Fight!

It is already dark when I leave the massage place and step on the dusty street. I check the time: Two hours until it is time to step into the ring. The last few days I have spent doing other things than concentrating on the sport: Reading about Thai culture, buying a book of the classic Thai legend called Ramakian, written by the King Rama 1^st and, last but not least, just relaxing and hanging out. Now I feel really relaxed. The massage helped to maintain this feeling.

When I am back in my flat, I turn on the laptop and play the 1 1/2 hour "Best of Ramon Dekkers" video – Ramon Dekkers is a legend of the sport of Thai-boxing – and start to pack my bag: Tape, wraps, Vaseline and Thai-oil. Do I have everything? Ramon Dekkers devastating hooks knock an opponent out. Shorts, cup, water, mouthguard and ankleguards. Dekkers gets close to his opponent with brutal middle kicks and ends it with knees and fast uppercuts.

I throw a towel and fresh clothes into my bag and realize a slight prickling in my knees and fingertips – I close my eyes and grin: There it is. Getting nervous. The body has switched o fight mode.

Kru Nee and Josh are sitting on a table outside and playing cards (to be honest: Basically Nee is destroying Josh) – we wanted to leave gym 15 minutes ago, but the Thai does not seem to be in a hurry: "90% you fight last fight. Maybe second to last." I accept that with a shrug for this is the Thai way of life: Sabai, sabai. If there is one attitude that will not help you in Thailand it is being hectic.

Approximately 20 minutes after the announced beginning of the fight night, we arrive at Loikroh Boxing Stadium. Already there are many spectators; but only because you wrote 9 o´clock on the flyers, does not mean you have to start at 9 p.m. At least not in Thailand. We meet up with more Team Quest guys, a few friends from the language school have come to watch me too. Unfortunately Kru Nee was not right when he said that I would fight late: I am number three on the card so I get taped in a hurry.

I am lying on a thin bamboo matt on the concrete ground of the stadium with a towel on my face. Nee and Piak massage my body with Thai-oil.The stadium is filled with the sound of the classic Muay Thai music mixed with the electro music from the bars surrounding the ring. My trainers talk hectically in Thai and gamblers shout loud at each other. I hear laughing bar girls and kicks hitting shinbones in the ring.

Kru Nee commands me to stand up. The MMA coach starts to put vaseline on my face while Piak massages my arms. My hands are wrapped and the knuckles are protected with a thick structure of tape. Every inch of my body burns slightly from the Thai-oil. In one of the bars a football match is being broadcasted and I watch it absent-mindedly. Everything around me seems to be so far away. They announce the third fight and the team helps me to put on the gloves. I do not feel hurried – I am excited.

Suddenly I feel my legs climbing over the ropes of the ring and I step to the middle and bow to all four sides to the applauding crowd. Somewhere someone yells "Where are you from?" I cannot stop smiling. What I am doing is great and it is fun; I feel comfortable. This is why I do this beautiful sport. My Thai opponent grins back at me, we bow to each other. While he is dancing the Wai Kru, the traditional dance every Muay Thai fight starts with, I walk along the ropes and bow in every corner. The referee calls us to the middle: Ready? Fight!

We start the fight calmly and exchange a few kicks. Sometimes he hits me; then I do. With a tight guard I avoid getting hurt by a spinning elbow and counter with some straight punches, he backs down and I nearly hit him. He does not want to box with me and attacks with many high kicks. They only hit my guard, but I cannot get out of their way, so they still give me a good shake. My answer is to hit him with middle-kicks but I can only hit his forearms. Once I am able to break his balance, he hits the ground, we grin at each other: We are having fun. And it is an even fight.

The bell rings for the break. Nee is giving a massage to my legs and Dylan coaches me: "Keep your hands up!" - He gives me something to drink – "You see, he does not like your punches. I want to see more boxing!" Again the bell rings. He puts my mouthguard between my teeth "Have fun, man!"

The second round is faster than the first one and I hit him more often with some punches. He gets me in the clinch a few times, but neither he nor I am able to land significant strikes and the referee separates us. I start to put more pressure on him by punching combinations and can land two uppercuts in a row right on his nose.

A few kicks from him hit my arms and shinbones. I step forward and he stands with his back to the corner. I counter with a hook-uppercut combination and land it right on his jar – suddenly he falls down, the referee steps between us while his trainers jump into the ring. I turn around to my corner with questioning eyes – is it over?

The referee raises my hand "K.O.!"

A bit confused, I climb out of the ring and express my thanks to the people and the team. Did I really hit him hard enough or did he not want to fight anymore? I had dominated him so maybe he had underestimated me before the fight.

I go out for dinner with my friends. However, I am constantly thinking abot the end of the fight. Did I really knock him out? Or not and he just quit? Finally I come to the conclusion: It does not really matter if it was a knockout or a withdrawal: This time I was the better fighter. I am content with my performance. My left shinbone can tell you that he fought back hard.

I got more experience and I am not hurt badly. And last but not least: I had a lot of fun and will fight again soon.

Can I want more?

Please notice that I wrote this post depending on my subjective perception and what teammates told me. What I wrote is what I experienced, not the way it may have been like observed from a neutral point of view. After the fight I couldn´t even remember how it ended. If you have experience in full-contact fighting then you know how different your perception inside the ring can be.

Many thanks to Paul Thompson Fight Photography for the pictures (like him on facebook!)