I started to review my year, or better, my journey so far yesterday and want to continue with this today.
After I suffered the injury, I didn´t fight for six weeks. This interfered with my plans to fight once per month as long as I am in Thailand. But after this break, when I started to prepare for a fight again, an idea came up in my mind: The Thais fight so much, even several days in one week. Who says I cannot do this as well?
As I already mentioned in older posts, the Thai idea of fighting, that it is something you simply do instead of making it a big deal, is something I really, really like. And I envy them for this, for it seems to be a ´natural´ attitude. Muay Thai is the national sport so it is strongly connected to the culture of the country and to the people. Combat sports in Germany are far from being mainstream. When I came to Thailand the first time, I was used to having six weeks for preparation for an upcoming fight. What made me kind of stunned, when I was asked if I want to fight in a couple of days – thus I didn't fight here during my first stay.
But this year, I stay longer and I have time. In addition I try to learn the language, get to know the culture and try to understand the Thai way of living and of course the Thai way to teach, train and fight Muay Thai. I will never completely understand this martial art; simply because I didn´t grow up with it, it is not a part of my culture. But I can try to make it a part of it by copying behaviour and routines. So why just fighting 12 times in a year? If my physical condition allows it, I can fight more than that.
And so I did in December three fights in 14 days, being succesfull in all of them, even accepting a fight on one hour notice, what was a completely new experience to step in the ring without being focussed 100%. For me it is special to fight so many times in such a short time, but for the Thai fighters it´s just business as usual. Still, I am proud of the five fights I did here. I got a lot of experience and I definitely want to go on with a high pace – so maybe one day, it will be normal to fight every couple days.
Even if I wasn´t able to have a MMA fight so far, what is basically what I like to do even more than fighting Muay Thai, I am really, really content with the outcome of my first four months in the country of smiles. I learned a lot; the fighting is going well; I always performed as good as I could, even when I lost; I didn´t get hurt really badly and besides the sport I met many, awesome people. I am able to speak at least a bit Thai and there is nothing that tells me, that the next year will not be as good as this one.
So what are my plans? First, I will fight on the 5th of January again at Loikroh Stadium. The fighting on a high pace has to wait because I will have a two weeks break afterwards from training. My body needs it (maybe I will write a detailed post about this) and my girlfriend will come here. The perfect time to get some distance between me and the sport in order to come back refreshed and relaxed.
In the end of February I have to do my next visa run – I will use this to travel, get some more input at other gyms and maybe return afterwards to Team Quest or end up in a gogo bar in Pattaya... no, not really. I will keep my focus on fighting in 2014 as well. But don´t ask me where I will go, where I will train or what ever happens. The only thing I know is there will be a lot of training involved.
So after an awesome 2013, what are my good resolutions for 2014?
Simply put: same thing as last year. Training my ass off, seeing new places and fight, fight, fight. Hopefully I can do five more fights, before I leave Chiang Mai at the end of February. I´ll keep you up to date!
Happy New Year and thank you for following my blog!
After I suffered the injury, I didn´t fight for six weeks. This interfered with my plans to fight once per month as long as I am in Thailand. But after this break, when I started to prepare for a fight again, an idea came up in my mind: The Thais fight so much, even several days in one week. Who says I cannot do this as well?
As I already mentioned in older posts, the Thai idea of fighting, that it is something you simply do instead of making it a big deal, is something I really, really like. And I envy them for this, for it seems to be a ´natural´ attitude. Muay Thai is the national sport so it is strongly connected to the culture of the country and to the people. Combat sports in Germany are far from being mainstream. When I came to Thailand the first time, I was used to having six weeks for preparation for an upcoming fight. What made me kind of stunned, when I was asked if I want to fight in a couple of days – thus I didn't fight here during my first stay.
But this year, I stay longer and I have time. In addition I try to learn the language, get to know the culture and try to understand the Thai way of living and of course the Thai way to teach, train and fight Muay Thai. I will never completely understand this martial art; simply because I didn´t grow up with it, it is not a part of my culture. But I can try to make it a part of it by copying behaviour and routines. So why just fighting 12 times in a year? If my physical condition allows it, I can fight more than that.
And so I did in December three fights in 14 days, being succesfull in all of them, even accepting a fight on one hour notice, what was a completely new experience to step in the ring without being focussed 100%. For me it is special to fight so many times in such a short time, but for the Thai fighters it´s just business as usual. Still, I am proud of the five fights I did here. I got a lot of experience and I definitely want to go on with a high pace – so maybe one day, it will be normal to fight every couple days.
Even if I wasn´t able to have a MMA fight so far, what is basically what I like to do even more than fighting Muay Thai, I am really, really content with the outcome of my first four months in the country of smiles. I learned a lot; the fighting is going well; I always performed as good as I could, even when I lost; I didn´t get hurt really badly and besides the sport I met many, awesome people. I am able to speak at least a bit Thai and there is nothing that tells me, that the next year will not be as good as this one.
So what are my plans? First, I will fight on the 5th of January again at Loikroh Stadium. The fighting on a high pace has to wait because I will have a two weeks break afterwards from training. My body needs it (maybe I will write a detailed post about this) and my girlfriend will come here. The perfect time to get some distance between me and the sport in order to come back refreshed and relaxed.
In the end of February I have to do my next visa run – I will use this to travel, get some more input at other gyms and maybe return afterwards to Team Quest or end up in a gogo bar in Pattaya... no, not really. I will keep my focus on fighting in 2014 as well. But don´t ask me where I will go, where I will train or what ever happens. The only thing I know is there will be a lot of training involved.
So after an awesome 2013, what are my good resolutions for 2014?
Simply put: same thing as last year. Training my ass off, seeing new places and fight, fight, fight. Hopefully I can do five more fights, before I leave Chiang Mai at the end of February. I´ll keep you up to date!
Happy New Year and thank you for following my blog!
My Buddha (middle) will keep an eye on me in 2014 - at Wat Doi Suthep
I want to be a famous athelet. I know its tough to become a successful one. You need great potential and have to be strong also. You do get the injuries while workouts but i am really ambitious and keen towards my dream
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