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Forrest takes fight to Thailand

MUAY THAI: Gladstone ’s Eileen Forrest was impressive when she fought at "Rocky II" in October but now she is seeking to gain more experience by fighting and training in Thailand, the home of Muay Thai.

Forrest ’s display in Rockhampton was not only memorable for her all-action contest with calm before the storm as once the bell sounded the start of the contest she was a blur of action as the two fighters traded blows.

Forrest won that fight on a points decision.

In her first fight in Thailand, held appropriately enough on Boxing Day, Forrest did not take the chance of Kiwi Bronwyn Wylie in the 59kg division but also for her distinctive entrance to the ring.

As the crowd at the Stadium Nighclub waited for the bout to start Forrest performed a gentle dance routine known as a Ram Muay ritual dance.

This interlude lasted a little over five minutes but it was the leaving the result to a judge ’s decision.

The Gladstone fightei after a slow start, began hurting her Thai opponent with a series of attacks with her knee.

In the second round, with her opponent backing away from the onslaught, Forrest ’s right fist came into play, smashing into the Thai ’s face and causing her nose to bleed.

That was enough for the Thai fighter and Forrest took the contest on a technical knock out.

The Gladstone girl has her next match-up tomorrow night.

http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/

Illness fails to stop Bennett victory knockout

Doing what he loves best, Bennett agrees that there ’s one part he is not too comfortable about.

"For the weigh-in we have to do it naked. I weighed in in front of 30,000 people.

"It ’s embarrassing so I get people to stand either side of me and hold towels up so no one can see me. Titles don ’t mean anything any more when 20 others in the world have the same title as you. I just want to fight the big names." TEAGAN MCMANUS Two days before flying out of the country, Phillip Bennett was in hospital for a white blood cell count problem.

He discharged himself from hospital and made his way to Thailand to fight Holland ’s Ali Ashoud.

The muay thai boxer defeated Ashoud by knocking him out in the second round.

"I knew I could beat him, but he is a good fighter." The 33-year-old had a previous fight in Thailand earlier in December but it had to be cancelled as the airport had shut down.

"I was disappointed I missed out on the fight. I trained really hard for it." Bennett was unsure how his health would affect his strength and concentration.

"I was worried that I was too sick to go over to Thailand but as soon as I got there I felt better. I don ’t know whether it was the adrenalin rush or what. But as soon as I got back home I was sick again."

http://wellington.yourguide.com.au/

Adventure In Thailand

By Ellen Forrest

MY fight was quite appropriately scheduled for the 26th Boxing Day.

In the days leading up to it, I wasn ’t really feeling that calm before the storm ’ I ’ve come to associate with all my fights back home. I think it ’s because here they ’re much more casual about the whole affair. Here it ’s not unusual to fight every one or two weeks (compared to four to eight weeks back home), and they ’re even more blas when it comes to matching opponents. If you ’re roughly the same size and skill on pads, "same same", you ’re good to go.

The two days I had off from training I spent getting myself into peak condition for the fight, indulging myself in cheap massages, senseless eating and sleeping. I can ’t quite express how really, really fantastic this is, considering back home I have to cut weight to make the divisions for fights (usually dropping 5kg in a week, which does hurt).

Towards the afternoon of the fight night I was starting to feel the buzz and there was no point pretending to sleep, so I started getting my stuff ready. A young Thai boy called Steak (really it ’s Siteak, but in western terms it ’s actually Steak) and I were scheduled to fight that night. In an example of the attitude Thais have to Muay Thai through some discrepancy we ’d found out he hadn ’t actually been matched up.

And after some hassling with the promoter within the evening they ’d somehow tracked down a boy about his skill and size and they were matched to fight.

So we all packed into a couple of utes, about 10 of us in each, mostly in the tray, and headed off to Patong, the centre of nightlife in Phuket, and Bangla Stadium.

The Stadium sits in a dustbowl surrounded by construction works, and the Stadium itself is more of a giant open shed than a stadium. The walls are made of roughly standing corrugated iron that wild grass grows past.

There ’s a stand, seats (deck chairs) and painted wooden benches behind them for warming up. The ring still looks like a ring, though, and the simpleness and raweness of the "stadium" appeals to me being a lot less intimidating than a fancy sports complex.

I was fight #6, 50 I sat around a bit and watched the fights to help fire up. Steak was fight #2, and both kids would go back and forth in dominating the fight, while grown men waved their hands about placing bets as the fight went on. Steak ended up losing on points, but performed quite well.

Things got a bit rushed when in one of the fights a guy got knocked out in the first five seconds. So within the space of a fight I got my hands taped, got dressed, rubbed down and I probably did three kicks to warm up before getting shuffled into the ring. I still wasn ’t quite with it, but after the preliminaries (I found out I was fighting for some sort of Stadium belt), and my Wai Khru Ram Muay ritual dance, the fight started.

Usually the first round is something of a feeling out process to get a measure of the other fighter. I started by feeling out her right hand with my face. I usually start out fights a bit dumb as what to throw first, and in an unfortunate majority of them I eat a few right hands which come dangerously close to knocking me out. One day it ’s probably going to, but that wasn ’t the case that night. I got into the grapple in a bit of a daze and clicked on.

From there I worked plenty of knees, which score big points in Muay Thai. At distance I would land clean and have her moving back, up close I ’d have her in the grapple and have complete control from there, landing some knees to her body and face. I knew I must ’ve broken her spirit because in the 2nd she stopped fighting back and I moved in, landing a right hand which made her nose bleed. The referee stopped the fight because she was clearly hurt and wasn ’t fighting back, and declared me the winner. A little surprised, but hey, a win is a win, and I got a belt for some photos (only for about five minutes though because they use the same belt for all the title fights every night) before they put it up for the next fight. It was a great night to follow an amazing two weeks in the home of Muay Thai. Now I ’m back in training for my next fight on January 4 against a local Thai girl I can ’t wait.

Trip to the home of Muay Thai ends with a victory in the ring

Eileen Forrest Thai Journal
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/

Prickly retort: take a number for rematch

Craig Ross rossc@tcp.newsltd.com.au

CAIRNS Muay Thai fighter Ayde "Prickles" Walker has a simple message for Julatten rival Harlee Avison: earn your rematch.

Walker and his trainer Dylan Bradley are furious that Avison has called for a rematch with the Cairns fighter in 2009.

Avison, 17, said last week he would not rest until he had avenged his defeat to 22-year-old Walker at Smithfield in September, but the Walker camp believes the teenager has no right to be calling the shots.

Walker said Avison had a shot at him and lost and he now had other opponents in his sights, unless Avison could make a return bout worth his while.

"Show me the money," Walker said.

"I work a job with less hours so that I can train and fight so, if I get injured, I need to be able to look after myself financially." A war of words broke out between Walker and Avison following their September battle with the Avison camp disputing Walker ’s post-fight claims that he had "wiped the floor" with his opponent and left him looking like the "Elephant Man".

Bradley said Avison would also have to prove he was worthy of a rematch before one was granted, saying the Thailand-based Julatten product needed victories over other highly rated opponents.

"Harlee will have to take a number if he wants a crack at it," Bradley said yesterday. "There ’s a long queue if he wants to get in line." Already in the queue is wellcredentialled Gold Coast fighter Clayton Collier, who ’ll clash with Walker in Brisbane on February 14. Akhough he boasts only a handful of professional bouts to his name, Walker is eagerly awaiting the chance to prove himself against a top-class opponent.

"He ’s an A-grade pro," he said of Collier.

Walker said he was ready to meet Collier ’s challenge, pointing to his effort to go the distance with Thai fighter Kasemachi in Manunda earlier this year.

http://www.cairns.com.au/

Nurse gets kick from title

THERESA Carter is one nurse you wouldn ’t want to mess with after she recently won the World Kickboxing Championship in Thailand.

While her bedside manner in Royal Perth Hospital ’s adult burns unit may be mild, it ’s a whole different story in the arena, where her flying knees and elbows may end up sending you to bed.

Carter started kickboxing eight years ago and began competing only four years ago.

"I originally started Muay Thai for fun and to increase my fitness, then I reached a level where I felt confident with my technique and took up the challenge to fight in the ring," she said.

Carter and her partner/coach Lee Blackman teach Muay Thai at the gym they started in Cannington.

Carter took two weeks off work for intensive training in Bangkok before the championships, which were held at the King ’s Garden on the Thai King ’s birthday, December 4, before thousands of spectators.

She won the world title for the World Professional Muay Thai Federation (WPMF) at 59kg, against a French competitor who had been living and training in Bangkok for three months. She said she was treated like a superstar.

"Everyone wanted to congratulate me on winning such a tough fight," she said.

"But even though I was in there fighting solo, an immense amount of work goes on behind the scenes to prepare for a fight like that, so I was very happy to have won the belt for my coach and everyone at the gym that supported me."

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