Well, here it is the week before the 2003 Pacific Northwest Muay Thai Camp. Thanks to Spanky you will all be able to see nightly what has been going on. That is if I get the chance to come home and email him. I will try, but there will be nights when I cannot send pictures because I will be using someone else's computer, but I will be sure to include drills and techniques, plus a daily scenario for everyone who is interested. Feel free to post questions you may have here and I will try to get some answers. So here is the first installment tonight, because my phone rang about 1830 and a voice says :
"Hello, Steve? How you doing?" The Boss, aka, my brother, friend and mentor, Surachai Sirisute, originator of it all...lol. Another year, 13th this time, for the tradition to continue. We exchanged pleasantries, and then got down to business. I will be picking him up at Portland International Airport next Monday afternoon, just like I always do before the camp. And again, for the 13th year, I will quit my job tomorrow so I can work doing what I love, helping promote the Thai National Martial Arts. Life will go on, and I will find another job after the camp is over. Saturday I will start gathering banana bags and storing them at Dan Burke's house until we actually take possession of the New Ranch at Silver Falls State Park on the 21st. Meanwhile, Bruce Raymer and Steve Hale will be cleaning and painting the showers, and cleaning the barbecue grills. Bruce will also be taking over his parents' motor home for Master Chai to sleep in, and arranging accommodations for the cooks. Unfortunately this year the Sirisute Sisters, Tik & Tak, will not be coming but Net will be here, and is bringing 3 cooks from the best Thai restaurants in Los Angeles, so the food will be excellent.
Master Chai told me he had to cut 231 people off this year, many who had sent in their deposits and made airplane reservations, but we will probably be training over 90 and feeding well over 100 so we are maxed out. Also the producers and cameramen from National Geographic may be coming to film, but more probably just a cameraman to add footage for the upcoming special about Thai Boxing, which has been in the works for a couple of years now. For camp #2 or #3 we hired a film maker to video the camp and he took many hours of film and then disappeared so we have been reluctant to ask anyone else, even when ESPN wanted to come 2 years ago. The camp is not dependent upon publicity.
This year there will be professional fighters, instructors, SWAT team members and governmental representatives from Australia, Mexico, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Canada, New Zealand and, I think, the United Kingdom. Some people will be averse to their picture on the Internet, so please do not ask for any specific pictures or names.
Once again, we all will owe Spanky a big thank you. And hopefully he will post the picture location here so it will be easily accessible.
Let's keep this thread at the top for the next 10 days !
- chalambok