WTF Am I Doing Here?

… is what I think to myself as a tatted-up Zangief repeatedly cuffs me on the head during sparring practice. 

I’m part of the AKA Thailand Muay Thai training program for a month, and am baffled how I ended up here. 

The original plan was that Allen would enroll in a month-long martial arts program, and I would enroll in a month-long beach bum program. Yet somehow Day One came, and I found myself saying “I’ll join too” … All of a sudden I’m panting on the floor doing conditioning drills in the mid-afternoon swelter.

So then, WTF am I doing here?

Perhaps this is another instance of Allen’s bad influence or my impulsiveness. But I prefer to believe that sometimes the universe leads you somewhere and you just know you’re supposed to say yes. It’s a massive coincidence that life led us to travel, and a friend of a friend mentioned this place to Allen, and all of a sudden I’m here with a one-of-a-kind opportunity. The timing just feels right.

You don’t always get to choose your “perfect” opportunities. Life is unpredictable. But there is a “perfect” opportunity in every situation for the open-minded and opportunistic. Even if it doesn’t make perfect logical sense, these little opportunities can change the trajectory of a life.

Anyways, here I am!! I’ve signed up for 8+ hours of Muay Thai a week (which isn’t much considering Allen’s is at least double that).

This place is not my usual vibe. It’s an open air gym with two raised boxing rings and lined with punching bags. It smells like rubbery sweat and mountain breeze. The hills sing with the sounds of grunts, smacks, and pump-up music all day long. At sunset, the stadium lights flood on and the work continues.

The biggest cause for pause is how I am so physically out of my league. I count more abs on my shirtless classmates than is physiologically probable. They look like muscular anatomy models, if anatomy models could jab, punch, elbow, hook, knee, and jump-kick. 

I’m also intimidated by sparring with my (female) classmates. The first time I got punched in the eye, I nearly cried more out of shock than anything else. Since then, I’ve improved at keeping cool under pressure. I don’t get combat opportunities in everyday life, and never knew what it felt like to have someone coming after you swinging and kicking.

But I now do :) and anticipate seeing what other growth I can make this month.