April was a crazy busy month of training myself, personal training clients, photoshoots and good old DJing! =) Whatever else left time I have to myself I either sleep and rest up, Or I try and be ALONE to clear my thoughts and head out.
So Aussie Aussie Aussie.....!! I'm finally head back to Melbourne after probably 4 years or more! I'll be in Melbourne May 12th til May 17th. A pretty short trip. Well I'll be there mainly to teach a Muaythai seminar/workshop at 3 gyms. I know that 1 of the gyms has sold out on slots and has 35 - 40 ppl. =) Am pretty glad to hear that. Im really excited to do the seminar. I really enjoy teaching and making sure people learn the right technique and to hopefully make them better at the sport. Just like at Vanda me and Bangman focus alot on the basics. We focus alot on correcting the simple things like footwork,balance and even posture or stance! Only from there can you start to kick, punch and do the moves better.
This is the poster for my seminar up in Shepparton! It's about 3 hours away from the main city!
Melbourne is gonna be great fun!! Look forward to catching up with some good friends when I'm there, having some good souvlakis (kebabs!), going to the Victoria Market. Melbourne is a cool city. Speaking of cool...it's gonna be winter when Im there...!!! Ugghhhh hate the cold...!!! 4 Seasos in 1 day thats what it's known for too!! Could be blistering hot then ice cold all of a sudden!
Right I'll try to do an update when I'm over in Australia or when I get back =) There's a couple of topics/reviews I've yet to do a write up for! So I best get my lazy/busy ass on it soon!! =)
So it's already a month since I did my last blog. I really can't believe how fast time flies. My day starts of at 730am or 530am when I have early morning clients. I finish the sessions off, head to the gym train...next thing I know its 1pm and I'm headed home for my afternoon granny nap =) I head back out about 4 or 5 to the gym or to clients elsewhere....and I end my day at 9 or 10pm....It's crazy. Sometimes I really feel that there really isn't enough hours in a day!!
In that time frame of a month. A LOT has happened. Prolly the biggest change for me is actually havin Bangman being here in Singapore. Having him help me out at Vanda is turning out to be a real TREAT!!! He has settled in very well with the trainers and staff at the gym. A lot of students have complimented on him being a really good trainer and that he actually HELPS them and TEACHES them!! =) I remember when he came in and some of the students or the expat trainees saw him and thought..."oh who's this fat guy.....".....but shortly they find out Bangman is not someone you wanna mess around with!! =)
The trainees for both Muaythai & Boxing are benefiting from Bangman's experience at the gym. He used to box as a kid too, so he can train boxers in western style boxing too. I mean even after 2 weeks of Bangman being here I could see sooo much change in some of the students techniques. He's just amazing at being a coach and can really change a person's punch and kick. Even I'm learning alot about being a trainer, just watching him teach and also getting back into REAL muaythai again. I mean after awhile we forget stuff and our technique gets watered down to a MUAYFARANG (Foreigner Muaythai!) as Bangman calls it. haha
Bangman on pads =)
So since Bangman was here I took the oppurtunity to train hard and managed to get myself a fight up in Phuket. Sadly the fight only lasted 1 round.....It was really dissapointing and pretty lame if you ask me. The guy I fought has beaten some good thai's and has even beat the south thai champ 3 times. But I dont know why but he went down in the first round with me???? I dont ask for and I don't LIKE taking shit fights at all.............I would rather lose a hard fight than win an easy one. Anyways I have some more stuff lined up in Thailand and then after that I'll see. Things are obviously not getting any better or easier for me on this.
Not the proud of this...... pfffff =(
Well I'll see in the next few months, hopefully things will start getting better. Otherwise time to move on to other things. In the mean time I'm really enjoying working and running classes down at Vanda.
So been busy the last few weeks trying to organize my life with Muaythai. Again I've been trying hard to get fights and it's just been a real pain in the ass more than anything else. I'm getting more DJ gig offers than I am getting fights. Strange.........??
In the mean time I've decided to take on a new job/role to help a good friend, Ian Mullane. Ian has appointed me as Head Trainer of Vanda Boxing's Muaythai Club. We have been talking about me coming to work for him and helping him do Muaythai classes for a long time, and now that Vanda has taken over BNM and since they still have decided to continue running Muaythai at VBC the time was right =)
Ian has taken Boxing to a whole different level with his White Collar Boxing events. The White Collar Boxing events help raise money for a hospital in Cambodia that offers free medical treatment. It's a very noble cause and I'm very proud to be part of Vanda Boxing Club and Vanda Promotions now.
As the saying goes,"it's official when it's in black and white!"
As Head Trainer of VBC Muaythai. Ian has given me the green light on running the muaythai classes the way I want and how I think would make VBC a better Muaythai Gym. This is a big job I've taken on, there are already so many good gyms in Singapore and to be able to stand out from all the other gyms is gonna require alot of work. The fact that Ian trusts me and gives me the freedom to do as I deem fit is really important and very flattering. I don't doubt my abilities in running classes and teaching, I know that with my experience with training in gyms all over the world and also training with world class fighters and trainers I will be able to make VBC Muaythai a better place. I currently run the VBC Muaythai classes on Tues and Thurs 6 - 9pm but am in on nights where I'm free to make sure things are running smoothly.
At the moment I've brought in my trainer Bangman to come in and help me get things organized for abit. He's here on holiday and is happy to be here helping his favourite student out with the classes. VBC students are sooo lucky to be able to train with Bangman while he's here. Read more about Bangman if you still dont' know who he is. http://www.zigzach.com/2008/03/little-training-clip-info-on-my.html
I've been watching Bangman and Charoon Fairtex hold the classes and I can see that it's already looking alot more structured and alot more different than before. The two thai's work really well together and have been listening to my advise and my instructions on doing things and I'm really glad things are slowly taking shape even after a week of taking on the job!
In time to come, hopefully VBC Muaythai will start having fighters too. Under my guidance and the thai's, hopefully VBC Muaythai can start building a reputation for itself in the fight scene. Be it local or international.
Gong Xi Fa Cai. Happy Lunar New Year. Hopefully the year of the tiger will be better than the year of the Ox!! Now that Chinese New Year is out of the way, my work and my training will hopefully start to settle in!
As I was saying I been trying to make an effort to keep up to date more with Muaythai this year. Loads of good fights happening in 2010, starting off with the Muaythai Challenger happening last month at Siam Paragon. Now come Feb 26th a very similar event will take place, but this time held in the Mecca for Muaythai.....The legendary Lumpini stadium. This event will see one of the power houses of European Muaythai, France vs Thailand!!
One of the guys who is helping to arrange this event is Mr Thakoon. Mr Thakoon runs the very famous Sasiprapa Gym in Bangkok. A gym that has had alot of sucess with training Thai and Foreign fighters. Mr Thakoon speaks really good english and is a very friendly man who has been in the Thaiboxing industry for many many years. I have had a lot of friends who have been to Sasiprapa to stay and train long term and they only have good things to say and share about the gym and Mr Thakoon. I have yet to go to Sasiprapa but I'll definetly make the effort next time I'm in Bkk.
With Mr Thakoon's experience in the sport, Im sure his matchmaking skills for the Thai vs France fight will be amazing!! This is the line up for the France vs Thai event.
1. Petchbangprang Kaewsamrit Thai 132 Albert Chey France
2. Wahaj Topking Boxing Thai 182 Coulibaly Palmares France
10. Damien Alamos France 140 Pongsaklek Sitmorlumbud Thai
11. Sohanne Bengana France 132 Chao Sasiprapa gym Thai
The two fights that I would love to watch would be, Kongfah Auddonmuang vs Kamel Jemel and Farid Villeaume vs Saiyoke Pumphanmuang. Both will be an amazing fight!!!
Farid is one hell of a fighter and has been around for many years. Fighting some of the biggest Thai fighters in Muaythai. Nuangtrakan,Orono,Lamsongkram and even Yodsaenklai. Farid's fight against Yod was one of the most exciting fights in 2008. He did an amazing job in his first fight against Yodsaenklai knocked him down and managed a draw. His rematch however wasn't as much as what all the fight fans were hoping for...but you can't blame him especially after Yod had won Contender and was at the top of his game!!
Farid's opponent, Saiyoke is not a guy to mess around with. Many people don't know Saiyoke as he took a long break from Muaythai and fought out of Thailand alot. I dont really have alot of info on him but he used to train out of Muaythai Plaza and also trained down at my old gym in Krabi, Emerald Gym. He's a hard hitting dude and you'll see what I mean when you watch this training video of him!! OUCH!!!
Another fight I'm sure will be pretty amazing will be Kongfa vs Kamel Jemel. Kamel is another French fighter that has been fighting awhile now and has fought equally just as tough or even tougher opponents as Farid. Kamel has fought, Somluck Kamsing, Attachai Fairtex and even the scariest or scary, Bovy Sor Udomsorn. Check out the Bovy vs Kamel fight. Bovy is an ANIMAL!!
Im not familiar with the other fighters. There are alot of new upcoming Thai's and also French fighers. Im pretty sure that Mr Thakoon's experience in Muaythai will make the matchups an amazing night of war! It's gonna be an awesome night come 26th of Feb 2010 in Lumpini. So if you are in Bangkok or heading up to Bangkok this is one night of fights you really don't wanna miss. I might actually fly up for the event. Im not sure yet!! =)
Once again another late update, my apologies everyone.
I've been actually trying to get myself back into the muaythai scene. As mentioned last year was a terribly disappointing year for me. So I've been calling around and asking promoters for dates. I've already gotten hold of some dates so far, so Im just trying to organize my life around it all now. Will try update as much as I can on Muaythai as possible.
One paticular event I'm very very keen to get on is Muaythai Challenger: Thailand vs The World. They just did their first offical event on Jan 16th 2009. With an amazing line up of fighters. Kaoklai Kaenorsing, Dzhabar Askerov, Antoine Pinto, Ramazan Ramazanov, Nonsai
As we all know Muaythai is no longer a sport dominated by just Thai people anymore. In recent years there have been some huge upsets with Thai's being beaten at their own game by fighters from Holland, France, Japan and even China (This one was mostly due to dodgy judging!!!! haha!!)
With the HUGE increase in popularity in the sport. At the IFMA World Championships last year countries like Mongolia,Iraq and a few others you've never heard of or even imagine would know of Muaythai sent teams to the tournament. Not to mention with more TV coverage from events worldwide and with the TV shows like my favourite international hit TV series =) The Contender Asia....It has taken Muaythai mainstream.
Nonsai (Previously known as Sritanongchai) AWSOME FIGHTER!!
It's all about PRIDE!! =) The idea now is for the Thai's to prove that they are still the toughest in the sport and that they can take on any challenger from all over the world. I honestly think that this is a GREAT way for the sport to be promoted. They do it at low levels in touristy areas in Phuket,Samui and other smaller islands already. I mean unless you are a serious Muaythai fan you'd be interested in watching two superstar Thai fighters slug it out at Lumpini or Rajadamnern. But if you're just an average joe out for a good night out and something touristy even. You'd definetly wanna be rooting for the Thai guy to bash the white guy!! OR you'd root for the white guy who could be a fellow countrymen to bash the thai guy!! Racial or Patriotism call it what ya want....it's action we wanna see at the end of the day!!!
Muaythai Challenger however is done in a much classier,cooler and edgier style at one of the high end shopping malls in Bkk, Siam Paragon. It's all about the atmosphere and not just FIGHTS.....The night is packed with DJs spinning good music, hip hop performance from the famous band "Thaitanium", sexy girls in skimpy outfits dancing. It's ALOT better than the usual dingy sweaty stadiums with gamblers shouting and all that. For a fighter you actually for once would feel like a PRO Fighter at an awesome event! Rather than a human version of dog fighting in some caged stadium with sweaty gamblers shouting like they've put every last penny they have on you!! On top of that prefight interviews with fighters, vids of them training, info's on their background. It's all designed to make the viewers and fans know more about the fighters and not just watch them bash it out in the ring. It builds a relation and a hype. It's all very well done....very Contender Asia / ESPN style if you see what I mean.
Dzhabar Askerov, my brother from another mother!
Abit more on the people who are doing Muaythai Challenger. The idea and event is put together by Elite Boxing, run by Toli Makris who has been staging worldwide events in Thailand,Switzerland,Macua and many other places. With his team and experience in staging events, they have now decided to team up with two of the biggest names in Muaythaim, The WMC and Onesongchai Promotions to now make them a real powerhouse in the name of promotions. WMC needs no introduction, run by Stephan Fox. WMC is the governing body of Muaythai....think FIFA but for Muaythai.
The 3 Powerhouse in Muaythai unite to promote the sport we love
Onesongchai deserves a brief intro about their legacy. They are the BIGGEST name in muaythai promotions in Thailand. Khun Songchai Ratanasuban is the man who started it all and has been running promotions for over 30years now. Back in the 80s and 90's he was the man known for matching up fighters that fans would love to see. Mr Songchai was known to be the best matchmaker in Thailand and the fights that he matched up were usually exciting or turn out to be epic battles that are talked about even til this day. People don't realize but matchmakers are VERY important. Knowing which fighter,what style, what technique and what people want to see MAKE A GOOD FIGHT!!! Mr Songchai did just that. Matching fighters and putting them to the test and limits.
30years down the road his two children, Khun Siraphop (Songchai Jr) and his sister Khun Pariyakorn are helping out with the business and keeping up with times and holding quality events and fights in Thailand and around the world. Doing the Kings and Queens birthday at Sa Nam Luang, Bangkok and also still running their Onesongchai nights out of Rajadamnern Stadium and at their own Bangkok Boxing Stadium on Saturdays. They are still keeping this family tradition and business very much alive.
A couple of years ago, it was really hard to find good fight videos of Muaythai. Back then no such thing as youtube!....The only way you could get to either go watch live...?? or to either ask people who used to live in Thailand to record it and send ya VHS and you'd have to convert it.......or you had to go to watch crappy recordings from your friends video camera whenever he went to watch fights in Thailand.
Onesongchai saw an opportunity and I think this was probably the best thing they ever did for the sport. They put out DVDs of fights from the golden era of muaythai that they promoted. All the epic battles from the fighters from the 80s and 90s were available in their OneSongchai Compilation. Someo f my favourite Thai fighters and foreign fighters were featured in the dvds, the likes of, Samart Payakaroon, Coban Lookchaomaesaitong , Samransak Meungsurin, Namkhabuan Nongeepayahut, Nokweed Davy, Sakmongkol Singmanasak, Jongsanan Fairtex, Ramon Dekker, Rob Kaman.
All those fights were just of a different calibur from today. I mean I still watch some of the old fights and just am amazed. You can even find some of the newer names in in Muaythai but at their peak of their careers. Buakaw, Sakadpetch, Anuwat, Bovy.....the list goes on. If you are a true muaythai fan and lover. Onesongchai compilation DVDs are the ones you wanna get hold of and watch.
I will try to get hold of Khun Siraphop soon and hopefully I can get a chance to interview him to tell us abit more about whats happening with Onesongchaiand their plans.
Well here are the results and some pictures from the event.
RESULTS ----------- Ali Yaakub (Malaysia) vs Sornthong Dennawee (Thailand) – TKO, 3rd round Zaza (Thailand) vs (Thailand) (Joey Lee of China was replaced last moment) – points Madsua (Thailand) vs Robbie Filiponi (Austrailia) – points Kaoklai (Thailand) vs Erik Kosztanko (Slovakia) – points Nonsai (Thailand) vs Dzhabar Askerov (Russia) – points Nopparat (Thailand) vs Antoine Pinto (France) – points Ramazan Ramazanov (Russia) vs Eduardo Maiorino (Brazil) – KO, first round
Look out for more on Muaythai Challenger. It's an AWESOME event!! Next time I'll definetly fly up to catch their events or even better, next time I wanna fight on their event!!
Sorry I know I said I'd try to write a write up before the end of the year. But that obviously went out the window!!! Was busy over the Xmas and New Year holidays. So much going on usually over this period. The diet and the healthy lifestyle is forgotten and Jan becomes a struggle to get back into gear! As much as I hate it...I fall into the same trap every time! D'OH!!!!
2009 has been a disaster for me in terms of fighting. I had 3 fights???? One in Phi Phi Islands, One in Phuket then lastly in Hongkong on the awesome Planet Battle! It was really demoralizing when I had 4 fights canceled in the middle of the year.
These two fights that got canceled annoyed me the most:
1) Contender Asia 2. They kept saying,"You'll be on the undercard next month when the filming starts no worries." And of course it's fucking 2010 and they still haven't started filming the show. There is talks of bringing it back to Singapore I've heard....But hmmm I remember at the finale they announced we are doing Season 2 here....then they moved it to Malaysia?????????? And now that it's not happening in Malaysia they wanna bring it back here??... Sounds like Singapore's just a crappy plan B to me. Any hows I really can't be arsed about Season 2 anymore. Imagine the other fighters who were selected for the show,they waited a whole year pushing back fights and canceling stuff waiting around for Season 2 to happen...now that SUCKS!!!
2) 2nd fight that got cancled and annoyed me was the one in Japan. I canceled a trip to Europe for my mom's birthday to take part in that fight in Japan....and of course it got canceled close to the date. That really pissed me off as that made me realize how unreliable promoters and muaythai can be sometimes.
On the topic of crappy promotions and promoters for 2009, how can we forget the wonderful Superfights or as I would call em SuperFucked promotions.....Having an international tournament cancel on the day itself. Thanks guys you really made Singapore proud and put us on the world map with such a shady and dodgy promotion!
2009 wasn't just about dodgy Muaythai events. In my free time this year I managed to do some pretty cool stuff too.
I was up in Koh Samui, Thailand for Jaymee Ong's wedding, I mean it's prolly still to this day THE BEST wedding I've ever attended. If you ever imagined a fairytale wedding on the beach...I think this would prolly be it =)
With time off fights,I decided to make the most of it and get paid for some DJ gigs this year. I managed to play at some very awesome venues and very cool events in Singapore and overseas. I played at Le Noir, Cafe Del Mar, Supperclub, F-1 Fuel Festival, Halloween at Azzura Sentosa, NYE at Azzura Sentosa with Seb Fontaine and Marshal Jefferson. Managed to DJ in Hush, Samui and Fallabella, Bangkok too this year! So I guess with all the bad stuff that happened in Muaythai....some good came out of it!!
Pictures and Flyers from the events I DJed at in 2009!!
I managed to get an uber cool sponsor for 2009. A surfwear company in Bali called 3rdborn. Run by an aussie,David Eagles who used to design for Quiksilver and finally left the company to pursue his own goals and dreams. Read more about 3rdborn here. http://www.zigzach.com/2009/05/new-super-cool-sponsor.html
3rdborn Tshirt and my DJ promoshot.
I managed to do some mediawhoring for myself too. Was also featured in a couple of magazine this year internationally. 2 articles in International Kickboxer and One that really kinda talked abit more about my past and more about me being an inspiration to others was the,"R U Menshealth" Challenge. Ok fine....some of the stuff we did on it was abit ...uhmmmm METROSEXUAL. Read more about it here, and go to the Menshealth site to read the articles. http://www.zigzach.com/2009/03/wish-weight.html
Words of wisdom from Zig Zach
2009 has had it's fair share of ups and downs. For my 2010's resolution, it's pretty simple. Im gonna try and get a couple of good fights this year. I've already been calling promoters and emailing around,trying to be abit more pro-active rather than just sitting back waiting for things to happen to me. I'm hoping to start by getting a warm up fight in Phuket. Get back in gear and take it from there. I kinda feel like I lost alot of the fire and passion for fighting when everything kept getting canceled and thins kept going wrong. Like I said...I dont wannt look back in couple of years down the road and regret not doing this....and not doing that for my career. So we just gotta wait and see.
Well the past is behind us and it's time to look forward.....new year, new start.
I was away for a week up in Bkk. Bkk known to many as the land of smiles, city of angels...or even sin city!! =) This was my first trip up there in a year...Im usually there every few months but this is prolly the longest I've ever been away from Bkk. Bkk is seriously like a second home to me. I know so many people there its like going home to familiar faces and surroundings. When Im there I speak Thai all the time,in taxi's, when Im going out to eat or even when I'm shopping around. I actually speak more thai than I do speak mandarin and bahasa!! It's weird....? I LOVE Bkk or just being anywhere in Thailand and I wish I could move back there!!
I was in Bkk for the WMC/IFMA World Champioships. Every year at the world champs it never fails to amaze me how big the sport is growing. ...new talents, and new countries show up every year. This year even Iraq managed to send a team! Going to the World champs is always so much fun. Catching up with old friends and fighters that I've even foguth before. I bumped into some of the boys from Contender Asia....Pitu, Jabba and even Trevor!! Was a pleasant surprise seeing him there.
I got back a week before the supposed Superfights: Lion City Grand Prix was supposed to happen. I was actually asked to fight on this show. But I turned it down for a number of reasons. One main reason being that one of the Organizers/Promoters is extremely SHADY!!! I have worked with him on 2 or 3 events and I have vowed NEVER to work with him again. I was actualy wondering at first if it was a good decision of mine to not fight on a home event. I mean it was a cool venue,and an amazing lineup that all my friends were on. Jabba,Naruepol,Madsua & Ramazan....I was beginning to wonder if I had done the right thing?
I mean to be honest I didn't really hear much about the Superfights event??...I mean I am a Pro fighter here and people were asking me for info and all...but to be honest I really didn't have a clue about anything. I occasionally heard some people mentioning an event...didn't know the dates...and were going on sistic to look for tickets and couldn't find it so who knows if it was happening.....?....When I did mentioned it to some people they'd be like,"REALLY there is an event??" I have heard more about Ian's White Collar Boxing event at the Padang on the 11th December 2009 more than I've heard about the Superfights. And Ian's event was a sellout!!!...and it was all AMATEUR boxers?!?!?!?!??!
And I mean as a event organizer/promoter. Wouldn't you kinda plan the schedule of your event abit more carefully and check to see if it clashes with anything around your dates?? One) Dec 11th was Ian's White Collar Boxing which was a sellout...meaning thats 700 - 800 ppl who WON'T go to your event already!!! I dont know many people who will pay to go and see two different events. Two) You've planned it on the same night as Zoukout.........??????????? SERIOUSLY??????????? I am a Professional fighter and muaythai is my LIFE.....but even I said,"Fuck that Im going to Zoukout!!" Zoukout released their date MONTHHHHHHHSSSS ago,what the F@#$ were they thinking????? Zoukout attracted a record number of 27000 people by the way!! I've got pretttty bad maths but I think so far that is 27,700 people already NOT attending his event!!!! Three) Superfights starts selling ticket on their website 2 weeks before the event date??????? Yeah great.......coz all of us have nothing to do and will gladly wait around til tickets come on sale!!!!! Retarded.........................
Lastly this is one thing,I've noticed from the very START of Muaythai events in Singapore. For some really odd,strange,ridiculously,stupid,fucked up reason...fight posters in Singapore always show one thing....and come press conf or fight night it's almost NEVER the same as who is on the poster!! I have fought in events internationally and I mean I usually see ONE or TWO changes in the fightcard rarely to the Main Fights.... but honestly Singapore's lineup always changes!!! I'm really not sure why it's like that here in SG??? Fucking disgraceful................
I feel horrible for fight fans in Singapore. I mean it's like paying to go see a concert or festival that advertises bands who will perform U2,Green Day,The Killers,Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Kasabian......and then only to turn up to the venue and get something like..........................The Backstreet Boys or fucking Boyzone and Take That all in one night!?!!?!
In the end the Superfight event got canceled on the very day itself. I feel so bad for fans here....and I feel even worse for fighters who have been training hard for their fights. I have never known of any muaythai events to be canceled on the day itself......and sadly it had to happen here in Singapore.
I think this was probably the BEST decision I've ever made in my career to not fight for this organizer/promoter. I will stand by my decision to NEVER work with him ever again......no matter how BIG the event is...how much TV Coverage the event is gonna get...no matter how much publicity or fame it will bring.........good luck to them and to those who work with him. I think this whole event has proved my point.
Alright guys,I'll update again soon. Can't believe it's almost 2010!!!! Where did 2009 go!?!?!??!
This is the poster for my seminar up in Shepparton! It's about 3 hours away from the main city!
