APA MAKSUD WAIKRU RAM MUAY?!

PHOTO CREDIT : EN CHE MAT HAKIMIE

Sa wa Dee kaa kawan -kawan dunia Muay. Hari  ini, kakak Vern bercadang hendak membuat post kakak menggunakan Bahasa Melayu. 

Sebelum saya bermula, izinkan saya dahulu menceritakan sebuah kisah benar yang telah berlaku ke atas diri saya beberapa bulan yang lalu..

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Bunyi musik Sarama yang unik memenuhi seluruh tapak perlawanan, dua peninju wanita berada diatas pentas, mengeliling gelanggang sambil berhenti di setiap penjuru , mulut mereka kumat kamit membaca sesuatu, selepas itu, mereka membuat 3 pusingan di atas pentas, dan kemudiannya upacara menari yang pelik dilakukan.

Gadis molek yang tidak asing lagi dalam arena muay thai sebelah utara mempersembahkan Ram Muay beliau yang cukup cantik. Ram Muay beliau yang telah dipopularkan oleh Buakaw mengisahkan cerita Rama memburu kancil (Pra Ram Tam Gwang). 

Penyokong- penyokongnya melihat dari bawah sambil bertepuk tangan bersorak. DJ Yatim menjerit ke dalam mikrofon yang dipegangnya  '' cantik sekali tarian sembah guru yang dilakukan!!'' 

Terus terang, saya tak pernah pergi ke perlawanan muaythai untuk tengok orang bertumbuk. Kenapa? orang terlalu ramai, asap rokok terlalu tebal, dan kadang kala diraba secara tiba-tiba tanpa disedari. Lain kalau di Siam, sebab persekitarannya dan feel nya lain ok.

Tapi hari ini, saya bercadang untuk tenangkan fikiran dengan memberi sokongan pada nak muay yang lain, lagipun , saya lapar selepas menimbang berat untuk perlawanan saya nanti. 

Ketika fikiran saya masih runsing terhadap perlawanan saya dan kemungkinanya terpaksa menampung berat lawan, Mamat Rocker tepi saya yang memakai baju ''muaythai'' edisi Padang Besar dengan penuh emosi berkata'' woi, lawan la. Menari apa lagi. Orang datang nak tengok lawan, bukan menari ?'' 

Terbukti sekali sedang memarahi peninju di atas gelanggang pada ketika itu. 

Reaksi instant saya .... what the fuck? APAKAH JADAH?!

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Jadi kembali kepada perbincangan kita hari ini, apakah  WAI KRU RAM MUAY , mengapa peninju melakukannya diatas gelanggang dan mengapa harus anda menghormatinya. 

Sebagai permulaan, Wai Kru Ram Muay merupakan satu upacara dalam seni sukan MuayThai dan kebiasaannya dilakukan sebelum berlawan tetapi dalam zaman ini kepentingannya sering dilupakan dan maknanya kerap kali disalah tafsir. 

Tanggapan yang salah berkenaan dengan Wai Kru Ram Muay ialah ia merupakan satu upacara agama Buddha. Akan tetapi, kita harus faham, di Thailand  banyak bangsa yang memeluk agama berlainan dan mempunyai banyak adat yang unik dalam budaya mereka, salah satunya adalah upcara Wai Kru Ram Muay.

Setiap Wai Kru Ram Muay ialah unik kepada peninju yang berlainan. Kebiasaannya , Wai Kru akan melambangkan identiti seseorang peninju tertentu. Akan tetapi, ramai peninju yang enggan melakukan upacara sembah pentas, mungkin kerana beberapa faktor

1) tak erti dan tak mahu belajar

2) salah faham makna WaiKru 

3) malu

Tidak perlu risau, dengan Bahasa Melayu saya yang dahulu kala A (LEVEL SPM) , ( sekarang macam taik ) saya akan terangkan secara asasnya , APAKAH ITU WAI KRU RAM MUAY ( daripada apa yang aku fahami la ok)

Kita akan terlebih dahulu memahami lagi mendalam dengan membahagikan upacara Wai Kru Ram Muay kepada 2 iaitu ;

PART 1: WAI KRU 
PART 2 : RAM MUAY

PART 1: WaiKru

Ok, pertama sekali, kita harus tahu , apakah itu maksud ''WAI''. Apabila kita melawat negara jiran , Thailand, kita banyak terlihat cara penghormatan diberi , ibarat salam ,ialah dengan merapatkan kedua-dua tangan ke bahagian dada dan menunduk kepala. Itu la ''wai'' . ''KRU '' pula bermaksud Cikgu, Guru, Coach .

Jadi bagaimanakah Wai Kru dilakukan di atas gelanggang?

Sejurus peninju naik ke gelanggang, dan referee habis memeriksa mereka, music Serama akan dimainkan dan peninju akan berjalan lawan arus jam ke setiap bucu dengan tangan kanannya di atas tali, dan tangan kirinya diangkat , sambil berhenti dan membaca doa/mentera di setiap penjuru.

IKHMAL BORAN SPT membaca doa di penjuru

Di Siam, mereka membaca mentera perlindungan , tetapi di Malaysia , bacalah doa agama masing-masing.  Nasihat saya, jangan baca panjang sangat nanti ada pula yang suka mengata benda merepek kononnya anda baca sihir. 

Kepercayaan di Siam adalah ini dilakukan untuk ''mematerai'' gelanggang daripada unsur-unsur negatif luar dan memberi perlindungan kepada peninju-peninju sendiri daripada segala anasir-anasir jahat di luar gelanggang. Mana nak tahu, kalau ada ''penjaga'' yang ingin masuk sekali dengan Tuan mereka. 

Selepas ini dilakukan, peninju akan ke tengah gelanggang and bersujud kearah sudut masing-masing dan melakukan ''WAI KRU'' . Asal dalam kepercayaan Buddha, Wai akan dilakukan 3 kali , untuk Penghormatan pada Buddha, Sanga (sami ), dan Dharma ( ajaran Buddha) . 

Akan tetapi, tiga sujud yang dilakukan di upacara Buddha tidak sama dengan yang ada di Wai Kru. Di Muay Thai , sujud kita adalah pada Ibu bapa, Trainer dan Negara kita.  

Sebagai contoh, sesetengah tempat seperti Selatan Thailand  yang mempunyai komuniti Islam yang terbesar dan ramai peninju beragama Islam yang terkenal (seperti Namsaknoi). 

Tetapi dalam kepercayaan Islam, menunduk kepada sesiapa selain daripada Tuhan adalah dilarang keras. Jadi, banyak peninju Islam tidak melakukan Wai Kru , tetapi menggantikannya dengan upacara membaca doa dan meminta perlindungan daripada Allah sebelum memulakan upacara Ram Muay. 

Ramli Warna membaca doa

Seperti yang telah saya katakan , setiap Wai Kru adalah unik dan tidak ada betul atau salahnya.  Yang penting ialah niat kita semasa melakukan Wai Kru tersebut. Agenda sebenar Wai Kru adalah sebagai tanda berterima kasih kepada cikgu.

PART 2: Ram Muay

Zahir SPT melakukan Ram Muay

RAM : tarian

MUAY : Seni Muay

Selepas upacara Wai Kru, Fasa Kedua Ram Muay pula dilakukan. Ram Muay  sebenarnya penting untuk memberi persediaan mental dan konsentrasi ( betul ka ejaan?) . Setiap Peninju mempunyai tarian yang berbeza -beza, samada mengikut Gym atau tokguru, ataupun tempat asal mereka. 

Ram Muay biasanya diajar oleh Tok Guru kepada anak-anak murid mereka, dan sering kali mencerminkan semula dimanakan asal usul peninju tersebut. Tetapi pada zaman teknologi ini, ramai yang belajar dari YouTube juga dan mengubah suai sana sini untuk menjadikan sesebuah Ram Muay ini lagi peribadi.

Anda mungkin juga pernah melihat sesetengah peninju mempersembahkan aksi Tuhan Rama menembak panah ke arah lawan untuk membunuh semangat mereka, dan ada juga yang membuat aksi membuat kubur untuk lawan mereka. Secara peribadi, saya pernah melihat ada yang menulis nama lawan menggunakan kaki di sudut lawan ( menggunakan kaki adalah tanda tidak menghormati) dan menghentak kaki mereka sebanyak tiga kali. ini dilakukan semua untuk menjatuhkan semangat lawan mereka.

Secara kesimpulannya, apakah sebenarnya fungsi Wai Kru Ram Muay ?

1. Memberi penghormatan pada Tokguru, ibu bapa, Tuhan, kawan-kawan.
2. Lambang setiap kelab. kadang kala, peninju mempunyai tarian yang spesifik kepada kelab masing masing. 
3. Pengiktirafan pada sesiapa yang pernah membantu perjalanan ke arah menjadi seorang peninju. 
4. ''kunci''  gelanggang daripada unsur -unsur negative dari luar.
5. Memanaskan badan and stretching otot-otot sebelum perlawanan.
6. Menenangkan minda dan mengilangkan rasa takut atas gelanggang secara tidak lansung menaikkan taraf keyakinan diatas gelanggang.
7. Menakutkkan pihak lawan dengan keyakinan diri yang tinggi  
8. Meniliti pihak lawan ketika mereka sedang melakukan WaiKru.
9. Apabila menari dan berjalan atas gelanggang, kita dapat merasai di mana tempat yang tidak rata , dimana tempat yang tidak stabil untuk berdiri, alang2 boleh testing tapak perlawanan dan mengetahui keadaan gelanggang.

MuayThai merupakan seni, warisan, dan budaya kepada orang Siam dan WaiKru merupakan sebahagian daripada tradisi tersebut .  Seseorang peninju MuayThai harus mempunyai tanggungjawab untuk melakukan WaiKru yang cantik dan bermakna dan tidak harus memperlekehkannya. 

Seperti juga pesilat belajar silat, pembelajaran silat juga akan dipecahkan kepada bunga dan buah. Setiap pergerakkan ada maknanya dan kami menghormati pesilat apabila mereka buka buah, bukan? 

Pesilat tidak melakukan Bunga sebagai tari menari yang bertujuan untuk persembahan semata-mata. Gerak Bunga diilhamkan kepada pengasas silat dan disusun menjadi tunggak utama persilatan tersebut. 

Bagaikan Bunga silat, Wai Kru juga ialah sebahagian penting dalam sukan MuayThai yang dilakukan sebelum perlawanan . Mungkin di Siam, Wai Kru banyak melibatkan aspek kerohanian dan kepercayaan , tetapi, Wai Kru juga boleh dilakukan berdasarkan agama dan kepercayaan masing-masing. 

Lepas ini, jangan pula ada Nak Muay yang masih tidak faham lagi erti Wai Kru. jika tak faham, maka tak tahu. Belajar la Wai Kru kerana ia sebahagian daripada MuayThai juga. :) Wai Kru Ram Muay ialah sebuah adat istiadat yang unik yang mampu memisahkan Muay Thai dari seni mempertahankan diri yang lain dan adalah sesuatu yang tidak harus dilupakan.

Kalau tidak pun, sekurang kurangnya anda akan dapat gambar yang cantik masa buat Wai Kru :) Of course, pastikan anda ada photographer hebat di tapak perlawanan ok. 

PUVAN Z1 . 

Juga harus diutamakan, apabila WaiKru dilakukan, Mongkon harus dipakai diatas kepala. Kepentingan Mongkon, kita cerita entri seterusnya ok :)

Photo credits to : En Che Mat Hakimie, Miss Ai Yin, and myself. 

Muay Thai FOR GIRLS??

I can't believe how long i have been abandoning this blog. Its ridiculous. I used to love blogging so much , about so many ridiculous issues and being completely self absorbed. And now, I can't even sit and pen down a single word.

Il spare myself and my readers from writing regarding boring issues pertaining to my life for the past few 2years and jump straight to what I’ve been doing now.

So, ever since being Alor Setar as a dentist, a lot has happened. Life was such a bore to me that I had to venture out and to find new hobbies and interests to do. I tried Ukulele lessons, I tried guitar lesson, I enrolled myself in a gym and finally, I found something I really liked doing, MuayThai.

I thank Sylvie von douglas for this really. Before this I was only half heartedly doing it but when I discovered her blog and read more about it, I began growing interest in what I do.

Sylvie Von Douglas Ittu www.8limbs.us

Let me first enlighten you about the sudden interest in joining MuayThai.  I was initially drawn to MMA after watching a fight one day while I was shopping in one of the malls in Penang with my friend Aiyin. I remember we were both chatting and I told her ‘’ Aiyin, do you think I can fight like that in a cage? ‘’ and she went  ‘’I’m sure you will be much better!’’

2 November 2014, Aiyin and I watching a MMA ring cage fight in GurneyParagon Penang before our 21km marathon the next day.

I went home and started asking around if AlorSetar has any MMA training facilities. Since Kedah is close to the Thai border, I wasn't too surprise to find out that Kedah has more Muay Thai training centres than MMA. I read more regarding MMA and I found out that most MMA fighters have their fair bit of Muay thai training and so, I started watching Muay Thai fights instead. 

Needless to say, I grew interest in Muay Thai and began watching old YouTube videos of legendary Muay thai fighters. My favourite is Samart for sure. I remember watching and being in total awe of the beautiful strikes and surprisingly artistic nature of the fights. That was when I stumbled upon Sylvie's 8limbs.us blog. I took about a week to finish reading all her posts and at the end of it, I was pretty much into Muay Thai already

 

Samart Payakaroon

I clearly remember it was November 2015 when I contacted Sylvie to ask if I could meet her in Lanna MuayThai , Chaing Mai to learn some basic in Muay Thai but unfortunately, I missed her by a few hours when I reached. Since I was already in Chaing Mai, I thought I would just go on trying to experience MuayThai training there. The few days I spent in Lanna has opened my eyes to how much Thais respected and adored what they were doing.  It wasn't just another fitness activity to them, it’s a lifestyle. It made me appreciate MuayThai even more. 

Training in Lanna  was a torture that I truly enjoy. I never expected training to be so intense. I remember I was pushed by one of the trainers to keep going that I just collapsed at the side of the ring, crying. He just went on ‘’khao’’ing me. Yet, no one offered me any sympathy. It was painful but due to the lack of attention, I got back up and I finish my pad works. 

Muay Thai in general just makes you stronger, physically and emotionally. Its easier physically than emotionally, trust me. It takes up alot of your mental strength to get through each session and after everything, to show up again the next training session.

 You can cry all you want but when the timer rings, you get up on your feet and you complete your pad work

Anyways, Back in Malaysia. my quest to look for a proper gym was difficult. Heck, I wasn't even looking for a proper gym but just any gym which offers Muay Thai lessons. Kedah is naturally a more conservative state. This means that training with a lady  in most outskirts muaythai training grounds were pretty much unheard of, unlike being in major cities such as Penang, or KL. 

I remember asking my staff to set up for an appointment with one of the gyms near my working place. The next day, she came and told me they can’t teach me as they were uncomfortable with a lady being there as most of them are males.

A year later, Alor Setar became more developed. A new mall was built at the heart of the city and a there was a new fitness centre in the mall. I signed up for it with hopes of becoming fitter and healthier. You see, apart of occasional marathons once a year, I'm pretty much a log who sits at home, eat my chips, and sleep. My weight yoyos around and I go from one busted diet to another. 

I figured out that signing up for a new gym would do me some good. To my surprise, the new gym offers an hour of Muaythai classes 4 days a week, that was when I met my first trainer, Spark and Angah. After 1 year, I finally found myself training MuayThai.

Training Muay Thai an hour 5 days a week in Chi Fitness

An hour lesson , 5 days a week, sometimes the classes would be packed with people and that was just not cutting it out for me. I wanted to learn MuayThai not for fitness reasons, but because I really wanted to fight. Being in Lanna, I know exactly that I needed a personal training session and an hour a day is insufficient for me and so ,officially in January this year, I joined Spark and his other fighters in a MuayThai gym  and together we started training daily from 6pm till 12am.

The gym is relatively small, hot and moudly at a certain spots. There are no fighting rings in the gym, just a patched up carpeted floor,  a stench of old gloves smell to it. Yet, I liked it. Many guys from my former fitness gym followed me to get the ‘real deal’ of muaythai training, but they all left when they couldn’t accept the condition of gym. It’s not a commercialized gym. Pretty much like what you get in old muathai gyms across Thailand. It took some getting used to but I was there solely because it was the only place where I could get proper training.

I quitted my fitness gym to fully concentrate on my Muay Thai training. I received a mix of reactions from people. Some were generally just very supportive and some were outright insensitive with their comments. In the end, Ive got to say I knew that many people thought that I would quit.  Which to my own surprise, I dint.

Spark, my first trainer , who is still a fighter himself.

One dude told me that I'm too old to start training to be a fighter. And how girls should just do it for self protection. I dint want that. I get a rush of adrenaline each time I step into the ring, even if its for my pad work. I was obsessed with training. I pushed myself really hard for the first few months.  I gave up on night outs with my friends, gave up on my guitar lessons, gave up on night shifts for extra income and basically, I had no social life out of the gym. 

I work 8am to 5pm daily as a dentist in a government clinic and training can sometimes be stressful for me after a long day at work. Some days when I have to oncall , I would train in the gym, rush to the hospital when I get a call, finish my case, and return back to the gym to continue my routine. Im always the person who stays behind with my trainer to lock up the gym past 12am.

My boss and colleagues definitely do not care about what extra out-of-the-job activities I am passionate about. It doesn't matter if I pulled a muscle the night before or injured my back during training, work is work and so, there were many times that I considered giving up training to be a fighter and concentrate on my job instead.

But the strategy of the game changes once you consider yourself a fighter. It changes from a hobby to a lifestyle.

Nevertheless, when there were days that I feel completely passionate about what I do, there were also numerous days that I wanted to give up completely. I remember after my first fight, I was so disappointed on how things went, despite winning the fight by T.K.O round 2, I was upset and every training day made me very emotional. It felt like nothing I was doing was right. I refused to kick for many many weeks despite being asked to. All my kicks felt wrong powerless.

In the ring, I was downright terrified to kick. Probably because when I was attempting to kick, she teeped me so hard I fell on my ass and everyone was laughing at me . An abrupt change in mentality.

They were trying to work out on why I couldn’t throw any kicks and the discussion made me very bitter, I would stop training early, sit with my head down at my corner and involuntarily start tearing, which was both difficult and embarrassing for me. But I'm glad that phase was over and done with. It's normal. I cry occasionally when I’m training now, but in the end, I still come back for more.

you know how much training Ive been doing these past few months from the muscles I'm flaunting here. haha

I still don’t consider myself a fighter, At this point, I’m just experimenting on how hard I can push myself. Better days should be coming but till then, I just have to punch harder and stop thinking so much and continuously try to improve myself. In the end, I know Muay Thai has helped developed my personality and willpower, overall, made made a tougher. I stopped whining so much and I love the torture of MuayThai, the bruised shins, the blisters from my feet from countless pivoting, the cramps that made me walk weirdly and the muscle soreness. 

That's all I can describe about my experience. Till next time, CHOK DEE!!!!

Cambodia - Angkor Wat

Ive skipped an entire entry regarding my trip to Uk, to Scotland, and to Turkey. Mainly due to hectic work schedules. But , I thought it would be great to start writing again on my travels. 

So, how do one come up with travel plans to Cambodia? Well, to be honest, I am not sure myself. It could have been due to the fact that I have visited most of the Asian countries.

After days of discussion, we finally made up our mind,, Cambodia it is! And hence, after many nights of dramas with Air Asia, multiple flight booking errors and rebooking and refunding, and rebooking, we finally got our flight tickets settled. and off to Cambodia we go!

Day 1 : Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

When we landed in Siem Reap after an agonizing landing, (yes, i literally thought I was going to die from the landing), we were greeted with a distinguish Cambodian air. Haze. We were lucky enough to have our hotel arrange for us a tuktuk, already waiting for us as soon as we landed. 

I was really thankful to Chez Moi to have agreed to pick us up at 8am despite our official check in time at 2 pm. They even allowed us to check into one room earlier at 10am , hence, giving us more time to start our tours.

The Chez Moi hotel is the also most serene and clean resort/hotel out there in Cambodia. Its it located at a quieter part of town , and hence, we were able to get a good night rest in this hotel , peaceful sleep. 

The hotel room has been my gift to Ursha and Roshiny for thier 25th birthday here in Cambodia. I knew we will be staying in mad monkey for the next 5 days, hence, I wanted us to at least have a good first night experience here in Cambodia. 

Just so you know, Mad Monkey in Siam Reap is not for the faint hearted. We were awaken at 3am in the morning by knocking on our door, condom packets lying everywhere and drunk white people all screaming and dancing away , at fking 3am! 

They had this really cool sauna house. the Chpong, or better known as traditional Khemer sauna, we tried and had such a good time in it!

There weren't many rooms in Chez Moi to begin with. Probably less than 15. making it more private for us. I think there were only 3 guests there when we arrived.

Super pleased with Chez Moi for their impeccable customer service. They cater to ever demanding needs I make regarding my 1 day stay there. Including helping me to decorate the bed with birthday wishes.

Meeting the man himself, the manager of Chez Moi who has been replying all my emails in speedyspeed and listening to my needs attentively. 

Needless to stay, I was unaware that Chez Moi is a more, honeymoon like resort. open showers , open bath tub. The awesome thing was that the toilet came with a door, making poo poo more private. Trust issues dwelled in each one of us. Everyone took their showers in fear that the other would peek. It was a scene to behold. haha

After freshening up with some good chilled fruit juice, we headed to our first adventure. Angkor Wat. Siam Reap is home to one of the most important archaeological sites in SEA, The Angkor Wat. The remarkable ruins of several temples along with the well-known Angkor Wat temple are located in the Angkor Archaeological Park, just outside of the city. It was about 20 minutes tuktuk ride from the city. 

Had lunch outside the temple sites, brought by our tuktuk for a ridiculously expensive price. Out of hunger, we could not care less.

We only visited 3 temples as we were mainly only interested in Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple and Ta Phrom. Plus, that particular day was extremely hot! We met a family from UK who told us they wanted to quit walking around and just get back to their hotel rooms as the heat was just unbearable.


Every tourist was hiding behind shaddy areas of the temple and sweat was just dripping from every inch of our skin.


Needless to say, even being Malaysians, we were dying from a heat stroke. But all we wanted to see was the sun set in Angkor Wat, so , we knew we had to endure the heat. Having the sun is much better than a cloudy sky.

Ticket for a day pass costs us about $20. If you wish, you could get the pass which starts from 5pm to 6pm the next day. In that case, you get to view the sunrise and the sunset. 

BAYON TEMPLE 

TA PHORM

A sight to behold, large tress growing more than 400 years ago. Outgrowing the temple itself.

ALL SUNNY AND HOT, NOT A SINGLE DAMN CLOUD..... UNTIL WE REACH THE ULTIMATE PLACE TO WATCH THE SUNSET......

ANGKOR WAT 

When we reached the majestic Angkor Wat, the sky changed 360degrees, It was raining cats and dogs. We spent the entire time inside Angkor Wat dubsmashing to entertain ourselves. ere The crowds were obviously reducing due to the downpour. but many were still squeezing into the temple to seek shelter from the rain.

Notice the change of weather?! 

THUNDERSTORM. 

We still enjoyed Angkor Wat regardless. :)

They said it was a blessing, the rain was a blessing to the end of such a hot and humid day. Little Cambodian children were running around playing in the rain. So, in conclusion, WE are a blessing. :D

Later that night, we returned back to out hotel in Chez Moi and then proceeded out to get food for dinner. Managed to find a place in night market area which sells cheap noodles for only $2 , as per compared to our super expensive lunch at $7 per person. 

It was a really long day with possibility of heat damage to our brains. Hence, we retrieved to sleep on one of the softest and most peaceful bed ever. :)