Japan-Wrap Up

Before I landed in Japan, I wrote that I didn’t want to step off the plane with any expectation.  In retrospect, I realize I had a few.  I expected that the terms agreed upon prior to my landing would be honoured or at the very least, acknowledged and I expected to train.  A byproduct of the above was that I would learn – about Japanese training methods, about the culture within the gyms and about Japanese muay thai on a national level.  My intent was to share my experiences with you because I felt it would be beneficial.  My writing would possibly create a dialogue, inclusive of those who have much more experience in Japan – hence the creation of a traditional blog, segmenting my experience in Japan week by week.  That very act in itself was loaded with expectation, the most base being that I would experience enough about Japanese muay thai to write about.

I’ve decided to exclude the full details of the situation as I don’t feel discussing them to be useful.  I have no ill will towards the gym or the people who brought me to Japan.  I’m considering it another situation to learn from.  Nonetheless, as I had started writing a traditional week by week blog about my experiences there, I feel the need to conclude.

My time in Japan brought up a lot of questions – I didn’t understand what was going on regarding my treatment and I didn’t feel it to be personal.  If I had to summarize, it wasn’t so much as I was being excluded from anything; it was more as though no one even thought to include me – in training, in social events, etc.  If anything, I was politely ignored.  And this provoked a lot of introspection on my part.

I looked for some sort of context; I compared my treatment to the treatment of the Italian nak muays and I paid attention to media and my surroundings trying to understand the place of women in Japanese society.  The following questions arose:  Is it sexism?  Is it racism?   Is it sexism compounded by racism, racism compounded by sexism…or was my treatment just the extension of someone who is only interested in what benefits them directly?  Is it all of it?  None of it?

I began to ask other gym owners about women training – there didn’t seem to be many.  And then I got an interesting answer from a Thai owner.  We had finished the interview, the camera was off and we continued talking.  I asked about women at his gym – he said, “They always cause problems”.  What?  What followed was, what I felt, an honest explanation of his opinion.  He explained that previously he hadn’t allowed women to train.  Once he did, he realized they were coming to the gym to meet the boxers, not to train.  And this created problems.  They would take photos, try to talk to the guys and not train.  He said trying to train them was difficult, it wasn’t like Thailand.  Eventually, he decided to separate the training hours, meaning women had to be out of the gym by a certain hour.  I understand what prompted this decision, but I found this really weird.  Not what he’s done but why, although I can’t say I’d want to train at his gym and have to be out within a short window of time due to the actions of others…then I remembered a Japanese female who I believe flew in on three separate occasions in one year to stay at one of the gyms I was at, not to train, but to watch and photograph one of the nak muay for her own personal collection…

So where does this leave me?  Really confused.

I know a number of you MMT members have trained and are still training in Japan….does any of this make sense?  Are any of you women?  What’s going on over there?

Either way, one week back to training in Thailand and I’m paying for the absence.  My conditioning is down.  Really down.  I’ve already declined two possible fights.  Despite having barely trained in Japan, when I did train, training was a lot softer, meaning emphasis was on speed at the expense of power to accommodate the Japanese scoring system and I trained for three three minute rounds.  Returning to full five minute rounds (I can’t do five yet) where I’m expected to give my blood in the ring…..it’s humbling, but it’s good to be back.  Really good.

I’m definitely going to think twice and research online before I accept any offer to train outside of Thailand again.

In regards to what I was exposed to in Japan, in the following weeks be prepared for interviews, gym breakdowns and whatever else I feel is relevant.  I hope they will assist those of you who are looking for training in the Tokyo area.

More about Laura

I’m a Canadian who decided to quit my job, sell most of what I own, pack a suitcase, and skip continents to pursue a martial art I’m not particularly efficient in. A minimalist. A modern nomad. A kid who just likes having a good time.

My attraction to muay thai is that it’s an art with no wasted motion. It has been the greatest vehicle for my continual education. It’s incredibly challenging to me – both the physical and the mental game. The latter probably more so than the former.

Currently I’m in Bangkok training muay thai fulltime. The plan is to be here for a few years, but realistically, I have no idea where this path is leading, or what the timeline is. I like change and pushing my comfort zone. A lot. Nevertheless, muay thai will be the constant among the variables.

Be prepared for updates, rambling, video content and anything I’ve learned that I think may of use to you.

This hasn’t been easy, but so far, its been a pretty sick ride.

Movin on Up

“You should wear a suit if you have one”, promoter and gym owner Phon Martdee told me over the phone as I was shopping for groceries this Tuesday evening. Read more

Where’s the tradition?

I noticed something funny a while ago when I was looking through the comments in mymuaythai.com (ok, more interesting than funny). Read more

A Chat with Buakaw

It was an interesting few days… I was headed over to the London Excel center for some fights, hang with Rob and hopefully get a few snaps of Buakaw.  It was all very touch and go.   Read more

MSA- Excel Results

This past weekend was MSA 3^rd MuayThai show at the Excel arena in London.  As usual the MSA crew pulled off another world-class show.

The show was well attended despite some major ticketing snafus.  Apparently their ticket sales and distribution partner had been telling people that the show was sold out weeks prior to the show when it wasn’t.

That night I sat with representatives from the Thai Embassy and the Thai Tourism Authority.  Most of you who know me, know I can get fairly vocal at fights.  It took a lot of restraint not to break out some Oiy’s! during the fights.

Notable fights

There were a total of 11 fights that night.  They were all great fights with the exception of Daniel Sam vs. Alessio Valentini, that ended approximately 20 seconds after the opening bell.  I’m guessing Velentini was a last min. replacement.

The 3 notable fights for me were Anna Zuchelli, Greg Wooton and Buakaw and Jordon.

Yes I train with both Anna and Greg at KO, so I’m going to be slightly biased.  Anna fought Bernise Alldis from Keddles.  I know Anna took the fight under very short notice (a couple of days).  I think the story goes that Denis’s original opponent arrived. but was denied entry to the Uk for not having the proper paperwork.

Anna who is always training, jumped in and made the most of it.  Anna is great in the clinch, and has some really sharp knees.  Anna fought a beautiful match, and at the end of 5 rounds came away with a new World Championship belt.  Big congrats to Anna.

Matthew Tieu vs. Danny McAskill (Tieu o Points)

Tieu was all over McAskill, basically dominated most of the match.   McAskill never looked comfortable, and wasn’t able to get anything going.

Kyle Nicol v Mike Egan (Egan via KO)

I think most people who saw this fight would agree with me when I say Nicol was winning the fight.  Egan caught McAskill with a spinning elbow that put him in a very deep slumber.

Olley Watson v Marc Sargeant (Sargent Points)

Ruth Ashdown v Soraya Bucherie (Buchaerie on points)

It was a fairly close match. Ashdown was pushing the action, but seemed to rely mostly on her hands.  Soraya employed a good all around counter fighting strategy and was dominant in the clinch.

Chris Knowles v Glen Crosthwaite (Knowles, points)

This fight started off fairly evenly matched.   Crosthwaite who’s recently just returned to needs some more conditioning work.  By the 2^nd round Crosthwaite, gassed and was unable to answer.  Knowles on the other hand no issues picking his shots, as Crosthwaite was essentially a walking punching bag.  It was actually frustrating to see how lackluster Knowles knees were.  There were several times where Knowles had the perfect opportunity to tee off, but just lacked the power.

Greg Wootton v Panicos Yusuf (Wootton on Points)

Both of these fighters have been on winning streak, and it was one of the more anticipated fights in the UK.  As the match wore on, Wootton stepped his game up.  Greg was dominant in the clinch…  Greg might disagree with me, but since getting back from Thailand, the one area of his game that’s improved significantly is his clinching skills.  By the 3^rd round Greg was consistently switching between orthodox and southpaw stances and varying his attacks.

Michael Wakeling v Errol Koning  (Wakeling)

I missed most of this fight, Koning looked like he hurt his leg and was unable to continue.

Tim Thomas v Yodyut Kiatyongyut (Thomas ref. Stoppage 4^th round)

This was another exciting bout… Yodyut appeared to get a slow start.  I’m not sure if it’s how he typically fights or if he was having issues getting going.   By the second round Yodyut came out properly motivated and was far more aggressive.   It was clear that Thomas was going to have a lot of success with his hands.  Yodyut figured that out fairly quickly and clinched Thomas up.  By the third round the fight was beginning to swing back into Yodyuts direction.  He was consistently clinch and dumping Thomas at will.   I don’t remember the round possibly 4^th? Thomas caught Yodyut with two possibly three rights and Yodyut was looking rather wobbly.  Within a minute Yodyut was in trouble again from a barrage of hands from Thomas, the ref gave him his 2^nd eight count.  Thomas pushed again… this time it honestly looked to me that Yodyut had his wits about him and was fighting back, when Tony Meyers stopped the bout.   Personally I think they should have let it go, but safety is paramount.

Like a home town hero.

Buakaw vs. Jordan Watson

I can’t wait for us to get some footage of this fight, looking forward to watching it again.   Buakaw’s entrance was amazing… you would have thought Buakaw was born and raised in East London based on the reception that he received.

Buakaw received a standing ovation, and lots of love from the fans.  I’ve not seen him fight before so I’m not sure how the reception is in Holland or Japan.

Watson received the same sort of love… the ram muay was beautiful. The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the interaction between Buakaw and Watson , everyone was fired up.

I’d have to say after Saturday’s fight I’m a big Jordan Watson fan.  I like his poise and aggression… He had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and it showed.  Both fighters had a nice feel out round.  Watson delivered a couple of nice well-timed leg kicks that unbalanced Buakaw a couple of times.  I think it surprised a lot of people to see Buakaw picking himself up off the canvas so early in the bout.

Photo Credit Michael Howarth MSA

You could tell from Buakaw grin, that he was slightly embarrassed by it, and he really began to focus.  The two had some beautiful exchanges but as the fight wore on Buakaw began to apply more pressure.  Watson answered with a couple of flying knees but both just barely missed their mark.   I’m so used to watching Buakaw in K-1 that I forget Buakaw is nasty in the clinch.  There were several occasions where Buakaw nearly connected with his knees as he was throwing Watson to the ground.

In the fourth, Buakaw was in his rhythm and was able to back Watson up into the corner.  They had an exchange and Buakaw landed a nice left hook to body.  (liver shot) and Watson hesitated for a second and then double over.

That was pretty much it.  I think Buakaw needed that bit of room to breath and relax.  It seemed like he was enjoying himself as he looked like his former aggressive self.

No write up I can do will do this fight justice, hopefully I’ll get a hold of a clip soon.   Well done to Watson, after Saturday’s performance I would be very surprised if we didn’t see Watson on a lot of the upcoming international shows.  I’m sure he would do well in MAX.

The MSA team is putting on another show at the NEC in Birmingham in September.  I can’t wait,  I was having a think about who could be on their next show…  The only fighter I can think of to headline would be Yodsanklai.  Yodsanklai vs Wakeling anyone?

Hats off to the MSA team, many thanks to FuiMee, Dan Green and Swee Lip for inviting and hosting me.

A Chat With Phil McAlpine

When I was back home the other week I decided to drop by Kiatphontip for a session. (More on that later) Read more

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