A little training clip & info on my favourite trainer.

Hope everyone had a good Easter holiday and is well rested and ready for work and working out. I know I am after all the eating I've been doing!!

Well Rawai Muaythai in Phuket sent me a link two weeks ago with a video of me training with my favourite trainer Bungman and I have to say he is definitely one of my favourite trainers and I wish I could have him in Singapore with me!

Zig Zach & Bungman

I've known Bungman from way back in 2004, when he was still living and working as the head trainer at a gym called Tor.Chalermchai in Bangkok. However he has now moved to Rawai Muaythai in Phuket as his father was getting old and he wanted to be near his father.

I was recommended to train at Tor.Chalermchai by another trainer of mine from the WMC Camp,Koh Samui. He knew that I was heading to Bkk for a fight and he said that I should contact the owner of the gym to train and to prepare for the fights and I thought.....COOOL!!!

Tor.Chalermchai was an all thai gym and there were no foreigners at the gym and the trainers there didn't speak a word of english. It wasn't as famous as some other gyms in Thailand nor did they have very famous champions but I learned so much there than at most gyms I've been to and to make things better the owner of the gym and everyone there treated me like family,and to me that is what made my training and living there enjoyable and memorable. However now that Bungman is now in Rawai Muaythai,I will prolly just go back to Tor.Chalermchai to just visit the owner of the gym and visit some of the fighters.

A young Bungman with one of his first champions Siamchai

Bungman is a pretty well respected trainer in Bkk, he has produced some awesome fighters that he would train himself and work on strategy and techniques just before a fight. I was there once watching him train one of the boys who was preparing for a big title fight and seeing him work the boys and showing them stuff was just so amazing. He's a very technical trainer and he has so much experience in and out of the ring to share with fighters.

Bungman with one of my all time favourite Linglom Tor.Chalermcha!!
He is a hard hitting and super fast fighter!!

The fighters pictures I've put up here are some of Bungman's best. These are my favourite 2 fighters that I've seen in action,"Linglom" and "Samingprai". They are just awesome to watch in training and the couple of times that I saw them fight live was just amazing! Linglom is a famous muslim fighter,he was a Rajadamneorn Stadium Champ at 105 lbs/47.627 kg and also Fighter of the year in 2004. His speed is just unbelievable and the little guy hits bloody hard!! I mean little guys move fast but he moves very very fast!!! "Ling" means speed or fast in thai hence his fight name "LingLom".

His last fighter Samingprai Kiatphontip winning the Tam Jai Tournament 2007.

Samingprai is a steady hard hitting techincal fighter who is amazing in the grapple and really deadly with his elbows. He was 2007's winner of the 63.5kg "Tam Jai" tournament where he met a fighter whom he got knocked out by in a stadium fight. They both met again in the final and Bungman's gameplan and strategy worked fantastically and they had their revenge. Although winning on points Samingprai managed to fire in a couple of elbows showing who's boss.

People always ask/tell me..."Which gym is the best in Thailand?"....Or "Ohh my trainer is this guy and I trained with this guy"......and my reply is,"If you find a good trainer that you are used to and have a close relationship with, ANY gym is good!!!" It all comes down to how well you work together and understand each other.

Anyways so here is a little clip of me at training with Bungman at Rawai Muaythai before my last fight. Enjoy!!

Episode 10

So we're two fights into the 2nd round of the competition. The loft looks alot more quiet compared to when there were all 16 of us running around in there.

Yoddi's eye injury was an unlucky one more than a deliberate strike by Naruepol. But it still looked pretty damn painful! Especially coming from Yoddi one of the toughest in the house. Was nice of the boys to all check on him and send wish him well as he was off to the hospital for a checkup. We're all friends in there and we don't wish anything bad upon each other. Tho fighting is fighting and it's business.

When Yoddi came back into the Loft think everyone knew that it'll take more than just an eye injury to get rid of him. Was funny when everyone was teasing him about his eye patch calling him a Pirate. You could sorta tell he wasn't too pleased with the name calling as he sat there giving Zidov the evil eye! (singular!!)

Then Captain Marvel JWP walked into the loft and next thing he says is,"Who's the Pirate!" haha Poor Yoddi. Good to see JWP recovering from his chicken pox!! How unlucky is that!?? Apparently it's only a MYTH that you can get it only once. I remember meeting some of the producers and all of them after fights and they were thinking of bringing back Rafik or Bruce into the competition. Think everyone except Zidov would not have been happy campers if they brought back Rafik. Especially Jabba!!

Watching the boys just hang around chatting playing cards. Made me wonder if I reallly missed the loft?!? haha There were some serious DULL moments in there where we'd all just sit and eat and sit and talk and sit and get bored even more. Zidov was already doing the card game thing since maybe the 2nd week of being in the loft. Basically there's a red and blue corner and which card has a higher number wins the round,and whoever gets an Ace wins by KO!! Funny game coz we's just do random matchups. Me and Zidov did it before our fight and I won on points...and look what happened!! Gonna ask for my money back from that Croatian Gypsy.

When the boys got bored of that game(and everything else!). Their attention diverted to looking for a fight name for Sean. (The boys in the loft already have one for him but it's another inside joke we can't reveal!! Sorry!!) Braveheart came about coz we watched it on DVD one of the nights and I called him BraveFart. =) I was out with friends one night and I suggested me come up with fight names for them just for fun. And it's Hilarious!! Among some of the funny ones were "Justice" Julie, "Vindicator" Vinden & a classic one "Make Em Cryley" Riley!! I had my fight name "Zig Zach" changed to Kim Khan "Ka -Pow"!! haha

Actually a quick little info on why my fight name is "Zig Zach". Its not coz I move in Zig Zags lines when I fight?!! I'ts coz when I lived in Thailand the kids would ask me my name and I'd say Zach....And they'd say "Sak?? like "sik sak"(and they'd do with their hands a zig zag motion!)" It was either that or..."Sak like Saksaphone" So I decided "Zig Zach" would be muccccch cooler than Zachsaphone?!!??!

So back down to business and letting fate choose the next two guys to battle it out for a spot in the semi finals. I think JWP was pretty relieved to not have picked the Amulet yet as he only just got well and his body needed abit more time to get back in shape.

And as fate made her decision,it was Yukay and Sean. First it was Camp mates,Naruepol and Yoddi now it's team mates from the Wild Boars. I gotta say both Sean and Yukay were definetly my favourite guys to hang out from the Blue team,So it was a tough one to take sides on. Yukay had fought not too long ago and as he mentioned over a meal with JWP that his leg was still hurting. on the other hand,Sean who had fought really early in the competition,was well rested and raring to go!! This was actually one problem we were all very worried about early on not knowing how late or how early we'd fight if we made it into the 2nd round.

On fight night, Seans Wai Kru was something different,he did a cool Fireball move at the end at Yukay.(FYI,Sean is a massive Manga comic lover and he loves playing HALO on Xbox.) Through out the interviews Sean was always saying that he had alot more to offer than just Yukay's "lucky right hand". Seans awesome to watch on the pads. He is really fast and he does train like an animal in the gym doing all his conditioning work. I used to get tired watching him train!! I think Yukay did prove that he didn't just have a punch he relied on. I liked watching Yukay set up some of his leg kicks. Most of them landed well on Sean. Yukay did have more than just his hands,we just never got to see it coz his fight with Pitu was over so quick!

Sean however was the fitter and stronger of the two. Think after the first few leg kicks I kinda saw Yukays movement was rather awkward. It's just a fighters thing you see someones posture and you know somethings wrong. When Sean landed the right cross to Yukays mid section and when he went down I knew things were gonna swing in favour of Sean's way. For all those who've never been winded by a punch to the solar plexus or anywhere on the mid section it' is one of THE most painful things and you literally can't do anything except collapse on the floor!! I got caught once at training and my legs just collapsed!! Felt like I was a fish out water trying to gasp for air!! Horrible feeling. Yukay however was saved by the bell,but not for long!

Start of round two and Sean came out firing. Despite his corners constant effort to tell him to slow down!?!?haha Sean lands a few more hard leg kicks and from the body language Yukay was in pain. And true enough the last one that Sean lands on Yukay sealed his place in the Semi Finals.

Tough luck for my bro Yukay. He should be proud still of what he's achieved. Being the oldest guy in the competition and how he shocked everyone with his win over Pitu. Action speaks louder than words.

So Sean and Yodseanklai the first 2 semifinalist in the competition. Who are the last 2 that are gonna make it? I know =) but I won't ruin it for you.

Catch my next write up next week!!

LaterZ

10 000 visitors!!

Hey everyone just a quick entry,I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU!! to everyone who has been checking back on my blog ever so often and reading what I've got to say about the episodes and my random thoughts. Never thought I'd enjoy blogging at all but Im glad my mate Lance convinced me into doing it! Thanks buddy!

There have now been 10 000 visitors since my first post on Dec 18 2007!! Thats pretty impressive and crazy at the same time!! My sis keeps saying that prolly 9900 is me checking back every hour on it!! haha

Once again THANK YOU!! For dropping by ,reading,writing positive feedback and showing your support for me. It really means alot to me.

Warm RegardZ

Zig Zach

Episode 9 The Start Of The Second Round.

As I mentioned in the previous blog. Everyone was pretty much shocked that Yukay had put up an awesome performance to knock Pitu out. But never underestimate your opponents and Yukay just proved that to everyone.

Next day after training all the Fighters who made it to the Second Round of the Competition were given a bracelet as a reward. I've seen the bracelets and they are really cool. Am so jealous that I didn't get one!! Hearing Stephan say "Zidov the man that made the whole nation of Singapore cry." made it harder as I felt like I let everyone down. Gggrrr fucking shoulder......!!!!

The boys got to head down to the Laguna Golf & Country Club for abit of R&R. They weren't told of what was coming next so they were all in for a pleasant surprise!! I think this episode was by far the most touching episode to watch. When the families walked in. I think alot of the boys were almost in tears!! Yes us fighters have a soft heart too (sometimes!!) !! I've mentioned many times in my interviews that this show although is mainly about the sport and fighting. It also shows a whole different side of us as fighters and us outside Muay Thai.

I have to say that for an ASIAN family,Naruepol and Yoddi were very OPEN when expressing themselves with their family. The things they said were so touching!! Naruepol's dad and Yoddi's mom were the 2 that really made an impact on me. Yoddi's mom and him were talking about how poor and how Yoddi fights to support the family and all that. It's such an honourable thing that he is doing and I have the utmost respect for the guy. It reminded me how hard Thai people's lives are sometimes.

An awesome fighter and a very respectable young man,Yodsaenklai Fairtex!

When living in Thailand, I shared a room with 7 boys and slept on the floor!! Everything was minimal. It was a SIMPLE lifel!! I remember usually after training or at night when we were all just hanging out in the room,the boys always ask me in thai,"Why you wanna be a fighter? you come from Singapore. Life is good there!!" We'd talk about their homes and why they came to train and fight in Bkk. These boys had the DUTIES of an adult!!! Im talking about BOYS ,some who aren't even 18yrs old and are training hard to win fights so that they can send some of their money back to their families!!!

I know we can't really compare our lives to theirs but when you think of the average Singaporean kids who sits at home and shouts orders at their maids to get them stuff and then play computer games all day?!?!! Where on the other hand,these young Thai boys bust their asses to make it to the top of one of the hardest ringsport on earth!! Some make it...and for those who don't,they get sent back home. They know Muay Thai is the "EASY" way out to escape poverty thats why there are so many fighters in Thailand. I mean would you train and fight for a couple of thousand baht or would you plough the fields of a farm in the hot sun day in day out and make ALOT less money. That is the same reason why prostitution is so high in Thailand. It's SAD....but it is the way of life the Thais have come to accept.

Naruepol and Dad chatting about the sport they both love.

Naruepol and his dad were really cool to watch and listen. It was a typical scene out of a movie you know,a fatehr and son haven't seen each other in awhile and just catching up and chatting. But listening to them talk about techniques and strategy was what really made an impact. I mean how many of us can talk to our dads about something we love so passionately and expect them to understand...??? "I can just see it happening,"I tried to sweep his leg!!" Dad replies,"What??Why you got a broom in the ring?!?" hahah It was really sad when they had to say Bye. Especially when Naruepols dad started to cry!! It's always hard to see a grown man cry and when it's your own father.......it's very heartbreaking.

After all the lovey dovey emotional stuff. It was back to the reality of the competition. Jaymee and Fox informed the boys that there were no more Teams, and that everyone fought for themselves now. There were no more challenges and fights were to be decided by fate. Each fighter had to open a drawer of a cabinet and if there was a statue of a Buddah in the drawer it would mean they would be fighting. And as fate would decide it.....The toughest two fighters in the competition would square off.

It's never easy fighting a friend. Especially in their case. They eat,sleep,train and travel abroad to fight together. Muay Thai camps don't just make strong fighters. They also make friends for life and best of all they make brothers forever!

Was funny when Yoddi was joking about Naruepols good looks. He said,"I go by luck he goes by looks." Then he said," I should break his nose then I can walk side by side with him" hahah He was always telling us how when they go out,girls would always chat Naruepol up. So we were teaching him the term,"Cock Block" hahaha

When it came down to fight night. It was awesome to see the two strongest fighters come out into the Arena with their BLING BLING!! I gotta go get me some of that!!! Damn!!! Nothing much really I can say about the fight...??...The fight was a one sided affair and pretty bad one to watch. Naruepol just didn't look like he wanted to be there at all. I don't blame him!! Yoddi took advantage and made short of the fight.

In the dressing room after the fight. There are no hard feelings and all business ends in the ring. They know and everyone knows that this is a competition and there can be only ONE winner.

At the end of the show what Naruepol said,"Between friends and money, I think friends are hard to buy. Money as long as we are living can still be earned.". Makes me wanna leave my personal training business and head off to Thailand for another long stint after hearing that!! =(

LaterZ

Internet Forums & Sakmongkol

Hey everyone,

got abit of quiet time at home today and so thought I'd please everyone and do another blog.

For as long as I've done Muay Thai,I read alot of forums, I read about fights,results,advice,updates and of course recently I read about what people think of The Contender Asia. So after my episode,obviously I was like a piece of meat waiting for all these blood thirsty forumers to have a go at me!!

So far there's one forum I read and laugh alot at,coz there are just so many shit stirrers it cracks me up. Funny enough it's the official site for The Contender Asia forum!! haha! My 2 favourite writers on the forum there are "Michael" and "Freerider Hater". You should read their posts, it's funny (in a retarded way). "Tkoenig" also had this to say in his post. Which makes me realize how much knowledge of the sport (or knowledge at all!?) most of the people who post on forums have? Everyones under an alias and you'll never know who is who,or how credible someone is on these forums. In the words of a particular fighter I won't name,"You just gotta take it on the chin and not take these people/stuff seriously......and FUCK EM!!!" haha

However you go to forums like K-1 Fans or My Muaythai. Where people here are trainers,fighters and knowledgeable fans that have had experience in this sport. You read what they say and you go "WOW!!". (Im not saying there aren't idiots there too!!) But it makes such a difference reading some sites compared to others. No matter whether it's a win or a lose in a fight they'd say...."Hey tough luck but good job" or "man I know what that feels like so I really feel for you." There's alot of respect at those forums coz we know it takes alot just to step in the ring and we've all had our own experiences. So bad criticism and slagging people off is not appreciated on those forums!!

Anyways back to "Tkoenig's" post. I'd like to mention a very famous fighter who suffers from simliar shoulder problems like me. Muay Thai fans will know who Im talking about. Anyways,it's Sakmongkol Sitchunchoke. Just watch the fight below and you'll understand what I mean. Ive got this video at home for many years already and I remembered thinking when I watched it,"I know exactly how that feels!!" and when I read "Tkoenig's" post I was asking..."What do you know about it,have you dislocated your shoulder?....and have you ever heard of Sakmongkol??" Im not one to post on forums and log on to justify myself....it's a waste of breath.



Fighters and Athletes will know that the DESIRE and the ADRENALINE to win in a person can push the mind,body and spirit to unbelievable limits. I think that video clearly shows it. I've fought with a broken finger from Round 2 and carried on fighting to win on points,on another occasion I've fought with a cut that needed 7 stitches,and I fractured two ribs in Round 2 and carried on to win by knockout. So I definitely have been through pain and I know what I'm talking about.

Before never really gave much thought about my body,it was just "A BODY" . Never thought about the mechanics or the science behind it. But ever since I started Thai Boxing all that has changed. I've never been more fascinated by the human mind,body and spirit!! The slightest change in your stance or the slightest correction in your kick or punch could add so much more force and power behind it. There is soo much to the human mind,body and spirit that science(or people on forums) can never explain. Even at this stage Im still learning so much more.

Anyways signing off now with a quick reminder to everyone,tomorrow 9th March is the Muay Thai Tournament down at the Youth Park. I should be there at about 1 or 2pm. I'll also be doing my Wai Kru and then I'll be doing a demo on the pads. Last but not least,there will be TUFF Boxing Tshirts going on sale at the venue.

Hope to see all of you there. Do come up and say "Hi" if you got the chance. I promise I won't bite.

LaterZ

Episode 8 Never judge a book by it's cover.

It's funny now watching episode 8 as I was no longer there. But as one by one the boys came out they'd have so much to share and talk about with me.

Watching Zidov walk back into the room knowing he made it to the 2nd round was still abit painful. I know deep down that I could have been the one in the 2nd round. But no point crying over spilt milk. Hearing JWP talk about my performance was really nice as he is a legend in this sport and his advice and his criticism is one I would take very personally. Also Jabba who said that he'd miss me now that I was out was nice. He was definetly one of my best friends in there. The other guys I met up with after also had alot of good things to say about my fight with Zidov. It all means alot to me especially being the one with least experience in the house. Its good to know I managed to impress people and I made a few heads turn.

Training was getting more intense as more left the house. There was more time with the trainers now for the boys to prepare for the Second Round of the Competition. JWP was down with some infection( I know what it was but I won't ruin it for all of you.) and was getting very worried he would get kicked out. He was definitely upset when he had to be quarantined as it got worse and also he didn't manage to train as hard while in quarantine. As the producers didn't wanna risk having a trainer train him and then the trainer brings the germs into the loft.

The Challenge at the Safra Adventure Club looked fun...yet blooody scary!! haha I remember all of them telling me Soren was pretty bad and after his turn when they interviewed him he was trembling and Naruepol was pretty scared too at then end he was like hugging the post. haha Yoddi was lucky and got to sit out,as the Tiger Kings had an extra player. He actually chickened out. Ahhha we found a weakness in Yoddi!! haha too bad none of the rings for the fights are held 6 storeys high tho?!!

The Tiger Kings won the challenge and as there was only two fighers left,there wasn't a need for Deliberation and Pitu would be fighting Yukay. For their reward which I think was awesome! Was winning a night out at Velvet Undergound!! Was nice of JWP to invite them Im pretty sure they would have invited us if they won too,what fun would it be without everyone at the party! Like Zidov said,"we're in a house all the time no interaction with other people!" and Jabba said,"Stuck in a house with 10 ugly guys!!" hahah Couldn't put the words better myself. We were always in the house all of us sitting around chatting,talking,training,eating,sleeping we didn't have phones,nwspapers or magazines!! The damn big screen tv didnt have network and we couldn't really watch dvds or listen to music aloud when there are cameras around coz it would make it hard for them to edit our voices with noise in the background. The boredom was really killing all of us. So I guess the chance for them to go out and check out the clubbing scene and the chicks at Velvet Underground must have been a relief!! Wish I was there!!!

The night out at Velvet was a pretty crazy one. The stories and the pictures that I've seen from the boys...ohh my god!! haha Lets just say one of them got very carried away and had his shirt off on the podium at Zouk. Hint: He's Asian!! Thats all I can say!! If there's another thing us Thai Boxers are good at apart from fighting....it's definitely PARTYING!!!!!!! Usually after a fight be it win or lose...it's time to forget everything and enjoy the well deserved night out!! The amount of times that I've been to Fight After Parties it's usually gets pretty crazy and funny!!! Fighters usually spend about 6 weeks sometime just training,dieting trying to lose weight and not going out to the clubs and then comes the big fight!! I love clubbing and listening to good dance music so it's really difficult for me to miss catching a good DJ,but Ive got my priorities set straight!! So like what everyone was saying about Yukay drinking 2 nights before his fight did come as a shock to me!! I heard from the boys he didn't just have a beer. He was on a serious mission that night to get smashed!! Naruepol was pretty wasted too and he actually threw up hence the bucket by the side of the bed....GROOSSS!!!

Abit about Pitu and Yukay. Pitu was a really funny guy too. Half the time all of us had a hard time understanding him!! haha He would talk and all of us would just look dumbfounded and then,one of us would just go,"Pitu you seriously need subtitles!!" hahaha He was an awesome cook I have to admit. He made Spanish Omellete (Egg,Potatoes,Cheese,Sausage),Paella (Seafood rice dish) and a very healthy Tuna & Tomato Salad. Yukay as Pitu said,"He is the Ghost of the loft." Yukay is a quiet guy and we all thought maybe he doesn't speak that much english coming from Sweden?!! but no,he's just quiet!! I actually got along with Yukay really well in the loft and we'd chat alot. Til today he's a good friend that I chat with alot with still over the phone and on the internet.

As for the fight. I must say we were all verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry shocked and impressed at the same time!!! As mentioned in the episodes we check everyone out during training and we all saw that Yukay was pretty unfit some days at training. But he had awesome hands on the pads and on the bags. Pitu was pretty unlucky being sick in the house,he had an infection on his chest and an infection on his finger that both times needed a trip to the Hospital. But that never kept Pitu away from training or challenges.

All through out we said to Pitu to take it easy and not to get both too injured just get to the second round as second round fights are just a week away and don't know whos up first?? Pitu looked great in the fight starting off well,moving around punching and working the legs and body with some good kicks. The moment Yukay landed that right cross and Pitu went down. It spelt trouble.....I know he was bleeding from the nose, and you can see already Pitu wasn't there,he had to hold on to the ropes as he walked. Yukay like a shark smelling blood in the water pressed forward. Was only a matter of time before he landed the uppercut. I have to say it was a very SWEEEEET shot,right on the Off switch as Pitu collapsed. I loved how he followed up with a left hook that missed Pitu was faling. Shows he had some awesome hand combinations. Yukay truely surprised all of us. So the term never judge a book by it's cover has alot of truth in it!!!

The Uppercut that hit the spot & the follow up left hook that misses as Pitu falls

I saw Pitu after he came out of the loft and we went for a meal at Newton as he didn't join all of us there last time. Was good to see Pitu again as he filled me in with gossip and all. He was obviously disappointed with the outcome but he was still very cheery and laughed it off. I think as fighters we have all come to learn that winning AND Losing is part of our job and we shouldn't bash ourselves up and take it so hard on ourselves.

On another note I saw Yukay at last years 8-man S-1 Kings Birthday Tournament. It was almost an exact repeat of what happened with Pitu. He walked in there caught him with a massive right cross and that was it. The American guy he fought collapsed and when he got up he was staggering all over the shop so the ref had to wave it over. Pitu who was there that night said,"The american got the same as me man!!" hahah Gotta love Pitu!!

Lastly,as promised the update on Jabbas fight. Jabba fought a Thai guy in Patong Stadium on 3rd Of March the night after me, and he lost on points. He did well pressing forward and pressuring the Thai but the Thai was very technical and calm in his fight. Was a good one to watch!! Had a meal with him after and we both hit Patong for a laugh and a half. Was so much fun to see him again and I look forward to seeing him again soon.

LaterZ

Youth Park Muay Thai Tournament Sun 9th March

Hey everyone,

Just a quick blog. Its been hectic since I got back from Phuket. Will do a blog on Episode 8 tmrw when I've got abit more time.

There is an amateur muay thai tournament this Sunday 9th March down at the Youth Park behind Orchard Road. Its the near Orchard Cineleisure. This is the Pre-Qualifier selection for the IFMA Amateur World Championships that will be held in Busan,Korean this year. The event starts from 12pm til 10pm. So come watch some of the boys from some of the gyms in Singapore battle it out for a chance to represent Singapore at the IFMA world Games. Here are the match ups.


On top of that I'll be setting up a booth at the event to sell some of the awesome TUFF Tshirts. I've only got a limited amount of items on sale that day so be quick if you wanna get some of the Tshirts. Coz last time I brought in some they were snapped up pretty quickly by the trainees at BXG

Last but not least,I think I might be doing a demo on the pads that day too. Its not confirmed yet. So check back again for more details.

See you all there!

LaterZ