What has muay thai done for you personally?

[muaythaimayhem]

There probably has been a thread or two on this topic.
Just wondering what muay thai has done and has meant/means to you personally?
For me, basically it really has completed a void in my entire life I would have to say, there was something missing, and now there isn't, I would even go so far as to say it's my religion pretty much, it pulls me out of "tougher" times (not that I have much to complain about anyway....yet) so far in life since being involved with it (past 5 years on and off). Apart from that it has given me the obvious benefits of respect for others (not that I didn't have this before, but now I am aware of this moreso, and without a "sensei" ranting and raving about how everyone should respect him up front and others), discipline which has filtered into other areas of my life, and although I am not a ring fighter, I still get up and train 5 mornings a week (and 5/6 nights for that matter), watch what I eat a bit better for the simple fact the body requires "x" amount of calories to survive, why not make every one of those calories count towards repair of the body due to exercise load and everyday living, and am disciplined more mentally to accept challenges in general. An obvious increase in pain tolerance, I don't whinge as much :), Increased confidence, not only because now I feel more rounded with my overall defence/attack abilities (liked boxing beforehand but only casually), but because of my overall physical and mental demeanour. Weight management, I was always overweight before I started muay thai, and initially lost 20 kilo's (from 114 to 94, I am 6'2" tall) when I first started, had a rest for nearly 2 years there, got back upto 106.5 and now training again, I have again lost 8 kilos in 11 weeks and feel great, and there is more to come off yet over the next few months.:) Also I didn't drink much water now I come to think of it, before I started training either, which wouldn't have been to good.
More importantly again, I have a new bunch of mates who would do anything for each other really at the end of the day, and to me respect and true friendship are more important than the acquiring of material wealth etc that is regarded as all important in today's society. So a new outlook on the often overlooked important things in life as well.
Be good to hear your story as well.



Edited by - muaythaimayhem on 05 Dec 2005 15:43:48

[Mungkorn]

It gave me a life full of challenges, something to escape too when work is too much, wouldn't know where I would be without it......

One World One MuayThai

[fryzee]

i started muay thai wen i was 14, i am now 17. as soon as i started i could'nt leave it, it's a big part of my life now. its my passion an drive in life an everything else i do revolve's around it.

fryz

[promoboss]

I started MT about 15 years ago at a place in brisbane where I met two brothers who ate breathed MT. After starting private lessons once a week with thier dad for six months I said that I wanted to fight so he said get into the ring and lets see what you've got(at this point in my life I was bouncing in some pretty rough clubs & I wasn't short of nightly practice.
So aftera few rounds with these two boys thier dad said to me I'll see you at 6am monday morning, that's when the fun started 6 days a week.
I had my first fight 4 weeks after that at the beenliegh rum distillery I fought a young policeman by the name of Bob Crawford it was a slug fest I won the fight by 3 points and I couldn't walk straight for a week.
But the respect and admiration I developed for the 2 15 year old boys I trained with is still with to this day and having known them as boys and see them both grow into men,husbands & fathers.
Their names are Nathan & Paul Briggs.
And once many years ago at jupiters casino I met a little guy called wayne & who was new to MT and watched him win his fight against a japanese fighter and I put him up thier too with the same amount of respect.
I haven't heard much of the nasty boy of late but I hope he is well and doing ok,and with renewed vigour & enthuisiasm I am back!

It's Better to Burn Out than to Fade Away

[Cheen Machine]

Personally it has done alot 4 me. i have dropped from 90 to 75 kgs in 10 months. i sleep alot better at nite and wake up happier. i have more energy and feel better about myself. also i have done my first 2 gradings under the BJC system. so it has also given me a gr8 sense of achievement.

You can talk all ya want but talk is cheap.

[promoboss]

It's also given me a world of friends that are truly great people that I have both learnt alot from and taught a lot too also.

It's Better to Burn Out than to Fade Away

[muaythaimayhem]

Thanks fellas for sharing, and geez Promo, thats a story and a half you have there mate.
Mungkorn your right also, I myself inadvertently set short term goals to work for fitness wise when I started, well still do, without really thinking about it, as well as pounding out hours on the bag and pads for technique wise.
Cheen machine, same here mate, you feel so much better for it all at the end of the day.
We have a similar setup as BJC gradings, i'm currently brown singlet, going for the black (after nearly 5 years mind you) shortly, had the lessons up, just never did it, made it worse when they had to fold the club up where im from, not enough numbers and escalating PI insurance costs.:) Will be good, im looking forward to it though, but it means heading down to our brisbane contingent to achieve it.

[dutts72]

Very cool topic this one.

Without out going into huge detail I will always say, that discovering Muay Thai in 1995 through Phon Martdee and then via his family in Thailand that Muay Thai & Thai culture saved my life.



"Muay Thai Never Dies"
"Life in Every Breath"
Ome Mane Padme Hum

[seldy]

Well Muay Thai Changed my life!
I went from a angry 17yr old with a 117kg weight issue to now having trained for twelve years with the BJC to become a second Dan now weighing in at 90kg.
I have met some unbelievable people and have trained with some also but at the end of the day, there is a release which only we who do this WILD sport can explain or understand the satisfaction that Muay Thai and your training partners bring. We go home at the end of every training session stoked about what we just did!!
Really good thread, Cheers <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Train every day like it could be your last!!!

[Seth_2]

Muaythai is the equivelant to air for me, couldnt live without it. I have always lived around it and it has grown on me.. i love the training, the fighting, the fans, the atmosphere and the culture... theres nothing else in the world like it.

"One World One Muaythai"

[supermario]

quote:
I started MT about 15 years ago at a place in brisbane where I met two brothers who ate breathed MT. After starting private lessons once a week with thier dad for six months I said that I wanted to fight so he said get into the ring and lets see what you've got(at this point in my life I was bouncing in some pretty rough clubs & I wasn't short of nightly practice.
So aftera few rounds with these two boys thier dad said to me I'll see you at 6am monday morning, that's when the fun started 6 days a week.
I had my first fight 4 weeks after that at the beenliegh rum distillery I fought a young policeman by the name of Bob Crawford it was a slug fest I won the fight by 3 points and I couldn't walk straight for a week.
But the respect and admiration I developed for the 2 15 year old boys I trained with is still with to this day and having known them as boys and see them both grow into men,husbands & fathers.
Their names are Nathan & Paul Briggs.
And once many years ago at jupiters casino I met a little guy called wayne & who was new to MT and watched him win his fight against a japanese fighter and I put him up thier too with the same amount of respect.
I haven't heard much of the nasty boy of late but I hope he is well and doing ok,and with renewed vigour & enthuisiasm I am back!

It's Better to Burn Out than to Fade Away


Reading this post put a smile on my face. I'm a sucker for nostalgia, and I'm a big fan of the Briggs twins. Good stuff promoboss, and well done for beating 'Robocop' in your debut.

[humble]

1977 was the year that I couldnt wait in the darkness of the caring womb that I had moulded myself into. I decided, or maybe it was decided by a higher Power that It was time to change the scenery. Canterbury Hospital were the first people to taste my bitterness as I menacingly left trails of wee and vomit all over the place excorcist style.

They were sure happy to get rid of me, but mum had to put up with me for the next five years before my out of control nature was taken on by primary school. There, i made a quick mess out of any child that thought they were bigger than me. Having been fed a mix of Rambo, Bruce Lee and Rocky movies from the day my eyes functioned enough to be able to see those images, I was ready to take on any school yard bully.

Thus it was, the picked on became the bully, troublemaker and menace. I terrorised kids and grew to be a real outcast. 6 years later in highschool, my troublemaking led me to juvenile detention centres. They rejected me too when I'd find the biggest guy there and pour boiling water and pasta over thier heads in kitchen duties to show them who was in charge. It didnt matter that i was only 13 and they were 17, I was fearless.

at 18 i was back on the streets but only for two months before being chased from auburn to newcastle for an armed robbery and rolling the car and killing two of my mates in the process. Was I bothered? nope, heart of Steel and ice cold steel at that.

Then I discovered muay thai in jail when i had to share a cell with a thai guy who was in for drugs smuggling. Tatooed all over the freakiest thing about this guy was his legs. They were like steel. One day i came across him belting the daylights out of a bag in the gym and knew that I had to learn what he was doing.

I was hooked and had new meaning to life. I enjoyed every moment of it to the point i even relished the pain in a sadistic kind of way. My shins were battered and bruised but i still wanted more.

This continued when i left jail and made me a much better person. My anger was now controlled and at the same time, I became spiritually revived and began practising my religon.

Nowdays, the last thing I'd do is hurt someone unless its in the ring.







........... ok ok ok.......... im **** stirring you. None of that is true lol. Seriously, muay thai doesnt make me the person I am. My mother and father and the blessings of God did. They worked thier asses off materially and emotionally to be there for us and moulded us into hopefully decent beings. Muay thai didnt save my life. I havent got a sensationalised story of what Muay thai did for me. Its just a legal way for me to let off some steam.
If I stop muay thai, as much as I love it, I'll live, because there is more to life than a sport or combat art. If you cant see that then I doubt you'd become much of a fighter anyway.



Dont mistake my harshness for strength and neither mistake my kindness for weakness.

[Dynamite Drew]

Dutts

did you live upstairs at Phon's gym ?

i visited there in 97 when i fought Daniel Dawson

We who are truely brave will never live in fear!

[Dynamite Drew]

Muay Thai has given me many things .....

1. a good guidance in way of life

2. an outlet for agression

3. an opportunity to see parts of australia and the world

4. great friends and associates



We who are truely brave will never live in fear!

[benno]

Mt has given me sore shins!!

Just kidding.

Muay Thai is the best thing I've ever been involved with. The art itself, the people I've met, and the physical conditioning have given me focus and determination to better the other aspects of my life. I'm a much happier person and if anything I find I get into less fights whilst I'm out and less arguments with my mates than before I started.

I just wish I'd begun when I was young(er). :)

Ben

[muaythaimayhem]

yep definitely anger management is a big one for me also, do a hard session, and there ain't much to be angry about anymore (well until the next day :)) after expending a 1000 calories or thereabouts.

[MattyH]

A big hello to all with this being my first post. Muay Thai has definately filled a void in my life, with having tried other types of martial arts I felt that I was missing something but Muay Thai gave me that missing something and I have never looked back. I have met some great people and had awesome times. Keep training! Cheers Matt.

[harls]

Welcome to the forum Matty!

Muay Thai definately pulled me out of the gutter. I was going nowhere fast, just hanging around ****heads and up to no good. Until one day I said to myself "F*ck it, get up do something productive with yourself". So tried out a few gyms until I found the right one for me and the rest is history!

Muay Thai has enhanced every facet of my life..

"Adapt, Improvise, Overcome"

[shaunw]

humble, showing your creative writting skills again!

Max Power, he's the man who's name you'd love to touch. But you mustn't touch! His name sounds good in your ear, but when you say it you mustn't fear! Cause his name can be said by anyone

[Lanks]

i started this sport 8 nearly 9 yrs ago and havn't stopped since.
The best thing i have done all those yrs ago was to walk into the local muay thai-kickboxing stable that i now own. My trainer taught me there was more to life than partying. the biggest kick i get out of the sport now is seeing my students and fighters love the sport as much as i do. and how they have changed mentaly and physicaly since there first lesson

Cheers

[humble]

nah shawn, just playing. you still think im eyespy dont you?
LOL, Thats an insult to eyespy's punctuation. Im too rushed and not as concise as eyespy.

Dont mistake my harshness for strength and neither mistake my kindness for weakness.

[dutts72]

Hey Drew

I never lived in the upstairs room but used to hang there with Daniel alot and Bruce as he lived there around that time. What show did you fight Daniel on? Was it the Super 8 with Sam Soliman, Tony Hill etc?



"Withee Thaang Nak Lrop"

"Muay Thai Never Dies"
"Life in Every Breath"
Ome Mane Padme Hum

[Voice]

Humble,
you actually had my jaw on the ground until the last paragraph.
You, my friend, ARE definitely Eyespy

ps.were you describing Ecks' youth?

-----------------------------
A man's gotta know his limitations...

[dutts72]

Just remembered that Daniel fought Mark Tyson on that show I mentioned.

Back to the Topic besides previous mention the other amazing thing that Muay Thai has done for me is all the great friendships it has brought. Plus all the great travelling experiences.


"Withee Thaang Nak Lrop"

"Muay Thai Never Dies"
"Life in Every Breath"
Ome Mane Padme Hum

[humble]

nah voice, mix charles barkley, with van damme, the chipmunks and chris tucker and you have eck's youth.

as for me being eyespy, im honoured but it aint me i tell ya

Dont mistake my harshness for strength and neither mistake my kindness for weakness.

[ECKS]

lol your one bored kid Humble .... I'm sitting here reading this crap , thinking when will it end? lol ... But yeh Voice Humbles spot on with his description of my youth. I do't look that menacing do I ?

[Voice]

you look frightening Ecks, frightening...
Glad I'm your friend...

-----------------------------
A man's gotta know his limitations...

[ECKS]

LMAO , i dunno whether your being serious or sarcastic , either way its making me laugh ....

[Dynamite Drew]

Dutts

I fought Daniel on the Presidents Cup show in '97 at the Herb Graham Centre in Mirrabooka

Marcus Maddog Mangan was main event against a Thai



We who are truely brave will never live in fear!

[dutts72]

Hi Drew

I was in Bkk most of that year but i remember the show u mean.

"Muay Thai Never Dies"
"Life in Every Breath"
Ome Mane Padme Hum

[Mungkorn]

Hey Dutts, I was ref for that fight&gt;&gt;&gt;

One World One MuayThai

[Mad_Hatter]

Muay Thai has given me a reason and purpose to live...and goals to strive toward...something I never had before...

My whole life has changed for the better and there is definetly no going back, I dont think I could live without it now!!

Cheers Danni:)

"Don't listen to people who say you can't do it, what would they know?"
Smokin' Joe Frazier


Edited by - Mad_Hatter on 17 Dec 2005 18:39:30

[Mungkorn]

Muay Thai is a way of life........

One World One MuayThai

[richard]

Apart from my wife and son , muay thai has been the only constant in my life for the last 15 years , not matter what it`s always been there for me.

[Iron Monkey]

ive been training muay thai for the last 5 years and it has been the only thing in my life that has always been there for me. (besides my mum and my bro) i have made heaps of great friends because ofit and at the moment im in japan and on my way to thailand in pursuit if bettering myself in the art. no matter how many ups and downs life throws at you mt will always be a constant and for that reason alone i am forever grateful to the sport and art.

[Alan Wong]

What has Muaythai done for me.....hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I don't really know!!! I go to sleep and wake up thinking of Muaythai, whether it be planning for the next trip with one of my fighters or planning what to do in the next training session. Its given me a constant headache over the years. I prefer training than training somebody because I don't need to think so much just training.

In all honesty, Muaythai had given me the best and worst time of my life. But that is life after all. You take the good with the bad (or is it the other way around).

[Seth_2]

thats as true as it comes.. muaythai isnt always great but i wouldnt give it away for almost anything, and besides not all things in life can be perfect so why worry

"One World One Muaythai"