Update

Hey everyone,
As some of you may have heard major protests in Bangkok have stopped. The Red Shirts have returned to their homes and the government has seemed to have made some small compromises. The Red Shirts are still under heavy pressure to hand over their leader former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the current government but no agreement has been reached. For now the violence has stopped and the people of Thailand can now begin to work constructively toward a resolution.
On the other hand, I spoke with Tuk Rawai (Head Instructor of Rawai Muay Thai) and everything is "everyday normal" in Phuket. His fighters are still training everyday and preparing for fights. He also said that none of the political turmoil had reached Phuket which is in the south of Thailand. As for me I'm preparing for a great experience and will need each students help in order to be ready. Talk soon.

Lonnie

Whats going on in Thailand

So, most of you may have heard about the upheaval in Thailand. Here is what I know from a birds-eye view. There is a large group of people who staged a non-violent protest in Bangkok wearing red t-shirts a few months ago. The red shirts are accusing the government of buying votes in the last election and other tampering with the election process. This postponed the election that was scheduled in November of 2009 and has still not taken place nearly 8 months later. In addition to that, the government is also being accused of creating and signing a treaty without the proper votes from Parliament. Both of these are in violation of the Constitution of Thailand and are punishable under Thai law. The Red Shirts surrounded the main government building and demanded that the responsible parties be brought to justice and have also set up a large camp in a posh residential section of the capitol. Currently the Red Shirts are accusing the government of attempting to amend the constitution in order to evade prosecution which has fueled the fire even more.
There have been talks of agreements and treaty’s between the current government and the Red Shirts but nothing has transpired. To date there has been some violence and just yesterday the leader of the Red Shirts was shot with intent to kill. He survived the incident but this has taken the protest to a different level.
As of now the U.S. Department of State has issued travel warnings for its citizens traveling to Thailand. Hopefully this situation will be resolved leaving Thailand and its people free from this violence.

First Post

Hey Everyone,

This blog is to update you guys on my future travel plans to Thailand later this year. I am planning to go for the purpose of training in the art of Muay Thai Kickboxing a.k.a Thaiboxing. This art was created in Thailand hundreds of years ago and began it fast rise to popularity in recent years. My plans are to travel to the island of Phuket and train at the Rawai Muay Thai Camp for about 10 days.

Each day will consist of rigorous 2 hours of training 3 times per day and will end with me entering the ring against a real Thai fighter in a full contact Muay Thai match. Upon successful completion of the camp I will potentially be awarded the title of Kru or "high instructor" in the art of Muay Thai.

I hope you will all follow along with me in this once in a lifetime experience. I'll be keeping you posted!