Day 32

Woke up and wasn't feeling 100% so skipped morning training. Lana and Elly stopped by and they weren't training either. After they left I alternated between reading and staring at the ceiling and then Lana came by again. She was waiting on her taxi to take her back to London and cold weather. We talked about her work in personal training and one of her clients is the architect of one of the buildings which will replace the world trade center. We exchanged info and said goodbye and after that Linda came by and we went to lunch at Jimmy's. We both had appointments with the Doc so we headed to Kata for some full contact healing. Elly came by too. She fights on Thursday and has a tear or something in her arm. I just did acupuncture today. I don't think it yielded the same results as when he brings out his torture devices and I will probably be going back to him a few more times before I leave. Got back in time for afternoon Muay Thai. No MMA today as Gaz and Dan both went on a visa run. There was a new trainer today - Chanman, a Fairtex trainer/fighter. After warmup he offered to wrap my hands and this meant he would be my trainer for the day. We did a few rounds of padwork and I was starting to like his style. Right away I was getting hit in the head for keeping my hands too low. If I stayed too close after throwing a combo his punches and kicks would remind me. He kept me on my toes constantly. Once he called out "1,2" which means a jab and a cross. I threw the jab and while throwing the cross realized the target was gone and was actually at that moment hitting me in the head. At the end of the last round I had to do five kicks with my right leg. I think I was too slow because on kick five he kicked my left leg out from under me and I ate canvas. He sent me to do bagwork for three rounds while he held pads for someone else. When he called me back in the ring he was putting his gloves on and I didn't know what to think. When the bell rung I found out we were sparring. The next few rounds were a barrage of head shots, body shots, getting my legs kicked out from under me and getting front kicked against the ropes. By the end I felt like my head movement had improved alot and I was ducking and weaving past alot of punches. As I said, different trainers have different styles in their technique and their training styles are also varied. Some focus alot on combinations and cardio, some on correcting technique. I feel like Chanman will really me help me alot on blocking, movement, and speed. This was the first time I almost threw up... although I think it was the strikes and not the workout. Brutal. I love it. I prepaid for 5 privates and start tomorrow. I will remember to bring my mouthpiece in the future though. After class I went to the internet cafe and used the road that is under construction. I started passing a car and was suddenly headed straight for the business end of a steamroller which was heading towards me. I didn't think I had enough time to brake without getting squished so I went ahead and gunned it and luckily made it past the car before the steamroller made it to me. I thought it was hilarious and had to laugh because it was like something out of a cartoon.