Random Thoughts
April 4th, 2012
Call it peak hour, rush hour or the time to catch the train. It’s known the world over as gridlock and has contributed to more the one outburst of rage. In Bangkok more than any other city I’ve visited, to be in a car on any road between the hours of three and seven pm is a decision to be made with your sanity in mind. It’s absolute kaos out there during those hours and the sweltering heat mixed with pollution is a nasty combination.
On the flip side however when you simply must travel and want an alternative to the train system, I highly recommend jumping on the back of a motorbike taxi. When the traffic is jammed up for miles and horns are sounded out across the city, a pure sense of freedom is felt zipping in an out of the cars and busses on the back of a scooter. Keep in mind this is for the adventurous spirit as the masters of the two wheeled rockets are professors of their trade and come within inches of death over and over again. I have just arrived at my destination after one such adventure and feel the tingly sensation that accompanies the joy/fear of a journey through Bangkok on a Motorbike.
I tip the master of two wheels and his face lights up. Little does he know that for five dollars he’s given me an afternoon adventure and shown me the freedom of traffic.
March 5th, 2012
The 120kg barbell was crushing my chest, I shifted its weight down to my rib cage and a thought to scream for help entered my mind, when it hit my stomach I didn’t know If I’d be able to stop it from slicing me in two. With my last pinch of strength I shifted it to my thighs where I shuffled it inch by inch over my knee sending it crashing to the floor.
The last time I bit off more than I could chew and almost killed myself doing Bench Press I was 15 years old in my Parents Shed. History repeated itself this morning after 12 years of training and countless thousands of reps the bar nearly got me at Tiger Muay Thai training camp. A beginners mistake or over confidence, I should have had a spotter for a 1rep max on Bench or at least set up the safety rails.
I sat for a moment and giggled to myself, I was glad I didn’t yell for help but even more so that I wasn’t injured. To recover from the disappointment and injury to the Ego I loaded the bar with an achievable weight and finished my Bench Session. Afterwards I felt charged and decided to hit a workout called Fight Gone Bad.
Fight Gone Bad
5 Exercises completed for 1min each, rest 1 min, repeated three times for a total rep count. The exercises were-
Box Jumps – 20Inches
Wall Balls – 9kg with a 10ft Target
Sumo Deadlift High Pulls – Barbell with 35kg
Push Press – 35kg
Row – Calories counted
Score – 428 Reps
This is my highest score ever for Fight Gone Bad and puts me up there with some of the best guys in the world for this workout. So even though I made a schoolboy error in training that could have turned serious during Bench Press, I backed it up with a top level performance. Everyone has their bad days but to achieve your goals you have to stay focused and push on through it all. Bring on tomorrow. OLOC
January 4th, 2012
I had spent three days in Bangkok, the capital of a country I have grown to love when I had a realisation. I was standing in one of the biggest shopping centers in the Southern Hemisphere called MBK, about to decide whether to see a movie general entry or VIP seating when I was hit by a thought, All this isn’t real,.
We are all caught up in this circus of life and are institutionalized into believing in products, systems and ideals that really have no importance or carry significant impact to our evolution as a species.
I left MBK to go and sit on it’s steps and watch the masses walk by in the latest gucci and sucking back on Mcdonalds drinks, and started planning my assault on the real.
I pulled out my notebook and wrote down points to remember during my expedition to Antarctica. Then I went through goals for after a successful trip and how I can best deliver everything I’ve learnt to anyone that would take the time to listen.Isn’t this what evolution is supposed to be. Humans striving to do impossible tasks and then teaching everyone how we can all achieve it.
I know this is starting to sound like something out of the matrix but these were my thoughts today and never afraid to share they are now yours, let’s use them, improve them and evolve together.
January 5th, 2012
How I first came across Tiger Muay Thai is a commonly depressing yet encouraging story. I was living in London a few years ago, 24 years of age, enjoying all aspects of what the big English city had to offer. I was training hard, working hard but playing very hard. Their came a point when the endless festivals, clubs and pubs got the better of me and I needed to get out before I took a further spiral down past rock bottom. I called a close friend for help and he told me about a place in thailand where I could go and train to clear my head, I booked a flight on the spot and 24hrs later I arrived on the doorsteps of Tiger Muay Thai.
Tiger is a place that offers all the facilities an aspiring athlete would need to achieve their dreams, but one thing sets it apart from all other places in the world, it’s people.
Over breakfast any day of the week I could be sitting next to a champion muay thai fighter, a coke addict here to get clean, soldiers fresh from a tour of Afghanistan, a nephew of the shiek of Omar and a high powered banking executive who has just quit her job in search of a better life. It’s the people that guided me back on track, a world of knowledge and experiences right their at your fingertips.
Tiger helped me help myself at a crucial time in my life, I have been back many times in the past three years and have now taken up a position as their Crossfit coach for the forseable future.
We as humans are a product of our environments, no matter how strong we think we are. Some of my old London crew are now in jail and some are even dead. I have gone on to achieve things in life that seemed the stuff of dreams and will continue to do so unflinching for the rest of my days.
When you are surrounded by 300 people all striving to better themselves and reach their goals you become a product of Tiger Muay Thai and that’s a product destined for greatness. Join us anytime.
Luke Richmond, Adventurer, Crossfit Coach