Reflection of a Fighter

Here is a guest post from our very own fighter Adrien "Kaew" Team Quest Thailand. Adrien reflects on the ups and downs this year he has went through.

"My fight on Saturday night will be my last fight of this year. Losing by TKO in round one was not the way I would have liked to finish my year and I am pretty pissed off by my performance. But when I sat down and thought about it afterward, I have no regrets. I had to think about how I started this year and how I ended it to understand. I started training Muay Thai just over a year and a half ago without any martial arts background at all. I just came to Thailand to travel and started training Muay Thai for fun. I decided to give it my all and put all my heart into this sport, because for once in my life I had found something I really enjoyed. I had one goal in mind, if I trained hard every day trying to get better I could one day be a professional.

After only 1 year I was given the opportunity to fight at one of Muay Thais most prestigious Stadiums: Lumpinee. My dream came true when I stepped in the ring, I didn't feel any pressure and I had a big smile on my face. After that first fight things started to move very fast, the level of my opponents increased exponentially. When I entered the Kai Yan Ha Dao Tournament, I was a huge underdog and no one expected me to win 1 fight. Fighting beside fighters with 200 to 300 fights, some of them champions, I also doubted I could win as well. But I was willing to try and put all of my heart and energy into my training and the fight. I ended up placing 2^nd in my group, winning 2 times and losing once. Giving me the chance to go to the semi finals, something I had never thought I would achieve. Then I hit a wall, the wall that is in front of me right now, this hindrance, I will overcome it for my own sake. I will do as I always do, keep aiming for the top, until there is nothing left above me! 15 fights this year, 11 wins and 4 losses, at the greatest level of Muay Thai. Now it's time to take a break and rest my body. I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year, and always remember to follow your dreams is the only way to happiness!

Adrien "Kaew" Team Quest Thailand"

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No Secrets, Just Hard Work.

Something I find interesting is that I am always hearing foreigners make comments about how the Thai's are not training scientifically. I hear stuff like, “Oh man, if they implemented a strength and conditioning program into there training they would be so much better.” Another great one is “The Thai's training methods are outdated.” Yeah there is always room for improvements but the bottom line is that it comes down to putting in the work, not some special new training methods. They have found something that works and at this point they are still producing the highest level fighters.

I think people forget that these fighters are not just fighters, they are professional athletes the same as any high level athlete. They know their body and what they need to do to prepare for competition. Muay Thai training is very sport specific. When you kick a bag you are getting resistance which is going to force your muscles to get broken down and repair better to yield greater results. It's not the same as say basketball when if you want to jump to dunk a basketball. You can jump as much as you want but there is no resistance that is going to force your muscles to get broken down and repair so they produce better results unless you implement some kind of strength and conditioning program.

HongTongLek Chor Farpleansee Working Hard.

Another great one I hear from recreational athletes is “The run is to long, more than 20 minutes can be counterproductive.” So ultimately what happens is students try to make excuses and skip the running thinking that nobody notices. Everybody, including your trainers notice. Yeah that is fine to skip the run if you are just a recreational trainee and not a professional athlete. For some reason that is unknown to me people are assuming the Thai's are running for cardiovascular reasons. But a nice jog isn't by itself going to get their cardio to the next level. People are missing the point completely why the Thai's are using this training method. Most Thai's are trying to fight as the lowest weight they can just like MMA fighters. This is a good method for keeping your weight down. But the main reason they are running is because running excites your nervous system ultimately giving you more bounce in your step and lightness on your toes.

I had the opportunity to work with Mike Dolce for a number or years back when I was at Team Quest in Portland. For those of you who are not familiar with Mike he is the the most sought after nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach in MMA. He has worked with the likes of Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Thiago Alves, Jake Ellenburger, and many more. Basically he knows his stuff. I think Mike said it best, he said that among his athletes the ones that did their runs were the ones that still had the bounce and lightness on their toes by the later rounds.

Basically my point is there is no “magic training methods”. If you want to be the best you have to do what is already working but do it right and consistent. It's the same as anything else, you have to put in the hard work to get the results you want.  

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