This weekend, was 3 days long.

Just got back from class today and boy did I need the sweat. I'm finally starting to get the hang of Muay Thai kicks - it takes balance and a lot of trust that you won't fall over. There have been multiple times where I have completely wiped out and had a "that guy" moment. Hopefully those days are behind me now. Top highlight of the day: High Kicking Tommy Boy straight in the kisser.

So this past weekend was 3 days long (Happy Belated Easter). The funniest thing about a 3 day weekend  is that you always try and convince yourself you're going to "take it easy." Always. And you know what Always happens? The complete opposite of "taking it easy." 

Have you ever tried to recap one of your friends on what you did over the weekend and it comes out like some kind of shopping list? Here goes:

"Got Ready" for PCN (Philippine Cultural Night, an NYU Tradition)

Went to PCN. Shouts to IFAmily, making us alum proud!

Went out with the oldies

Got Cheesesteaks, again.

Got a Manicure (jk?)

Went to Lair (interesting, but expensive)

Went to People to wish my boy the Predator a happy birthday

Got an entire Articoke pizza, again. I'm a sad, sad mess. 

Went to MSG for Game 4 of the Knicks vs. Celtics

On Sunday, I checked out my first Knicks playoff game. Despite the loss, the Knickbockers didn't play too terribly (if you discount the first 30 minutes of the game). I was proud to see them fight it out until the end even if they couldn't look up defense in the dictionary. Shouts to Bosi & OK!

Top chants of a drunken, rowdy MSG playoff atmosphere:

"THESE REFS SUCK"

"BOSTON SUCKS"

"KG SUCKS" (anything with the word sucks after it was fair game)

"ADEL-MAN, ADEL-MAN" (Might need to fire D'Antoni next year. TBD.)

My personal creations:

"GET THE BABY A BOTTLE" (Glen "Big Baby" Davis Reference)

"YOU ARE OLD. YOU ARE OLD" (Boston in General Reference)

In the music world, heading out to see Big KRIT tomorrow in the BK.  In his honor, peep the song below. Sooo hyped, lets do thissss.

Big Krit - My Sub

Yeah let my trunk knock till the tape pop,
My rims chop chop, while the bass drop,
Yeah let my trunk knock till the tape pop,
My rims chop chop, while the bass drop

Peace & Love,

MKP

The other day, I saw Jon Jones

So the other day during the beginner MT class (the beginner class is the first one you go to when you try out the gym) I noticed that a bunch of people were setting up lights and camera's around the ring in the gym. This could only mean one thing and one thing only..someone famous was coming!! As I pondered who it could possibly be..current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones walked into the gym.

Granted, I had no idea who this was either until about two months ago..but still, it was awesomeeee (and not like the Miz). Dude is a BEAST. An absolute animal. As the class was going on,  I kept thinking about what would happen if Bones Jones just went rampage on the entire gym - Kill-Bill Volume 1 Style (classic duh).

Jones probably chose to hold his mock workout photoshoot at The Wat because the head of the gym, Phil, is one of his trainers. Phil Nurse is known for his creative striking. Am I creative at all during the day? Maybe. Best thing I could come up with - the different versions of "lol" I used in one conversation with New Moon. The official "lol" hierarchy (I tried) -

lol - as common as using "is" "as" or "the"
lol. - kind of interesting but not really
lolol - this is funny because its dumb
LOL - wow i'm dumb
LOLL - wow you're dumb
LOOOL - this actually made me smile. win.

(typing masters FTW)

I've been playing a lot of ball recently too, trying to attain my goals that I outlined in an earlier post. Making some steady progress. Becoming somewhat  automatic from the free throw line but that's about where my jump shot ends. Shouts to Bosi, OK, Air Jordan!

In NBA playoff news, the Knicks lost again the other night after 40+ amazing points by Carmelo Anthony. Tough losses but I have to say I was very impressed with Jared Jeffries play in the game. In his honor, see his official "Coming Home Video." The Coming Home song is the designated song of the Knicks after the Carmelo Trade. Let's go game 3! SO PUMPED I'M GOING TO GAME 4 ON SUNDAY. BACK ROW BLEACHERS BABY!

Also, Kenyon Martin changed the tattoo of the pink lips on his neck to a crown. WTF.

Peace & Love,
MKP

Today, the NBA Playoffs Started

It's official. Derrick Rose is amazing. He's like the Jon Jones (current light heavyweight champion) of the NBA. He just single-handedly willed his team to victory. He's a beast. I love him.

(sorry if that seems random, it just needed to be put down on paper so I will always remember today. Non-NBA fans, he's going to be this year's MVP)

The NBA playoffs today, a two month long annual tradition of basketball excellence. So many interesting sub-plots here..

1. Kobe's legacy
2. KNICKS BABYY NYC REP #imcominghome @ProofDaddy
3. The Superfriends aka Miami Heat starting a new Evil Empire in the NBA.

For the record, my all time favorite series was definitely the Warriors-Mavericks series a few years ago with The Baron, J Rich, Mr. Harrington, Matt Barnes, Stephen Jackson, etc. In honor of the playoffs starting today, see the mythical Baron Davis beard ~~

No Muay Thai on Friday this week. A tad sad I missed the class this week but good luck to all those fighters on the pro tour going in this weekend!

In other MTN, I started watching UFC Primetime in anticipation of the George St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields match on April 30. GO GSP!! (totally missed seeing him at the gym the past two times he was there, womp). You have to appreciate just how hard both of them work. It's nonstop, 24/7 training. Workout after workout, it's ridiculous! Jealousy aside, it's encouraging to see such determination and work ethic still out there today.

Going to need to throw a UFC party. Stay tuned (a good chance to make up for missing my Wrestlemania party - you know who you are!!)

Peace & Love,
MKP

Today, I Devoured Wendy

By far the most underrated thing about constantly working out is being able to eat WHATEVER YOU WANT! This translates into me literally trying to eat everything in front of me. Remember when The Biggest Loser first came on TV (my new fav show since The Bachelor season ended. Luv it. Don't hate, look at the new girl trainer.) and they would show what the contestants would normally eat in a day? I am 1000% certain this is how the conversation went with whoever you were watching with:

You: WOW, I cannot believe people on this planet eat that much. That is disgusting.

Anonymous Friend: Totally, I could never eat that much.

You: If I'm ever like that, feed me a cheeseburger kill me.

I've gotten into the habit of eating late night after going out - cheesesteaks, fries, Doritos, ice cream, pretzels, sesame chicken, fruit roll ups - literally anything is fair game. And world, I am still standing.

The reason I bring this up is because I had Wendys for dinner tonight for maybe the second time in the past 4 years. I missed her. Dearly.

In MTN (my new acronym for Muay Thai News), arm bands are now a part of our uniform. The bands are basically a piece of white rope tied in a knot that you wear on your left arm, above the tricep. This symbolizes that you are a student. I'm waiting for the day when I can wear a headband around my arm, John Cena style.

On Monday's class, we learned a new boxing combo: right uppercut - left hook - right cross - left uppercut - right cross. This basically means nothing to most people but riddle me this: Did you ever joke around and punch the air like a boxer warming up? And after about 5 seconds of looking cool this turned into your arms just randomly flailing around in circles? Well, this USED to happen to me all the time.

But the more I practice that combo, the more my shadow boxing (warm up boxing) actually resembles punches. Look at me now. 

Next time: Secrets of Jumping Rope (actually much, much harder than it seems)

Peace & Love,

MKP

Yesterday, I Got Beat Up by a Girl

On Friday's class, Kru (meaning teacher) Phil gave us the chance to spar. Nothing crazy and without gloves, but we got the chance to practice all of the combinations we had been learning for the past hour and a half. This was definitely a new experience for me - so many different things go through your head at once.

I found myself planning out what I was going to do as I jabbed and moved around against my opponent - right high kick, step-over elbow with a back elbow, jab-jab-cross-knee, etc. At first, all was well as I sparred against the Burger King. We worked up  a good sweat and each landed a few blows (defense is an entire other story, being able to read what your opponent is going to do and counter is something that must come with time).

And then I got beat up by a girl.

We switched sparring partners several times and I found myself matched up with a more advanced fighter. She is only about 5'2'' so I wanted to try and keep her away with the jab and use my length advantage. But, no matter how much I tried she kept getting inside on me, successfully dodging and deflecting my punches and kicks.

And then she hit me in the face. Nine Three times!!!!

I had just been KO'd by a girl. It's amazing to me that I have so much left to learn. As sports movies always say, hard work beats talent every time. Anyway, it got me thinking of how women can be underrated in so many things. Strong-willed women in entertainment/politics/workplace are definitely noticeable and deserve RESPECT! Here's my list of the most strong-willed women in the business:

Strong Willed Women List:

-Oprah

-Queen Latifah (for anyone who hasn't seen Just Wright yet, DO IT ASAP!)

-Rihanna (both the artist and the nickname)

-Doctah Dre (yes, this means you)

Anti Strong-Willed Women List:

-Tina Fey Sarah Palin (her Palin impression has to rank up there in terms of the GOATs of SNL)

-Avril Lavgine

-Carrie Bradshaw

-Justin Bieber (I say this with a grain of salt as I am currently in a search to find a theatre still playing Never Say Never in Manhattan...)

Peace & Love,
MKP

Today, I Did Not Eat 4 Orders of Soup Dumplings

Went to Joe's Shanghai tonight after a failed attempt to go to Wo-Hop-Kee (Everyone who has ever been there past Midnight 3AM can attest that both places are indistinguishable) and it reminded me of just how much I used to eat. I can specifically recall one time my freshman year where I walked to Joe's just to get a taste of their magical soup dumplings. And I am 100% certain that the conversation went something like this:

Waitress: Hi, table for one?
Me: No thank you, madame, I will just be ordering take-out!
Waitress: Let me get you a menu
Me: Just give me 4 orders of pork soup dumplings..

That's right, 4 orders!!! 4!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh the crazy things I used to do. In that spirit, I am going to relive my past a little bit as some of my work friends still don't believe me. One of these pictures is of me from last year, and the other one is from 3 years ago - can anyone tell the difference? (yes, I have patented the double point-pose.)

This one's for you - Pregnant Yoshi, Burger King, New Moon, Tommy Boy, ZZ Top, Tension and Rihanna.

In Muay Thai news, I'm beginning to realize that playing music really DOES help the workout. I was never a big ipod user at the gym, usually I am trying to workout as quickly as possible. However, during my warm-up the other day they were playing Lupe Fiasco and I found myself kicking higher, punching harder and sweating up a storm.

In that honor, I'm also going to start putting some of my favorite tracks up as part of my posts. It's very rare that something goes on "repeat status" for me, as I listen to so many different things at once. But this right here is my official jam of the moment:

Big K.R.I.T - Rotation

Old school when I ride, forever sky high
Workin wood wheel, when the sun outside
I’m just rotating my tires, rotating my tires, rotating my tires, rotating my tires
Not a care in the world, me and my girl
Candy coated pearl with the bowling ball swirl
I’m just rotating my tires, rotating my tires, rotating my tires, rotating my tires


Peace & Love,
MKP

Today, I Kicked Someone in the Face

Note: Thanks to everyone who is reading this/reads this in the future!!

So during today's class I practiced my high kicks for the first time. A high kick is where you extend the kick up to your opponent's face, rather than a traditional body blow. Anyway, I had never actually tried to perform such a feat until today. And let me tell you, I CAN KICK PEOPLE IN THE HEAD. This might not seem like a big deal, but it feels totally awesome and not a lot of people have that kind of flexibility.

I've also sort of developed this reputation for being flexible in a lot of funny ways. For instance, I can put both of my legs behind my head. (Work readers, the only reason I have not performed this in the office is because I have this habit of falling on my face when I attempt this. I'll save this for the next time we are at M1-5 Circle). It felt good that something unique about me could translate into Muay Thai.

This got me thinking..could my training translate into new and exciting opportunities? Could I one day be able to do a successful cartwheel? Or better yet, dunk a basketball? On an official sized hoop!?!??!! (Yes, I dominate fisher price slam dunk contests).

I'll keep everyone posted on this. I'm going to try and start playing more basketball to see if this Muay Thai thing has helped my athleticism and/or basketball skillz. For all the ball I play, my game has developed to the following skills:

1. Hustle on D
2. Rebounding
3. Cutting to the Hoop

I've always liked to set my personal goals high so hopefully I can achieve the following:

1. Ability to finish with my left hand (LOL No, not like that)
2. Getting blocks
3. Breaking defenders off with a quick first step and a left hand dribble

Dream big boys and girls, and get pumped for this year's Tony Regina Basketball Tournament.

Peace & Love,
MKP