Monday, December 16, 2013

Cock Fighting in Thailand


I was recently invited to go to some underground cock fights with some of the locals in Thailand. The day began with all the owners sizing up their roosters.The selected animals waited their turn to be put in the ring against their pre-selected opponent to fight, That's when the bets began. There are five twenty-three minute rounds with twenty-three minute breaks in between. This allows time for the roosters to rest and be stitched up.The cocks fight until the death or serious injury, the fight can also be ended if one bird runs away after being injured or decision with who the more dominant rooster is. The ‘fight to the death’ rule is not enforced in Thai cock fighting, which creates a make-shift chicken hospital in the dirt, where needles are sterilized in boiling water, and teams of people stitch up the wounded animals.
Oh yeah, and then the Thai police came causing a scatter of the Thais I was with in to the jungle jumping fences with their prized birds.











































Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Love of Muay Thai

Addicted to gaming and fearing he was too obese, Bronx, New York native, Matthew Semper came to Thailand to lose weight and to train Muay Thai. After coming to Thailand, Semper lost 150 pounds. "I had to get away from all the distractions in the States," said Semper.  "My life became video games. I'm over the addiction, now I just play when I have free time." Nearly four years living and fighting professionally in Thailand, Semper has had over 45 fights and holds the record for most fights fighting for Tiger Muay Thai. Without health insurance and proper income, Semper took fights in order for financial reasons and sometimes used his winnings to cover health problems. 
A veteran of both the Queen and King's Cup, Semper is making a name for himself as a top contender in Phuket."You have to use those techniques that will win you the game," said Semper.




























A New Game

A New Game from Jeff Sainlar on Vimeo.
The Traditional Thai New Year
Songkran 2013 from Jeff Sainlar on Vimeo.