Heading to Thailand
This is the first in a series of blog postings about PAKMMA founder Bashir Ahmad’s training camp at Team Quest Thailand in Chiang Mai.
I hate the last days and hours before a big trip. I Can’t concentrate on anything, feel overwhelmed and confused with this nagging feeling that your bound to forget something. My flight is in 12 hours and I keep thinking of that line from the Ramones song “I wanna be sedated.” Being sedated seems the only way the time will pass.
It’s been almost three years since I moved to Pakistan and really started working on PAKMMA. In that three years this is going to be the first time I am gonna go back to being what I love the most and that is being a student. What has been accomplished in the 3 years since moving here to Pakistan has been very fulfilling but it came at the sacrifice of pursuing an MMA career for myself and developing as a martial artist. I feel like this may be the beginning of going back to where I was before moving here and continuing from where I left off.
I get to find out what my capabilities are and I get to watch myself develop as a fighter and an athlete. I get more opportunities to compete without the added pressure of being coach, promoter, referee etc… I don’t have to worry about the petty politics of the Pakistani martial arts scene. I just have to learn and concentrate on being better than I am right now.
Since I am not at Team Quest right now I can’t really tell you much about the place other than it’s in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand and it’s run by two very cool people I met at the ONEFC Summit this past June, Joel Bowen and Ian Cartwright. I know they have been developing some really good Muay Thai fighters and I know they are committed to developing one of the best MMA teams in the region.
Me and you (the reader) both will know a bit more in the coming weeks.
Look out for my next post in 2-3 days!
Looking forward to it. Good Luck.