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Enroute to Japan

On the eve of leaving to Japan, I’ve realized a few things. I’m truly thankful for the opportunity to go and likewise, I’m truly thankful for every moment that has led me here.  Every moment.  The hardships I haven’t written about.   The moments where the Catholic schoolgirl in me peeks out and wonders what I did to deserve this fate.  In some cases, those are the moments that I’m most thankful for, for they provoked change.  And it is change, I believe, that has brought me here, to the present, to exactly where I feel I need to be.

In my previous post, In Search of a Kru, I wrote about the challenge of finding the training I was looking for – one that I responded to internally.  Again, I will reiterate, what constitutes great training for me, may not be what constitutes great training for anyone else – we’re all different.  We all have varying aspirations, needs and learning styles.  I try to balance instinct, experience and my heart when making most decisions.  However, sometimes while navigating this country, particularly when dealing with people who have had little to no contact with Foreigners, instinct takes precedence.  I feel that’s all I have.  Not only in the gyms, but in daily life.

In my previous post I mentioned investigating personal training options.  I followed that route and have been training with one person, at his home, after he works his manual labour job.  Friends in Bangkok warned me about this approach.  I was told it was dangerous to be a Falang woman alone with a man at his home. I listened and agreed with them.  From everything that I’ve experienced in this country, I will say, their argument is valid.  However, I balanced what I knew with what I felt when I first met my kru, when I looked into his eyes and what has transpired over time knowing him. I had met others before him, others that have more experience, more contacts, more clout and that were more enthusiastic about training me, but when I looked into their eyes, instinct, experience and heart told me to keep walking.

I could say that I was blessed to have found the trainer that I was searching for.  I could even go further to say that I was blessed to find the trainer who is more than what I was searching for, but I’m going to say, I’ve found two.

One day, an old schooler showed up to my training.  He had heard that there was a Falang training in Buriram. A female.  And she had come alone.  He couldn’t believe it and wanted to see what she was about.  Ironically, that was the day that I showed up and couldn’t train.  I had been taking medication that ripped my stomach apart; so alternatively, he brought me to his home.  I spent that evening and the following day with he and his family.  The proceeding week, he trained me in the early morning while my kru was off building something.  We trained on a mountain and the next day, we trained at his home.

The amount I’ve learned here in Buriram far exceeds any expectation I could have had.  Perhaps what I’ve learned most is, I have a lot to learn, the education is continual.  Working with two different people, with two very different styles but united in their passion has solidified this sentiment within me.  This brings me back to a trainer I met in Bangkok.  On my first day working with him, he held pads and told me, ‘Muay thai is easy. In six months, I knew all there is to know’.  My instinct before that statement was made was to be wary of him.  In retrospect, I realize, his approach is different than mine.  He, in my opinion, is concerned with scoring points, winning fights, and making money.  For me, my concern is to learn the art.  To internalize it.  To grow.  Status never attracted me – it was never my motivation, for anything.

For some of you, your primary goal is to win, to advance within the current system – to become a champion.  That is part of my motivation, but I see fighting as more of a playing ground. Of working out what I’m being taught.  Of being challenged.  A test.  For me, winning or losing in some ways is the same, I benefit from both.  I’ve been told by many that this sentiment will keep me from becoming a champion.  Currently I’m okay with that.  I want to train like I’m training to become one, to put every bit of my blood into it, but for me, finding the right promoter with the right contacts, fighting the right people, etc.  I’m just not there.  At least not now.

So we’ll see how this translates in a new culture, in Japan.  I’m interested in the training methods I’ll be exposed to as well as the culture of the art within the gyms, within the promotions, and within Japan at large.  I have no idea what to expect, and quite honestly, I don’t want to form an opinion.  I just want to step in and see what life throws at me.

As a child, this was my dream, to live and train a martial art in Japan.  When scouting and dropping into various martial arts facilities, determining what suited me best, it was muay thai that I responded to, not a Japanese art.  Little did I know that a Thai martial art would be the vehicle of my dream becoming a reality in Japan.  It’s amazing what unfolds when you just listen to that within you.

Let’s see what the future brings.

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.

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