imisstony.com

The other night, in a very quiet bungalow on the beach, I wrote a very verbose recollection of my time in the ring with a Muay Thai fighter but I think it'll be more interesting to tell you the story in person someday. But here are some excerpts:

...and then came the final kick. Full force to my face. I'd always wondered how those head guards were supposed to protect your face. Well, they don't. If you've ever been struck in the nose, you know it's a bit unique. As unique as getting socked in the gut or kicked in the nuts. Everything goes white. The pain shoots right into your brain. I'm told that I tried to get up and fell back down. I don't remember. Carlien said my nose 'exploded' with blood...

What I remember was getting kicked so hard I couldn't open my eyes. And then I felt my teeth with my tongue. Broken! My teeth were broken! ... I was so angry, the pain from my nose was secondary. I put my glove up and shouted, "That's it, you broke my $%&# teeth, it's over". I tried to get up but by then, there were several Thai guys standing over me, trying to stop my nose from bleeding. I asked them to let me stand up so my friends wouldn't freak out...

When I looked in the mirror, I saw the damage. I was pretty mashed up. My nose was shifted to the right, pointing in a whole new direction. I was a mess. I cursed at my appearance. Broken teeth, swollen eye, smashed up nose. A guy in the bathroom said I'd just fought one of the top Thai boxers on the island. I turned to him and said, "I've never fought anyone before". He told me my nose needed to be reset. I looked in the mirror and said, "Do it."

Gerrard braced both sides of my head while the guy placed his thumbs along my nose. As he shifted it back into place, I heard the crackle of bone...

After a few days of rest and quiet on the other side of Phi Phi island, I left my British friends and jumped on a boat and bus to Bangkok. I had my teeth repaired (2100 Baht/$65 USD, covered by WorldNomads travel insurance). I met up with my friend My one night and my friend Ana the next day. They could hardly tell anything had happened. A week later, the black eye is mostly gone, the nose is still tender and sensitive, but I've got most of my smile back.

Labels: Thailand