By: Nazir Keshvani, travel writer, editor and film maker.
‘Come tomorrow at 6.30am for morning run. The fighters run from Patong to Kamala but you can start off just running in Kamala,’ said Tim Fisher, owner of Sitsongpeenong Phuket Muay Thai. My heart dropped when I heard these words. I was in total bad shape at 98.8kg and had not been exercising regularly. No stamina at all! I thought I could start off jogging on my own first before officially training but there was no escaping.
‘Ok,’ I replied feebly, wondering how I am going to survive Muay Thai training – 2 sessions a day for 2 hours each session.
The reason I let myself go and just piled on weight was because I couldn’t afford Muay Thai training. Apart from surfing lessons, Stand Up paddleboard and occasional runs, I lost the motivation to keep in shape. I kept telling myself that it’s no point because I can never be as slim as the Thai girls and there was no way any guy would be interested in me. Negative self-talk was a norm for me.
One day, while I was on my solo trip in Myanmar, an email changed my life. At first, I was skeptical that a total stranger was willing to sponsor my Muay Thai training so that I can achieve my bucket list to lose weight and fight at least once in Thailand. Bhavesh Lakhani, owner of Vision Migration, made it possible by paying 75% of my training fees while I paid the rest. Tim Fisher offered me a generous special long term training rate. I am greatly indebted to this two men. Being back in the Muay Thai world gave my life a new meaning and a boost to my confidence.
Getting back into training had not been easy. Jogging hurt my feet and my body ached so much daily. I was thankful that I started training during the school holidays so I had the chance to nap after morning training and then peel my body off bed for afternoon training. During the first week, I had to have a thai massage almost everyday to help with the cramps and sore muscles. Some mornings, I had to limp off bed.
When I started going for my morning jogs, the Kamala community was shocked. Students, parents and teachers’ jaws dropped to see me jogging. Then, they cheered me on! From 1.5km, I can run 3.2km and possibly more if I was not conserving energy for Muay Thai training.
The trainers at Sitsongpeenong Phuket, Sayannoi, Sakultong, Pettawee and Pipa pushed me hard! These trainers were former champions of Lumpinee and Rachadernnern and I feel honoured to be trained by them.
‘Knee faster and higher, Ms Shit!’ Sayannoi shouted at me.
Why the name Ms Shit? That’s my fight name. Shit Sitsongpeenong from Sisaket province. When I first started doing padwork, I kept saying shit everytime I did something wrong. After about a month of training, Sayannoi asked what ‘shit’ means and he laughed when he knew. From then on, the nickname was stuck.
Training is tough at Sitsongpeenong and certainly not a gym for looking good and pretty. 100% of the time I was looking like a mad woman with my hair in a mess after 30 minutes of clinching or sparing and dripping in my own and my opponents’ sweat. Disgusting I know but it’s part of the team bonding.
I was honoured to be part of the first group of students to use the new Sitsongpeenong gym in Surin Soi 4. I was the first person to do padwork on the new ring! The first drop of sweat on the ring was mine! It is just 2 minutes by bike from beautiful Surin beach
My weight started out at 98.8kg in late October 2014 and two weeks ago, in on Jan 12, it was 91kg. It was demoralizing at first to see very slow weight loss on the scale but suddenly the numbers went down. Now, I prefer not to be so concerned with the numbers on the scale because muscles weigh heavier than fats. Many commented I look much slimmer now but the weight loss journey is far from over. I aim to be 70kg and that’s about 21 more kilos. I will persevere to get to this weight!
Blog Reference: http://shahshahidna.blogspot.co.id/2015/01/my-weight-loss-journey-sitsongpeenong.html?m=1
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