muay thai

thai kickboxing

More notes on Kaoklai: he's definitely worth watching, and an interesting fighter.  He's very graceful, and tall and lean -- he's 6', if I'm not mistaken, and has fought everywhere from like 145 (hard to imagine; even at 5'9", 145 is pretty skinny) to 175.  He's also awesomely fast; his push kicks come out of nowhere.

I think he gets tossed on his butt (literally) a fair bit because he often fights guys signficantly heavier than himself.  IMO, though, I'd rather get tossed from a clinch than find myself stuck in a clinch getting pounded, LOL, and that seems to be what happens with him fairly often.  I've actually had that happen a couple of times sparring with MMA guys signficantly heavier than I am.

I will definitely check out women's MMA.  I've heard of LaRosa, Purcell, and Carano.  I wonder if women would hook up with UFC and WEC if they created some title fights for them?  It's too bad EliteXC went under.

I agree with you about my ex.  He was very much a control freak, and I think a lot of what attracted him to me in the beginning was that I was very young, naif, and inexperienced.  I was, at the time, also rather disinclined to make waves -- now, I'm usually happy to compromise, but if I feel like I'm being shafted, I won't just lie there and take it.  I tell people now that breaking up with me was the best thing he ever did for me, LOL -- it's just like you said; standing up for myself changed me; realizing I didn't need him changed me even more.  I still have an unfortunate tendency to be attracted to control freaks, though.  I suppose this is because I generally like aggressive, dominant guys (in part because I'm fairly aggressive and stubborn myself -- I need someone who can wrestle with me, mentally at least, LOL).  Clearly, I just need to find myself a gay MT or BJJ guy :D

Yeah ... as much as I love big dogs, I'm thinking that next time I have a dog, it's going to be no more than 25 or 30 lbs.  I <3 greyhounds, but I like to travel a lot and want to have a dog that's easy to bring with me.  I think I'm basically a nomad at heart.

Crap, I have to run to lunch.

I'll keep you posted on Robert's progress :D

I'm definitely going to check out Kaoklai.  That MuayThailand site was cool too.  I wish I could watch stuff here.  If air cards were cheaper I'd get one and bring my own laptop, then nothing would be blocked. I'll have to check into it, maybe the prices have come down.  It would make my life so much easier (and more entertaining of course) if 90% of internet wasn't blocked!

Good thinking on the dog.  I totally agree with you, that's the perfect size.  You can easily pick them up if something happens to them.  You can bring them anywhere, even if people don't want a dog in their house you can always bring a small crate, I had a popup cage for Nikki, it was awesome. She was diabetic so she needed 2 insulin shots a day so I had to bring her with me a lot.  I have a doggie door at home for KD, I love the doggie door.  We didn't teach Kayla how to go through it yet.  Not sure I want to.  Afraid she's going to injure herself or somehow get out of the yard.  KD wouldn't leave, even if the gate is open but Kayla can run so fast.

I had a good class last night, he's been kicking our butts lately, I think he's trying to get or cardio up for sparring.  The master said our gear will be in today (yay), I'll pick it up on Saturday.  Perfect timing because my toe/foot still hurts so the shin guards should help.  Boy, the guys were really razzing me last night.  They said they want to make up a secret move that they can all use against me.  WTF?!  They said they want to see if the master will let them all spar against me at one time. LOL!  

Wooha! on the sparring gear arrival!  :)  LMK how it goes.  So does IronBallz have to wear a cup?  :D  LOL on the guys all wanting to spar against you at once.  They must imagine there's safety in numbers, LOL.  You have obviously earned their respect!  Of course, this leads to all kinds of imaginings of chop-sockey goings on during sparring class, in which you systematically KO all your training buddies :D

Shin guards definitely have their merits where sparring is concerned.  You don't have to worry about mucking up each-others' legs if you're cracking away at full steam.  The only problem I've had with them is that if you wind up with a pair that's too long, the little flaps that protect the top of your foot become the world's biggest PITA, and slow your game way down.  (Of course, I wouldn't have this problem if I bought my own.  Sometimes I wind up with a loaner pair that is obviously intended for someone over 6' tall -- I have long legs for my height, but not THAT long!)

I'm in a fantastic mood today, though just a hair nervous about my doc's app't tmw because my left lung has been a bit, er, recalcitrant.  OTOH, I went for a nice long walk last night, which was fun if exhausting, and today got my crap together and went over to Humana (the other gym) with Joe from work.  I got my picture taken, got my locker, and a little badge-y thing (not sure what that bit does), and played on the elliptical trainer for 20 mins.  I tried to keep the intensity light.  Still, my lung is kind of burning now. 

I also took my albuterol rather too close to the time of my workout, and the heart rate monitor on my elliptical machine kept freaking out and telling me to slow down and reduce my heart rate, LOL.  I was waiting for it to say, "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAN -- YOU ARE GOING TO KILL YOURSELF" or something (it only has caps, and apparently no punctuation besides dashes).  In fact, my heart rate was never above 175, and would've been much slower if I'd had the sense to take my albuterol 20 mins ahead of time like I was supposed to, instead of 5 mins before my workout :D  I'm going to try to do 20 or 30 mins tomorrow, as well, but maybe I will do the treadmill instead of the elliptical.  And maybe I will bring earphones, so I can watch TV and ignore the readout :D

I love those pop-up crates for dogs.  I am ashamed to admit that I'm a sucker for pet accessories -- not that I would dress my dog up in doll clothes, or anything, but I'm all about the snazzy bowls and nifty crates and squeaky stuffed animals that look just like real mallards and stuff.  Oh, and dog-puppets.  Kia had a puppet that we named Norbert, and she loved it.  She was smart enough to figure out that when I stuck Norbert on my hand, it was okay to bite the Norbert-wearing hand, but not the other one.  She also had a stuffed triangle.  I have never quite understood the stuffed-geometric-object idea, but she loved it.  She also loved cats, who mostly tolerated her, except when she got pushy with the washing them.  Some cats don't like being schnorgled by dogs, LOL.

I think I am going to try to get a rescued Shiba Inu.  They seem to have personalities very similar to Kia, only in smaller packages (someone once described them as 'very fast cats,' LOL).  Plus, they have great faces.  That or else I will simply find a nice mini-mutt through Petsmart Charities.  I got both the 'Bats (FuzzBat and BruceBat) there, and I have never had a better pair of cats.

YES!  I can't wait to check out my gear, my head gear especially since it was so pricey (it's leather), at least I know it's a good piece of equipment.  The shin guards are vinyl, hope they're not too big like you mentioned, but they should be okay because I ordered my size.  And of course I'll get my mouth guard too.  Yes, IronBallz will be wearing a cup, they all have to, well now they really have to because of me, haha! It's hysterical that they all want to spar with me at once.  I was really surprised, I mean, I am the smallest person (other than the short guy but he's stronger) and although I'm muscular, the guys are definitely more muscular and powerful than me, but I do have the best endurance.  Oh yeah on the chop-sockey, they were already planning that, they said it'd be like Karate kid, when Ralph Macchio stood on his one leg at the end and kicked the bully guy in the face....LOL!  NICE!

I checked out the the Kaoklai vs Big Mo.  Awesome flying knee.  It was so quick I missed it, i love that.  I'll have to check out more of his fights.  It's funny seeing those two fight because Big Mo is way bigger!

Hope you make out good on your doctor apointment today.   I wondered, is the air quality in Louisville close to the air quality of NYC?  I know whenever I go to Manhattan my sinuses immediately swell and I can't breathe though my nose at all.  I hope Louisville isn't that bad. Cool about the gym, did you get to do 'gentle yoga'?  Be careful on that elliptical!  Or, be careful with that albuterol!

The pop up crate is cool!  It's a pain to fold it up into a little circle again but I was eventually able to do it.  We have many stuffed mallards, beavers, squirrels, etc.  Lots of dog toys.  I was never big on the accessories but since the greyhound has some special needs, its easy to get wrapped up in the cute collars and matching jackets.  Kayla needs some more fancy collars.  I guess I could get one for each season, LOL.  I've never seen a stuffed triangle, that's odd.   That's cool that you want to rescue a dog, we like to rescue too.  Shiba Inu's are very cute!

Happy Friday!

Yeah, as long as you got the right size, the shin guards should be fine :)

I would have to say that endurance really makes a difference in MT -- endurance and speed.  I think that's a tactical advantage for Kaoklai -- and heavier people usually fatigue before lighter people.  If you have skill and reasonable strength, a light build and good endurance can be real advantages.

Kaoklai's fight with Mighty Mo was definitely a good argument in favor of the idea that size isn't everything, LOL!  Mighty Mo is one huge dude.  Kaoklai looks like a middle-school kid by comparison (at least in terms of build).  His weight is give as 78.1 kg, which is 172.18 lbs.  OTOH, he's like 172.18 lbs of pure muscle, LOL.  Mighty Mo was 103.1 kg, which equates to 227.3 lbs.  I think it's rather awesome that Mighty Mo kind of throws him around like a ragdoll, and he still finds a way to knock the dude out :)

Oh, also, his sproingy victory dance is hilarious.

LOL, The Karate Kid is such a great movie.  It's corny as hell, of course, but I think that's what I like about it.  Plus it has that overwrought 80s soundtrack!  I <3 80s music.  So much of it is simply so over-the-top -- though, OTOH, it also has a lot going for it musically speaking.  The orchestrations are usually much more complex and refined than what we run into these days, and as a classically-trained musician, I appreciate that :D

I will definitely be careful on the elliptical and with the albuterol.  Unfortunately, my doctor's visit(s) yesterday didn't go to well.  My doc said my lungs sound worse than they did a week ago, so I'm still restricted to light exercise only.  My spirometry results weren't too hot either.  I had another chest x-ray, but it was late-ish by then, so I won't hear back about the results of that 'til Monday.

Greyhounds do have the best accessories, and you can put dog coats on them with impunity since they have so little body fat :D

The stuffed triangle that Kia had was in one of those impulse-buy bins at a Wal*Mart checkout.  I've never seen one before or since, LOL (I have seen other geometric objects, though).  It was so weird.  She loved it, though.

Yah -- rescue pets are the best :)  All the dogs we have had in my family have been rescue dogs.  We did have purebred cat once (a Persian with the well-earned moniker 'Susie Bruiser'), but she was a gift to my parents.  When I finally get around to having horses, I'm planning on buying ex-racehorses and retraining them.

I got to see my head gear and shin guards (I get to pick up the stuff tonight).  The head gear looks awesome!  It's really really good quality.  The shin guards I was able to at least hold up to my leg, they're definitely not too big.  We are also getting rib guards which should be in today and then of course I'll get my mouthpiece.  I thought I'd be able to pick it all up on Sat. but it wasn't all in yet so hopefully today everything will be in. YAY

Yeah I think endurance makes a big difference too.  The guys seem to get winded a lot quicker than me.  The one master always gives me my own bag for our bag work when we have an odd number of people.  IronBallz likes to make fun of me because of it....'oh sure you get special treatment'.  Well when I partner with these guys they usually need to take a break but I'm still fine.  I feel I need an edge over them so now I need to get my cardio up a bit more.  The 6' guy I sparred with last week was smack talking me.....he says to me....look, this is what I am going to do to your head next monday, he clinches the bag and knees it.   Good thing I'm not sensitive (but then again I think sensitive and muay thai don't go together-haha). 

Did you show Kaoklai & Might Mo to Cam?  Kaoklai is definitely all muscle. I have to check out more of his fights.  I was hoping to check out a bunch of stuff this weekend but I was really busy.  I have to get myself that air card so I can watch some of this stuff during the day instead of trying to remember what it is i need to do when I get home!  Oh yeah, the dance is cool too!

I bought tickets to an AC fight night in June.  I can't wait, it will be so much fun.  I then went over to the UFC site to see when the next UFC fight is because my brother in law wanted to get together and watch one of these fights.  Well I saw that in August UFC is going to go to Philly (not confirmed yet though).  I am going to try to get tickets for it, not sure what they'll cost...I'm sure it's an arm and two legs so we'll see.  UFC never has events on the east coast so I figure I'll try, it may be the one and only! 

That's cool that you want to retrain ex-racehorses.  It's so sad what they do to animals.  Rescues are the best.  I am going to be on the look out for the geometric shapes, I bet mine would like it too, it's definitely different!

I'm sorry to hear that you aren't doing better that really sucks!  I'll cross my fingers.  Hopefully you'll get good news.

You know, I really should show Kaoklai vs. Mighty Mo to Cam.  It might improve his appreciation of Muay Thai -- especially if I explain that clinching isn't allowed under K1 rules, but in an actual MT fight, in the clinch, Kaoklai would've had one heck of an arsenal to employ.

I think his 'victory dance' is extra cool because it's so ... well, spontaneous and goofy.  I mean, here's this super-serious looking guy who fights for a living, and has won dozens of fights against serious opponents, jumping up and down like a kid who just won his very first spelling bee.  BEST ... VICTORY DANCE ... EVAR!!!  I respect that!  Edit: Oh, and the look on his face struck me as very much, "OMG I WON!  I can't believe it!  I WON!"  LOL  ...and anyone who can get that happy about winning after winning as many fights as Kaoklai...

LOL -- 'special treatment,' sure.  For valuse of special treatment equal to working twice as hard :D

You're dead-on about sensitive and Muay Thai going not really going together, LOL!  One thing I really miss about Core right now is the completely insensitive atmosphere -- you know they respect you if they pick on you about stuff :D  Work is so very much the opposite of that (we've done sexual harassment training THREE TIMES since I've been here, never mind that we haven't had a sexual harassment incident in literally years), and it's so refreshing to be around people who just tell it like it is (and often then some, LOL). 

Did you ever see that old movie, A League of Their Own, with that great line, "There's no crying in baseball?"  LOL  Every time someone starts getting whiny, I'm always tempted to say, "There's no whining in Muay Thai!"  You can say that sort of thing in MT.  You can't do that just about anywhere else, LOL (I would bet that you can in BJJ, though :D).

Strangely, the only sport I've ever pursued that is basically insensitive (in a good way) as Muay Thai is horsemanship.  Working with 1,000-lb animals really tends to put things in perspective, LOL.  Of course, there are 'fanners' in horsemanship, too -- the people who don't groom, tack, feed, etc their own horses, and wouldn't muck a stall to save their lives -- but, for the most part, real horse people look on them very much like real MT people look on the 'fanners' of the MT world, LOL.

OMG!!!  If UFC does go to Philly, I'll have to see if I can A) go and B) afford tickets, LOL.  My sis lives in B'more and my Mom lives in CT, so Philly is sort of halfway between ... sort of :D  I'm thinking about moving back to CT anyway, though I'm now re-rethinking that plan -- I really don't want to have to hunt for a new doc, if I can avoid it, LOL.  A new gym I can find through Bullshido and word-of-'net, but a new doctor worth having is harder to locate, and I love mine.  If I have this lung problem licked by then (God, I hope I do, it would be insane not to have it licked by freaking August!), I might still pick up and do the move.  OTOH, if my ENT determines that I'm allergic to Kentucky and moving would help clear this up, that's a strong argument in favor of a move.

Yeay rescue pets!  LOL, if you're at WallyWorld, check the dollar bins near the checkout.  That's where you'll usually find the random, bizarre dog toys :D

It's UFC 101, they are looking at having it in the Wachovia Center in Philly, August 8.  It looks like a good fight card too.  I've only been following UFC for about a year but I happen to know most of the fighters on this card.  The one guy Kirk Pelligrino owns a gym in Pt Pleasant NJ so it would be cool to see a somewhat local guy!  I'm just hoping that the cheapest tickets are less than $300 (LOL).  I checked out the prices of the next UFC fight just to see what tickets go for and i see ticket prices of $400 but the cheap seats are probably sold out.  So then I was checking out Sherdog.com and I saw a thread where somebody was looking for the same ticket price info as me and somebody replied that they do sell cheap $50 tickets.  I hope because I don't think I'll be spending 300/400 per ticket, that's nuts!  My husband says lets go and get a hotel and stay over.  So I also checked out the hotel prices because I figure if there is a fight there then the hotel price will skyrocket and be sold out.  Right now the prices are about $100 for the night I was thinking about securing the hotel now just in case, then I can always cancel it later if they don't have the event or the tickets are too much.  I'm all about saving money and getting a bargain unless of course there's a cancellation fee!

You should show Cam that youtube video.  I saw it was a K1 fight, they don't allow elbows either, right?  Kaoklai definitely had a serious look on his face, it was cute when he did his dance.  When I was watching that Ring Girls movie, Gina Carano narrated it.  So she was narrating her first fight in Thailand, which was cool because in the beginning of the fight the Thai girls hits her and Gina falls.  So while she's narrating it, they stop the film when she falls and she says...Sh@t what I am doing and how did I get here!  Get up get up get up.....and i thought that was so funny because I can't imagine going to Thailand and getting in the ring, I think I would've thought the same thing....but hearing her say what she was thinking at that moment was really cool.  I wonder what Kaoklai thought when he was looking at Big Mo in the ring...

OMG ..no crying in baseball... I said that to somebody recently and they had no idea what i was talking about.  I think that all the time, but i hate when people don't get the reference!  Yeah that's the kind of thing we'd say in class too, ... there's no whining in Muay Thai! I also like to use 'waaaaaaaa' when people complain! LOL  Funny how work is different, I hear you on that.  It'd be nice if people could work how they play, there'd be a lot more respect.

That's funny about the fanners in horsemanship, but there's fanners in every field I guess.  You have to respect a 1,000 lb animal thats for sure.  I would think that the people who don't groom, tack, feed their horses aren't horseman at all, they would be horse owners I would think.  That's great that you love horses and want to be an animal vet.  I don't think i would be able to handle all the heartbreak.  I like animals more than people though....haha!

LOL!  I like animals more than people, too.  When I started college, I thought I wanted to be a neurologist, and work in the field of neurological research.  Then I realized I would still have to go to med school and work with (GASP!) lots of people with different kinds of ailments.  I really had to think about that :D

The thing I'm most worried about with veterinary medicine is not assaulting people who abuse animals.  I say that half-jokingly, but I am really afraid that it will be hard for me not to just punch people in the face at times.  OTOH, I think most vets and doctors struggle with this sort of issue.

I'm not worried about the people who neglect animals or even hurt them out of ignorance -- you'd be amazed how often people wind up neglecting or hurting horses, for example, simply because they don't know better, and also how often they clean up their act once they learn.  Likewise, the ones that wind up hording animals because they have emotional problems -- I can feel compassion for those people as well as for their animals.

It's the ones who intentionally torture or knowingly neglect animals that I literally wish to harm.  I would like to think that I'm 'civilized' enough to employ self-restraint, but now and then I wonder.  I get so freaking mad at people who intentionally torture animals, children, and the elderly, especially.  I try to remind myself that those people, too, are emotionally disturbed and should be objects of my compassion -- but, OTOH, compassion for their victims makes that harder to achieve.

With any luck, Muay Thai will help dispell any pent-up angst left over from that sort of thing, LOL.  I find intense physical activity very calming, and that it really does sort of take away whatever anger and stress I may be feeling.  (So, of course, right now I'm climbing the walls, LOL.)

It's awesome that your hubby wants to go to the fights with you!  I hope you guys can find affordable tickets.  It would be crazy if they didn't sell some for 'normal' people -- most of the MMA fans I know aren't exactly rolling in the dough, here.  I make more money than a lot of people I train with (Kentucky has a lower cost of living than most of the country, so we also get paid less /:).  I respect their commitment tremendously, and it would tick me off if they couldn't go to fights ever because of $300 or $400 ticket prices. 

Then again, it seems to be the American Way to price everything absolutely as high as the market will bear.  Not to say I'm for government regulation of pricing (well, except price-gouging, which I'm 100% certain is a sin), but I am for ethical self-regulation and that whole "Do Unto Others" bit, LOL.

Okay, I didn't mean this to turn into a diatribe :)  I'm a rather opinionated fellow -- you may have noticed this :D  I think "opinionated" is pretty much a given in people who do hard martial arts, though, LOL.  I think it goes with the personality that's attracted to getting punched in the face :D

I so have to see Ring Girls.  It sounds awesome -- and like the people involved are people I would really have to respect.

As for what Kaoklai was thinking ... LOL, good question.  Seasoned figther though you may be, it's gotta be something to step into the ring with a guy 55 lbs heavier than yourself.  OTOH, it's possible he was thinking, "Wow, this guy's tubby," or something, LOL.  However, the fact that he makes a point of staying out of range as much as possible tells me there's more to it than just that!  :D

Okay, I'll shut up now.

LOL!  Stick with the animals! OMG as a neurologist you would be dealing with a lot of nasty people, only because they don't feel good of course. I think it would be hard dealing with the people who neglect animals.  There was a special on National Geographic about the Michael Vick dogs, where they went (Dogtown) and what happened to them.  It was heartbreaking. 

I feel the same about exercise in general.  I notice a big difference in energy and mood, it just makes me feel better.  I like the intensity of MT too, I do find it calming, it relieves a lot of stress too.  I can imagine that you are going nuts!  What happened with your chest x-ray?  I'll check your journal.

I'm happy that my husband is willing to sit through the fights too!  I guess I'll just have to wait and see about the UFC in Philly.  Hopefully they'll make a decision soon.  I hope they don't gouge the prices of these tickets, it'll be really fun!  I'm looking forward to AC fights in June, already ordered those tickets.

So I got all my sparring equipment last night.  We didn't get to spar because it took so long to give out all the equipment and try it on.  The head gear is awesome, the shin guards are ok.  When I went home I put them both on and tried kicking and I can see how they will be moving around a lot.  I pulled them so tight that I thought I would be cutting off my circulation but at least they didn't move. They're good quality so I don't think I'll be getting bruises.  We also got a rib guard, the kind they use in TKD, we didn't get the full chest guard.  OMG I thought my face was going to melt off after about 2 minutes wearing the head gear!  Its going to be so very hot wearing all this gear especially this time of year!!  So next week sparring will be cool!   

Original Post by snoopini:

LOL!  Stick with the animals! OMG as a neurologist you would be dealing with a lot of nasty people, only because they don't feel good of course. 

LOL, yeah, there is that.  I think I wanted to be Oliver Sacks when I was a kid.  The connection I didn't make is that Oliver Sacks loves people, whereas I'm a misanthropic curmudgeon, LOL.

I am going to see if I can find the Dogtown special on the Intartubes.  I'm not sure if we get NG channel.  Dogtown is neat, though; I looked at NG's website about it and the Best Friends Animal Society website as well.  I was surprised to learn how much of a difference pet owner education has made since the 1980s!  Apparently, in the early 80s, we were euthanizing 17,000,000 animals a year simply because they were homeless, and now it's down to 5,000,000.  Admittedly, that still means we have a long, long way to go -- but what a difference!

I am sad to say, though, that in KY we still have a lot of people that won't neuter their dogs and cats because they don't want to 'deprive' them.  :::sigh:::  Really, people, they won't feel deprived.  Besides, it has been my experience that neutering your pets doesn't prevent them from having, erm, active romantic lives, LOL -- it just prevents most of the potential consequences thereof.

My doc hasn't called me about my chest x-ray, unless she left me a voicemail (my phone is what you might call 'hosed up,' and I am unable to check my voicemail /:), so I assume the results couldn't have been too horrible.  I would like to think she would call me if I was about to die and needed to go to the hospital, though you never know.  I have been coughing my brains out, which is either a good thing or a bad thing.  Of course, it's possible my doc is waiting for me to call her, or that the X-ray place didn't send the results over, or put the wrong name on them (I was "Brian" at school for a couple months once).  Maybe I should call them.  I will if I haven't heard back by tomorrow noon.

Today I got stir-crazy, so I played the slowest game of 'racquetball' ever (for values of racquetball meaing 'we didn't know the rules, so we hit the ball back and forth for a while') and even exercise that mild seems to have helped my mood, LOL.  To put it in perspective, this was not like racquetball in the movies.  It was more like 'slackerball.'  I mostly stood in one place and stuck my racquet out when the ball came close enough, LOL.  I'm sure it was very amusing to the racquetball enthusiasts wandering back and forth in the aisleway.  It was certainly amusing for Joe and me!  :D

I was grumpy, depressed, and crabby this morning.  Now I feel cheerful and cocky :D  I think I'm like a Shetland pony that way.  When I don't get enough exercise, I get bored, restless, crabby, and marginally destructive.  I look forward to being well again so I can get back to training and play real racquetball during my lunch breaks.

Physically, I still feel pretty horrible, because I'm feeling the effects of the weather, combined with my asthma being exacerbated and left lungs remaining inflamed as result of the pneumonia, but I suspect the mental game is going to be a large part of it for me, and I can't improve that if I don't do something.  When I start feeling like I'm weak and broken and can't do things, it makes me both very angry and very depressed -- so maybe slackerball will help :)  If I can at least feel like I'm doing something, I think I might recover faster.  At least, that's my theory.

It sounds like you got good shin guards.  It can be hard to find just the right adjustment so they stay put but don't cut off your circulation with some of them, but from what I understand that eases as they break in.  I've never used rib guards or headgear, but it sounds like they ordered good stuff for you guys, which is cool.  I fear that I would feel claustrophobic in headgear, LOL, and can't even imagine how hot it would get.  AFAIK, we train without A/C at Core -- at least, the A/C has never been on when I was there.  LOL, I think if anyone ever asked to turn it on, they'd be like, "They don't train with AC in Thailand."  And then the requestor would wind up with a nickname like "AC" or something, LOL.

Your husband sounds awesome.  He doesn't have a gay brother, by any chance?  :D

Correction: I played the slowest game of racquetball ever played on squash court, LOL.  The proper racquetball courts were full.  I like squash better, but there were no squash racquets.

LOL! I'm a curmudgeon myself!  I speak from my own crankiness of going to the doctor.  I felt bad for my neurologist because I was in so much pain and he had no answers for me, just try different drugs but that's what they learn.  I believe the food allergies gave me daily migraines since they mysteriously disappeared about 4 months after eliminating foods.  The neurologist wouldn't have thought to test for food allergies, and my primary doctor couldn't figure it out so he sent me to the neurologist.   Good thing I decided to test myself!

Dogtown is awesome!  They actually had a spin off show after the Michael Vick special that was all about Dogtown and the animals they rehabilitate.  I haven't seen it in a while so I think it was only one season, it was a great show.  Makes you want to do something like that. Also, Dog Whisperer is a great show.  Cesear Milan is awesome I've gotten a lot of good tips from him. I'm glad euthanizing has decreased, I didn't know it was that high.  I don't get people WRT the neuter/spaying, there's plenty of unwanted animals in the world, why make more?  yeah and what does that have to do with 'depriving' them...yeah it deprives them of cancers and puppies.   

Sucks that you are coughing more.  The allergens are horrible this year.  You must feel especially bad now with all the allergens and your asthma and pneumonia too.....uggggghh!  Every year it gets worse.  Last week I had a sinus infection, I think it's better (got that from spreading grass seed).  Now, I have a cough, but its not constant, its occasional but its a really really deep cough and it hurts.  I have a doctor appt next week so I'll have to let him know.  I don't have any trouble working out but I've been more tired latey but not exhausted, somewhere in between.  Probably just my allergies but I just want to make sure it doesn't turn into something which is usually what happens.  I hate not being able to exercise, I feel it really improves my mood and gives me more energy.  I think I'm addicted to the endorphins at this point. 

The shin guards do look awesome.  They are better than the ones the TKD class use, they are hard, not foam.  I think tonight I'm going to gear up at home and try to do some bag work just to get used to it.  He picked out really good stuff for us.  I laugh because it reminds me of Bullshido where they say rate your dojo and they have the category of excessive safety equipment....haha. I know it has to do with the insurance. OMG the head gear IS claustrophobic, and in 2 minutes I thought I would melt and it wasn't even hot out yet nor was I moving!  A/C?? The amount of A/C that you would need to cool the place down would cost a phenominal amount of money.  I know they have A/C on at my place but it never feels like it's below 80, I think it just cuts down on the humidity.  "A/C?  There's no A/C in Thailand!!"  We'll see what happens on Monday I'll probably melt:::help me I'm melting:::

Class was pretty good last night.  He was teaching us hook kicks because he said we could use them in sparring, so we spent a bunch of time on it, doing it slow, then using pads, then doing combos with hook kicks, so I kind of cooled down during this.  Then, OMG, did he make up for it during bag work.  I was really having trouble at the end.  Ever since we started sparring he's been kicking our butts. 

LOL, no gay brother.  I have a gay sister but that doesn't help you any!

What's the difference between squash and raquetball?  I know I would love it!

Squash vs. Racquetball: Squash has simpler rules, a softer ball (sometimes), and longer racquets.  At least, I think the rules are simpler, LOL.  However, both are generally played in big human fish tanks, with racquets and goggles :D  They're also both a great workout.  I <3 racquetball and squash, but hadn't played since I was like 12.  Joe and I wound up playing some weird combination of squash and racquetball rules; I looked up the rules for both when we got back, so we'll probably just play one or the other next time :D  I think you'd love either or both.

I totally hear you about being addicted to endorphins, LOL -- I felt so awesome yesterday when we got done fighting with our giant balloon (I wrote about that in my journal).  I know what you mean, btw, about wanting to make sure things don't turn into something -- I have a bad habit of waiting until it's too late, so I think I'm going to try to learn to be better about that :D  I definitely believe that exercise improves my mood and gives me more energy -- and it's calmer energy.  I'm pretty hyperactive.  I realized a few months ago that there's always the one annoying guy at any given meeting who literally can't sit still -- and that I'm always that guy, LOL.  I am much more able to be still and concentrate when I can train.

Yeah, it would cost an arm and a leg to A/C Core (though if Wal*Mart can do it...LOL) -- and I think fighting in the heat benefits us ... um ... right?  'Cause, it's hot in the ring ... and in Thailand ... so ... errrr...

As you can probably tell, the one thing in the world about which I am most spectularly wussy is heat, LOL.  (So where did I move?  THE SOUTH, where it's hot like seven months out of the year.  Not bright.  Though, at least I didn't move to, say, Georgia or Florida.)

Too bad about your hubby not having a gay brother, LOL!  I guess I'll have to find one on my own :D  My sister occasionally makes noises about hooking me up with one of her Johns Hopkins crew, but they all live in B'more or the DC Metro.  Great place to visit, but I would die within two years if I lived there, LOL!

OohooH!  I also ahve nifty news!  I'm doing a website for Alex Stiebling!!!  I'm stupidly excited about this.  It's not a huge project, even, it's just cool to actually be doing some freelance work (and for an actual UFC fighter OMG OMG OMG, LOL!).

Err.  Pardon me, I think I'm going to have to go squee now :D

I always thought Racquetball looked cool and I knew Squash was similar but wasn't sure the difference.  I used to like to hit a tennis ball against a wall when I was a kid, I figure it's similar.

I read all about your pegasus adventure!  Sounds like fun being in a parade (without the wind of course)!  How was Louisville during all the festivites for the Kentucky Derby?!  Bet it's crazy there!!

How cool about the website!! Congrats!!!  Good luck with it!!  It is very exciting indeed!  You'll have to send me the link when you're done.  You'll get a good laugh out of this....I was looking up Alex Steibling on the internet (at my work) and usually when I do a search on google, I am able to look up the 'cached' version of page without being blocked.  Well when I did the google search on Alex Steibling, it was immediately blocked and it was filtered for 'shopping'.  Huh, WTF?  So I searched Steibling UFC, I did all types of search and still blocked, weird I thought.  So I went to wikipedia to look (which isn't blocked) and again blocked, this time it said it was blocked under the shopping category because of the search word 'bling'.....Steibling has the word 'bling' in it.   Now that's some serious serious web blocking!  Anyway, 'Bling' had a fight with my favorite Anderson Silva a while ago, who by the way was just added to the UFC 101 in Philly (Silva that is) so I absolutely have to go now and he's moving up in weight class to hopefully have an entertaining fight this time (not a title fight).

How are your lungs?  I hope you are getting better.

EDIT - UPDATE:  Well last night I got to spar with my gear on.  The gear is awesome!  The shin guards are great!  My shins don't hurt at all today (although they probably should be conditioned to some degree). The head gear makes your face sweat A LOT, but it wasn't as hard to breathe as I thought it would be.  We sparred the whole class which was cool.  He was teaching us some sparring drills which was cool, hard, but really cool!  I got clocked in the head quite a few times and my big 6' friend kicked me in the back by mistake but nothing hurt. I got to spar with all the guys (except one because he wasn't there).  So hopefully we'll do it every Monday like that unless of course the non-sparrers and/or fanners show up, haha!

OMG serious LOLs on Alex Stiebling being blocked for 'Shopping!'  LOL, Stie-BLING.  I will have to mention that to him.  Oh -- yeah, Silva won that fight, but I think it's pretty cool that I actually know a guy who went toe-to-toe with him :D  I hope you do get to go to UFC 101 and see him fight!  That would be awesome!

I don't know how you survive with the head gear.  I think it would make me crazy.  I would have to recite my 'building mental/physical toughness' mantra 80 times a minute.

I apologize for my absence -- Cameron brought home some kind of virus, so I have had a fever and felt awful pretty much all week.  I'm starting to feel a little better, though I'm irritated, because it's yet another setback.

I'm glad your class went well on Saturday, btw.  You have a good point about melting off those winter pounds!  And I'm so with you about FL.  I might not mind visiting -- in February, LOL.

All right, I'm going to keep this short ... just wrote a really long blog, and I seem to have run out of brainpower.  Argh.

I know isn't it funny about the 'bling'...haha!  I looked up that Steibling vs Silva fight and watched it on YouTube!  It was exciting just because I know that you know him!  Yeah how cool is that that you actually know that guy!  Good luck with the website! 

Oh I'm definitely going to UFC just waiting for the tickets to go on sale.  Even if the cheapest seats are $100 bucks, we're going.  I don't expect to be going to too many other UFC venues due to location so it will be well worth it!  Plus Silva's on the card and it isn't a title fight for him so it will be more entertaining I think.  Can't wait!

You know the head gear isn't too bad.  I was surprised.  It wasn't as hard to breathe as I thought it would be (but I have been working on my cardio lately) and it does protect your head/face a lot.  I feel a little bit more relaxed with the gear on, not as much on edge as if my next punch is going to accidently break somebody's nose. You really don't need a mouth guard either because the face guard covers your mouth.  I have a custom one (for grinding my teeth at night from the dentist) and I just started wearing that one, it's similar and I figure it fits my mouth, why not use it.  The cheapy one that I bought made me drool and gag, haha, I think it was too big or something.  Anyway about the head gear, I really didn't think one's face could sweat as much as it does in that thing, it's amazing!! 

Sucks that you got sick again (saw your journal entry)! I so know how that is.  If somebody at work had a cold, I would get bronchitis.  Who wants to be sick all the time, it really blows.  And, you've been sick for a really long time now.  I feel bad for you.

I've been pretty good this year with sicknesses ::::knocking wood right now::::: Two sinus infections instead of 12, and no antibiotics as opposed to normally taking about 15 rounds throughout the year.  It's my new doctor, probably because I go so much and take 10 million supplements a day, just saw him yesterday, I'm hoping one day there will be a time when I go for a blood test and nothing it wrong!!  There's always something that's low or off, very frustrating.... My body just does not absorb stuff, it's unbelievable!  If I have to take any more supplements I'm going to need a brief case!  But, I really can't complain because I've never felt better, so if I need to take 20 million supplements a day I will!

Take care and get better!!  Muay Thai awaits......

Hey!

I don't know if you have cable, but if you do, the Discovery Channel has a show you might find interesting on Wednesday night.

At 8 PM, TimeWarp airs its "Physics of Fighting" episode.  Based on the ads, it looks like they're focusing on Muay Thai and MMA (most of what I saw in the ad was definitely MT).

TimeWarp is kind of goofy, but fun.  The premise is simple: they record all kinds of stuff on a high-speed camera, then play it back in slow motion so you can see what happens.  Their oeuvre thus far has ranged from explosions (of course) to dogs shaking themselves dry to Cirque du Soleil doing ... well, what Cirque du Soleil does.  I catch the show now and then because it comes on before MythBusters.  They seem to have some kind of vendetta against melons and baloons :)

At any rate, it looks promising, and I believe a reasonable amount of produce will be sacrificed to the Muay Thai gods.  Looks like it should be fun :)

If you don't have cable, I'll see if I can find it online.  I would offer to record it, but I don't have a recording device :(  I need to buy a DVD-burner for my TV.

Edit: Oh yeah -- I'm planning on trying bag class again on Saturday.  It's been a long dang time, but I've been feeling pretty good of late.

Wish me luck!

Cool! I have Discovery, I'll have to check it out or I'll just have my DVR record it.  Sounds really interesting, I wouldn't even mind watching the dog shake in slo mo.  It actually sounds familiar, I may have seen a commercial for it.  Thanks for the heads up!

Good luck with bag class!  Boy it has been a long time!  That's great that you are feeling good enough to get back into it.  You must be so psyched!!  GOOD LUCK!!

It wouldn't surprise me at all if you've seen the ads for TimeWarp.  The slow-mo dog episodes are always fun; they've had a couple.

I am definitely psyched about going back to Core this weekend, but also a hair on the nervous side -- not because I think Trey is going to pick on me (because he is, LOL), but because I'm not 100% sure I'm up to the task, and I'm not sure I have the nards to step away from the bag for a couple of minutes if I need to.  OTOH, if I don't start doing it now, I'm never going to learn, right?

I hope your health is still doing better than average, and that your blood work is being less frustrating :)  My health does seem to be improving, finally, which is good.  If I don't push things too hard and I keep taking my meds, I think I'll be okay.  I've decided to stay in Louisville for the time being -- primarily because moving now would be too chaotic -- but I have decided that leaving Louisville is ultimately going to be an imperative, once I finish my degree.  I'll be relocating within the area in mid-August (OMG!OMG!OMG!), so I'm going to try to pick a part of town with tons of trees. 

I was telling my husband about TimeWarp and he reminded me that we had watched an episode where they slowed up Metallica.  It was a really cool show.  I didn't get to check it out this past Wednesday, I forgot to set it up to record.  We were on vacation in Colorado last week, boy it was really nice out there.  I'll have to check the internet to see if I can find that episode with the MT.

So tell me how was Core?!  It's been a week since I went to class because I went away so I'm looking forward to tonight (plus its sparring night)!

Glad you're health is improving finally!  Moving sucks, good luck finding a place!  That stinks that you will have to be leaving Louisville eventually, I know you like it there.  OMG Colorado was so nice I'd like to live there.  We stayed in Denver, in the city, which was cool.  We also took a ride to Boulder and that also looked nice.  Everybody in Denver was cool and they knew what gluten was so it was actually easier to eat out for me there than home.  But, I didn't have my kitchen at the hotel so it was like being on a diet, which is not a bad thing since I lost a couple pounds!  Oh, and Denver has a large male gay community.

My health has been okay, I go to see the doc tomorrow.  I will be getting some new blood test results, not looking forward to it, so I'll see what tomorrow brings.  I think my thyroid is still off too.  I'll see what he says.