#i guess some parts of thai and indian culture are similar like that (?)

[iceywrites]

That glimpse of their new project looked absolutely amazing. BOC isn't here to mess around. Also, Apo, Mile and Bas my loves please take adequate rest. We all love you so very much.

[travelita]

Interview Izabela Faron

1. Okay, Miss Izabela, what was the specific incident that got you to this interview?

 I am very much into supporting women and I believe travel is one of the fields where we women are scared to travel (either alone, or with our kids, or in general) so when I saw an opportunity to be part of this project I had to jump at it and contribute. 

2. What has earned you the right to be an authority on this topic?

If we had to look at the numbers I have traveled to 24 countries so far, some of them I visited more than once and among my friends I am ’the traveler’ apart from that I read and watch everything travel related. For some travelers 24 countries are nothing, for others, it’s a dream number to tick off. However; I focus on the travel experience and adventure, not the number itself, and I do believe each of us has a different and unique travel need and my style of traveling may be useful to someone looking for similar experiences. 

3. What is your brand, your topic exactly about?

I am a traveler; my style of travel could be described as an affordable luxury, I like to stay in nice boutique hotels but also I am looking for a local experience. I would not be able to spend 2 weeks just on the beach. I need to explore!   

4. Why is it important?

Anyone, who wants to visit a country and take inspiration from places I had been to, will be able to find on my blog almost ready itineraries to borrow and adjust to their liking. I write my blogs in a way that they can be used as itineraries. 

5. Now that I know what it is, now that I know why it’s important and relevant, how are you implementing this on your travels? I mean like, is there a process, that you follow when traveling? 

 I always do huge amount of research before I travel (unless I travel last minute and do not have much time – although then I use time on the plane or airport to research). Therefore my travel itineraries are well planned to maximize the number of places visited in the least time possible. My trips become perfect itineraries for adventurous travelers who want to see more, experience local culture, and have fun. 

6. What if people took advantage of your tips and steps you are providing? What will happen, how will their travels change? 

First of all, they will have itinerary that will be extremely busy but you will see a lot in a day, two etc. … I focus on seeing places that are important to see, but also look into the culture; food, music, etc. For instance, in Lisbon you must eat Pasties de Belem and you can combine that with seeing Belem district – so I combine two in one history, architecture and culture. Plus I love a good fun fact so every time there’s the opportunity I include that in my blog too! 

7. Now we would like to get just some general information about you and your travels: 

(if not answered before) – When did you start traveling?

I can’t really remember the exact time, I know I was traveling with my parents to neighboring Slovakia which was at the time an international trip! I must have been as little as 4 years old. But I remember trips in a car, different currency, and the fact that people spoke different languages. Then when I was 12 I went for a children camp by Polish seaside, it was exciting to be on a night train with other kids for 12 hours it was a great adventure, I guess my travel bug was already there. Then at the age of about 14/15, I went for holidays to north Greece where I discovered culture way different to what I knew already from my neighbor country trips. The food, music and smiles of Greek people together with charming views and beautiful sea just cemented my travel addiction. I was hooked on travel. 

– Do you remember how you felt when you traveled alone for the first time?

It was scary, exciting, and that I am alone and can count only on myself. Not knowing what’s going to happen build in me resilience and self-confidence – I could only count on myself. 

– How did you, or do you deal with fears?

I try to prepare as much as I can, I look up routes, connections, have screenshot of maps (if I worry about internet connection). I also try to find anyone who has been to that country to learn some tricks and useful tips. 

– Is there a place where you have been and you would definitely not recommend it for women on their own and why?

I think this will have to be India. I was on this trip partially on my own and partially with Indian friends who joined me later. Even though I was in New Delhi I found that people were shocked that I was there as a woman on my own. Which causes some unpleasant moments. I also found people staring and almost ogling uncomfortable knowing that rape is also quite common in India. When I was with my Indian friends it was more safe, but still a lot of stares! Don’t get me wrong India is a beautiful country, but not for solo women travelers.

Another city I know it’s tough on women is Marrakesh – the hustlers have no mercy (apparently even if you are with a man too) I was there with my friend and that constant hiss and hustle as we were in souks was tiring. 

– Do you still have this excitement, when you go for a trip?

Always! 

– what are your top 5 destinations and why?

1. Peru – for Inca trails and Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca plus wonderful Peruvian food and funny lamas

2. French Polynesia – amazing diving plus luxury overwater villas and turquoise blue waters

3. Cook Islands – beauty of the atolls and marine life

4. Japan – culture, food, scenery

5. Georgia – wine and landscape plus snowboarding in the winter

– The funniest story that happened to you when traveling?

There are many… hard to pick one perhaps that one time when I was in Thailand and it was Thai New Year (Songkran) and everything was closed so when I arrived in Chiang Mai I could not buy food anywhere. After a lot of walking and searching for an open place, I ended up in someone’s garage which looked like they serve food there. I was so hungry that I did not care anymore and just ordered a dish from a lovely old man who could not speak a word of English so he was showing me photos of the food. There was a bird in the cage above my head and my partner laughed that we will soon be eating that bird (that’s how rough this place looked) but after a while, we were served our meals which were one of the best dishes we ate in Thailand. Full of flavors and made my grandma in a garage! Now it sounds funny but at the time I was so desperate to eat and so hungry that I wanted to eat anything anywhere! It turned out to be a very good experience. As they say: Don’t judge the book by its cover! 

8. Call to action – what do you want people to do? 

 Come visit my blog for more stories about my adventures and ready itineraries to use for your travels: www.postcardfromizabelitatravels.com 

Thank you for the interview! 

Free your travels, be a Travelita! #travelita #iamatravelita

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[whistlekick]

On today’s episode, Jeremy talks about Muay Boran and other Martial Arts of Thailand.

Muay Boran and other Martial Arts of Thailand – Episode 307

We may know Thailand as a country that has a rich and diverse culture, beautiful beaches, great food, and of course Muay Thai. Most of us know Muay Thai as the most popular martial art produced in Thailand but little did we know that there are several martial arts that are from this beautiful country. On this episode, Jeremy talks about Muay Boran and other martial arts of Thailand. Muay Boran, which literally means “ancient boxing”, is the ancestor to the more famous martial art, Muay Thai. Listen to this episode if you want to learn more!

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Show Transcript

You can read the transcript below or download here.

Jeremy Lesniak:

Hey everyone, thanks for coming by. This is whistlekick martial arts radio, episode 307. Today, we’re gonna talk a bit about the martial arts from Thailand that aren’t Muay Thai My name is Jeremy Lesniak, I’m your host for this show, I’m the founder of whistlekick sparring gear and apparel, and I love traditional martial arts and I’m guessing you do too and that’s why you are joining me. Hopefully, this isn’t the first time you’ve joined us, if it is, you might want to head on over to whistlekickmartialartsradio.com, join the newsletter, check out the other 306 episodes we have, everything from interviews with prominent martial arts figures, to someone who could be or maybe even is your martial arts instructor. Martial arts has an impact on so many and the goal here is to bring you the stories of those who have trained and benefitted from the martial arts maybe to give you some inspiration in your life in your martial arts practice. You can also head on over to whistlekick.com, see everything that we make whether its digital services like martialartscalendar.com, where you can submit and browse, martial arts events in the us for free or you can find the links to all of our products including sparring gear and apparel and training accessories, whole bunch of great stuff and we’re always adding more.

Now you’ve likely heard of Muay Thai Translate roughly the art of eight limbs or eight limb boxing, I’ve read a number of different translations and I don’t speak Thai and I can’t tell you definitively what it means, I have to go on what I’m reading but, Muay Thai is not the only Thai martial art. It may be the most popular today, it may have influenced MMA, actually quite a bit of self defense even in the traditional martial arts here, but it is not only the traditional martial art from Thailand. The most popular martial art from Thailand that is not Muay Thai actually precedes Muay Thai It’s called Muay Boran. Muay Boran or ancient boxing is a martial art that is originally from Thailand in the late 18th century and the ancestor of as I’ve said, the more commonly known martial art called Muay Thai The history of Muay Boran starts with a warrior nai khanom tom in 1767, the kingdom of Ayutthaya, now Thailand, lost after a long series of wars against the Burmese. This war, ended the four century old Siamese kingdom, and may people are held captives and taken to Burma. Among these prisoners was the skilled Thai boxer named nay khanom tom. About 7 years later the Burmese king organized a festival that involved a competition between the Thai boxers and the Burmese boxers. The king wanted to see whose technique was superior because the Burmese had their own different style of boxing. Burmese boxing mainly involve fist for fighting while the that boxing as you might expect, use knees elbows feet and fist. The Thai chose khanom tom to fight against the champion of the Burmese. As part of the custom, khanom tom performed his way kru dance accompanied by music before the fight. KHanom tom defeated and even knocked out the Burmese champion and the Burmese cannot easily accept this defeat, they even went so far as to say that the way kru dance was black magic. After all this, the Burmese king sent another 9 skilled boxers to fight khanom tom, one after the other and none of these Burmese fighters succeeded in defeating them even though khanom tom must’ve been exhausted fighting off ten boxers in arrow. The Burmese king finally accepted defeat and even applauded khanom tom because of his extraordinary boxing skills. Then the king said, according to legend anyway, that “every part of the Siamese is blessed with venom, even with his barehand he can fell 9 or 10 opponents, but his lord was incompetent and lost the country to the enemy.” if you had been any good there’s no way the city of Ayutthaya would ever have fallen.” the victory led to the release of khanom Thom along with his comrades. The Burmese king even khanom Thom his choice of two rewards. Know Thom chose 2 Burmese wives over riches offering the reason that money was easier to find. Even today, his victory is annually celebrated on Thailand on march 17th and they call it the national Muay thay day.

Khanom tom did not use Muay Boran exactly but rather another form of martial art similar to it. There were several ancient boxing styles from different regions of Thailand at that time but they were just lumped together in a  single term, Muay Boran. And we kind of see this today when we talk about karate or we talk about taekwondo. There are variations and you know, can we really get down to what the true and I’m using air quotes as I say this, karate is, the true taekwondo etc. The modern day Muay Boran is different from the original one. Originally, it was used for self defense sn it was part of the training of military soldiers. It involved lethal and ground fighting techniques that included grappling, the Thai embraced the martial art and became part of the Thai culture where fighter from the different regions of the country would gather to test their skills. Eventually, fighters began to wrap their hands and forearms with rope not only to serve as protection but also to wound their opponents. And I suspect those of you that are old van Damme fans, might have some visuals as I’m saying this. The reputation of Muay Boran fighters heightened because of their efficiency in close combat and the best became royal guards to the king. Around 1920s and 1930s, Muay Boran was disciplined and modernized by king rama the 7th so that participants would fight in a ring with a set of rules. It adapted the western style of boxing in terms of referees and rounds and the use of gloves rather than rope to reduce the wounds that can be inflicted during the fight. Moreover, many techniques especially the deadly ones were also banned. And this was the reason why Muay boran’s popularity declined. Because of this reformation, the “ancient boxing” eventually called Muay Thai also referred to as the art of eight limbs. Muay Thai then gained popularity internationally and it produced thousands, tens of thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands of practitioners around the world. But Muay Thai, Muay Boran are not the only Thai martial arts. Here are a few others that I’ll be honest, before we started doing the research I’ve never even heard of.

Muay chaiya. Muay chaiya is an old martial arts founded around 200 years ago by a military leader of the ritana kusin kingdom. It got its name from a town in Thailand. Its techniques are effective against heavier opponents even without using too much strength. However, immediate counter attacks are required because the attacks may not be strong enough to cause heavy damage on the opponent. A Muay chaiya fighter’s defense is difficult to penetrate because much like Muay Thai, elbows and shins are used to block the attacks. Their hops and jumps make them even more difficult to hit as they move around.

Lerdit or Muay lerdrit is a martial art derived from Muay Boran and has a pretty close resemblance in terms of the techniques used. Lert, pardon my pronunciation if anybody bout there actually speaks Thai with a proper accent, means superior while rit means power. So we could translate it to boxing of superior power. Its techniques were also based from the strategies of the special infantry corps which are tum, ground, top meaning crush, chap meaning grab and hak meaning break the joints. Muay lerdit is effective on close combat as fighters are trained to have strong muscles and tendons to perform strikes grappling and finishing blows more effectively. And if you’re like me you might be visualizing someone shin kicking a palm tree right now. There seems to be this broad cultural similarity among these martial arts and I think we see that in every country. You know, when we look at the martial arts of japan, they all have a similar attitude.

Krabi krabong can be called the armed version of Muay Boran. Krabi means sword and krabong means staff. Other types of weapons are also used such as dob which is a single edged sword and ga wich is a bladed staff and maisuksong which is a pair of clubs. According to history, most of the techniques of krabi krabong are influenced by Japanese martial arts such as Okinawan kabuto.

Silat pattani. Silat pattani is a martial art formed, originated in the pattani kingdom which is now a state in Thailand. It has a heavy similarity with gatka wich is an Indian martial arts style. It has no predefined forms but rather has 2 freestyle forms called Ramayana and animal forms. The Ramayana form includes three figures which is for good posture, sitaduwi which is for short movements and fatal attacks, and hanuman which is for strength and agility. Each figure has different behaviors, movements and  mannerisms that should be imitated. The animal form consists of 6 animals which are the deer for agility, monkey for speed agility and impulsiveness, snake for hard and soft techniques that can include blades, bird from the meking eagle rooster and crane, tiger for strength and dragon for locking the opponent using limbs. Initially, Silat pattani doesn’t involve weapons, the practitioners must learn and eventually master the fundamentals before applying the weapons to the techniques. The weapons used include kayu or the bate which are sticks, pari which is a machete, broad sword sort of thing, chinday samping, tombok lembing which is a spear, keris which is a dagger, karambit which is a tiger claw knife and gadak which is a mace. You know I always find it interesting when we talk about martial arts of a particular country, how we can elements from other martial arts in them. As we’re talking about Silat pattani we’re hearing things around animals. If you’ve talked about animals as they relate to martial; arts you’re probably thinking of Chinese martial arts at least I am. And you know, this kind of lends itself to something I’ve said on the show that you know, martial arts are going to have a lot of similarities regardless where they come from because there’s only so many ways we can move our body. And cultural influence can be pretty strong especially when we go back when there weren’t dozens, hundreds, thousands of variations in martial arts when there wasn’t internet, tv and movies, people would share these things. And if you were a newer martial artist, its stands to reason that someone sharing something with you, you’re probably not going to spend years or decades with the opportunity to learn from that person so you’re going to take what they teach you in a short period of time and combine it with what you know, what you understand from your own country, you’re own culture. And thus we see some of this spreading. I think it’s cool.

And there you have it, Thai martial arts that are not Muay Thai We will probably talk about Muay Thai in-depth at some point, I’m enjoying this research episodes they’ve been a lot of fun, I’m learning a lot, hopefully you’re learning something and you enjoy that. If you don’t, well the beauty of the podcast format is you can just skip to the next episode. You can go on to one of the other many, many episodes but you know what, I would like your feedback. Go ahead hit me up, email jeremy@whistlekick.com you can comment over on the blog, the show notes pages, whistlekickmartialartsradio.com or you can get to us via social media. We are @whistlekick everywhere you would ever imagine to use social media. That’s all I’ve got for today, until next time, train hard, smile and have a great day.

Episode 307 – Muay Boran and other Martial Arts of Thailand On today's episode, Jeremy talks about Muay Boran and other Martial Arts of Thailand. Muay Boran and other Martial Arts of Thailand - Episode 307…