By: Jacob Klensin
In the third installation of my video blog series for Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com), I decided to take a moment during my travels between Buriram and Phuket. I decided that the shaky camera and bad audio, the result of shooting while on the train, in the midst of a thirty hour trip, was excusable in my effort to bring viewers closer to my experience here.
In this video I reflect on one of the more memorable interactions that I had with one of the young fighters up in Buriram. I tell the story not to air his personal feelings, but because as simple as it was, it had a huge effect on my understanding of what these kids go through.
Although I suppose sharing the personal feelings of fighters is essentially what this project is all about, showing them, and not the fights. I tell this story out of the highest level of respect for him and all the other fighters there. I respect them not just as fighters, but as some of the strongest people I’ve met. I respect them for their skill in Muay Thai, and for their resilience, their heart and their spirit in all elements of their lives. I only hope that I have the opportunity to spend more time with them to better tell their stories.
I am now at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket which I expect to be a hugely different experience, but undoubtedly valuable and exciting for this project. Thank you so much for watching, I hope you enjoy it, thanks to Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com) for bringing it to you, I will have more soon.
Be sure to go back and check out part 1 and part 2 and stay tuned for part 4 coming up later this week. Also, check out FigureofFighting.com for Jacob’s writings and photos from Thailand.
Documentary photographer Jacob Klensin (@JacobKlensin) is in Thailand for a month immersing himself in Muay Thai culture while traveling the country and training at some of the most respected and renowned gyms. Jacob is sharing his experience with ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) readers exclusively in his “Journey through Thailand” video blog series.
This is a great blog and really interesting and entertaining stuff. Thanks so much