Welcome to the blog! I’m here today to show you another great boxing film. For you information, boxing movies are the only sport related movies that have won so many awards. And you don’t want to miss all the good stuff.

Fighting Tommy Riley, directed by Eddie O’Flaherty and written by J.P. Davis, is a story about a getting old trainer, Marty Goldberg who has been suffering with the work that’s not right for him and searching for a way out until one day he found Tommy, a young man with raw talent but also has destructive behavior who can help him out. The two finally work together and gain what the two have been looking for, the value and the sensation of living.

To see the trailer, you can go to http://fightingtommyriley.com/trailer.html or YouTube.

A lot of people like this movie and of course some might not. I would have to say that if you like the Million Dollar Baby, you might like this one too. It’s just this is a gay version of it, I think.

However, the performances were pretty good. This might not be the best boxing movie ever, but all the casts did a really great job, especially Eddie Jones who played the trainer. He did make a lot of people who have watched it speechless.

So check out this film. But hey don’t come back and say that I didn’t warn you this is quite a gay movie. I’m making this really clear here ok? Marty, the trainer is gay. Just him, not the boxer. So don’t see it if you are sure that you wouldn’t appreciate it for sure. But the movie is really good and quite emotional tho’. I don’t want you to just miss this opportunity. Why don’t you give it a try?

Now is the best time for Thai lesson. I’ve had some trouble arranging the blog lately and I try to figure out where I should fit this article. I don’t want to cut such as useful lesson like our Learning Thai lesson here out because I realize how important a little bit of knowledge of Thai will help you out a lot once you come to this country.

So if you have time to learn a tiny bit of Thai and pay attention to it, only just a few times a month, you will be surprise when you know the outcome when you arrive in Thailand.

Today I want to teach you how to ask someone to borrow him or her something. Thinking of some situations like when you go to the gym and you forget something really important, say Hand Wraps, you have got to know how to say it to your Thai friend.

Now, to say “Can I borrow your….?” in Thai is “Pom/Chan Koh Yeum ….. Noi Dai Mai” What you have to do is just to fill in the blank, what you need to borrow. Let’s stick with the situation that you forgot your hand wraps. You would want to ask your friend “Can I borrow your hand wraps?”. In Thai we say “Pom/Chan Kho Yeum Pa Pan Meu Noi Dai Mai”. That easy! And as you can see, the word for Hand Wraps in Thai is “Pa Pan Meu” which literally means “cloth-wrap-hand”, hand wraps.

A bit of review, the different between Pom and Chan, when you would want to say Pom and when you have to say Chan. Well the two words define the sex of the speaker. If you are a guy, you say “Pom” and if you are a girl, you say “Chan”. You don’t want to say it wrong, do you?

See you next time with the next Thai lesson here! I really recommend you to use online EN-TH dictionary and learn some new words that will go along with the lesson. And practice saying it over and over to memorize. That will help learning Thai for you even easier!

That’s right! Today we are continuing with the Muay Thai’s Cherng Sok or the Elbow moves in Thai Boxing. If you’re learning and practicing Muay thai right now, this will be really useful so you can learn the new move along way.

I recommend you to ask your trainer of Thai boxing in case you don’t understand and don’t get the picture of how to perform the move clearly. Don’t keep all those questions you want to ask with yourself. And your personal trainer would be the best person you check and correct your move.

Today’s move is called PRA YAIKAE or the Swinging Elbow. Shall we start by looking at what it is then how to deal with it?

Used for attack, defense, or escape, this technique is done by shifting the body weight from the left foot to the right as the right foot is stepped forward. The feet, hips, and shoulders should all move in a coordinated manner and at the same time in order to deliver the maximum possible force for this action. The boxer then swings the tip of the right elbow and uses it to hit the opponent’s jaws. The elbow is the sharpest part of the body and may cause severe cuts, or swelling. When the jaws are struck by the elbow, the opponent is likely subjected to extreme pain.

To Attack: The left arm must be used to wipe the oncoming elbow attack. It can also be thrown to the left side to keep the oncoming elbow attack at bay.

To Defense: Throw your shin or knee to the right rib of the opponent. This move is the same as what you would use for the technique SOK FAN NAH (Front Elbow Strike). In case the boxer is left-handed, reverse the Attacking and countering movements to the other side.

Come back for more Muay Thai lessons right here in this blog!

It’s August and there are a lot of things you can do in Thailand during this great month. Here is another good activity you and your friends or family can join while visiting Thailand this month.

The event is called “Artistic Work Event Program on the theme of “Visit Lanna”". The activity starts on August 14 to August 24, only 10 days so you better be hurry if you want to go see the beautiful culture of the North of Thailand with your own eyes.

The Venue is at Royal Chiang Mai Agricultural Research Center (World Horicultural Plants) in Mae Hia, Muang ChiangMai District and of course in the most famous province from the North, Chiang Mai.

The opening event is on the first day, August 14 at 18.00-19.00. The activities on Rajapreuk Square start at 16.00. Now let’s see what are the activities and shows in this event.

Kaad Mua Khrua Hom is a presentation of the market of Lanna people, by the way, Lanna people are the people from the Lanna Culture which is the Culture of the North of Thailand. Anyway the market presented here is local and traditional.

Stage for Major Shows: The shows are featuring local traditions and culture of Lanna. The shows are 4-region cultural shows and contemporary plays, such as, Jumping Bird Show, King-ka-ra Bird Dance and Khru Ka-Wai Sword Dance.

The Works of Art Road or also known as Chiang Mai Pedestrian Road is another great place to visit on which the activities assemble all works of art for presenting and selling and displaying to anyone to see like Lanna music performance, real-life paintings, works of art by students, artistic inventions from really skillful artists and craftsmen.

There are a lot more you can see in this event. So don’t forget if you are already planning to go to Chiang Mai this month. And if you still don’t have any clue where to go, THIS might be another good choice of yours. And you will find lots of local handicrafts for your friends and family back home.

If you need more information, please go to www.tourismthailand.org

It’s time for the next best boxing gym on planet! Today we are moving to the next country New Zealand. This is one of the best gyms in New Zealand.

I went to the website and I spotted this quote below of the first page of the site. “Champions aren’t made in gyms, champions are made from something they have deep inside them- a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” Anyone recognizes whose this is? Yeah it does belong to the great and the legend, Muhammad Ali.

Ok back to the gym! Shamrock Boxing Association has knowledgeable Committee in charge of promoting the sport, BOXING in their local which is the area of East and South Auckland, New Zealand. It’s said this is a non-profit association that will provide the people in the area and maybe around the chance to know more about boxing and an opportunity to get fit.

The gym located on Assn premises caters for Amateur and Professional Boxing and giving local kids the opportunity to have tuition comparable with the International Standards. The young men and women will be inspired with sportsmanship and code of ethics that they are needed to live in today’s society.

The coaches are professional based on their licenses from the Assn. Their techniques are based on proved American methods.

And just like a lot of boxing gyms today, supporting female boxing is really important. The gym also has specific sessions especially for local women who want to improve their fitness and conditioning and learn self-defense.

If you’re interested, please visit the website at http://www.shamrockboxing.co.nz/

See you next time with the next best Boxing Gym!