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This is in part, why I make a lot of use out of one of my students being a very strong wrestler. The level of control you get from certain grips transfers to muay thai training very well - and because of that wrestling background, he is able to ragdoll even the strongest clinchers. Old school boxers used to train in wrestling in order to punch out of the clinch. Having good thai-style clinching really helps my MMA guy, and having his wrestling ability has made the Thai boxers a lot more resilient in the clinch! 

The average student holding Thai pads, doesn't really know how to hold them safely. I'd suggest focusing more on technique and using the bag for 'charging the battery' as it were. If your coach is holding the pads, then blast away.

Hi all. I have my first tournament coming up March 21st and I need to cut from 140 to 130. I have a month as this point. I’m particularly interested from hearing from other women about their experiences.  This sounds simple enough but I’m a woman and also 42 so losing weight is a bit more challenging. I would like to lose down to maybe 133 or so with diet and then cut water for the rest.    Do you guys cut carbs? I know this will make me lose weight but every time I do, my energy takes a complete nose-dove.    Or does it make more sense to speak with a nutritionist? I’ve lost weight before but more slowly than this so the relatively quick loss has me freaking out a bit. 

I recently was thinking a lot about this when I switched sparring partners to someone who is much larger and more experienced with me and got my bell rung a couple times. So naturally I took a look through Slyvie's youtube among others and found this discussion to be useful. I think the thing that concerns me more than getting large blows is the repetitive "minor" blows you really rack up in sparring. Ive been experimenting with trying to keep a more playful attitude during sparring and communicating when a blow may be to hard, etc. This is difficult when you also want to be tough, but I like to think about this as strengthening my communication and self worth muscles. Also discussed in that clip is research on heavy gloves affecting head injury occurrence.  I did find this anecdotal report of knock outs by punching increasing 10-fold after MMA required gloves. This is obviously for alot of reasons (fighters wanting to prevent hand injury, etc), but the point of getting hit with an added 16oz's of weight on the chin really makes sense to me. These are good things to think about. You can mitigate risks like you would riding a motor bike or driving a car, but in the end combat sports will be always be a risk that you have to weigh the benefits of.

I've become pretty concerned about concussions and permanent brain damage recently.  It was honestly never anything I thought of in the past.  I've had eight fights in Thailand, some western boxing bouts and obviously a fair amount of sparring.  I've had my bell rung so many times...just a bit disoriented for a second.  I actually always get a sort of deja vu feeling everytime I get my bell rung...like I've been here in this moment before.  Never felt like I had a particularly strong chin....like it didn't take much to get a bit rocked; not so much that I couldn't continue but to see stars for a second. I've had one KO and one TKO and felt concussed after sparring a couple times. KO came from a head kick, came to seconds later ready to fight....clueless I'd just been knocked out.   Felt fine.  The TKO came with a huge overhand right that took me down.  I was up and ready before the count but looking back, my mind was already gone.  Knocked down twice more that round before it was stopped.  I don't remember the fight after initial blow but everything immediately after.  Felt pretty shitty the next day.  Only concussion type experiences were boxing sparring --- once felt pretty sick after, fine the next day.  Other just a bit rocked, fine the next day. The past two years, I've noticed I can't do mental math anymore despite always being gifted in Math.  I suspect that has more to do with not having practiced it for years but still concerning.  Memory is also not quite what it used to be.  BUT I started smoking pot almost every night for the first time in my life two years ago.  Prior to that never and currently am not smoking.  I credit much of the memory/math to pot, but I don't want to discount the head hits. I'm just getting back to Thailand and been questioning competing a bit because of it.  Not too concerned with other injuries but brain damage actually scares me.  I love this sport (Boxing and Muay Thai) and am at a level where I really need to compete to actually level up. But again, I'm concerned about brain damage.  Can anyone shed some light on this topic? Is my history even concerning?  I've been trying to develop a much more defensive style where I used to be way more - probably too willing to trade.  I'm just trying to be smart in this sport for once when I've always been reckless. 

It has been a long and strange month. Travel took me away from the bag for a bit. Distractions did what they do.  I've been thinking on an update here for a few days.  The mental clarity and presence of mind to reflect finally found me today.  First; a some bullet points:  I simply don't hurt in the mornings any more. Aches in places? Sure.  Have I missed a few days of the bag? Yes; but. Yes; but I have added some substantial shadowboxing to my day. The upper-middle back issue that I didn't even know about (5th rib, as mentioned in previous post) is worked more by punches vs big leg movements.  I've completed my fastest 5k since 2011 (31 minutes.)  I'm now running 5 miles a day.  Also; two funnies: Pride: Getting your 6-year old to throw a legitimate knee at your arm is an awesome feeling.  (I need to acquire some pads!)  Shadowboxing while running/walking on a treadmill is actually kind of fun! However... adding an occasional knee into it didn't go so well. Our beat up old treadmill has these silly fan things below the hand bar. Striking one with your knee is sort of like hitting a cheese grater.  I probably need another few days to heal a nasty gash (Sterri strip's were required. Glue didn't hold it very well.) Right leg-only knees aren't quite as fun as alternating. It's way harder to get to 200 when you can't switch off.  Now the meat of the post.  I've watched carefully Sylvie's discussion of "Ruup", across a few videos. The interesting notes from her actually start around fight 237. Her ability to perform "ruup management" is inspirational.  I am a big fan of Miamoto Musashi's works; and the biggest take-away from his teachings  as a whole, comes from his concept of taking the origin of a knowledge and applying it to a different context. The maintenance of Ruup, is as much a mental discipline as a physical one. I would argue easily that it is not just "mental or physical", it is "mental and physical". One can not maintain physical posture against all external forces without also maintaining mental posture. One can not maintain mental footing against adverse thoughts without having a solid breathing body beneath. But what of emotions? How does the concept, and how it fits into the narrative of a Thai fight, translate to every day life?  What I have found in my month of ... not quite keeping to my goals... is exactly what I expected. My mental posture is, if anything, more deficient than my physical. Some might look to the question of which deficiency caused which. Did mental damage generate the physical? Did a physical injury open a rift in the mental posture? Perhaps most importantly; does it matter which came first?  For me, this month will be about my mental posture.  I will allow the work I have done physically to continue along its course. Knees and teeps in the morning, running at night.  I will pull one more "origin" from Muay Thai to aid me: the corner ritual. As an external observer; if I had to guess where the Ruup Maintenance magic happens, it is in that corner. While I believe I do "okay" in the ring of life, I am beginning to be aware enough to tell myself that I absolutely suck while sitting in the corner between rounds.      Until next time.    -=fshalor    

I think your answer will revolve around your reasons for training in thailand whether you should be drinking or not... however I do recall a thai trainer saying, for every drink you run an extra km! A bit of punishment to acknowledge before you sip 🤣

This is one of the dilemmas of what we are thinking about. Muay Thai is actually dying off, in a way, in Thailand. It no longer is the case where we can just insulate, and not worry about whatever versions of Muay Thai are out there in the world because Muay Thai is safe and sound in Thailand, thriving. Like you say, MAX, Superchamp, or whatever other hybrid show in the country are powerfully undermining and in fact erasing much of what Muay Thai is, in Thailand. There seems to be some sense in which non-Thais might play an important role in actually preserve Muay Thai, as passionately interesting outsiders...simply because they care about Muay Thai, in a historical sense, while the Thai marketplace really doesn't. It's westerners who attend these large Muay Boran, or Nai Khanomtom Day respect events (whatever we make of them), not Thais. The question is: What role do westerners, or just non-Thais, have in preserving Muay Thai...and are their modes of popularity that could work towards its care.