Two Victories and a Defeat Wednesday, Nov 26 2008

One of the items in my Bucket List or Things To Do Before I Die is to be able to train someone who will win in the NCR Muay Thai Tournament.   This feat would be doubly sweeter if that person would be my wife, Beck.    In the just concluded 6th NCR Muay Thai Tournament, Beck won in her first muay thai match, sadly, I could not lay claim to the honor of training her. She’s training under Kru Carlo Vicencio, chapter head of MAP-Mandaluyong. 

Beck was supposed to fight during the 5th NCR Tournament held last August.  She worked hard for it and even trained in the famous Kaewsamrit Gym in Bangkok, Thailand for 3 weeks. But when she got back to Manila, she sustained an injury during training and have to let this tournament pass.   

 It was in a meeting on the 13th of September, that the 6th NCR Muay Thai Tournament was set.   The organizer will be MAP Paranaque Chapter with the event scheduled on November 23.  Beck then set her eyes and her training for this competition.   Even though she’s training under a different gym, I would still give her some useful tips in sparring and some effective combinations that I’ve tried.

In this tournament, Beck was matched with a fighter from MAP Antipolo Chapter.  I’ve observed that the previous players who represented MAP Antipolo are very good with their boxing skills.  Which means that Beck has to fight in the kicking range and when she got close to her opponent, to immediately transition to the clinching and elbow range. 

Beck is taller than her opponent, which gives her the reach advantage.  Her opponent would continually rush to her, thus preventing her to execute her kicks.  But Beck would compensate by relying on her elbow and knees.    Though Beck had some problems in scoring with her kicks, she made good use of her reach advantage and have connected several jab-straights to her opponent.   Beck is the crowd favourite and when her hand was raised to declare the winner of her bout, the audience gave a good applause. 

In my own fight, I was surprised that I will be matched up against a first timer from Antipolo.    A few days before the competition, Beck received a text message from a team member of another MAP chapter (who will remain unnamed) asking if I will be competing on the upcoming tournament and what is my weight division, because they will be fielding somebody to be my match.    I know I really sucked in my last muay thai fight (I think I’ve repeated countless times that I over estimated my capacity to multi-task and found out the hard way how difficult it is to juggle being a chapter head, the tournament organizer and a competitor at the same time).   My performance in my last fight is so mediocre that I think fighters within my weight division has the perception that I’m an easy target.  Moreover, I know some camp still has the opinion that my last fight should have ended the other way.    So when I heard about that text message sent to my wife, I thought, let’s bring it on.  I like proving people wrong. 

However, at the tournament, I was slated to go against Celso Calaro, a fighter from MAP Antipolo who will be competing for the first time.   Even though I have the advantage in ring experience, I don’t want to make the mistake of underestimating my opponent.  Especially that he’s a student of Kru Lucio Macalalad.  Kru Lucio was my karate instructor way back 1994 and I even represented his dojo in several karate competitions.  I know how hard and diligent he would train his student.  And his muay thai camp in Antipolo has already produced several NCR Tournament winners.

 In my previous fights, I used the aggressive fighter style, knowing that in amateur muay thai, the more aggressive fighter usually wins.   But in this match, I thought of adopting the elusive fighting style and see how I would fare.   I would be out of range, then explode to move within kicking range, execute a few quick techniques and then move out of range again.  This style operates on the principle that if you can’t be hit, you can’t be beaten.  It is effective against aggressive fighters, and since my opponent is a first time fighter, experience tells me that first time fighters tend to fight aggressively.

Once again, my presumption is wrong and my opponent didn’t rushed in and I think has adopted the counter punching style.  This resulted to a very slow paced match, but in the honest opinion of Ajarn Pudpadnoy, was a good one as the fight became a technique versus technique fight rather than a street brawl (To Thais’ they don’t rush in aiming for a knock out.  They would rather work on scoring points by connecting clean techniques.  If the opportunity came, that’s the only time they would go for a knock out).   My game strategy proved effective and I was able to connect several kicks without being countered.  To my opponent’s credit, he was able to deliver a strong knee to my stomach in the 3rd round and I have to pause and recover.  

 It was a good fight and I have to give kudos to my opponent, Celso Calaro for having a good fighting heart.  I wish him success in his future muay thai fights.   After the fight, I had a chit chat with Celso and found out that he’s from San Isidro, Antipolo City, the adjacent barangay of the subdivision I used to live in, Antipolo Hills.   It is a small world indeed.

 Though Beck and I celebrated our twin victories, my team, Pasig-Ultra still fell short of its goal of bringing home the Over-all championship trophy.   MAP-Mandaluyong brought home the honor with a clean 4 wins out of 4 fighters.  Pasig-Ultra is just the runner up with 5 wins out of 6 matches.   But still, I am proud of my team.   And we will bring home the over-all championship honor no matter long it will take and no matter how hard it will be.   I’d like to point out that we are the consistent first runner up in the over all team standing ever since this category was created.  We were first runner up in the 4th and 5th NCR Tournament.  Still, a mean feat.

Beck preparing and pscyhing up for her bout.  Behind her is her instructor Kru Carlo Vicencio who will be her cornerman.

 

 Beck’s opponent from MAP Antipolo

Beck defending from an attack from her opponent.

Kru Marlon Gaganera raising Beck’s hand in victory.

 Touching gloves, a sign of respect in a muay thai match

Landing a roundhouse kick to the chest.

My opponent was able to adjust to my fighting style and would counter my roundhouse kick with a straight punch.  I then adjusted my style by faking a roundhouse kick but will do a teep instead.  Here, I connected with a teep to the chest.

Receiving a trophy from Kru Robert Valdez, tournament organizer Kru Danny Montes and the referee in my match, Kru Billy Alumno

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6th NCR Muay Thai Tournament at SM Sucat Wednesday, Nov 26 2008

Another successful muay thai tournament was held last Sunday, November 23, 2008 at the Main Activity Center of SM City Sucat.   This event was organized by the MAP-Paranaque City Chapter headed by its able leader, Kru Danny Montes and marked the first time that an NCR muay thai tournament was held in a mall, and an SM mall at that. 

A total of 19 matches from nine MAP Chapters, namely  Antipolo, Makati, Mandaluyong, Las Pinas, Quezon City, Muntinlupa, Los Banos, Paranaque and Pasig-Ultra participated in the 6th installment of the regular NCR muay thai tournament.    MAP Mandaluyong brought home the Over-All Championship with 4 wins out of 4 entries.  In second place is my team, Pasig Ultra who won 5 bouts out of 6 entries.   My wife, Rebekah, competed in her first muay thai tournament and handily won over her opponent from Antipolo.   I also competed in this tournament and I won over a fighter also from Antipolo. 

This tournament has definitely achieved its goal of promoting muay thai to the grassroots and fostering camaraderie and the spirit of sportsmanship to all MAP members.  Congratulations Kru Danny Montes and to the MAP Paranaque Chapter for the successful tournament.

 

The parade of MAP NCR Chapters

The indefatigable president of Muay Association of the Philippines (MAP), Kru Robert Valdez. Behind him, on the right (wearing blue polo) is the organizer of the 6th NCR Muay Thai Tournament and Chapter Head of MAP-Paranaque, Kru Danny Montes.  Congratulations on a job well done, Kru Danny!

Beck and the MAP-Mandaluyong Team together with Coach Stephen Kamphuis, a world Brazilian Jiujitsu champion and head of the Kamphuis-Fabricio Jiujitsu Academy.  Map-Mandaluyong eventually won the over-all championship of the tournament.

Kendrick Tan (right, wearing white headgear) of MAP-Mandaluyong going against Antone Lim of MAP- Los Banos.   Their bout was one of the most applauded match, a see-saw battle between giants.   Kendrick was the victor in this match. 

Some of the winners of the 6th NCR Tournament together with the honorable Vice Mayor of Paranaque City Gustavo Tambunting, MAP President Kru Robert Valdez and RP Team Coach Kru Billy Alumno

 My team mate Eric Aquino (we dubbed him as the Golden Fist for his one punch knockout of his opponent last June) winning against his adversary from MAP Muntinlupa.  This is a rematch between the two and Eric prevailed on both occassions.

 My team mate Garrett McBride (wearing blue headgear and vest) going against Giovanni Cruz of MAP-Makati.  This for me is the most exciting fight of the tournament.   Garrett is my sparring partner and this will be his first time to compete in muay thai.  He’s a high school wrestler back in the US and found no difficulty in transitioning to muay thai.   His victory over Gio Cruz is very big feat considering that the fighter from Makati is already a seasoned muay thai veteran.    To his credit, Gio Cruz is 3 kilos lighter than Garett and he gave a very good fight against the American fighter.   I think he’s one of the best fighters in NCR in the 71 to 75 kgs weight division. 

MAP Mandaluyong’s Keith Valleser (in read headgear and body vest) receiving a roundhouse kick from his opponent from MAP Paranaque.   Keith prevailed in this match.    

Beck with MAP Mandaluyong Chapter Head Kru Carlo Vicencio raising the Over-all championship trophy. Beck is also the assistant instructor for the said chapter. 

Goofing time!  The Philippine Muay Thai team celebrating another successful tournament. 

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The Right To Bear Arms Tuesday, Nov 18 2008

The 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the rights of American citizens to possess and carry weapons.   Most historians agree that the origin of this right goes back to 12th Century England wherein King Henry II required freemen to carry weapons for public defense and this policy was continued by King Henry III.   This was codified in the English Bill of Rights and when the the US Constitution was drafted, this right to bear arms was included and protected.

Philosophers and political writers such as Cicero, Aristotle, Niccolo Machiavelli and John Locke have all wrote about people’s right to have their own arms for their defense.   History tells us that tyrannical governments would disarm people and prohibit them from taking arms and use the military to eliminate and suppress  political opponents.   At first,  the right of citizens to bear arms is a collective right to protect themselves from oppression.   Recently, a landmark US Supreme Court decision on District of Columbia vs. Heller ( June 26, 2008) declared that this right is an individual privilege.  As the US Supreme Court declared ”…and to use that arm for lawful traditional purposes such as self-defense within the home. “

In the Philippines, despite being oppressed under colonial rule for more than 300 years under Spain, our constitution doesn’t have a counter part to the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution.    The Philippine Constitution guarantees a person’s right to live; but that right has a corollary; that a person has also the right to self defense and the means to protect one’s life.  

On the morning of October 8, 2008, a gruesome murder was announced in the news segment of a daily morning show.    Members of the dreaded Akyat Bahay Gang broke into a house in San Joaquin, Pasig City and hogtied all of the 6 family members. The gang’s motive is robbery.   One family member, Cherry Painaga, was shot in the stomach trying to fight off an attempted rape by the gang members.   She died at the hospital where she was rushed in.   This horrendous criminal act happened only a few blocks away from our residence.    What is ironic is that several hundred meters away, is an intersection where policemen are stationed. 

This sent shivers to the peaceful community of San Joaquin, Pasig.  This sent me and my household to implement strong measures to ensure that a similar event will not happen to us.  We doubled our locks, strengthened the security of all possible entry points plus made other arrangements to ensure that our residence is safe from any breaking and entry from lawless elements. But perhaps the most drastic that we have done, is that I purchased another firearm. 

I already possess a Tanfoglio 9mm pistol (which is duly licensed by the government, I’m a law abiding citizen).  My wife celebrated her birthday last November 9.  My gift to her was late for one week, I brought her to the recent AFAD Defense and Sporting Arms exhibit in SM Megamall and bought her a Taurus 9mm Compact Titanium Pistol, a high capacity pistol which is very light and ideal to be handled by a woman.   It is the hand gun recomended by a friend who’s a member of the elite PNP Special Action Force (SAF). 

I have a collection of knives and swords in my house.  My wife and I have both studied kali knife fighting as well as escrima.   But against a thug armed with a gun, these antiquated weapons will be useless.    I am for regulated issuance of firearms to citizens.   It will be interesting to note that the firearms being used in crimes are not the firearms that are duly registered and licensed by responsible gun owners.   I remember several years ago in Australia, a new law that required surrender of licensed firearms. What happened was while the law abiding citizens turned over their firearms, the criminals did not.    Which made these citizens helpless to defend themselves which lead to the increase in armed robberies and assault.     Most of the owners of licensed guns in the Philippines have a common profile: that they are no thugs or hooligans but decent citizens who want to defend their family and property.

I mean no disrespect to the capability of the police force to protect its citizens. ( I have a lot of team mates in muay thai who are active policemen).    To quote Edmund Randolph, the first US Attorney General, “People who mean to be free must be prepared to meet danger in person, and not rely on the fallacious protection of armies.” 

I will protect my family from lawless elements with whatever means necessary.  I am of the opinion that I will be able to do this better with the protection of a firearm.

 

This is the Taurus 9mm Compact Pistol that I gave my wife as a gift.   Part of the gift is that every weekend, we will practice target shooting in our gun club. 

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New Discovery: The Miracle/Magic Fruit Tuesday, Nov 11 2008

In my blog article “Here and Back Again”, I mentioned that I will be making entries about new discoveries that I made.  It maybe snippets of knowledge or information that I have learned either through reading, watching TV documentaries or news, or through conversations or by traveling.    I just want to re-live the spirit of discovery and adventure that I once had way, way back when I was still a student.  And I want to share these knowledge or information to my daughter and to the netizens who would chance upon my blog.  This will be my first article under New Discovery.

The Miracle/Magic Fruit (Synsepalum Dulcificum)

It is just a small, red berry, about the size and and looks like the Philippine Birds Eye Pepper or more commonly known as Siling Labuyo.   When eaten, it is relatively tasteless, but it alters the taste buds that makes the tangy Lime or Calamansi to taste like a sweet candy and vinegar to taste like my favorite apple juice.  This is what give the Miracle Fruit (scientific name Synsepalum Dulcificum) its name. 

I first read about this “magic” fruit in the September-October Issue of the Discovery Magazine.   According to the article, this miracle fruit, because of the way it alters the taste buds, is the rage in New York and several restaurants and bars there, are organizing “flavor tripping” parties.   In this parties, people would eat the miracle fruit and then would sample foods such as lemons, vinegars, Tabasco sauce and then be amazed at how these foods would taste different when eaten after swirling the pulp of the miracle fruit on their tongue.   

One lunch time at the office, my staff were discussing about the fruit that one of my personnel brought to the office.   They said that calamansi tasted like a sweet candy after eating this supposedly magic fruit.   When I heard about it, I know they were referring to the Miracle Fruit and  was pleasantly surprised to find out that this fruit is already here in the Philippines.   

One of my staff, is the daughter of the known herbalist Rey Herrera, the man who formulated the famous Glo-Herbal (it is now known as Ka Rey’s Herbal) supplement.   They imported several shrubs of the Miracle Fruit with the intention of adding thisfruit into the herbal concoction to make its taste more palatable.    I requested my staff to bring some berries (and also to give me a shrub which I plan to cultivate).    We had an instant flavor tripping party in the office.   Calamansi tasted like sweet candy and hot sauce taste like a sweet juice drink.   Kinky thoughts even entered my personnel’s mind when they talked about the possible things whose taste can be changed by this fruit (and laughed that even if the taste will change, the smell will not.   Adult readers, I know you know what they’re pertaining to). 

Upon doing an internet search about this fruit, I found out that this fruit was first documented by a French traveler Chevalier des Marchais during his travel in West Africa in the 18th Century.   In the 1970’s there were some attemps to commercially produce the ability of the fruit to turn bitter and sour  foods to sweet foods but ended in failure.  

What gives this fruit its taste changing ability is the protein molecule “Miraculin” that allegedly distort the shape of the tastebuds so that they become responsive to acids. Thus, it makes bitter, sour, even spicy foods to taste like chocolate candy.    One blog even wrote that the Miracle fruit is “like a candy Willy Wonka would have invented.”    In New York, a single berry cost $2 or more.   If my staff who let us sample the berry for free would found out about this, she would definitely go nuts

I have one shrub of this miracle fruit and hopefully, I will be able to cultivate it successfully.  I don’t have commercial intentions for doing so(for God’s sake, its just one shrub), I just like to have a steady supply of this fruit to tease the tastebuds of my friends. 

Here’s a link of the New York Times article about the Miracle Fruit : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html?_r=3&oref=slogin

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Barack Obama-A Presidency That Will Have A Profound Impact Friday, Nov 7 2008

“Japan and the United States, for example, are so closely intertwined economically, politically, and militarily, that decisions in one have immediate high impact consequences in the other.  Under these circumstances, the day may arrive when Japan will demand actual voting seats inside the Congress of the United States.  In return, the United States would no doubt demand equivalent representation in the Japanese Diet.  In this way would be born the first of many potential “cross-national” parliaments or legislatures.

Democracy presupposes that those affected by a decision have a right to participate in making the decision.  If this is so, then many nations should, in fact, have seats in the U.S. Congress, whose decisions have greater impact on their lives than the decisions of their own politicians”

                                                                                        -Alvin Toffler, Power Shift

The 2008 US Presidential election, which was won by Barack Obama was described by many as the most closely watched US Presidential election by the world and was even dubbed “The Election That Made the World Blogging.”   The world closely observed history as it unfolds when America elected its first black president whose middle name (Hussein) is synonimous with the face of evil in the early 1990’s.  The new US president will lead with three immense challenges that the US and the world is facing, in Obama’s own words, “two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century”.  

All US presidents, after the end of the Cold War, has such an overwhelming impact on the lives of almost everybody on this planet, that almost everyone would want to express their opinion on who should be sitting at the oval office.   With the advent of the Net, YouTube and Google, this can easily be achieved.   And this is evidenced by the number of blogs, videos posted on the YouTube and the mock polls conducted by US and international news networks as well as magazines and newspapers of international circulation.

In mid 1990’s, when I first read Alvin Toffler’s Power Shift, I find his idea about other nations should have a seat in the U.S. Congress as the decisions and legislations that are made in this institution have a broad and great impact on the lives of the citizens of other countries, as preposterous.   I was a product of a State University whose student leaders go to the streets denouncing US imperialistm.     In the same manner that I don’t want any “imperialist” country to have control on my own beloved motherland, I believe that other countries, including the US, should also be free from the hegemony of another nation.   Now I contemplate that this line of thinking would be outdated in the age of economic globalization, outsourcing and supply-chaining. 

With the election of a Democrat to the White House,  the US and the rest of the world wait in eagerness for the resolution of the war in Iraq and the battle against Al-Queda and Taliban in Afghanistan; for the reversal of the financial crisis that brought down even the largest US banks that also lead to to the downward spiral of the international financial market in a seeminly endless domino effect; and to address global climate change (remember that the Bush Administration for some reason or another, did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol).  The Philippine’s own congressmen foresee that with the majority of the congressional seats in the US congress are being held by Democrats, and with a Democrat at the helm of the White House,  the Filipino Veterans Equity Act that is pending in the US Congress, which will benefit countless Filipino World War II veterans and their descendants will be finally enacted.     Even the company that I work for, which is the recruitment division of the largest Hospital Group in the US will be affected by the immigration policies the Obama presidency will make.   According to my direct superior, Barack Obama, being a Democrat will tend to favor laws that will limit the inflow of foreign workers, including Filipinos, to the United States.  Which could mean that the nurses we have accepted into our recruitment program would have to wait a little longer for their deployment to the US. 

Indeed, whatever decisions Obama’s administration will make,  would have an intense effect on the rest of the world.

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Here and Back Again Tuesday, Nov 4 2008

One month, two weeks and one day… that’s exactly how long I was missing in my own blog.  The previous month was very tumultuous and I’ve once again confirmed that people’s mind and behavior is indeed the greatest mystery there is (this is precisely my reason for taking up Psychology in college).  

And I’ve also learned two very valuable lessons, the hard way.  First is Robert Greene’s 2nd Law of Power (In his book The 48 Laws of Power), “Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies”.  And second, the famous phrase from Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince; “It is so much more secure to be feared than to be loved.  Men love at their own free will, but fear at the will of the prince.  As long as they are in fear, you have control over them.  For fear is so strong an emotion that people will do everything they can to avoid it”.  

Well, like I always wanted to say, life goes on.  As we go through life, something is always lost, but something is always gained.  

I’m now working on a new baby, a new business venture with two partners and hopefully, we can make it a success and its in the field that is very close to me, Education.  Its almost the end of the year and its been a good year for the company that I run and we have exceeded our target and our figures for this year is tripled of our numbers last year, I have to give credit to my team for this achievement.  I’m currently preparing for another muay thai tournament this November 23 and I hope I will do better than the previous competition ( I really sucked during the last tournament).  If Mitch Albom has his “Tuesdays with Morrie”; my family and I have our “Sundays with Ajarn Pudpadnoy”.   Beck finished her certification course as a muay thai instructor and has earned the title of “kru”.  I still maintain my belief that in muay thai, the certification is proven in the ring.   I intend to write more articles in my blog that not only focus on the events that happen to me and my family but also articles about the diverse field of studies that I am interested in, and be more like the discoverer with an unsatiable appetite for new things and knowledge that I was 10 years and and 30 pounds ago.  Like what the jingle of Discovery Channel says, “I love the whole world, its such a brilliant place”. 

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