warrior training. part 2

day 2:

the challenge was significantly upped during my return to the gym.  also, my translator, old man tea, dropped me off and said, “you’re on your own now.”  sooooo that’s it;  i’ve officially relinquished the concept of verbal communication.

after taping my hands up and throwing gloves on, i had my first opportunity to enter the ring.  here, the former champion jahk, invited me to chase him around the ring and throw 1-2-3-4 punch combinations, topped off with a kick.  sometimes when i kicked he wouldn’t even bother blocking, and just cooly lean back and watch my bony leg swing right in front of his face.  we did these drills for an hour and a half before i retired to dumbells and chest exercises.

as i walked home, cutting through a homely little neighborhood, a passerby named sue-pop started chatting me up and invited me into his house to show me something.  i had no idea what it would be, but judging from his chizled appearance, i guessed that it would be something pertaining to athletic achievements of some sort.  it was athletic achievements of some sort.  this guy had a shitload of trophies and medals, all won from boxing.  and then he showed me a large framed picture of him in a ring and said “atlanta.  olympics.”  wh-wh-what!?

and then a golden retriever brushed up against my leg.  i hit the deck because i expected to see a vietnamese guy wearing a bib, chasing the dog with an axe, laying stake to tonight’s dinner.  but then i remembered i don’t live in vietnam anymore.  i shook the man’s hand and promptly returned home.

day 3:

-starting to rapid fire kick (one lightning charged kick followed by another, and another, and another)

-added some more punching combos, and HOOKS

-shadow boxing while traversing across the ring.  when i would run out of space, i would throw a HUGE spin kick, bounce off the ropes, and begin violently punching the air going in the other direction.

-starting to understand simple thai phrases.  like “jep maak” (that shit hurts!) and i was able to convey, in thai, that i had to be at work by 4.  but what is “tong tong“?  jahk is always saying it

-KNEES.  i SUCK at knees.  jahk can rattle a punching bag with his knees.  i just awkwardly smidge it a little to the side.  MUST IMPROVE

day 4:

my mentor jahk wasn’t there.  so i trained alone.  punchin’ and kickin’ the bag.  some guy who was loungin in the rocking chair ended up coming over and teaching me a few tricks.  like, the KNEE!  the ELBOW!  the SPINNING ELBOW!  the STRAIGHT-LEG SHOULDER-SWINGING KICK!  and then, following a kick, counterattack with the LEG GUARD AND PUNCH COMBO!

the elbow is by far the most satisfying.  the whole bag, it’s chain, the CEILING–rock violently when i make collision.

it started raining, which created a nice soothing effect to counteract my struggle for oxygen.

i learned what “tong tong” means: straight.  like, “punch straight and not backwards you fucking idiot!” (pretty sure that’s what they were shouting in thai)  also learned that i gotta start running.  i HATE being out-conditioned in a sport.  if i gas out in a fight, well, FUCK DAT!  i’m gonna be able to run for 29 seconds, instead of 14.  i can do it!