Intro by Nopstar
I had the pleasure of meeting Neungsiam about 6 years ago shortly before he immigrated to the States. I credit him for boosting and reinvigorating my passion for MuayThai. I’m quite sure that if I hadn’t met him, I probably wouldn’t have started MMT. As you’ll read in the interview he’s the real deal, a former Lumpini and 8 Man Title holder, it doesn’t get much more legit that that.
He’s my former trainer and a good friend. He’s currently the core of the Fight and Fitness MuayThai program. (If you’re looking to get some quality private training…drop by). For those of you who’ve met him, you’ll agree that he’s one of the most fun loving, piss taking characters you’ll ever meet.
He fights tomorrow at the MuayThai in America show, if any of you have the good fortune of meeting him, buy him a beer and tell the Thai Bruce Lee, I said Whaddup! Get out there and show him some love!
Chok Dee Mart!
Nopstar
Interview with Neungsiam Samphusri
Lucas: Where were you born?
Neungsiam: My hometown was Hua Hin, in the south, three hours south of Bangkok. My family lives there. It is a beach town.
Lucas: What does your family do there?
Neungsiam: My brother has a car rental business. My parents take care of my niece.
Lucas: When were you born?
Neungsiam: May 12th 1975
Lucas: When did you start fighting?
Neungsiam: When I was ten years old.
Lucas: How did you start fighting?
Mark Mian of AlterCenter & Neungsiam
Neungsiam: When I was young I went with my dad every sunday to watch muay thai. My dad loved watching muay thai. I saw it thought it would be fun and so I wanted to try.
Lucas: What happened with your first fight?
Neungsiam: I won my first fight. My mom she didn’t like it, she didn’t want me to fight.
Lucas: How much did you get for your first fight?
Neungsiam: I think 50 baht, it was a long time ago. One baht was a lot! A small bowl of pad thai was one baht, a big bowl two. (Laughs)
Lucas: When did you go to fairtex?
Neungsiam: I went to school for 6 years in total and then went to fairtex. I was 12 years old.
Lucas: How long were you at fairtex?
Neungsiam: I stayed at fairtex til I was 16 or 17 years old.
Lucas: What was your record?
Neungsiam: I can’t remember, I fought over 150 times.
Lucas: When was your last fight here in the states?
Neungsiam: It was three years ago in Fresno.
Lucas: What have you been doing to get ready for this fight?
Neungsiam & Bunkerd Faphimai
Neungsiam: I run 6 days a week. I kick pads every day. I box spar monday, wednesday, friday, and kick spar every day. On tuesday, thursday, saturday I train with Mark for an hour of strength training.
Lucas: Is fighting here in the states similar to fighting in Thailand?
Neungsiam: Fighting here and fighting in Thailand is different. Fighting here you have to think about judges first, and entertaining people. In Thailand you have to feel and look comfortable. Here everything is so tight.
Lucas: You’ve won a belt at Lumpinee, what weight class was that at?
Neungsiam: I fought at 112 lbs.
Lucas: How big were your purses fighting at Lumpinee?
Neungsiam: When I started to fight it was 3,000 baht. If you won your next fight you’d get 3,500 or 4,000. Every time you won you’d get more and more. If you lost your pay would be dropped. You’d drop from 3,000 baht to 2,500. I made 10,000 baht towards the top. Its about $300.
Lucas: What did you do with your winnings?
Neungsiam: I have a pineapple farm at home so I sent money there. Every day growing up I would eat pineapples. Walking back from school when I was hungry I would eat pineapples, or mangoes. Now I hate pineapples!
Lucas: What do you like about living in the United States?
Neungsiam: I think here in America, a lot of people want to know you but people lie to you. People aren’t sincere.
Lucas: What do you miss about Thailand?
Neungsiam: Oh everything!
Lucas: What’s the difference between Thai and American fighters?
Neungsiam: In Thailand I don’t have to think so much, its easy. Here its not so easy. A lot of people say fighting farang is easy but its not. Before I used to think like that too. Farang only have punches is what I thought but farang are strong. In Thailand I never would kick people’s elbows but here I always kick peoples elbows for some reason. If you fight a thai after five rounds you might kick their elbows a couple times here every round, every time.
Lucas: When did you retire from fighting in Thailand?
Neungsiam: My last fight at lumpinee was five years ago. Then I fought at the fairtex stadium in Pattaya after that.
Lucas: When was your 8 man mitsubshi tournament?
Neungsiam: I won the lumpinee belt then two years later I fought in the tournament. The tournament was 5 fights total over 5 months.
Lucas: Have you ever fought more than once in a month?
Neungsiam: I fought twice in one night in the country.
Lucas: What do you like about training?
Neungsiam: When you train and someone holds pads well its really fun. A lot of people don’t know how to hold pads well. It feels really uncomfortable. I train with Bunkerd, and its really good.
Lucas: What do you like about training other people?
Neungsiam: A lot of people don’t listen. You have to listen to me. A lot of fighters think that they’re super stars.
Lucas: What do you feel are your strengths as a fighter?
Neungsiam: In Thailand people were afraid of my punches and kicks. Here I try to use my elbows.
Lucas: Who is your favorite fighter?
Neungsiam: Karuhat. He’s from the south. Its perfect muay thai. It looks amazing.
Thai Bruce Lee
Lucas: What do you like fighting?
Neungsiam: I like it as a sport. In Thailand when you hit someone and they fall down you don’t kick them when they fall down. They get up and then you fight again. Its really sporting, its fair. Muay Thai looks really clean. I like the techniques. Its not angry looking.
Lucas: How did you learn english?
Neungsiam: I went to school and learned english in thailand. I knew how to say “yes” that’s it. Now I go to school every day.
Lucas: Your english is much better than pi’coke! How can you be a successful fighter?
Neungsiam: In Thailand, you have to know the promoters. Its who you know. If I’m a promoter and you’re from my gym then you’ll fight for the title. Sometimes I don’t know why people are champions.
Lucas: You fought Saenchai sor Kingstar correct?
Neungsiam: Yeah I fought him for the title at Lumpinee. I lost. It was at 115lbs. It was very close. The score was even. In the last round I missed a kick once and lost. He’s southpaw and I right kicked him. My leg ended up in the ropes and he kicked my back so he won! I’ve fought Attachai. Tongchai as well.
Lucas: Have you fought someone in particular a lot?
Neungsiam: I fought Neungpichit four times. I lost three times (laughs). When I fought him I thought he was easy. The first three rounds he didn’t punch or kick. It was like kicking a ball, it seemed so easy. In the fourth round he’d go crazy! Punch and kick a lot! In the fourth round every time. I won once because I knocked him out.
Lucas: What was your most memorable fight?
Neugsiam: When I fought for the title at Lumpinee against Sittichai.
Lucas: Have you ever been knocked out before?
Neungsiam. I have a funny story. I was fighting at Rajadamern against a tall guy. The first round I punched him and he elbowed me. I got cut. I thought oh shit. I didn’t want to fight. I got cut in the first round I didn’t want to fight anymore. The doctor checked my cut. I was hoping the doctor would stop the fight. The doctor said okay. I was like oh shit! We had to fight. Fuck! My opponent he kicked me in the neck and I fell down. The referee started to count and I didn’t get up. I didn’t want to fight. The stretchers came over and they kept trying to look at my eyes. I was fine but I had a hard time not laughing as they were looking at my eyes.
More about Matt Lucas
Born to a working class family in rural New York I grew up working like a dog and drinking Natural light in the woods. After a brief stint attempting to escape the poverty of employment via university I gave up on escaping the grind and moved to sunny California where the burritos are as generous as the weather. I work in the service industry slinging booze and food.
I got into Muay Thai as a recreational activity. I saw an interclub fight and decided to try it out, everyone has to test their mettle somehow. A few fights and a year later I was in Thailand training, and fighting. I haven’t quit stepping into the ring since. I currently live in East Oakland and balance my time blocking punches with my head with attempting to prevent brain deterioration through writing, studying Thai; language, culture and history, and going to wild dance parties with my friends.
April 2, 2010 at 7:57 am
great interview Matt!
That’s classic I’ve never heard that story of him pretending to be KO’d! I think my new nickname for him is going to be the Pineapple Kid.
April 2, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Hahahha that was awesome!
April 2, 2010 at 5:04 pm
That was an excellent interview!! I love his story about fighting the tall guy!
April 2, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Good interview, you guys. I’ll be sure to check out his fight. Nat McIntyre is a good fighter, so I think this will be a really good fight.
April 2, 2010 at 5:52 pm
“Neungsiam: When you train and someone holds pads well its really fun. A lot of people don’t know how to hold pads well. It feels really uncomfortable. I train with Bunkerd, and its really good.”
I hear this a lot from the fighters at my gym. I am 41, job, wife, kids, etc. so fighting isn’t for me so I will stick with light sparring and taking my pad holding to a very high level. The fighters really appreciate a good pad holder, I have heard it a million times. It is also a way for me to “fight by proxy”. If I can help train a fighter and watch him win, it makes me feel like I sort of won. Of course, not the same, but there it is anyway.
Great interview.
April 2, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Great article Matt.
Too bad im gonna have to miss this weekends fights(I have to move this weekend,uughh!)
Good to know that some Thais dont think farangs are an easy fight.
April 3, 2010 at 4:20 am
Great interview! Thanks Matt. I saw him trained these few weeks, definitely stronger. Can’t wait to see his fight tomorrow.
April 3, 2010 at 5:09 am
Great Interview…I remember seeing this guy fight for the first time while watchin ISKA (Miss that show)……Very funny guy it seems. I wish him well. Dan….I wish u were goin to my gym….lol.
April 3, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Hey Dan from Madison being a good padman is an art form unto itself. A good padman is gold! A good padman can get your technique up from average or subaverage to above average. Pad work is honestly as important if not important than sparring. Padmen are nothing short of essential for any boxer reaching their potential. Consider yourself among an elite circle of mean and women that know the difference between being a static punching target and a pad man!
April 4, 2010 at 1:58 am
Stack and Spyda, thanks! I would love to hold for you guys sometime, maybe next time I am in Cali I will look you guys up. Later this month I am in San Francisco if you are around there.
The gym owner where I am actually created some pad holding curriculum that I went through and I am working with him hopefully soon to continue that.
Some people just aren’t meant to hold pads, and it is brutal to watch not only the pad holder get frustrated, but the fighter not receiving the proper workout. If possible can any of you guys who work out at Neungsiam’s gym get footage of Bunkerd holding for Neungsiam and post it here? Might make for a good post and I would love to see the techniques.
The last round of fights two of our pros insisted that I be in their corner which was a great honor for me and shows that they really appreciate what I do. Very rewarding!
April 5, 2010 at 12:23 am
100% agreed Dan from M, I live vicariously in much the same way. pad holding is the most underrated workout there is=)! Its a workout unto itself and I find it quite rewarding. I have noticed one of our guys always teaches 1st time students how to hit AND hold as well. I think that is good. I have gotten an elbow to the nose and bruised rib when the holding gets awry=)..LOL fun times
April 5, 2010 at 8:31 am
Here’s an oldie but goodie.
Nuengsiam vs. Saenchai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flz59OGRNYM
April 5, 2010 at 1:17 pm
GKfromMTA-
Wow… I’ve been looking for this for a while. Many many thanks for sharing!
April 5, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Great interview Matt, thanks.
Totally agree with the pad man comments going around, having a good pad holder really elevates everything, even for guys like me who are more of a hobbyist. It transforms the training session from just hitting a target to having to concentrate on breathing properly, keeping balanced, and staying sharp for counters and seeing opportunities to counter. I used to think of pad rounds as just a way to work on physical attributes, improve cardio, power, that sort of stuff, but a good pad holder really transforms the pad rounds into a way to train for fighting. Dan from M, I think in a couple more years I’ll be joining your noble way of ‘fighting by proxy.’
GKfromMTA, thanks for that. It was awesome to see everybody so young, I especially enjoyed Somrak’s highly animated cheering and encouragement for Saenchai.
April 5, 2010 at 8:29 pm
It’d be my sincerest honor and pleasure Dan!
April 5, 2010 at 11:23 pm
That was posted by a friend from Japan. Browse his account some other cool oldies. I gave Nuengsiam a DVD with more complete coverage of that fight along with 2 other early fights dug up.
Glad you guys like it.
April 6, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Dan, thanx for the offer…unfortunately…I’m not lucky enough to be in the west coast. “Pad Holding 101″ should definitely be part of the curriculum.
April 6, 2010 at 7:54 pm
@GK: Thank you SO MUCH for finding and giving Neungsiam that fight of his vs. Saenchai – he’d told us all about it before and we’ve been dying to see it! I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet you at the event — hope you had a great time!
April 6, 2010 at 10:17 pm
my fave quote of neungsiam when he works pads with me is: ” tooooo fu@%ing salooow! have to be faster….”
April 7, 2010 at 1:45 am
@Chinaman, my favorite quote of his, “why you suck so much?! too slow!!”
April 7, 2010 at 3:12 am
Hey Mark, we actually did meet in the Singha beer garden. Nuengsiam, Malaipet and company drinking straight for 36 hours.
Great times!!!
April 7, 2010 at 9:13 am
@GK – oh man… drinking with those boys is like taking a knee to the liver
April 11, 2010 at 5:52 am
i still miss when he called all us whitey’s “white pussy” until i guess that got a little non-PC ;)
Neungsiam is the man, straight up. you’d be hard pressed to find a more honest, straightforward, and amazingly skilled trainer anywhere on the planet. he’s not there to coddle your ego (rather to destroy it) or tell you you’re good if you’re not – and when you finally get even an “OK” from him, you cling to it like a million dollars, because he doesn’t say it if he doesn’t mean it.
on top of that, his style and preferred teaching methods are based all in practicality and things you can actually use in a fight, not just what looks pretty.
plus you gotta love that even though he, like most nak muays, is super machismo at heart, he’s not so machismo that he won’t readily admit that getting punched and kicked hurts ;)
i’m so far from being a perfect or even well-rounded fighter it’s not even funny, but pretty much the things i do right, and my entire way i look at MT, is all thanks to Neungsiam, and countless hours of him berating me.
great to see the interview, thanks Matt.