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Hi! I’m now getting close to 6 months of training Muay Thai i go consistently 3x a week and don’t miss class! I find myself wondering.... what should I do for shadow boxing - I typically just start throwing jabs and crosses ( Typical I guess) then I think - do a hook or upper cut. Then the more of the same same but I’ll throw in an elbow, a teep, a knee etc. I just do all that over and over til the trainor yells ‘ time’. I don’t feel I’m getting all out of it that I should. are there any ... guidelines to how to choose what strikes to throw for shadow boxing? I feel like I’m just winging it! Does everyone just wing it?? for that reason I don’t ‘ love’ shadow boxing But I can see that it’s important so I need to embrace it and get better!! ——- i bought a free standing heavy bag. (I have no place to hang a heavy bag in my home) ( also I saw many of them in master K’s basement that Sylvie used to train on in her early years... if it worked for her I’ll certainly try it too) I am opting to put TINY GRAVEL or pebbles in it rather than sand or water. Water I can’t risk using Bc of potential to *leak* in my home. And sand I heard can get like ‘ cement’ if moisture gets in it??? My question is - Anyone have thoughts on filling with gravel?? Good idea or am I complicating things and should just use sand. ( on the off chance someone here used tiny gravel or pebbles to fill it, where did you get it ? a landscaping place? Im in the USA ) thx

There's no set thing to shadow. You have to imagine an opponent. Attack and defend. I'd just go with the flow and try things that you'd like to do in sparring. Nail those things in shadow and they should transition to sparring. Are there mirrors at your gym?

I'm only an hour and 20 minutes into the Muay Thai Bones #8 podcast but I already had thoughts to share. I plan to come back and add more reflections as I watch. Feel free to share your own thoughts. 1. Square-1-ism - Goggins, Shame & Discomfort (4:18-44:51) I struggle with intermittent bouts of depression. I'm climbing out of a valley right now. One of my symptoms is that everything feels difficult and overwhelming. The hardest part of my day is just getting out of bed. I feel a lot of shame about my depression. Like Sylvie's metaphor of the Iron Maiden/inner critic, I turn that shame inward and berate myself. I wonder why simple things are so difficult, why am I still struggling, why aren't I better that this, I don't have any reason to be depressed etc. The image of Goggins struggling to put on his shoes before running everyday really struck a chord with me. I decided to use that imagery when getting out of bed this morning. For me, getting out of bed is hard, so my goal when I woke up this morning was to acknowledge without judgement that it is hard, not wish that it was easier, and then get out of bed. Like everything it's a work in progress. Video on Western Philosophy of Mind and the Inner Critic. Why Do I Hate My Self? | Philosophy Tube I practice mindfulness meditation and one of the themes is grasping and aversion. During the my meditation, I focus on my breath but my mind inevitably wanders. My goal is to simply acknowledge that my mind has wandered and return to the breath. I don't want to follow my thoughts (grasping) or get frustrated that my mind wandered (aversion). I've been inspired to combine that with Goggins' square-1-ism. When I wake up in the morning and getting out of bed is hard, just let it be hard. Don't try to try to push away the feeling of difficulty but also don't grasp onto the difficulty and wallow in it. Sit with the discomfort, without judgement, and then embrace the task of getting out of bed. As part of my treatment for depression I am tracking my moods. It's amazing how quickly and often my mood fluctuates throughout the day. It reminded me of this post from Sylvie: Hills and Valleys – How 10 Minutes Can Make or Break Your Training Day

Good points here. Not a trainer/teacher/coach, but I remember when I first started, I was really glad whenever I get to partner with one of the more senior guys. Every once in a while, they would give me pointers on how to do something correctly. The instructor usually don't give advice at that level of meticulousness. And I was too timid to ask questions (still kinda am)... Not knowing what you don't know is also an issue. A newbie, as I were, could have no clue that they were doing it wrong. That said, I have also experience with some clueless dudes who have been at the gym for only a few months and already trying to correct me on things (ie: showing me how to do them incorrectly).

Quite regularly I'll do drills with no shin guards and light sparring with no shin guards. It can hurt, but so long as you aren't belting each other as hard as you can, you should be fine. It's more that you have to be careful with body kicks than anything, you still try to kick to the body but you don't want to full on blast the kick like yo would sparring. The benefit of it is that you learn control and it mentally prepares you for a fight.

Though my experience is different, I empathize with you on this. It was me, rather than my trainer, that have became unavailable. I started Muay Thai during university. At that time, I can arrange my class schedule to allow me to take the day time classes during weekdays, which I liked and learned the most from. When I graduated, I already have secured a job. It was a 9-5 type job with great prospects, but I was devastated that graduating means I won't get to take the class I loved so much. It wasn't a temporary situation. I would work similar jobs with similar schedules for the foreseeable future. It felt like I would never get to take classes with this trainer again. I did basically what you said above and became my own advocate for my training progress. The most effective means was drawing on online resources like Sylvie's and others' videos to learn new material that I could practice when I train by myself at the gym. Since then, I also added training at other gyms later on and meeting with friends to train outside of class. I've been able to improve my skills through these means and even started competing after losing access to this trainer that had motivated me the most. Perhaps incorporating things you can learn from online resources and adding them to solo training can help you progress while the gym find a permanent replacement. All the best!

Hi Malik! I've only called people by their first names in super formal situations. Usually at work, when they're a customer or a colleague I'm meeting for the first time (or writing an email to). Then, you'd use "khun ____", but pretty much right after that, it's nicknames all the way. It would be really strange for me to address a trainer by his first name. Kind of like how you would never call me by my first name, middle name and surname unless you were some kind of official..or if you were my mum and I was in trouble for something. Sylvie, I laughed at the idea of you calling Karuhat 'Lung Sian', just imagining how he would respond to that!

Hi all! What are your thoughts on doing partner drills without shin guards? Shin to shin contact sucks, does it keep sucking, or do you get used to it? What's the prevalent opinion on training without shin guards in Thai gyms? Do fighters train without pads prior to competion? Thanks! Gilles

I much prefer the tear drop bags. I don't like how static the free standing bags are and they are really hard to work uppercuts or elbows on. That's just my opinion though

Finished watching the podcast last night. Seeing Kevin and Sylvie laughing together brings me so much joy. I can't wait to hear Kevin's next wild idea. As a patron, I love seeing how my support can make those ideas a reality. Sylvie, thank you for agreeing to share your insights about your Wai Kru/Ram Muay. I had always wondered what you were doing in your opponents corner and how many times you circled the ring after sealing it. I'm really excited about Fight City. The way you lift other women up, especially Thai women, has always been one of my favourite things about following your journey. #FightCity #1296

Am curious about that free standing heavy bag idea too - be interested if ppl have good experiences with them. In terms of the money bracket, it's either that, or those smaller tear drop bags that weigh like 40kilos that could work in my back yard. Not sure which way to go.

Thanks a lot for this nice amount of interesting informations!

If you meet someone on the street they would give you their nickname. If you want to adress them formally you use Khun and then their nickname. But if you add them on social media you most likely will get to know their other names. Or if you exchange emails as Emma points out above. A lot of thai people use their first name as facebook name which has the negative consequence that I keep forgetting people's nicknames which is what I generally use when talking to them. Some people use both first name and nickname on facebook which makes everything much easier. Many of them use thai letters (obviously) which makes it extremely difficult if you cannot read and write thai, especially if you want to tag them in a post . At work we have a funny system, non-thais go by their first name (no Mr or Ms) and their emails are surname@domainname. Thai staff we address using their nicknames, even our most senior colleagues and their emails are firstname@domainname. When they are new and introduce themselves they send out an email giving us their full name and then usually an apology for their name being so long and difficult to remember followed by "...but you can call me [nickname]". So I know the first name and surname of all my colleagues but refer to them and address them by their nickname. My younger thai colleagues I am casual with call me Pi. People I deal with for example companies delivering services call me Khun. I always address people more senior with me Khun, when writing an email usually you shorten it as in Dear K. Nickname (or P. ) However, in many cases with people I only deal with via email, I only know their first name and surname and not their nickname if they have not added it to their email signature. In that case, I use their first name. I never ever use their surnames. The few Muslim thais I know go by their Muslim names. I never had a thai trainer refer to themselves as a Kru, it has been other people who use it when referring to them in 3rd person. I usually use their nicknames or whatever they told me their name was when introducing themselves to me. Sometimes their fight name. At my gym we have two headtrainers, I would not think they are Arjans, they are in their early 40s, but even the thai guys refer to them as Arjan so I do too. I think it is a bit of a joke but I have no clue. However, I would not worry about this too much. Just ask how they want to be addressed. Thai people are tolerant people and understand foreigners are different and that their own system can be tricky for us. And if you in the US, I would go by local culture.

Yeah agreed. A lot of misconception on out sport by the casual fan. Btw, funny meme. Gonna steal and post. Can I have your ig to tag? No worries if not.

I very well may have mistakenly made that connection while synthesizing your post in my head, if so my bad. I dont mean to derail the thread with a Greek mythology discussion but my thoughts for anyone interested: The breastless archery thing still seems weird to me. Archery makes me think of Artemis, the Greek hunting goddess known for mad skill with her bow. Also doing a bit of googling it seems the a- mazos etymology was most likely a folk etymology, and considering the art depictions the breast removal myth attested by Justinus is considered by some to be inspired by the folk etymology.

That is incredibly beautiful Kristen. I just read the whole post aloud to Sylvie. There is nothing more that a podcast could mean. You are right on it.

The podcast #8

Thanks mate, I have been looking into Pai and Charn Chai seems to be the Go to for Pai! Thank you, very informative! Appreciate your advice and it makes sense when you put it like that!

With those Femeu fighters, of course we see their cool jedi mindtrick moves, but a lot of them also have a real solid body kick when you watch them in training. (Even a lot of their tricks & feints etc are off or involve the body kick). Like.... stunning when you watch them throw just one of those on a bag... the delivery speed is crazy, disgustingly powerful on impact, and right back to sender with re-obtained guard, and every detail of that one attack and transition to the next detail is seamless. So is a a BJJ guy throwing up an armbar from the guard - there's like 9 details and steps involved in that 1 attack, and he has to make sure all 9 are right and bleed into eachother, for the whole thing to work. But to us it just looks like 1 thing. Drilling the strong side rear body kick on the bag over and over were the orders given to me, but it's also the running, personally. We hear this advice millions of times from good guys further down the road than us, that running is everything blah blah blah. But after a while you realise it kinda is super true, and they're right that running tonnes every day makes your body kick stronger. Dunno why, it just does.

For sure dude, at Numponthep, It's kinda in a back street behind the Channel 3 TV building, off Soi San Suk Sounds like a silly reason, but it's so great for the heat as there's a huge open bathtub size tank of purified water for everyone, - with a giant block of ice in it delivered every day. Never seen something that good in a gym before.

Glad to hear you’re back to teaching and your class went well !

Hi Guys/Girls, I have a bit of mma background, previously been to Thailand for a little trip a few years ago and used to be a member of the infamous Muaythailand.com Forum. I have recently got the urge to get back into Muay Thai and currently in planning stages for a 4-6 month trip! This is a very interesting and useful forum to help plan a trip to Thailand! I like the positive vibe of this forum and the lack of flame wars! Will try and contribute as much as I can post a review of the gyms I visit!

Never met any western guy like this? I feel it's hard to generalize too much, short term visitors are different than longterm etc. But in my experience, the more skilled and experienced the fighter, the less advice they give. My closest friend was one of the best boxers in Europe. She will give me mental advice, how to prep for fight, how to deal with training or swollen knuckles. But she will never comment my movements. Even though I ask. It's more: keep working have fun it will come.

@Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu ..explains the phenomenon so well in his posts. Many times it's not so much advice as opinions being given. So many times it happened a guy I don't know drops in at the gym and gives me his opinion of my training. Before even knowing my name. It's weird.

Yeah, white guys like you and me are privileged. We can coast through lots of situations and not have to think extra "negative" thoughts because we have a passport to get through all kinds of things that others don't. It's a luxury. The first step, at least for me, is realizing that yeah, I'm privileged, and other people in the same space don't experience it quite so smoothly as I do. If these people bring up certain problems that would never occur to me I take a step back and don't immediately say "Hey, you are being negative" or "why you looking for all that stuff". Sylvie tells a great story about how she wasn't able to clinch train in the main ring of her gym in Chiang Mai. It was the "man's ring", women were not allowed to enter it. It's where almost all the heavy clinch was done, and the hard sparring. Muppets were getting pretty high level clinch work, western guys who were not even fighters, while Sylvie (who was actually a clinch fighter with maybe at the time 50 or 70 fights) was getting almost no clinch work. It wasn't on purpose. It wasn't nasty, it's just the way it shook out. All the guys would just climb in and clinch. They hadn't a clue that Sylvie couldn't go in there. Occasionally a guy would say "Hey Sylvie, why don't you come in and clinch". They had a passport, one they completely took for granted. It wouldn't even cross their mind that you actually needed a passport (a penis, really) to clinch. But you kind of did. These kinds of invisible barriers are everywhere, often in much more subtle ways. Just because the barriers don't affect you or me doesn't mean that people who are stopped or slowed by them are being negative by calling attention to them. Sylvie didn't make a stink about that ring. But she suffered under it and its prohibition for a long time. She finally just left the gym and found a gym where women can clinch with males in a single ring and get all the real work. The same thing goes on with power dynamics and how instruction or information is passed between individuals. The tendency to "mansplain", broadly speaking, is really not much different than a bunch of western dudes climbing into the men's only ring to clinch. It isn't something special they are doing. That's just how one talks. It isn't something that feels privileged, it would never occur to them that you have to be a special type to do this. If you aren't clinching in the ring - as Sylvie wasn't in that ring - it must be that that's just not what you want to do. At least for me these are really important distinctions.

For sure this happens way more in Western gyms than in Thailand. What country did this happen to you in, just out of interest? Not a trainer, but out of pure guesswork? Might be the lack of training time & resources that makes this happen. 1 trainer and 40 people on the mat for a mere 1 hour session, basically means you get hardly any input from the teacher, so the 3 or 4 most experienced people in the room will - out of honest to God good intentions - try and help the new people in their first few weeks / months. Because somebody did it for them once. Which is nice of them - and to be fair, helped me out a tonne on my first day. But you also get it from people who suck and have douchebag attitudes, so yeah that's the frustrating part. Training in different European countries makes you realise that half the job is remembering who to never partner with again, who to never spar with again, and regularly position yourself on the far side of the mat from them so as not to be paired up. Sounds bitchy, but there it is. You guys often think this is 'mansplaining' but.... like...genuinely.... guys do this to each other more than they do it to girls. It's also a question of different people being wired to learn in totally different ways. Dunno how to prove it, just an instinct. But personally, always been totally incapable of learning anything by reading or listening to teachers give long winded speeches. The way a musician learns has always made more sense, you watch your teacher's movements, his finger mechanics, listen to the sound produced, then try to do it yourself. No reason for it to be more complicated than that.

From a western perspective, in a group class setting, senior students are expected to give training advice. One reason is in anticipation of them being teachers themselves one day, another is kru's eyes can't be everywhere at once. I personally don't mind it, if I find it valid. If I don't find the critique valid, I just tell them that's the way I do it.

Hello everyone!! My name is Kate & I look forward to meeting others & sharing stuff :)