Muay Thai Girls (Dec 10)





Elise and Christina learn the national sport of Thailand

Some may question the judgement of a mom who let's her girls learn Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand (akin to kick boxing in America).  I am going to choose to look at it as a part of Thai culture that both girls were totally thrilled about experiencing, and as an extra bonus a form of self defense for them against the weirdos of the world :-)  (And I can certainly count it as PE after all the sweat that poured forth from them tonight).

And yet, picture with me for a moment... a drive to a back alley of Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Soi dogs (alley dogs) roam across the streets as we pull into a halfway open air boxing joint.  Several motor cycles line the entry, and boxers begin to wander in and out.  While the facility is mainly open air, the aroma of a well used gym wafts towards you as your eyes soak in the boxing ring and rows of boxing gloves, then gradually meander further in to see the laundry line, of sorts, densly populated with boxing shorts and male under garments.  As you go to use the facilities in the back, you see the cock fighting rooster under the asian style hemi-spherical basket and it's no small wonder you need to bring your own toilet tissue.  This is where you are bringing your 11 and 13 year old daughters to experience Thai culture.  Let's just say this wasn't a drop off type situation :-)

The girls both started out with Mr. Ping (we didn't ask if he was named after the cute duck that swam in the Yangtze River :-) , warming up and learning some of the basic footwork of the sport.  They had to do some serious mental shifts, because so much of the karate they train in at home in California is vastly different in terms of body position, etc. 





It has only just begun...

After warming up, they each had their own private teacher working with them on technique -- and boy, did they WORK!!  They both were incredible -- both in mental focus and physical effort!

They proceeded to learn different punches, kicks, knee moves (I'm sure there's a techincal term but that's what it looked like to me), practicing on their coaches, the punching bags, and eventually entering the ring.  It was a full night -- 2 hours and 40 minutes of pretty much non-stop physical exertion.  I like to think the moral support and media work on the sidelines had a lot to do with their stick-to-it diligence, but I don't think so :-)  By the end of the night, Chrisitnas coach told Kev that when his 18 month old daughter is older, he wants her to be just  like Christina.  Both coaches as well as the other people in the gym (in addition to the peanut gallery pictured below) were super impressed with these California girls.  And two of my 5 body guards now know some new moves :-)  Good thing I am usually with 1 to 5 of them!

We are here to help...

A few pics of the girls' training:



Look at the guerilla with the tatoos, hat and chin guards... next to my baby!  Actually, he helped Elise a ton as he spoke English and was an incredible boxer.



Christina kicks it up... literally :-)