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Hi everyone, Just wanted to share my finished at home gym! all second hand gear that I’ve picked up in different places. now, just to use this space anyone else wanna share their home gyms? Or fave place to train

And also, what does this ideological and politicized hierarchy represent? Why does it resonate with us so profoundly? Because muay khao and muay femeu speak not only of thai culture, but something universally human. Which two forces are these paradigmatic fighters allegories of? Some part of me can't help but think that there's deep gender connotations to the dynamic; the ecstasies of the primordial masculine and feminine, their zones of indistinction and overlapping, the life of them. The arena of forces within a closed unity, the collision of becoming and becoming of collision. And is this ascension of the victorious not always a disappointment and an aporia in some way? In muay thai we don't care for the comeback, because comebacks imply a kind of personalized attachment (a sentimentality) to the identities of the fighters, rather than an appreciation of their clash. Rather a dignified accept of the dominion than a desperate attempt to shortcircuit the fabric of being. The comeback is essentially an act of ressentiment and thus reactive I think.

Richard, you're in my hometown! I was going to suggest that if you get a standing bag, one that has a base, that you can fill it with water because then you can empty it and move it more easily than if it's sand. But because of all the snow and change in temperatures that Boulder experiences, the water might be a risky move. A hanging bag is preferable for all kinds of reasons, but obviously depends on budget and if you have somewhere to hang it from. Leather cracks if you don't fill the bag properly at the beginning. Any slack, "bagginess" between the filling and the leather, if you hit it for a few weeks it will crack and break open. So make sure you really pack it and keep adding to it over the first couple weeks to make sure it's full, even as the filling starts to settle. I'm looking at everyone's gyms and am jealous of these mats. Kevin and I are working on tile and it's very slippery when we start to drip from sweat and I think I hurt my foot by stomping around like a maniac on such a hard surface... I thought I was tougher, I guess.

Yes, training with him is difficult to arrange. We have tried. We will continue to try.

Fantastic thoughts Kevin, thank you! I am in no way up to par in either knowledge of golden age muay nor thai culture as you, and so I will try to respond somewhat nondirectly to some of your points through this deleuze-nietzschean framework. I am still reading and so don't claim to master this work at all yet. I have thought a lot about the active/reactive dichotomy and its relation to the muay khao/muay femeu dichotomy these past few days, however. One of the main premises I believe is that one can't draw a parallel between muay khao/active and muay femeu/reactive. Since the dionysian ontology of becoming operates with a multitude of forces, we have a world of constant confrontation. Deleuze defines force as that which can (La force est ce qui peut) and thus has an element of potentiality to it (I must investigate the ontology of Agamben with regards to this at some point). All force that interacts is in a relation of attempted dominating/dominated. The internal element of force is the will to power, which is what allows the determination of the clash, the confrontation; ''Thus it is always through the will to power that one force prevails over others and dominates or commands them.'' The becoming of the muay of the golden age is always both a clash of forces (chon) and an evaluation/interpretation (victory or dominance of the participating forces) of this clash. The last point I want to establish before going further stems from these two quotes: ‘’It is clear that there is affirmation in every action and negation in every reaction. But, on the other hand, action and reaction are more like means, means or instruments of the will to power which affirms and denies, just as reactive forces are instruments of nihilism.’’ These thoughts establishes the modalities of force as subordinated to becoming itself; ‘’Affirmation and negation extend beyond action and reaction because they are the immediate qualities of becoming itself. Affirmation is not action but the power of becoming active, becoming active personified. Negation is not simple reaction but a becoming reactive.’’ With this established, I believe we have somewhat of a framework to consider what is the ontology of the (dominating, victorious) muay femeu fighter. At first glance they appear as the angels of reaction, the negators of the bull of the muay khao and the establishing of order, civility and as you write, intelligence. They are the human answer to the violence of nature, the sheriffs of muay thai. But I’m not sure that is what is at the core of the victorious muay femeu. I believe the muay femeu to be just as much affirmation and becoming, just as much force and will, as the muay khao, albeit in another aesthetic and narrative. The muay khao challenges the muay femeu (‘’agresses’’ a relation of force) who in turns engages (affirms his own becoming in the face of an aggression seeking to dominate this) towards the clash. Although chronologically secondary in the chain of events preceding the clash, the muay femeu is not reduced to reactive becoming, since a clash of forces necessarily presupposes an answer to an aggression within the ontology of force-pluralism that Deleuze operates with. What is important in this view is not the chronology of the events, but the modality or quality of the force-expression (active or reactive). I believe this reciprocal affirmation of the fighting parts is what plays out aesthetically and narratively throughout the entirety of the fight. And so the muay femeu, albeit playing out the part of the accepting the challenge (which manifests in the aesthetics of the technical, controlling and elegant torero), is not in a state of becoming reactive but always in a state of becoming active. Maybe what makes the femeu so esteemed in Thailand is that he not only dominates and affirms his own force through the mastery of his muay, but even affirms and dominates the force of the opponent through the manipulation, control and nullification of the attempted domination. In this manner he would be the conductor of the clash of forces, immanent within this very clash. He does not overwhelm his opponent, he absorbs him - and so increases the quantity of forces in his becoming for him to affirm. One must imagine the muay femeu happy. His work is not the negating of the opponent, but the affirmation of his own becoming in the face of an attempted domination of his own. Where the affirmation of Dieselnoi is a tsunami of becoming, the affirmation of the femeu is laughter. The muay femeu not only fights to express the superiority of his becoming, he turns the domination of violence into music, and so dances and laughs.

I also like the chest strap and it doesn't annoy me while training (and he can handle teeps ). Like Sylvie explained you get put the watch on the side if using a chest strap. The watch on my wrist would annoy me and I would not be able to wrap my hands good, to clinch, ...

Soooo, in looking for heavy bags there are so many choices,,, 6ft, 4ft, leather, non leather, anchored, or not.. teardrop , then there is the filling,,,, any advice would be helpful,,, thanks

In a yoga studio I visited in Thailand they would use the word Ning a lot as in presence and stillness when holding a pose.

To add to what Sylvie is saying: But, they are connected, because when your body folds, you can appear affected even if you don't show it on your face. So being really aware of your ruup, or disciplined in it, can help you appear to be ning. You can still be ning if your body folds, just in how your play it off, your continuity, your energy, not becoming mad, showing pain, or being hyper-aggressive (emotional control), but having great ruup supports the sense of ning.

Thank you everyone! Feeling better already Yeah should be fine now. Went to the hospital, the doc injected something right into the elbow joint, then scalpel cut it open to drain out the gunk. Bandaged up, and got given a week's worth of antibiotics. Most shocking part of the whole episode? Was getting back to the gym, and the old man owner asked where I went. Told him, and he laughed right in my face. Like, "Ohhh Ong Li you go hospital?? Spend money?? Why? Hahaha you talk to me first, have pill for you. No need doctor, no need cut".

Ruup is literally the body as an object. Picture a doll, how it's posed, how it's positioned, posture, overall composure. It's physical. Ning is something that can be expressed through posture, but it's not the posture itself. It's being unmoved, unbothered, unaffected. If you get kneed in the guts and your body folds, your Ruup broke, but if you just carry on as if it doesn't matter and you keep coming, that's Ning.

The benefit to the chest strap is that you can take the watch part off your wrist and just keep it close by for bagwork. Like, wrap it around the leg of a chair within range of it still reading your heart rate. If you have only the wristband, you have to keep it on your wrist under your glove for it to continue reading your heart during those workouts. I don't like that. Kevin doesn't seem to mind at all. Depends on your own preference but that's what I consider between the two.

Something my gym was doing before the corona lockdown, was working with local doctors as something people with depression could be prescribed to see if we could help them by giving them free training/physical activity. I agree with LengLeng, it's a double edged sword. One of my students is a trans-man, who is going through the process of transitioning and all the mental health problems that can come with that very stressful life change. Muay Thai helps him - but it also creates challenges that can in of itself be stressful.

Hey that's really awesome, I am going to take inspiration from your setup. I have a nice open space that I'm working on as well but I just need the equipment. I will post a picture of my open space and maybe you can give me some tips or suggestions.

This is something that keeps popping up for me. Why do you do muay thai? Whether you are just training for fun or fitness or if you are career fighter, i wanna understand why muay thai? I find myself asking if its "right" or of "net benefit" training and fighting, I'm coaching and i see loads of positives. Fitness, friendships, motivation to eat well and take care of your body. Challenging mental and physical to another level. I also see negatives from severe weight cutting, to deaths in the sport, head trauma, long term injuries. I wonder if influencing kids in the west to train or compete in muay thai is a net benefit, as well as adults. Hearing your experiences is what I'm hoping for. Good or bad. This is what i do for a living, and Ive been doing some soul searching lately.

I started to train Muay thai because I have been weight lifting all my life. I am pretty strong but a year ago I got into a fight with some one who had skills and got me into a gillotene choke. In the process of getting out of it using my strength I managed to flip him off me but broke my ankle, all three bones. he them stood me up and choked me out. I realized after that, I was fooling myself. I needed a better way to defend myself. I saw one of Sylvies youtube post and said this is what I need. at 57 years old I would never be able to kick really high like a lot of martial arts do. Muay Thai is something I can learn in my workout room with equipment I already have. and with Sylvies videos and Info. I am learning and feeling better about myself. Even if my wife thinks I am a little nuts.

Because Muay Thai is breathing to me. Everything else is just drowning. There's a quote from Rosa Luxemburg that goes: "Those who do not move, do not notice their chains". In a similar fashion I wasn't aware I wasn't breathing before starting Muay Thai. The oxygen it gave me is my life-changing discovery - that and kitties.

I totally feel that destructive, super-passionate relationship thing. The way the very same thing that builds you up and makes you feel AMAZING, also tears you apart and makes you question everything you are. But the good times are sooo good, it makes you think the bad times are worth it. Basically, find something you love and let it destroy you. But not in the abusive relationship way, in the "you cannot possibly remain the same person through this process" kind of way. Destroyed and rebuilt, all the time. All the time. I've never thrown myself into anything the way I've been consumed by Muay Thai. Not only is it my whole life, it's Kevin's whole life, too. Maybe it's not possible to answer "why" you're obsessed by something, because the answer is always the same, that you're just fascinated and enamored and it never dries up. I can't picture myself doing anything else. The frequently asked question of "what are you going to do when you stop fighting?" is fucking heart-breaking. It would be like meeting someone's dog or husband and asking them what they're going to do when the thing they love the most dies. I don't know... feels like the end of the world.

I just got absorbed by it. It's like this destructive super-passionate relationship I keep coming back to even though I keep getting hurt and the guy is a dick but all other sports I ever loved are friendzoned forever. Mainly I love being in the gym. Or having a gym to go to. It gives me a purpose and feeling of improvement even though work might suck or other stuff in life might suck. Muay thai allows me to get out of my head and into my body. I like the feeling of being sweaty. The sounds of someone kicking pads. I love the feeling of pushing through exhaustion. Of always hurting a little bit. The constant presence of pain makes me feel alive. I like the physical closeness in the gym, with other students, with the trainer. To discover movements and skills I practiced suddenly becoming available to me. I learn so much and I discover so many things about me and others that I could never have understood in any other way than physically experience it. I learn patience. I learn how good things and beautiful things are parallel to pain and frustration. I get the physical experience of hard work pays off. I learn about violence and I discover my own violence. And I really like gym when people don't talk much. When bodies do the talking.

Hmmmm....... I love it because of the freedom it allows. You don't get that freedom from Karate, etc. That's my opinion. The freedom one gets from expressing their muay. It becomes integral to your state of being, of who you are. Once someone discovers the difference of feeling of training, teaching muay thai as opposed to kickboxing, I believe their lives change. I might be rambling, as this is just coming straight from the heart. I enjoyed my Karate, Kickboxing etc, but I love muay thai. At least as I understand muay thai. My understanding is my own, and will be totally different to anyone else's. They say this feeling can be achieved in other martial arts, but I never experienced that feeling. That's why I gave away karate. When I go to sleep I dream muay thai, I think continually about muay thai and how it can benefit everyone. If I was the all,powerful emperor Ming, I would decree that it should be in every school's phys. ed. programme.