Kickboxer – Vengeance Film (Odeon Lincoln)

Kickboxer_Vengeance

You may have heard that there is a remake of KICKBOXER the movie… which is actually little to do with kickboxing – it’s more Muay Thai!!

30th September 2016 – Evening

1st October 2016 – Evening

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We have been asked by the Odeon Cinema in Lincoln if we would do a Muay Thai Display in the foyer for the opening nights of the film!

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We are thinking of doing a mixture of Pad Work, Sparring & Muay boran. We would allocate our students time slots to come along and take part. We are looking for males, females and children boxers of all levels of experience to take part in display. This is a fantastic opportunity to promote our club and our amazing martial art!!

Let us know me know if you are interested by emailing us by August 31st 2016: sales@lincolnthaiboxing.co.uk

Or any questions, please ask below…

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The Diet of a Muay Thai Fighter

The Basic Approach

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Training and fighting in Thailand is a full time job. Fighters will typically train in the morning and evening with a total of up to 6 hours per day and taking only one rest day each week. Because there is short breaks between training sessions, schedule fighters feeding times for optimal recovery and performance.

Below is what a typical day of training and eating:

  • AM Training – Drink water with BCAA (branch chain amino acid).
  • Post training am – Immediately after training, drink a post workout shake containing 25g protein, around 50g carbohydrates, and 15g fats.
  • Breakfast – Within 1 hour, consume a meal with around 25g protein, 50-100g carbohydrates, 15g fats.
  • During the day – In times of low activity, consume meals that are high in protein (50g), higher in fats (30g), while lower in carbohydrates (around 50g and mostly from vegetables).
  • Pre training – If feeling low on energy pre-training, eat some fruit. Around 50g or 1 piece.
  • During training – Drink water with BCAA (branch chain amino acid).
  • Post training pm – Immediately after training, drink a post workout shake containing 25g protein and around 50g carbohydrates.
  • Finish eating between 8-10pm – Main meal of the day is to be eaten around 1 hour after training. This meal should be high protein (50g), higher in carbs (100g) and lower in fats (15g)
  • Extra meal: If your feeling hungry in the few hours before bed, he had the go-ahead to consume a protein rich snack like a 2 egg omelet or a protein shake.

The Calories

Working out calories for high performance “weight classed” athletes can be tricky. Training 5-6 hours per day puts a huge amount of stress on the body and demands a high food intake to supply your body with enough energy to handle the workload, recovery, rebuilding the body etc. At the same time you need to be careful calories are not too high that you won’t lose weight. Finding that sweet spot between sufficient energy and weight loss is an individual thing and something that requires individual experimentation.

Devide the 2300kcals into 2 high carbohydrate meals which were eaten after training, 1 lower carb meal which was eaten during the day in times of low activity, and 2 super nutritious shakes to be consumed right after training.

In total have 3 different menu’s covering baseline menu for standard training day which is 2300kcals, 3300kcals on refeed days, and 2286kcals on rest days with lower carbs and higher fats.

Regular Re-Feed Days

The human body is so smart and especially good at adapting. A good example of this is how after around 14 days of being in a calorie deficit, your body realizes it’s not getting enough food and will down regulate your metabolic rate, and slows or shuts down non-essential functions like hormone and reproductive function.

To avoid this happening, we scheduled re-feed days. Every 4-7 days, we increased your calorie intake x 1.5, and not more than x 3. So if you were on 2000kcals, you would bump it up to 3000kcals.

Similar to what’s commonly known as a cheat day, however cheat days are usually for other reasons like diet sustainability. Where’s re feeds are for the purpose of stoking the metabolic fire. This sounds counter intuitive to increase calories when trying to lose weight, but research demonstrates this will avoid metabolic adaption.

The Supplements

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Although supplements are not 100% necessary for weight loss, they do help. Athletes like Muay Thai fighters who have short rest periods between training need all the help they can get to assist recovery and training performance. But forget “fat burners” and pre workout supplements, below is a basic list of highly researched supplements we use that have proven to be safe and effective.

  • BCAA’s are taken during training – in water. This is to minimize muscle breakdown while on a low calorie diet and helps with the recovery process.
  • Greens supplements are a heavily researched supplement that have proven to alkalize the body in times of rapid fat losses. This was taken 1-2 times daily in a shake.
  • Amino/carbs workout drink is taken when training exceeds 1 hour. This is a mix of carbohydrates and amino acids supply the body with everything needed start the recovery process and minimize stress.
  • Multi vitamin is taken twice daily after each training session. This is to replace lost vitamins and minerals lost during heavy sweating in training.
  • Fish oil is taken at the rate of 1g per % of body fat for the first 4 weeks, then dropped to half that amount. Many studies confirm supplementing with fish oil will inhibit the production of fat cells.
  • Whey protein supplement twice daily and immediately after training. . Usually combined with fruit, almond milk, coconut milk or water, coconut oil, greens.

Water Cutting Strategy

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I know this is the part of the cut your all waiting to hear about: How to cut 9kgs (19.8lbs) in 8 days. There are some crucial steps which we used to manipulate our fighters bodies to rapidly lose water.

Carbohydrates

In fight week, to assist with our weight loss we adjusted his carbohydrate intake to around 50-100g per day. That’s around 2 cupped handful of brown rice each day, or 2-3 pieces of fruit. We never go below 50g of carbs each day. The 50g of carbs intake each day is predominantly for supplying the liver and brain with much needed glucose, not for running a marathon. When fighters ignore this rule they end up crashing hard in the final days of the cut.

Salt

As sodium binds to water in the body, temporarily cutting salt from the diet you will cause you to lose water. In the days leading up to the weigh, our fighters avoided all salt and high sodium foods.

Natural diuretics

When using rapid weight cutting techniques, we assist the excretion of urine by using a natural diuretic. In our diets we use diuretics like dandelion root and uva ursi leaf which are both safe and nothing like the harsh drug version diuretics.

Water loading strategy

This method involves increased water intake for short periods of time which leads to increase in urinary fluid losses for several days. Essentially a fighter will increase water, and then reduce each day until intake is zero by weigh in day.

Sauna

We finished off the last of the cut with a couple of short sauna session. Our fighters are  able to lose the last 1.5kgs (3.3lbs) in a 20-30 min sitting. On the day of weigh in, we had the option of using the sauna if needed to make weight.

The Results

Our fighters can loose 1.5kgs (3.3lbs) of body fat in 3 weeks, then cut 9kgs (19.8lbs) of water weight during fight week. Then after he successfully weighed in at 72.5kgs (159.5), he followed a specific rapid recovery plan to bounce back up to 81.5kgs (179.5lbs) in less than 24 hours. The recovery process is arguably the most important part of weight cutting in combat sports.

10 Reasons Why Muay Thai Is The Perfect Martial Art

Developed over hundreds of years, the ancient martial art of Muay Thai is known for its tremendous power, maximum efficiency, and raw simplicity. Often referred to as the “Art of Eight Limbs”, Muay Thai utilizes a beautiful symphony of kicks, punches, knees, and elbows with fluidity and grace.

Muay Thai is now one of the most well-known and practiced martial arts in the world. It has proven to be effective, which is why it is most common striking base in the vastly popular, fast growing sport of mixed martial arts.

We give you 10 reasons why Muay Thai is the perfect martial art:

1) It is widely recognized as the most effective striking art in the world.

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Muay Thai is by far the most effective striking art in the world. Muay Thai has been tested in competition and real-life situations for hundreds of years, refining the art to be as fast, efficient, and powerful as it can be. On top of that, its consistent testing in combat between highly skilled practitioners has developed every aspect of the art to an extremely high level.

2) It is effective in all ranges of standup fighting.

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Muay Thai is a martial art and combat sport unlike any other. The art incorporates the use of knees, elbows, shins and hands. This allows the practitioner to use all the weapons available to the human body in kicking range, punching range, and the clinch, making it effective in all ranges of standup fighting unlike most other striking based martial arts.

3) It is simple and easy to learn.

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While there are hundreds of different techniques in Muay Thai, it is also a martial art known for it’s raw simplicity. That’s why Muay Thai is for everyone: men, women and children alike. In Thailand, it is actually more common for practitioners to start as young as five or six years old.

4) It is highly effective for self-defense.

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Muay Thai is also one of the few martial arts in the world that has been undeniably battle-tested and street certified for real-life encounters. Although widely regarded as a striking based martial art, Muay Thai also contains throwing techniques, locks, using of an opponent’s own momentum, and even submissions. The conditioning of mind, body and spirit involved in Muay Thai also gives practitioners the confidence needed for real-life self defense situations.

5) It is both an aerobic and anaerobic workout.

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Muay thai is specifically designed to promote the level of fitness and toughness required for ring competition even for recreational practitioners. With running, jumping rope and shadowboxing it provides an aerobic workout to prepare you for more intense workouts. Muay Thai also builds great anaerobic endurance with exercises like punching and kicking on the pads or bags, and clinching to work your body to its limits. This makes Muay Thai not just a perfect martial art, but also a very effective form of exercise. With continued training, Muay Thai will vastly improve your strength, dexterity, and cardiovascular performance.

6) It burns over 1,000 calories an hour.

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Nothing spells perfect more than a martial art with the ability to help you burn 1,000 calories an hour. Muay Thai is the standard of a perfect total body workout. It is a fun and efficient way to burn fat and lose weight that also builds your core, flexibility and overall strength.

7) It toughens your mind, body, and spirit. 

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The art of Muay Thai toughens your mind, body, and spirit. As the late great Muay Thai Grandmaster Kru Yodtong Senanan once said, “Muay Thai is good for your confidence and inner strength.” On top of enhancing your physical conditioning, Muay Thai builds confidence and promotes discipline of the mind through the control of emotions and feelings.

8) It is one of the key foundations for the sport of MMA.

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As the most effective striking martial art in the world, it is no wonder why Muay Thai has become one of the key foundations of the vastly popular, fast growing sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Some of MMA’s greatest fighters and champions use the art of Muay Thai as their main striking base.

9) It will unleash your human potential in all areas of life

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One of the biggest misinterpretations of Muay Thai is that it is just a sport of violence. But like many martial arts, Muay thai also cultivates important values that are rooted in rich tradition. It has the power to humble, discipline, and also inspire, which is arguably the most important aspect of any martial art. Muay Thai instills in its practitioners many great qualities including courage, humility and warrior spirit. These qualities will no doubt help you unleash your greatest potential in all areas of life.

10) Beneficial and Enriching…

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To sum it all up, Muay Thai is beneficial for just about anyone. But remember, it is also up to the practitioner to make learning this perfect martial art even more enjoyable and enriching.

If your interested in joining us, please email Leigh at: kruleigh@lincolnthaiboxing.co.uk or ring: 07757 984266.

Our Adult training classes are here > Adult Classes
Our Kids training classes are here > Kids Classes

Some info sourced from: www.evolve-mma.com

Luke Greenshields V Steve Johns

Last Man Standing 25th April 15th 2015

Luke Greenshields (Black Widow) V Steve Johns (Chao Phraya)

Steve said: “So as much as I’d like to say that after a hard fought bout yesterday I came away with a win, unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case. I was caught with heavy leg kicks in the first round taking it out of action and was unable to continue. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone that wished me luck and especially those that traveled to support me.

With a hostile local crowd it meant the world to me. After seven weeks of hard training I’d also like to thank Kru Leigh Edlin, Kru Brian Pawsey, Fight Specifix and Max Skidmore for all their help in my training. Most importantly the never wavering support of my amazing wife Lisa… Much love to all”.

A few photo’s and video from the event:

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These fantastic images from the event are by Howarth Photography and can be purchased online here >> www.howarthphotography.com

Muay Thai v Kickboxing

Muay Thai v Kickboxing

Yodsanklai Showcases How to Beat a Kickboxing Opponent

One of the biggest rivalries in stand up striking is Kickboxing vs Muay Thai. Given the fact that most Kickboxers fighters don’t train with elbows, clinching, or throws, it is only a fair fight if Thai fighters fight under the Kickboxing rules. This means that in every “Kickboxing vs Muay Thai fight,” it is essentially a Kickboxer vs Muay Thai Fighter who isn’t allowed using half of his weapons.

Recently, more Thai fighters have been fighting in Kickboxing promotions, in pursuit of a bigger pay day. For Muay Thai fighters who don’t have good boxing skills, this can often result in Knockout losses.

This fight between Yodsanklai vs Marat Grigorian showcases the classic matchup of Kickboxing vs Muay Thai in a Kickboxing setting. Check out the full fight below:

Yodsanklai Fairtex vs Marat Grigorian @Kunlun Fight:

Differences in Blocking Kicks

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A very noticeable difference between between Kickboxing and Muay Thai is the way fighters block body kicks. Instead of using their legs to absorb the impact of the kick, Kickboxers use their arms to absorb the damage of the kick. While this does a good job of protecting the side of the body from any impact, the arm and elbow take a lot of damage from the kicks.

Repetitive kicks to the arm over time will weaken a fighters punching ability as the fight wears on. Over time a fighter will have less knockout power in the later rounds of the fight.

Yodsanklai exploits this difference against Marat Grigorian, beating his opponent with relative ease. There was no time in the fight where he was in danger from Marat, a fighter who packs a strong punch. (Marat recently Knocked out Aikpracha)

The Basics Win Fights

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Since Yodsanklai Fairtex is a southpaw fighter, his left kick is his weapon of choice. He demonstrates that you don’t have to be fancy to win fights, you just have to be effective at what you do. Instead of throwing a variety of flashy kicks, the whole fight he smashes his left kick against his opponent who is unable to block it.

Throughout the entire fight, Yodsanklai uses 3 basic moves that win him the fight: Right Jab, Left Straight, Left Body Kick

No flashing spinning back fists, flying knees, head kicks or anything else. His opponent was not blocking his body kicks, so why would he change something that was working? Even though Yodsanklai has a lot more tools at his disposal, he knew that his opponent had a lot of knockout power in his hands.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”

Marat’s strategy the entire fight was to come forward with aggressive punches and try and get a knockout win. While this strategy is effective against Thai fighters who lack boxing skills, it is not a winning strategy against Yodsanklai.

Yodsanklai once again showcases why he is the best Thai fighter that is currently fighting foreigners at the higher weight classes. His mix of timing, power and speed make him a tough matchup for anyone, regardless of their fighting style.

Source: www.muaythaipros.com

How do Muay Thai Fighters earn in Thailand?

If you study of Muay Thai, chances are you do it for the love and not the money. More than likely you’ve heard since day one… “This sport isn’t about becoming rich.” But still, most Muay Thai fighters are struggling to get that break, to land the fight that will put them on the map to finally score a big day payday.

But how much is that payday exactly? In MMA, we see great champions are making huge amounts of cash and even huger sponsorship deals. More than likely, those at the top of the sport are at least earning in the six figure range, sometimes more. So how do these contracts compare to a top of the line Muay Thai fighter, holding a belt in the prestigious Lumpinee or Rajadamnern stadiums?

A current Lumpinee champion makes roughly 60,000 baht per fight (Around £1,200) Only after the gym takes their cut of profits, fighters are typically left with around 20,000 baht for themselves (£400). Doesn’t seem fair or much does it?!

There are ways for Thai fighters to earn significantly more money through gym bets. You might have seen certain fights advertised as having a 1,000,000 baht prize placed on them. These are usually large bets put on particular fights for gym owners to make an extra bit of money if they feel like their guy has a significant advantage going in. If a fighter invests his own money into the bet, it’s possible that he will receive a cut of the earnings. Of course, this is a very dangerous game. Losing means sacrificing an already minuscule paycheck, and perhaps being forced to fight more frequently to make up the difference.

Despite Thailand being a land where the cost of living is much lower than much of the western world, £400 per fight is still not very much money, especially at the highest possible level of the sport. Not only that, but the 60,000 baht pay day is only for top of the line competitors that have already established names for themselves.

Fighters that aren’t champions usually receive somewhere between 10 and 15,000 baht (£200 – £300). It can vary depending on how much interest there is for a fight, betting, and other factors, but typically the price range stays within those two numbers.

For farang (foreign) fighters, the paydays are much less. A foreign fighter will earn between 2 and 5,000 baht per fight if they are competing at Lumpinee stadium. This comes out to less than £100 per match-up.

There is more demand for farangs in the outlying markets, like Phuket and Koh Samui. Foreigners can make significantly more in Bangla than anywhere else, because that’s what the gamblers and audience come to see.

The real market for Muay Thai lies outside Thailand. International fighters can often earn more than double what Lumpinee champions pull in, despite the quality of competition being much lower. It is not incredibly difficult for a decent Thai to make over 100,000 baht per fight. It’s also much easier for farang fighters to come by competition their own weight, at a price that allows them to live above the poverty line.

Because of the low pay for Thai boxing within Thailand, many former Lumpinee or Rajadamnern champions end up in demeaning or ill-fitting jobs after their careers are over. There is not enough money saved up to retire comfortably, nor do they have many skillsets beyond the scope of muay thai. To make a living, skilled nak muays absolutely must take up a coaching position. Finding a teaching position inside the country is difficult, considering the market is already flooded with extremely high level trainers. Going international is an option, but many former fighters don’t want to be away from their friends and families for extended periods of time.

Right now, gamblers in muay thai are making huge amounts of money off the fighters, who are seeing very little of it for their efforts. We can only hope that the future sees either a change in the wages for some of the greatest athletes in combat sports, or newer organizations give stadium fighters the amount of money we all know they are worth.

How to score in Muay Thai

How to score in Muay Thai Workshop

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Sunday 29th March @7:30pm

With Kru Shaun Boland

This is a hands on course which will cover correct and effective scoring techniques in addition to teaching the rules & regulations governing Muay Thai scoring. This course will benefit fighters, coaches and anyone who wishes to receive a better understanding of scoring in Muay Thai.

Course content

  • Introduction
  • Muay Thai scoring criteria
  • Scoring strategies (offensive & defensive)
  • Fouls
  • How to effectively score using:
    1. Kicks
    2. Knees
    3. Punches
    4. Elbows
    5. Clinch
    6. Off balancing
    7. Trips

Cost

Normal training session fee for Chao Phraya licensed students.

NOT TO BE MISSED!!

Last Man Standing & Super Fights

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Yogendra Parekh is very happy to announce

Last Man Standing & Muay Thai Super Fights

Saturday 25th April 2015

Steve Johns (Chao Phraya Lincoln)
V
Luke Greenshields (Black Widow)

Super Fight – Under B Class Thai Rules
Both fighters are very talented and exciting to watch and are returning to the ring after long breaks from the sport, the clash of styles here alone promises for a very exciting fight.
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BIRMINGHAM’S PREMIERE MUAY THAI BRAND RETURNS WITH:

Location: At The Al Miraj Banqueting Suite in Birmingham
Doors Open: 1pm
Preliminary Bouts: 1.30pm
Main Event Fight Card: 6pm

This will be our record 4th 8 Man Tournament to take place within 5 years of establishing the Last Man Standing brand, which in previous years has covered 63.5KG (Winner Angelo Campoli), 67KG (Winner Thomas McCormick) & 72KG (Winner Kyle Nicol), all our previous tournaments were a huge success.

The show will also be co-main evented by the reigning x6 World Champion Andy “The Punisher” Howson, who will be competing for his record 7th World Title, in a rematch against Thanit “Boom” Watthanaya.

The fight card will also feature international and national stars Prathet Sor Thanikul, Nathan Bendon, Leko Wright, Joe Newton, Correy Robbins & Naqqash Khan, all supporting the main event fight card. There will also be an undercard of preliminary bouts, featuring some of the best up and coming talent in the UK today.

Here’s the line up so far for our 8 Man £3,000 Tournament at 61KG max.

Ross George (Kaang Raang)
Martin Avery (Lumpini Thai)
Anthony Ferguson (Renegade/Knowlesy Academy)
Luke Bennett (Masda)
Paul Barber (Benfleet/Double K)
Cathel McDermott (Shin Kick)
Steven “Jimpy” John (Eagles)
Alex Bublea (Knowlesy Academy)

Reserve Match Up:

Luca Roma (De Gym Italy) v Mike Bateman (Super Gym)

COMING SOON: Match ups for the following:

Luke Greenshields (Black Widow) v Steve Johns (Chao Phraya Lincoln)
Nathan “The Body Snatcher” Bendon (Corefit)
Joe Newton (Evolution)
Leko Wright (Black Widow)
Naqqash Khan (Black Widow)
Correy Robbins (Black Widow)

Promo Video:

Ticket Prices:

VIP Ringside Tables for x10 people (Including 3 course dinner): £600
VIP Ringside Seats (Including 3 course dinner): £60
Adult Standard: £30
Child Standard: £15

Tickets available from:

Kru Steve Johns at krusteve@lincolnthaiboxing.co.uk

OR

Yogendra Parekh at yogiboxer@hotmail.co.uk

Map:

Pornsanae Sitmonchai Retires

Muay Thai Legend Pornsanae Sitmonchai Retires

Life After Fighting:

When Pornsanae Sitmonchai stepped into the ring in Bangkok’s Omnoi Stadium last Valentine’s Day, not even the owner of his gym knew he intended it to be his last fight. The Sitmonchai team prepped him backstage, wrapped his hands and rubbed him with oil. Pornsanae, normally exuberant and outgoing, pulled into himself and concentrated on the battle ahead.

It was a high-stakes fight; he was defending his Omnoi title. He freely admits he’s afraid of losing every time he steps into the ring, “but this fight was different,” he said. “It was even worse because I knew it was my last.” It was a lot of pressure, and he was bearing it mostly alone.

He’d been on the fence for weeks about retiring, hadn’t even fully decided to retire until a few days before the Omnoi match. About a week before the fight, he approached his close friend and fellow fighter Jun (Thepnimit Sitmonchai), and told him about his plan to retire. He asked Jun not to tell P’ Ae, the gym’s owner. Jun agreed to keep quiet. He and Pornsanae had grown up together, training and living alongside one another at Sitmonchai for the past nearly 20 years. For the few days leading up to the fight, Jun and a handful of Pornsanae’s other closest friends at Sitmonchai were the only ones who knew this fight would be his last.

None of Pornsanae’s friends was surprised to hear he wanted to retire. At age 34, Pornsanae has amassed around 300 fights and a reputation for a wildly entertaining, aggressive, unrelenting fighting style. With that style, however, comes the danger of injury, especially the cumulative effects of knockouts and concussions.

Recently married and now with a young family, Pornsanae had been questioning his decision to keep fighting since his daughter was born nearly two years ago. In the ring, his aggressive tactics suggested fearlessness. Outside the ring, however, he worried about the effects such a career might have on his health. “When I was younger,” he said, “I was never afraid of anything. But now that I have a family, I’m afraid I’ll die soon if I keep fighting.” His interactions with other pro fighters, mostly Western-style boxers, gave him pause. “You can tell when you talk to these boxers that most of them don’t function at a hundred percent anymore. It scares me that someday I might become like that.”

The first sign of trouble happened during a plane flight in early 2013. Pornsanae had just lost a fight by decision to Michael “Tomahawk” Thompson in Australia. It was a full-rules, caged Muay Thai show in which the fighters wore MMA gloves, far smaller than the gloves Pornsanae had been using in his 20-year career.

On the plane home from Australia, Pornsanae’s head started aching. This was unusual for him, and he worried about what it signified. Thompson hadn’t knocked him out, but Pornsanae had been given two standing eight-counts during the three rounds. Once back in Bangkok, he hurried to the hospital.

He told the doctors he’d been fighting since he was 11 years old—more than 20 years of shots to the head. The doctors understood his career as a Muay Thai fighter meant he had to continue fighting to support his family. They told him to keep coming back for regular checkups, gave him pills they said would increase blood flow to his brain.

Pornsanae’s fans and fight critics were taking notice. Comments and blog posts started showing up, calling for him to retire, alleging that Sitmonchai Gym was forcing him to fight. In Thailand, however, it’s not always a straightforward transition from earning a living as a fighter to earning one as a trainer, or any other job. Hundreds of high-level Muay Thai boxers retire every year, often with no certain method to support themselves. Some fighters become trainers; many do not. Motorcycle taxi stands and fruit stalls are populated with former fighters trying to get by.

Like many other fighters approaching the end of their career, Pornsanae felt the pressure. “You get to a point where you can’t fight, so you have to find some new experiences, do something else. I can’t be a boxer forever, and I have to find other ways to make money. Most of all, I have to think about my family.”

“People were analyzing his knockouts and fighting style, talking about his life and what he should do, without actually talking to him to see what his wants and needs were,” said Abigail McCullough, foreign liaison of Sitmonchai and a resident of the gym for the past five years. “They have no idea what his life is like. I was getting pissed off at these people who were writing about Pornsanae’s life from their positions of privilege, espousing to know what’s best for him. It’s creepy moral arrogance. It’s all well and good to say he should be retiring, but are you going to pay for his kid’s food? If you’ve been here [in Thailand] any length of time, you know these fighters fight for survival. It’s how they provide for themselves and their families. Other people’s values, all the critics saying he needs to retire from fighting, it doesn’t apply in his world. Everyone knows he’s getting old and that he needs to stop fighting. But this is the current state of Muay Thai. It’s changing all the time, and now luckily these retired fighters are finally getting better options for their post-fight careers. But the transition is not always easy.”

When he stepped into the Omnoi ring for the last fight of his career, Pornsanae wasn’t thinking about what he’d do after fighting. He told himself this was it, his last fight, so put in one hundred percent. He wanted to leave a legacy, what he called “a beautiful history.”

From the red corner, Pornsanae squared off against his opponent, Petch GL Suit. The fight lasted only two rounds. Pornsanae knocked Petch down with an elbow in the second round. Petch jumped back to his feet quickly but shakily, received a count from the ref. Looking to end it before Petch could fully recover, Pornsanae pushed forward, fired a sharp low kick, stepped in and leveled Petch with his punches.

Petch collapsed onto his back. The ref waved it off, fight over. Pornsanae raised his hands and danced around the ring, leaped onto the neutral corner and faced the cheering gamblers in the stands, mouth agape in the half-crazed ecstasy of knowing he did it, he retired as a champion, an old fighter at 34 and now permanently a legend in Muay Thai.

Back in the dressing room after the fight, Pornsanae broke the news to gym owner P’ Ae that he was officially retiring from fighting. P’ Ae and Pornsanae had grown up sharing a room; they were like brothers. Keeping the secret from him had been hard. Pornsanae apologized for not telling P’ Ae sooner, saying it would have been too stressful before such an important fight. P’ Ae was understanding, and completely supportive of his decision to retire.

Pornsanae was relieved to let his secret out to everyone at the gym. Making the decision to retire and then keeping it from his fight family had been an emotional burden. “He was afraid even to tell me,” said Abigail, Jun’s partner and close friend of Pornsanae. “But the truth is, we all wanted him to retire. We wanted him to take care of himself, didn’t want his health to suffer. He himself had said a few times that he was getting too old.”

According to Abigail, one of the biggest hurdles to Pornsanae’s retirement was money. “He didn’t have anything that would pay as well as his fighting career so we all knew he was inclined to keep fighting. He has a new family so of course he wants to make as much money as he can while he still can.”

What prompted Pornsanae to hang up his gloves once and for all was a call from Evolve MMA in Singapore, a highly regarded gym famous for its coaching staff of retired champions. The day after Pornsanae’s Omnoi fight, Evolve MMA announced he would soon be joining their team as a trainer.

In his 23-year career, Pornsanae has seen the sport of Muay Thai go from being nearly exclusively Thai to internationally famous. This foreign interest in Muay Thai is providing him a smooth path from famous fighter to highly sought trainer. Pornsanae, who was born into a poor family in rural Kanchanaburi Province, will be making a base salary of approximately 100,000 baht a month (about $3,100), not counting additional private lessons. He’ll potentially make more in a month than many of his countrymen make in a year. Not bad for a high school dropout who grew up fighting for a living.

Pornsanae is scheduled to depart Thailand in March 2015. He plans to work the next few years in Singapore, taking a break every four months to visit his family in Thailand. Working as a fighter and now a trainer abroad present challenges to his family, but both the financial and emotional stability of his family are paramount to him. “When I was growing up,” he said, “my parents were never very warm and we were not very close. Now that I have my own family, I want to give them the warmth I didn’t have growing up. Unfortunately while I was fighting, I had to be very focused and disciplined, so I didn’t have much time for my family. Now I’m going away to Singapore, which is necessary because I have to provide for my family, but I plan to come home as often as I can, and have them come visit me too.”

Knowing the kind of person Pornsanae is, some of his gym friends have started making bets as to how long he’ll last at his new job. “Some of us think he won’t last more than a few months away,” Abigail said. “He’s such a homebody! He hates being away from home.”

The high salary and good working environment are appealing to Pornsanae, but what he’s most looking forward to about Singapore, he says, is being so close to Universal Studios. “I can’t wait to bring my family there. I’ve been to a lot of countries, but Singapore is my favorite because Universal Studios is right there and I can go all the time now.

“I won’t stay in Singapore forever, though,” he said. “I’m doing this to earn money for my family, and we will ultimately stay in Thailand. Kanchanaburi is my home; Sitmonchai is my home. I will always come back here.”

Source: www.fightland.vice.com