A different side of Thailand

[UbonThani]

People who have been molested would also find your comments highly offensive. Disgusting actually. Comparing that to sport is a disgrace.

 

You should delete those remas for apologise.

 

You would if you had any morals.

 

What a disgraceful comment.

[Orton Rd]

It all about exploiting kids for money, not about sport, no better than sending a girl to a bar

 

 

[Nakmuay887]

9 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Just as much child abuse as sexual abuse, stupidity on the roads and other nonsense is NOT and excuse for this cruelty

 

 

The remarks about child abuse and sexual abuse are pretty classless in my opinion. Fortunately I'm not you and my opinion doesn't matter. 

 

Any time you want to have a battle of wits about the safety of Thai boxing or combat sports in Thailand I'll be all ears. But I don't suggest that, it's very obvious you'd be coming into this debate intellectually unarmed and without experience, knowledge or fact. 

[JustAnotherHun]

Though I don't like sports like MT or boxing at all, I have to say:

Go on man. You're doing a great job. Long may you run!

[Nakmuay887]

3 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

It all about exploiting kids for money, not about sport, no better than sending a girl to a bar

 

 

Who am I exploiting? My return on investment? 0. The money I've earned doing this? - 80k baht by now considering I have shouldered most if not all of the expenses myself and I take no part of the money they earn. Neither does anyone else. Every baht they earn is their own. 

 

They've learned about the importance of saving money, they now have money, they are being educated and they are learning that just because they were dealt the absolute worst hand of cards in their lives that they mean something. That if they work hard at something they have a great life. 

 

What have YOU ever done to help anyone here? 

[Gecko123]

Have to admit I wasn't even aware that Thailand had a network of sports schools. According to the attached article, besides mental and physical development of the students, the government's hope is to develop athletes to compete in Olympics, Asean Games, Sea Games. https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/กีฬาโรงเรียนกีฬาแห่งประเทศไทย

 

Would be curious to know what the academic standards at the Mae Sot school are like.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, Nakmuay887 said:

It's coming up on 7 months that I've been up north coaching and helping out where I'm needed. 

Wow! That's a lot after 7 months of Thailand.

I wish you all the best.

 

And I hope you don't get too ambitious. Because I am sure that at some point some influential Thais will decided that that farang has too much influence and needs to be show his place. I hope that never happens to you but after 20 years in Thailand I heard too many stories without a happy ending.

 

All the best!

[Nakmuay887]

1 minute ago, Gecko123 said:

Have to admit I wasn't even aware that Thailand had a network of sports schools. According to the attached article, besides mental and physical development of the students, the government's hope is to develop athletes to compete in Olympics, Asean Games, Sea Games. https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/กีฬาโรงเรียนกีฬาแห่งประเทศไทย

 

Would be curious to know what the academic standards at the Mae Sot school are like.

It's quite a new thing here, they almost look at it like a trade school in some ways. In fact I had applied to simply be an English teacher next door but one of the teachers knew me from boxing in lampang so they asked if I would coach instead 

 

There's a lot of talk about Muay Thai finally being brought into the Olympics and Thailand is obviously gunning hard for that. 

 

I'd say they are on par with their peers in terms of intelligence. They are certainly more disciplined. They are in fact likely more disciplined than most of us. It's not an easy life for them. 

 

The kids at the sports school have a much better life than the kids at the boarding house that's for sure. 

[Nakmuay887]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Wow! That's a lot after 7 months of Thailand.

I wish you all the best.

 

And I hope you don't get too ambitious. Because I am sure that at some point some influential Thais will decided that that farang has too much influence and needs to be show his place. I hope that never happens to you but after 20 years in Thailand I heard too many stories without a happy ending.

 

All the best!

I'm starting to see it more and more and I still get strung along in many regards but I'm aware of it and careful to not be blindsided the best I can. I'm certain that I mean more to the kids than the adults around me. I've been treated at times as the person who will pick up the slack for the other coach when he's nursing a hangover or fighting with his girlfriend. 

 

He wants to head back to China to teach boxing because it pays so much more. Part of me hope that happens too so I can be solely in charge of the program. 

 

It's been a fun ride so far, but always working on a backup plan nearby if it does head south. 

[androokery]

Are you looking to be applauded for this? Kids doing Muay Thai is basically child abuse. There must be more worthwhile activities for them. 

[UbonThani]

1 minute ago, androokery said:

Are you looking to be applauded for this? Kids doing Muay Thai is basically child abuse. There must be more worthwhile activities for them. 

Rubbish. People with narrow minds dont belong in Thailand.

[androokery]

48 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

Complete lefty bs. Boxing causes brain damage not muay thai. MT is mostly kicking to legs and body.

You display a scary level of ignorance wherever your comments pop up. And even if you were correct, you don't see an issue with the type of kneeing in the kidneys that is quite common in muay thai?

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, Nakmuay887 said:

He wants to head back to China to teach boxing because it pays so much more. Part of me hope that happens too so I can be solely in charge of the program.

He will be back after you build them up and he will claim to be responsible for everything.

And hopefully that is only my imagination, hopefully.

[Orton Rd]

45 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

People die in rugby every year champ. You want to ban it?

 

Time for you to wake up.

If 13 years old kids are dying from playing any sport then YES, especially where they are being exploited by adults for gambling and win fees and where no head protection is used- this should not be happening in the 21st century.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Orton Rd

[Nakmuay887]

3 minutes ago, androokery said:

Are you looking to be applauded for this? Kids doing Muay Thai is basically child abuse. There must be more worthwhile activities for them. 

Not in the least. 

 

Can you name some more worthwhile activities that children in Thailand get up to? Especially ones with little to no family and family structure? As I've said in previous posts, I didn't invent Muay Thai or Lethwei. You'd have to go back several hundred years to find the culprits. Are you even slightly aware of how big boxing is in Thailand? 

 

If we go by your opinion that means every sport for every child in the world is child abuse. These kids aren't being forced to do anything. At least not here with me. 

 

 

[nikmar]

Serious question, my 12 year old does muay thai training with a thai coach on a one on one basis. He enjoys it and I enjoy the fact that he's doing an activity that is healthy and not connected to an i-pad or phone. 

 

But he is a little slow in his movements. The coach pushes him to speed up but he always starts working slowly again. Do you have any ideas i could maybe instill into him. maybe speed specific excercises? Grateful for any advice.

[androokery]

3 minutes ago, Nakmuay887 said:

Not in the least. 

 

Can you name some more worthwhile activities that children in Thailand get up to? Especially ones with little to no family and family structure? As I've said in previous posts, I didn't invent Muay Thai or Lethwei. You'd have to go back several hundred years to find the culprits. Are you even slightly aware of how big boxing is in Thailand? 

 

If we go by your opinion that means every sport for every child in the world is child abuse. These kids aren't being forced to do anything. At least not here with me. 

 

 

There are sports where the violence is NOT the central part of the activity. Sure, people get hurt playing football and running in the forests and ice skating. But the main purpose of those activities is NOT hurting the other participants.

The argument that it helps pay the bills is a weak one. As others have pointed out, that is not how we judge if the activity is good for the kids. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by androokery

[UbonThani]

2 minutes ago, androokery said:

You understand that you are arguing FOR violence towards and between kids based on the argument that it's a sport? And your strongest arguments are:

a) I am weak and stupid and
b) kids are hurt in other sports

Wouldn't it make sense to try and protect the kids in all their activities rather than go down the "whataboutthisotherthingoverhere" route?

You are preaching nonsense. Non sporting people never have any idea. People die in rugby matches at all ages.

 

People die running on the road or cycling down a hill at all ages.

 

"Do gooders" are really just a waste of space. No idea about what they preach.

[Nakmuay887]

1 minute ago, nikmar said:

Serious question, my 12 year old does muay thai training with a thai coach on a one on one basis. He enjoys it and I enjoy the fact that he's doing an activity that is healthy and not connected to an i-pad or phone. 

 

But he is a little slow in his movements. The coach pushes him to speed up but he always starts working slowly again. Do you have any ideas i could maybe instill into him. maybe speed specific excercises? Grateful for any advice.

I'm surprised as that. In an actual fight in Thailand the first 2 rounds are mostly play and a feeling out process. It's kind of sabai sabai in that regard. They fight t the rhythm of the music. It's picks up in round 3 and then round 4 is usually the hardest one. If one fighter is way ahead by this point they often don't fight much at all in the 5th. 

 

Try having them throw his strikes on the pads with less power for now. He might be loading up his shots a bit much which causes him to fire slower as he's tensing up beforehand. 

 

Without actually seeing him train I wouldn't know. Is he standing very flat footed? 

[Orton Rd]

7 minutes ago, Nakmuay887 said:

Not in the least. 

 

Can you name some more worthwhile activities that children in Thailand get up to? Especially ones with little to no family and family structure? As I've said in previous posts, I didn't invent Muay Thai or Lethwei. You'd have to go back several hundred years to find the culprits. Are you even slightly aware of how big boxing is in Thailand? 

 

If we go by your opinion that means every sport for every child in the world is child abuse. These kids aren't being forced to do anything. At least not here with me. 

 

 

Music and dance, Thais have a genius for it and there are so many genres throughout the country. Anything would be better than brutal, violent muay Thai which is not in the least worthwhile, unless you are making money from it. Sport for kids, if it's safe and they are not being exploited by gambling is not child abuse, muay Thai for very young kids is certainly not safe, and anyone denying the proven dangers involved are deluding themselves and helping to endorse this exploitation.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Orton Rd

[UbonThani]

5 minutes ago, nikmar said:

Serious question, my 12 year old does muay thai training with a thai coach on a one on one basis. He enjoys it and I enjoy the fact that he's doing an activity that is healthy and not connected to an i-pad or phone. 

 

But he is a little slow in his movements. The coach pushes him to speed up but he always starts working slowly again. Do you have any ideas i could maybe instill into him. maybe speed specific excercises? Grateful for any advice.

Skipping. That's what most fighters do. Playing video games can also improve reaction time.

Of course the do gooders say vgs are bad too.

[androokery]

2 minutes ago, UbonThani said:

You are preaching nonsense. Non sporting people never have any idea. People die in rugby matches at all ages.

 

People die running on the road or cycling down a hill at all ages.

 

"Do gooders" are really just a waste of space. No idea about what they preach.

So that's a "no"? Kids should not be protected in any way and can engage in any kind of activity (a "sport") since all manner of other activities are also potentially unsafe? Are you overdoing some testosterone treatment or are you always this aggressive? 

[nikmar]

2 minutes ago, Nakmuay887 said:

I'm surprised as that. In an actual fight in Thailand the first 2 rounds are mostly play and a feeling out process. It's kind of sabai sabai in that regard. They fight t the rhythm of the music. It's picks up in round 3 and then round 4 is usually the hardest one. If one fighter is way ahead by this point they often don't fight much at all in the 5th. 

 

Try having them throw his strikes on the pads with less power for now. He might be loading up his shots a bit much which causes him to fire slower as he's tensing up beforehand. 

 

Without actually seeing him train I wouldn't know. Is he standing very flat footed? 

not flat footed as ive seen but will try what youve suggested. Thanks for advice

[UbonThani]

1 minute ago, androokery said:

So that's a "no"? Kids should not be protected in any way and can engage in any kind of activity (a "sport") since all manner of other activities are also potentially unsafe? Are you overdoing some testosterone treatment or are you always this aggressive? 

They are protected. That's what gloves are for.

[Aussiepeter]

Two lines from the movie "Platoon" fit this situation well and cover different posters 'going at each other' like there is no tomorrow, so please calm down ! The first line is when one soldier says "opinions are like axxx-holes, everybody has one" (true) and secondly (and more important) is when Sgt Barnes says "there is the way it ought to be and then, there is the way it is" ! The way it ought to be is that all Thai kids, Australian kids, Lao kids etc should have a good life and family upbringing - then there is "the way it is". Reality. Kids whose parents are dropkicks, druggies or worse still, dead ! I have been to the area the OP is talking about. From 1993 to 1996 I was an Officer in a foreign army that assisted in Thailand with both the border patrol (Tor Chor Dor) and the RTA. The Karen and other hill tribes in this particular border area have had to put up with rape and murder by the Tatmadaw  (the Burmese army) and being treated as second level by the 'locals' for umpteen years. I personally think that anyone who can offer any help to often abandoned, parentless or destitute kids in a border area, no matter what help, is far better than kids living on a rubbish tip and just surviving or worse, turning to drugs. The area in question was heavily landmined and often these kids have seen it all. Parents with legs blown off, or just dead. There are arguments both for and against Muay Thai, but at least the kids are doing something. Shortly after I left the army and married my Thai wife, a Thai general 'asked me' if I would consider teaching English in his sister's (private) primary school in C Mai, as I am near fluent in northern Thai (and you do not say "No" to a Thai general). As a special-forces trained Officer I had a uni degree, but my talents were hardly kindergarten stuff. Most that knew me said that I would not last two weeks as a school teacher, but I stayed on for thirteen years and proved them all wrong, until the "air" in CM gave me cancer of the throat. I lived in LOS for over 25 years and after all the bonking I did there in 93-96, I owed the country something. Give this bloke some credit - cos he ain't doing it for the money.

[stouricks]

1 hour ago, Nakmuay887 said:

They fight t the rhythm of the music

You call that row MUSIC.

I was led to believe that the 'musicians' follow the fight, not vise-versa.

[gunderhill]

2 hours ago, Nakmuay887 said:

Thai boxing has been around for hundreds of years before me and hundreds of years after me and is as ingrained in this culture as much as Buddhism itself in many areas

So you think because its ingrained its just fine, well so is  genital  mutilation in some countries.

[Orton Rd]

It's Cambodian in origin, not Thai

[UbonThani]

8 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

It's Cambodian in origin, not Thai

Actually that's just one theory. Muay Thai comes from Muay Boran and prior to that stick fighting.

 

Kymer fighting is not the same.

[Orton Rd]

Ancient 'Cambodian' art form or child abuse? needs to be banned completely for under 15's and then only with head guards or no kicks to the head allowed. Used to live in a condo at Bang Na where a famous old fighter lived, now broke and with obvious brain damage, very sad.