I came across this the other day. Reminds me of the scene in “Talladega Nights” when Will Farrell has to get into the car with the Cougar.
I had heard about this place a few years ago, but still haven’t had the opportunity to get out there. My cousin runs a 4×4 touring co. He’s always shuttling monks to and from the monastery in his big ass 4×4.
One of my teachers Ajarn Amaro, who is also a monk in the forest tradition, went with my cousin to visit these tigers. Ajarn Amaro, said he was standing in front of the cage, when one of the tigers sauntered up to the bars, and punched him in the chest with his paw. He said it was incredibly powerful… he later remarked it’s a good thing those tigers don’t have any claws otherwise I would have been in big trouble. He later found out none of the tigers are de-clawed… I guess the tiger just wanted to keep him on his toes.
That’s awesome don’t turn your back on the tigers! That’s what I call primal instincts. I’m sure they can’t even help themselves… As soon as you turn your back their like oh shit… there’s lunch.
I like how Crudelli is trying to find his happy place; I think I would have pissed myself.
Controlling your fear
I used to do a lot of track days on my motorcycle. A bunch of us would rent out Thunder Hill Raceway in Chico for the day, tear that place up. I could spend an entire day there, do 50+ laps and never feel calm. It was so draining psychologically it would make me physically tired. As I would begin to feel a little more calm, someone would pass my on the inside of a turn (inches away) and I would feel the sweat just pore out. Maybe a little bit of anxiety/fear is good for you. Clearly it’s primal and it’s supposed to keep us alive.
What about you guys? How do you control your fear or anxieties? I often find that when I’m sparring new people, internally I feel anxious, sometimes it’s even a fine line between nervousness and fear. I say internally because my head isn’t thinking that, but my body is. My head knows I’m just sparring but my gut, my nerves think I’m about to get into a fight. For me I find if I focus on my breath it often gets me through the first 30 sec. of anxiousness. As a little more time progresses my brain takes over and I realize there’s nothing to worry about.
17 responses so far ↓
1 tong po // Jun 12, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Fear/nervousness/anxious is a bit good, I think, but it must be controlled. You can’t go off the deep end and go crazy! I find without the fight or flight response, their ends up, not much to motivate me in high stress situations- this does not necessarily have to mean life or death; it could be as simple as getting your head in the game for a hard training session on the pads.
2 manant // Jun 12, 2008 at 8:34 pm
The guide books and people who seem to be in the know generally warn people away from these places in Thailand.That one in particulr is in Kanchanabui if Im not mistaken?I was gona go until I was told going supported the persistant expoitaion of such animals which are generally kept drugged and beaten so as to render them scared and passive to humans.Its a big tourist attraction in that area that place.I heard similar storiesa all over thailand about elephants and tigers and over endangered species that are used for show in places like temples.Not saying its true thats just what I heard.My travel book expressly mentioned to avoid that temple like the plague?!
3 nopstar // Jun 12, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Manant-
Seriously? Damn that’s just wrong. Can you let me know which guide book? I want to get a copy and pass it on…
4 Gio // Jun 12, 2008 at 11:35 pm
seriously, that’s fucked up. Can anyone get a confirm on that?
5 SE // Jun 13, 2008 at 5:09 am
all the tigers are drugged?
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH
6 manant // Jun 13, 2008 at 12:52 pm
yeah it was in a lonely planet guide if im not mistaken it was also in a (is it) frobishers or frommers which is like the american equivelant.Whilst in Chiangmai last eyar I was reading in chiangmais english newspaper, an article about the poor treatment of elephnats across thailand and this treatment of tigers in such places like this temple and tiger show in tourist places was mentioned in that article aswell.If you found out how those elepahants are treated in most of the tourist places especially the ones in BKK that they walk round the streets and get tourists to pay to feed them it would break your heart.Im not even a big animal rights type but that shit was just plane wrong.I heard from a lot of people about this once I got talking about it?
7 Gusnark // Jun 13, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Tigers probably are on some sedative, since they are formidable killing machines, it seems logic to me.
But as I read on internet they are so calm because they are well feed and raised among people. One accident/attack was only reported. Ok, fair to me.
Is it better to see tigers strapped in a small cage? Do you guys find a zoo a better place?
I don’t find Kanchanaburi Tiger Temple abusive at all. Well, maybe to those retarded activists, who believed animals deserve better rights then humans, etc.
I check internet, found no proofs of tigers being under drugs, just some stuff we should boycott this temple, since they are making profit, bla, bla.
Check out the lonelyplanet post, they are basically just criticizing the temple
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1312512
8 Gusnark // Jun 13, 2008 at 2:21 pm
wth, where is my comment?
Well, I suppose shit happens, check out wikipedia for tiger temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Temple
9 Ray // Jun 13, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I had a big problem with fear of the unknown. I had a fight scheduled for June 28th.
I trained hard but physically and mentally I was beaten up. I became afraid to step into the ring and doubted everything I knew about muay thai. I read as much as I could about trying to overcome my fear and realized that no one but myself could tell me how to conquer it. I made a list of reasons of why I was a afraid next to a list of why I wanted to fight. The list of reasons to fight were far greater. Slowly I checked off my fears and left one, “Afraid to lose.” After seeing those words staring up at me, I knew that my fears only meant I was ready to fight. Cheesy I know…. but it worked for me.
Then get this, last night before my training session, I find out my fight was cancelled. Not enough fighters to fill the rest of the card. Needless to say, I was pissed.
10 SE // Jun 14, 2008 at 12:21 am
dude that sucks about the fight…BIGTIME
11 nopstar // Jun 14, 2008 at 7:37 am
Ray- awesome you were able to overcome… sucks they canceled. Do you know when your next fight will be?
12 nopstar // Jun 14, 2008 at 7:38 am
Gusnark-
Wordpress often puts comments that have links in them into a spam folder… I have to go and check and unmark comments as spam. That is probably why you don’t see your comments.
13 Commando // Jun 14, 2008 at 8:03 am
Gusnark says
“Tigers probably are on some sedative, since they are formidable killing machines, it seems logic to me”
yes this is a terrible practice in Thailand isnt it, i heard buakaw and yodsanklai are given not just given a muscle relaxant in between figts but a paralysis drug just incase thier inherent killing instincts get the better of them and they decapitate the room………..hehe
Nop……..got the t shirts this morning thats excellent mate thanks very much, will get a phot of yod wearing it and some of him in training and send to you this week
14 Gusnark // Jun 14, 2008 at 11:00 am
Nop, thanx for clarification.
Ray, that’s a great success story.
And when the next fight comes, you will be even more prepared.
15 ShadyEskimo // Jun 16, 2008 at 7:41 am
Slowly Breathe in, Slowly Exhale, is my method- Dunno if it would work on tigers.
16 SE // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:47 am
commando the comment about the tigers was not an attack against thailand…..
17 Commando // Jun 18, 2008 at 10:39 am
thanks
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