Junior’s New Target
(In this Photo: Fairtex Muay Thai Curved Pads, Fairtex BGV1 ONE)
There’s a new bout coming for Junior. The young athlete from Galasin is undefeated at ONE Lumpinee.
She recently defeated Emily Chong at the mecca of Muay Thai on points.
A new challenge awaits her. But fight life isn’t easy. Negativity and unhelpful thoughts can creep in.
“I can be negative, fighting is hard sometimes. Your fight can get moved or you will have problems,” Junior said.
The 52kg fighter faced problems already in her young career. She got dengue last year. It took her out of the ring. She’s also busy studying and trying to have a life.
To balance it all she tries to maintain a good attitude. Her key to psychological maintenance is simple.
“Also my secret is eating. If I’m sad or disappointed I eat moo grata or boba tea and I feel so much better,” Junior said.
Kendu Tired
(In This Photo: Fairtex BGV1 Red/Black/White Muay Thai Boxing Glove, HW2-Gray Handwraps)
The breaks between rounds are one minute long. The seconds go by quickly because the padwork rounds themselves are long. They are five minutes each.
Kendu Irving is very familiar with the long rounds. He’s been working with Kru Hern smashing away at the pads.
The morning runs, the padwork, the bagwork, the clinching, the sparring, the cycle… it’s making him tired.
How does he feel?
“Eh, it’s a universal sound for how I feel,” Irving said.
Kendu’s Training Camp
(In this Photo: Fairtex Muay Thai Curved Pads, Fairtex TP3 Thigh Pads)
NYC native fighter Kendu Irving is in the trenches. That means lots of working out and a moving target.
In Thailand, things change. Fight dates don’t always stay the same. Opponents switch.
“Originally I was supposed to fight the first of March. That was pushed to the end of the month, now it looks like the beginning of April,” Irving said.
Now though he’s got an opponent. He’s got a fixed date. The target is set. He’s just in the trenches for a little longer.
“It’s a little over three weeks. It was supposed to be in a week. That’s changed. I’m happy to have an opponent finally. It’s upped my motivation a little bit,” he said.
Maintaining motivation is crucial, especially for long camps. Irving’s last fight was in November. He took on Miao Aoqi from China. He blasted his opponent with body kicks in the first round. The tactic worked. He took an early lead. Irving was able to secure the points win at the end of the three round fight.
His next opponent is no slouch though. It will be announced soon.
Practicing The Wai Kru
Every year people get together to celebrate their teachers. The massive wai kru ceremony last year in Hua Hin saw over 3660 athletes perform. The previous record was 250 people. The performance was led by Buakaw Banchamek. Soldiers and fighters donned the red ropes, white mongkols, and prajiats to pay respect to their teachers.
This year Ferrari and Y2K will do the same. They will join a large group in Ayuttyah that will pay homage to their teachers.
In preparation Y2k and Ferrari practiced at the gym. The wai kru is standardized. There are movements that everyone will do together.
First athletes prostrate themselves three times. Then they scoop their hands and raise them to the sky. Then they move into a Hanuman pose. They pretend to break the clouds.
The list of instructions goes on. Most of it is reference to ancient Thai stories. Particularly those in the Ramakien. The legendary story is part of the Thai literary canon and was first written down in the 18th century.
Ferrari and Y2K aim to continue the tradition.
On The Road To Recovery
Shir Cohen pulled out from the fight. It was a big one. She was slated to take on Allycia Rodriguez for the ONE Championship belt.
But the Israeli fighter hurt her ankles. Then she trained on them. They hurt more. She trained more wanting to push through the pain and into the ring.
She wasn’t healed though so she was able to fight. She waited three weeks until she could train again. In the meantime she went to Physio.
“We go to take care of injuries,” Cohen said.
The doctor’s office in south Pattaya sees Fairtex fighters regularly. Stamp, Smilla, Ferrari, and more go there to take care of major injuries.
Shir went for ultrasound and laser treatment.
“They put on a hot pack, then we do all the other stuff,” Cohen said.
The hot pack warms her ankles. Then comes the Ultrasound after laser treatment.
When she went back to the gym Cohen started to work on the pads again.
“Yesterday I kicked for the first time, it was a little pain. It wasn’t dangerous pain. I just need to get used to it again,” she said.
Last Bit of Weight With Petchsongkom
(In This Photo: Fairtex VS3 Vinyl Sweat Suit
Rising star Petchsongkom cut weight for his bout at Fairtex Fight.
“It’s sabai, sabai,” he said.
He had to lose 6kgs in 1 day. His method is doing well for him though. He was 2-1 going into the bout at Lumpinee Stadium.
As usual, he didn’t know his opponent nor did he know his game plan for the fight.
“This fight I tried to improve my technique,” he said. “I don’t have a plan.”
What he did know was to have courage.
“My trainers just say to have confidence,” he said.
He fought and won at Lumpinee. He bested his opponent Sa Sothia from Mynamar in the very first round.
The confidence worked.
Author: Matt Lucas
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