My Muay Thai Private With Saenchai

WOULD YOU TAKE A CHANCE TO LEARN FROM THE GREATEST?

By Sean Fagan

When is the last time you got to shoot practice shots with Michael Jordan?

Can you recall the last time you swapped opening move strategies with Bobby Fischer? Or played a friendly round of 18 holes with Tiger Woods?

Have you ever been granted the amazing opportunity to learn from and practice with a real, live legend of sports?

Well, recently, my friends, I got to do just that. Let me tell you all about my Muay Thai private with the one, the only, the king of the cartwheel kick...

SAENCHAI!!!

This wasn't my first time meeting Saenchai, but it was the longest private I've ever had with the man. And let me tell you: he is EXACTLY what you think he's like.

"Playful" doesn't begin to describe him. Where do I even begin?? When we sparred, every time he landed clean, he started counting me out... LOL. He's so loose no matter what he's doing or showing you. The constant "oooweee!" coming out of his mouth had me grinning all the way through. I couldn't help it!

Take a look at me getting built up (and broken down) by the best nak muay to ever throw eight limbs:

 My Muay Thai Private With Saenchai

Training With The Best Ever

There's something so untouchable and unreachable about the "Saenchai" I see dismantling much larger men in the ring... and yet he's down to earth, friendly, warm, and supportive as a teacher. Can you imagine Michael Jordan, for example, in his PRIME, giving away his secrets on how to be the best? No fuckin' way!

That, to me anyway, is the craziest thing about Saenchai: he might be the best nak muay of all time, and he's TEACHING how to do it! You can literally throw down some cash and schedule your opportunity to learn from one of the greatest to ever do it. This is not an unreachable thing to do. It's not an unattainable goal. YOU can do it just like I did.

And let's get real for a second: the man isn't washed up. You might expect to see some athletes who were once great at their sport, now teaching their skills and knowledge to others. Not Saenchai: he's currently on a ridiculous win streak and he's fighting NOW. Saenchai has been winning stadium titles since the mid-90s and in the opinion of some people, he is actually only getting BETTER with time.

It was a ridiculous honor to be able to absorb some of this guy's energy and knowledge for two hours (though it felt a lot longer). I had more fun sparring with the GOAT than ever in my life. I hope you enjoy watching this tiny Thai make a fool out of me.