Damian Mavis
Master Black Belt
You know, so much crazy sheet happens to me here in Thaialnd that I feel like I'm living someone elses life, it's too surreal. Something nuts will happen and I'll forget about it because all the nutsyness is just starting to blend together.... but I've decided to write mini memoires to try to keep it all straight. Here is one:
Just a few nights ago I went to Pattaya to train with Sifu, training was great, it's called Shaolin karate but it's like a blend of striking and submission grappling... basically it's like MMA only they don't stick to the strictly used techniques in MMA events. Anyway, after training I'm in his office discussing business when in walks an extremely powerful man in Thailand, I only know this because my good buddy standing next to me tells me. He leaves and comes back with 3 other people that I assume are big wigs too and me and my buddy start "wy - ing" like crazy to show respect. One of the things I noticed is even though some of them didn't dress really well, they still had expensive jewellery on. This is important because that was a quick lesson I sorely needed for later this evening.
Later on I'm booting around on my scooter like usual in Pattaya, I swear the dangerous ride is one of the reasons I come here every week, I'll talk about my accident in another memoire! Anyway, I'm booting around and this big guy on a powerful Ninja comes right up behind me fast and is very close, he is almost hitting me and the other scooter blocking him. We are trying to turn left and he won't let us because he is so eager to get by. So I almost stop and say "Go F*ck!" So he goes and as he rides away I'm yelling "*******!" I should know better, but I was pissed and have a hate on for other farangs (foreigners) in this country so lost my better judgement. I'm a kilometer away up another street when he comes barreling up beside me almost hitting me saying in a thick European accent "who's the *******? who's the *******?" I'm trying to pull over since I don't want him knocking me off my bike and potentially killing me but he's not letting me, so I slam on the breaks and veer off the road. He pulls over and comes to me. I'm 5' 10" and 160 lbs, this guy was easily 6'3" and 280 lbs... he was a monster.
I left my helmet on (which only covers the top of my head) thinking maybe it would protect my head a little if he landed a punch there even though there was just an article in the paper discussing how cheap and ridiculous those Thai helmets were and that they wouldn't save you in an accident at all. It was like wearing nothing they said, but I figured it HAD to be better than nothing!! heh. So up he walks and he starts throwing his hands up towards my face yapping away in an accent I can't discern, but something was nagging at me that it might be Russian. Everytime he threw a hand up near my face I parried it away, HARD. I kept smacking his hands down as soon as they went up and he started to get frustrated. He made a slightly more aggressive move and after the last parry I brought my guard up and he starts yelling, "hit me, hit me and I kick your ***!" I tell him I'm not the one threatening him and I'm not going to hit him, I'm just defending myself. I know it sounds like cheesy martial arts propoganda they teach you to say in case of an altercation but I was under pressure and that is what came out. He was being very threatening and totally invading my personal barrier and space, he had already committed to a fight as far as I was concerned.
The whole time I was thinking, I'm so ready to fight, this guy was a giant but for some reason that didn't bother me at all, I had never fought a guy that outweighed me by this much, it's all testicles and eyeballs to me and his were big enough to make easy targets. But then after I brought my guard up and was committed to fighting.... I suddenly started to evaluate my opponent. His accent seemed Russian... he was dressed better than most Farangs in Pattaya, meaning he was wearing a button down shirt and dress pants intead of a tank top, dirty shorts and tattoos. His fingers he was waving in my face were covered in gold rings, his neck had at least 3 thick gold chains around it. I suddenly realised this guy was most definately Russian mob. There are a bunch of them in Pattaya at all times and my buddy has warned me a million times never to get into anything with farangs in Pattaya because bad men from everywere go there to party, especially Russians. I suddenly lost all my anger, amazing how the need for self preservation can do that to you!
He could see in my eyes something changed, that I had lost my resolve, so he started getting nasty and saying stupid ****. I could see in his eyes that he knew he had won. I was forced to swallow my pride and back down, I just let him say whatever he wanted and I backed off of him, let him wag his fingers a little and then he walked away looking back at me repeatedly to make sure I stayed cowed. He drove away.
We would both have probably landed up in jail, I would have gotten out pretty fast since Sifu knows the police but then I would have to look over my shoulder everywere I went in Pattaya and hope I don't get shot any time soon...if I didn't get shot on the spot of the fight.
You know what, an hour later I forgot this had happened.... I'm sitting here trying to think of the weird stuff I go through here and I thought of this event. I'll write some more soon.
Damian Mavis
Honour TKD
Just a few nights ago I went to Pattaya to train with Sifu, training was great, it's called Shaolin karate but it's like a blend of striking and submission grappling... basically it's like MMA only they don't stick to the strictly used techniques in MMA events. Anyway, after training I'm in his office discussing business when in walks an extremely powerful man in Thailand, I only know this because my good buddy standing next to me tells me. He leaves and comes back with 3 other people that I assume are big wigs too and me and my buddy start "wy - ing" like crazy to show respect. One of the things I noticed is even though some of them didn't dress really well, they still had expensive jewellery on. This is important because that was a quick lesson I sorely needed for later this evening.
Later on I'm booting around on my scooter like usual in Pattaya, I swear the dangerous ride is one of the reasons I come here every week, I'll talk about my accident in another memoire! Anyway, I'm booting around and this big guy on a powerful Ninja comes right up behind me fast and is very close, he is almost hitting me and the other scooter blocking him. We are trying to turn left and he won't let us because he is so eager to get by. So I almost stop and say "Go F*ck!" So he goes and as he rides away I'm yelling "*******!" I should know better, but I was pissed and have a hate on for other farangs (foreigners) in this country so lost my better judgement. I'm a kilometer away up another street when he comes barreling up beside me almost hitting me saying in a thick European accent "who's the *******? who's the *******?" I'm trying to pull over since I don't want him knocking me off my bike and potentially killing me but he's not letting me, so I slam on the breaks and veer off the road. He pulls over and comes to me. I'm 5' 10" and 160 lbs, this guy was easily 6'3" and 280 lbs... he was a monster.
I left my helmet on (which only covers the top of my head) thinking maybe it would protect my head a little if he landed a punch there even though there was just an article in the paper discussing how cheap and ridiculous those Thai helmets were and that they wouldn't save you in an accident at all. It was like wearing nothing they said, but I figured it HAD to be better than nothing!! heh. So up he walks and he starts throwing his hands up towards my face yapping away in an accent I can't discern, but something was nagging at me that it might be Russian. Everytime he threw a hand up near my face I parried it away, HARD. I kept smacking his hands down as soon as they went up and he started to get frustrated. He made a slightly more aggressive move and after the last parry I brought my guard up and he starts yelling, "hit me, hit me and I kick your ***!" I tell him I'm not the one threatening him and I'm not going to hit him, I'm just defending myself. I know it sounds like cheesy martial arts propoganda they teach you to say in case of an altercation but I was under pressure and that is what came out. He was being very threatening and totally invading my personal barrier and space, he had already committed to a fight as far as I was concerned.
The whole time I was thinking, I'm so ready to fight, this guy was a giant but for some reason that didn't bother me at all, I had never fought a guy that outweighed me by this much, it's all testicles and eyeballs to me and his were big enough to make easy targets. But then after I brought my guard up and was committed to fighting.... I suddenly started to evaluate my opponent. His accent seemed Russian... he was dressed better than most Farangs in Pattaya, meaning he was wearing a button down shirt and dress pants intead of a tank top, dirty shorts and tattoos. His fingers he was waving in my face were covered in gold rings, his neck had at least 3 thick gold chains around it. I suddenly realised this guy was most definately Russian mob. There are a bunch of them in Pattaya at all times and my buddy has warned me a million times never to get into anything with farangs in Pattaya because bad men from everywere go there to party, especially Russians. I suddenly lost all my anger, amazing how the need for self preservation can do that to you!
He could see in my eyes something changed, that I had lost my resolve, so he started getting nasty and saying stupid ****. I could see in his eyes that he knew he had won. I was forced to swallow my pride and back down, I just let him say whatever he wanted and I backed off of him, let him wag his fingers a little and then he walked away looking back at me repeatedly to make sure I stayed cowed. He drove away.
We would both have probably landed up in jail, I would have gotten out pretty fast since Sifu knows the police but then I would have to look over my shoulder everywere I went in Pattaya and hope I don't get shot any time soon...if I didn't get shot on the spot of the fight.
You know what, an hour later I forgot this had happened.... I'm sitting here trying to think of the weird stuff I go through here and I thought of this event. I'll write some more soon.
Damian Mavis
Honour TKD
