50 Ways of Knowing You’re a Thai Boxer

#1 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you bought your hand wraps 6 months ago and you still haven’t washed them

#2 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you have a sudden, instinctive urge to shout “OOOOEEEEE!” whenever you see a fighter landing a knee

#3 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you kick pads thousands upon thousands of times, thinking your shins are getting tougher, but you still want to cry when you bang your leg on the living room table

#4 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you’ve lost 15% of your body weight and put it back on again, all within 24 hours

#5 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you have a phobia of saunas

#6 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… the word “burpee” makes you nauseous

#7 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you get filled with rage when somebody calls it “muay Thai kickboxing”

#8 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you have golf-ball sized lumps on your shins

#9 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you tell someone you train muay Thai and they automatically respond with “Oh, I wouldn’t wanna mess with you then!” *awkward silence*

#10 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you shadow box in your kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, in fact, just about anywhere

#11 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you just smiled

#12 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you can automatically prepare your mind and body for a fight in a split second…just by taking a whiff of Nam Muay oil

#13 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you misplace your car keys or other household object and you automatically think you have brain damage

#14 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you get called “champ”

#15 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… every time the referee calls you into the centre of the ring to start a fight, you think to yourself “what the f**k am I doing here?”

#16 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you have friends all over the world who you met and trained with in Thailand

#17 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you’re either going through a period of strict physical and nutritional discipline, or you’re bingeing like a complete slob

#18 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you’ve got a few favourite fight photos that make you look AWESOME

#19 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… every time you put your iPod on, you start visualising yourself fighting your next opponent

#20 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… the noobs in your gym wear flashy, expensive, custom-made shorts for training, and you’ve been wearing the same old pair for the last two years

#21 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you can get beat up for 15 minutes but still think it’s the most fun you’ve ever had

#22 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you are perfectly happy to receive pain, as long as you can give it back

#23 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… the five Thai trainers in your gym in Thailand all have a different pronunciation for your name

#24 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you run well over 2,000km a year

#25 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… your adrenaline goes crazy when you watch your fight videos back

#26 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you become increasingly worked up and agitated until you get to smash pads again

#27 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you’ve massaged your legs with Nam Muay oil and then gone for a pee…and it only ever happened ONCE…

#28 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you lie in bed thinking about how you’re going to do this technique or that technique in sparring, then you just get your ass handed to you because none of it worked…

#29 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… it’s a miracle when you don’t carry any injuries into a training session or a fight

#30 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you know the feeling of somebody’s skin splitting as you slash at it with your elbow

#31 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you watch MMA fights and constantly see openings for elbows…but nobody elbows…

#32 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you always think your shins have healed after a fight so you throw a kick full power at the bag and realise you were wrong…AGAIN

#33 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you’ve lost count of the amount of people who have come and gone in your gym…

#34 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you avoid using the gym’s gear at all costs

#35 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you come over all “ooh I’m going to appreciate everything I’ve got from now on” when you’re cutting weight, and then just take it all for granted when you’re allowed to eat and drink again

#36 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… the sound of somebody hitting the canvas after you’ve swept them is music to your ears

#37 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you can sit and watch Thais with perfect form hitting pads for hours and not get bored

#38 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… your YouTube search history is a list of your favourite fighters

#39 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… at some point, you’ve put a brand new pair of hand wraps in the laundry and dyed everything funky colours

#40 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you think two Thai men fighting each other is more beautiful than your partner

#41 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… your fight pics are always the first to be uploaded to dating apps…

#42 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… your idea of fun is most people’s biggest fear

#43 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you get all “giddy” when somebody shows you a solution to a problem you’ve been having

#44 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you’re proud of your scars

#45 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… your friends are out drinking on a Saturday and you’re in the gym

#46 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you have a training or fight pic as your Facebook profile/cover photo

#47 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… your nose looks a bit funny and you’re a loud breather

#48 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you have a new pose or silly face to make for each group photo that gets taken

#49 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you read 60 Reasons Why You Might Be a Muay Thai Douchebag and you know somebody who does each one

#50 You know you’re a Thai boxer if… you can relate to the majority of the items in this list