So you may have heard about the guy who had surgically implanted titanium into his shins, yup, a Muay Thai fighter decided that he would put his opponents lives on the line by effectively hitting them with solid lumps of metal! Don’t get me wrong, I get that people want to win at all costs…but really, at ALL costs!? Come on now!
Winning mentality Vs Mental, just darn right mental!
Some of the greatest athletes in the world will have gone to extreme levels to achieve what they have, to give themselves the best chance they have for success. As Arnold Schwarzenegger himself once said, ‘break some rules, not the law’, and he followed his own advice by going AWOL (not that we are recommending that any of our military customers do this) so that he could compete in a bodybuilding competition, which he won, of course.
Now there are extremes in all walks of life, and some people may argue that Arnold’s steroid use (sorry kids, but he did use steroids) is an extreme measure to achieving success. However, in Arnolds industry steroid use was a given, you simply were not going to compete on an Olympia stage without using steroids of some sort. Not that it makes it right, but the fact is that you aren’t getting an ‘unfair advantage’ by using steroids when competing in the Olympia. On the other hand, if you were using them but competed in a ‘natural’ bodybuilding competition then guess what… you’re a cheat because you’re gaining an unfair advantage and betraying your fellow competitors and professionals.
So this leads me onto this chap who has just been suspended from professional Muay Thai! Evidently he has been deliberately or not, gaining an unfair advantage over his fellow professionals…but the difference is that this chap is literally putting his competitions life at risk, his shins have actually been turned into weapons!!
Bandasak Chaiyasan had titanium metal surgically inserted into his shins, x-ray images show that the shin bone had metal running from top to bottom. Now I find myself in two minds here, 1.) the guy has been a fighter most of his life and suffered a broken shin when his sparring opponent checked his kick. Consequently he needed to have the titanium implant…fair enough right? 2.) He failed to have the titanium removed DESPITE is contravening the World Muay Thai Councils ruling that asserts that any athlete that has metal implanted for rehab purpose must remove it once they have recovered, if they want to fight again. Bandasak Chaiyasan failed to do this. Maybe he didn’t want to face more rehabilitation after the metal was removed, or maybe he liked the idea of the metal being in there for confidence reasons. I like to give benefit of doubt, but I’m sure that this makes no real difference to his most recent competitor Noppadon Chalor, who said:
“I have never felt anything like that. I have been fighting for 7 years and I have never felt anything like that kick.”
Safe to say that this kick was felt. Accountability is a key thing in life and sport, you are responsible for your actions, and although Bandasak may not have intended to ‘kill’ anyone by not removing the metal…there was a very real risk that he may have done.
Source
BBC Sport, (2015). Muay Thai fighter suspended for titanium implants KO. Retrieved 27th May, 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/32884697
Fightstate.com, (2015). Muay Thai Fighter Suspended For Illegal Titanium Shin Implants in Chiang Mai. Retrieved 27th May, 2015, from http://fightstate.com/muay-thai-fighter-suspended-for-illegal-titanium-shin-implants-in-chiang-mai/
