparring, I am just too worn out to even think about blocking nevermind having the speed to execute it should I catch it. Pad work is my favorite as it is for the best part a total slog out for the whole round, really gets you working hard.

Looking forward to Sunday to get a weigh in against the same scales in the same conditions. Not expecting the earth to move but quietly confident in some movement in the right direction.

Going to let my fitness creep up some more then I will try fit some weight sessions in-between Muay Thai training.
 
I've never had a penchant for blogging and being in Thailand doing this gives me subject matter, if I have a reason and related matter to continue then I am sure I will.

Main drive for this one if keeping people updated and having some sort of a history to look back on. Also for others who may want to do similar to get an idea of the day-to-day.
 
Put in an offer on 2 two bedroom places for renting, both stunning but one is an enclosed individual property with its own pool and I am hoping we can negotiate a price on that one.

Really holding out for that, banding together with another student for 3 months and could work out really well from a cost:quality point of view.
 
Hey panthro, yeah. All seems to lock up fine, 6 month old build so everything is pretty much brand new. Safety deposit areas etc.

Done a couple of updates to blog. Managed to get an ear infection which has knocked me out for a few days training wise but hopefully can get back on the horse as it were this afternoon or tommorow.
 
Fitness is ever increasing as is technique but weight loss is plateauing at the moment. I am unsure if it's some muscle mass being put on or just a blanket stop in fat burning but I am almost positive I am not taking in enough calories - never thought I would say it but for some reason the climate + training kills your appetite for the best part.

Another week or so and will have a full time cook to sort out 3 solid meals a day with decent snack stuff in-between to get closer to 5 meals a day instead of 2 (breakky/diner).

I need to work some menus/meals through so she can shop and cook it, any tips/links/ideas?
 
Taken on an injury, more info on the blog. But a night out in Patong for another students birthday to take my mind off it.

Bar girls, ping pong shows and A Go Go dancers :D:eek:
 
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