I had a really good session this morning as I ended up doing some really different things during my five rounds in the ring. I was in the ring with Pot and he was really focused on attacking me then having me counter which was a lot different to previous sessions which seemed more about wearing me down be doing multiple kicks and punches, more for endurance than having any practical fighting application.

Now that I've been here training for almost two weeks it's probably time that I gave a run down on my typical day at Sinbi.

6:30 am The alarm goes off and I bounce out of bed. Bounce would be an exaggeration its more a case of gingerly swinging my legs over the side of the bunk and then slowly applying weight to my feet, trying to sense which new muscles are hurting today. After the daily ablutions and guzzling some water I'm off for the morning run which takes anywhere from 25-35minutes depending on how I feel. The course is pretty standard and used by those at the camp who do run. It goes from the camp down the road to Nai Harn beach, around the lake and back its around six kilometers in total but at present I've only worked up to 4-5km. Its around 18-22degrees and the sun isn't fully up so it's quiet a pleasant trot.

Once I get back to the gym I wrap my hands, stretch any achy bits then commence shadow boxing in the gyms mirrors. Generally this is done as an individual exercise with trainers coming around correcting and perfecting your movements. At this stage I should point out that everything that is done in the gym is performed on time intervals. The time interval for each exercise is three minutes which is the time of a round in a Muay Thai fight. At the end of the 'round' a whistle is blown and everyone training in the gym drops and does either 10 pushups or 10 situps (usually alternating). There is a minute between rounds (as in a Muay Thai fight) and this is where you do your situps/pushups then catch your breath and have a drink! After you figure this out you get alot quicker at pushups.

The number of rounds you do shadow boxing depends on the number of people training in the gym at any given session. Generally as I start with the run its between three and five. At this point the trainer running the session tells you to go, put your gloves on and get in the ring with a trainer. The trainers are kitted out with hand pad (which generally cover their entire forearm), a waist belt with front padding and pads on both their shins (to protect us not them!). You basically get in the ring and wait for the whistle blow to start. At each session at Sinbi you do five rounds of this work with the trainer in the ring which is the length of a Muay Thai fight. You start each round by bowing to the trainer then the trainer calls what he wants you to do and displays the appropriate pad for you to hit/kick/elbow/knee usually in quick succession. Occasionally the trainer will throw a kick, punch or knee that needs to be blocked. I'm getting better at this but it takes time.

The trainer I'm with most in the ring is Ped who is very good at pushing me to the limits of endurance. Basically at the start of each round he gets my to thow 10 kicks on each leg in quick succession which really takes it out of me, if one is weak or I'm off balance in the return then I do it again. I must be getting fitter/better as now he gets me to do this and I'm not completely stuffed. Ped then starts rabiting onto a fellow trainer that is working in the same ring (braging about me?) which then results in me having to do another ten kicks on each leg with both trainers babbling at me - its quiet a comical situation and despite me being b*****ed it does bring on a smile. The other quiet comical even during the ring session is when I'm doing situps in between rounds Ped insists on smacking me in the stomach with the hand pad. I know this doesn't sound too funny but he sits there with a big smile on his face counting out the situp....then whack.......two, whack.........three, whack........four, whack.........by five I've generally got the giggles from the expression on his face which doesn't help the exercise but does help to get through the training.

Once the five rounds in the ring are finished I'm off to the heavy bags for three to five rounds on my own. I basically use this time to consolidate what ever I've been practicing/taught in the ring. After this mot people are finished with the trainers in the ring and the heavy bag endurance work starts. This usually starts with two rounds of fast punching with four people to a bag, it then degenerates to kicking endurance with everyone having a heavy bag and having to perform repititions of different kicks. A typical session has two sets of 100 knees and two sets of 100 push kicks then around 40-50 kicks on each leg done with a partner on a bag. Though each endurance set is at your own pace once all are finished there are group pushups and situps after each set. If Son is in a bag mood the number of pushups between the set increases to 20 and the situps from 20-50! Sometimes other exercises such as elbow strikes to the heavy back are inserted and the number of knees and kicks can always be increased.

After all this is done there are typically one of three tasks left. Either group stretching, sparring or clinching. The stretching is pretty straight forward - basically performed in a circle with everyone contributing one or two stretches which the group follows. The sparring is pretty good where students are matched up and get in the ring together. Its not fully contact but I generally wear a mouth guard as occasionally a stray punch gets through. As I mentioned in an earlier blog punches are the least of your worries with the main kicks aimed from the hips to the ribs it is more imperative to block these. Sparring is a huge mental game which is quiet tough at the end of training. The scary option is clinching. Basically your holding the opponent around the neck/shoulders and trying to control their weight while they try to do the same to you. Sounds easy? Well just to make it more difficult at the same time your both firing knee strikes into the opponents rib cage (obiviously not a full pace). Keeping grip, twisting away from knees, controlling the opponents body weight and trying to either grab their knee or sweep their leg is increadibly hard. Its great to hear the end of a clinching round.

The first session for the day is generally over between 9 and 9:30. I generally spend 15 minutes stretching before going back to my room for a cold shower, which feels fantastic. After this your pretty hungry and generally we get a group of 2-3 people together and head off down the road to one of the local Thai restaurants for breakfast. Standing up after sitting and eating is a challenge with your muscles now cooling down - keeping your face from falling forward into your food is also a challenge. The morning ritual then continues to the internet cafe to do the daily keeping in touch with home/blogging/news reading. After the internet its down to Nai Harn beach for a swim and relax I picked up a motor scooter last week which gives this additional option for training days (as its too bloody far to walk after training, especially in the heat of the day). After this home to lie around reading, watching TV or sleeping to await the afternoon session. Ocasionally I have a light lunch or a snack but it is very small as you don't want a full stomach for training.

At 4:00pm the second training session for the day commences. Some go for a run but I basically do some skipping to get warm (the temperature helps a lot). Then its a repeat of the morning session. This ends at around 6pm. The dinner ritual, similar to the breakfast ritual, less internet and beach is then observed. Bed by 9 ready to do it all the next day. The worrying thing is that it is becoming addictive.......scary huh?