LengLeng

I like this because it makes your opponent look a bit stupid.

Yeah that is good advice, that movement comes a bit more natural for me anyways. Either way, back to learning lab...

Update. Low kick destroyer was a complete fail for me. It was raining low kicks, but I didnt have enough time before the fight to practice to have the destroyer movement "in my body" enough to use it. I hate low-kicks. I think they such an ugly, low-class movement and during fight I wanted to tell opponent 'you never be a great fighter if low-kicks all you got'. And at that moment she hooked me badly all turned white for a second. Joke on me . So, me and my left multicolored thigh look forward to learn how to block these efficiently. But I find it so hard to find the right angle of the knee? Especially when opponent shorter?

I had a beer with some fighters yesterday including Keng Sarikadong. He is 36 works as trainer on Samui and just won the King's Cup. If your body is fit, why not? You write the book of your life. Would you want to read it?

That was fight 3. I thought she (Bangfaiknam) was amazing and very surprised she didn't get the win. Also big size difference. And thank you thank you thank you. I feel I don't deserve the praise but considering the judges decision it really helps to hear. On my way back to Bangkok with a long list of issues to work on. Best of luck for tonight. Hope you get another KO.

For sure! It's also within walking distance for me so I'll likely check it out again.

That was me . Wow what a great mention makes me so so happy! I also saw the fight in person (well obviously) and to people who were not there, the video does not make the size difference justice. I was so surprised by the sudden KO because Sylvie looked so much smaller and I remember thinking that "jeez so much power in that small body". Sylvie arrived during fight 4 I think and she was fight 8. And they drove all the way from Pattaya. It's a pretty insane thing to do, so many hours in the car and then arrive an hour before your fight. Her opponent's corner man you see in the video ended up wrapping my hands and helping me on with my gloves. He was very cool and calm and great to be around to calm fight nerves. And the cat was super cute.

Thanks @Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu @Tyler Byers for all these pointers and advice. I'm in absorption mode here hehe. And the low kick destroyer is brilliant how could I have forgotten about it? Much appreciated.

Hey a question. How would you handle a shorter, strong opponent with a great kick game (low/body/head kicks, knows how to attack) but not as strong when it comes to using arms/hands/knees, when you yourself is not a great kicker? Feel free to mansplain me .

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.

This was a yoga studio in South Africa. And yes advice are not a bad thing...it's when the wrong people give bad advice.

This is also my experience and I think it's a good system. I also do not mind it. But you will always have those who overestimate their knowledge and dish out bad advice. Which I guess it's the issue.

This is so beautiful. I've never thought of it that way. I also love this post. I also really like to learn this way although of course it's time consuming. But to move with others, look at them, emulate movements and finding your own inner music. I find it such a rewarding experience. I don't have a goal with martial arts. Of course I want to be the best I can be. But mainly, I just love being in the gym and move and sweat with others and being able to discover new movements within myself.

@Oliver @Victoria Pitt @Tyler Byers In western studios most yoga teachers will announce to the class that they will adjust you and give students the opportunity to opt out of this. Especially Male teachers I've practiced for have been very careful about this.

This is a topic I have been meaning to bring up a while, but being hesitant since it might get a bit heated. However my curiosity won this battle as I am very interested in hearing other peoples’ views, especially trainers/coaches/teachers/instructors. So here goes. The self-appointed assisting coach or as some name them, mansplainers. The person, not a teacher, who comes with unsolicited advice in the gym. I have always done some kind of exercise one way or the other, but it never became a true interest until I started yoga seven years ago. And with yoga, only the teacher will adjust your alignment (with few exceptions). The teacher understands anatomy, the asanas (posture/movements), and is trained to perform physical adjustments. If you have a good teacher, physical adjustments are done with such care and compassion. You are gently but firmly guided into the posture. It is a great way to learn. On a job mission a few years back, I visited a studio that offer Budokon yoga, a special kind of modern yoga which is infused with martial arts. A great experience and highly recommended. Afterwards though I was talking to the teacher and this fellow student chats me up and out of nowhere he says he noticed I had over-extended my knee during practice. I am what you might call an experienced, advanced level yogi in terms of difficulties of the asanas I can master. But yoga has very little to do with difficult arm balances and so much more to do with presence and his comment brought me out of my presence, out of my physical body and mind, and into the thinking and judging brain of mine where I started over-thinking of where I kept my limbs and if I am doing things correctly and suddenly hyper-aware of the other people in the room. And this to me is what unsolicited advice does. It robs me of my presence in training and learning and suddenly I become aware I am being observed by others. When learning muay thai in Thailand as an adult. Well, it is an incredibly humbling experience. Due to language barriers, you will be made fun of when teachers instruct you, with exaggerated charades they will show you what kind of mistakes you do. And there is a clear hierarchy you need to submit to. And if you do not speak the language, you will have a hard time explaining yourself when being criticized and you can just nod and say yes. People will laugh and make jokes you do not understand. In these situations it is wonderful to have training buddies who know you. Who can help you. Where there is mutual trust. What you don’t need is someone you do not know giving you advice you did not ask for. And I think it was Timothy who said it well in a different thread, you need the space to make your own mistakes. As stated above, this is just my perspective and I am interested in other peoples’ views on this.

Actually a lot of people will tell you the opposite. That muscle repair requires some oxidation, especially if you try to build muscles. I take buffered vit C in the morning though.

Ever considered the chili pad? A mattress thing you can use to either cool bed down or make it warmer. Obviously expensive but might be worth the investment. Available on Amazon. I've been lucky to have worked with some great European sleep scientists and you might be familiar already, but only things that are scientifically proven (or where's there supporting evidence) to work longterm is either sleep reduction therapy (ideally combined with group CBT) and/or SSRIs. You need a proper health insurance for this though. And of course, best case scenario: sleep lab first to rule out any physical reasons for bad sleep like sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome etc. But sleep reduction therapy can be done alone without doc. It's about correcting circadian rhythms and increase sleep pressure and make sure time spent in bed is spent sleeping. Nothing needed but pen and paper and a lot of discipline. Hoping I'm not telling you things you already know now. Happy to provide links if needed.

It doesn't make you hotter in my experience. Obviously feels warmer than just a sheet, but no different from a regular blanket. It can also be used while chilling and not sleeping. It calms me down somewhat, makes me feel grounded.

Hey. No sleep I hear ya. It's hard to give advice to insomniacs because usually they tried everything (being one of them I know). I had people asking me: oh bad sleep did you try black out curtains and earplugs? And I'm like dude: you tried being up 40 hours feeling your brain fall apart and then crash only to find yourself wide awake after 4 hours? Obviously I tried everything. But here's one of those questions. Weighted blanket tried those? I have one, it's a budget version filled with pellets. But it helped me a bit so I'm considering investing in a gravity blanket.

In Germany it's the same, it's called Bittersalz for laxative or similar and it's 5 euro for 250g. I'll check out Lazaada.

Oooh I feel for you! I'm so sorry about this experience. Recently at my gym we had a guy who is clearly more than middle aged, not very fit, not that experienced, tall and heavy and not a long time customer. He got a fight within 2 weeks. Which he won and he was very friendly but still it feels unfair. These things happen. I've also met a very experienced female fighter tall and around 65-70kilo. In Thailand longtime. She told me she gave up on fighting because a fight would be announced get postponed and in the end taking 6 months...to her not worth that hassle. It's so hard advocating for yourself and as a woman there's so much bullshit on top of everything else. And displaying any kind of negative emotion about it will only break down communication completely. To me only thing that has worked is being patient, friendly and trying to get sympathy. Showing you are sad without blaming anyone has proved to be useful. But it's not easy.

Hey @Victoria Pitt I got a fight outside of a gym. Friend knew a promoter who set it up without knowing me or my skill level (in English). I guess based on him trusting my friend. All was very ok and decent as far as I know. I'm now connected to the promoter who wanted to set up another fight. However he's going through some tough financial times atm unfortunately and will most likely travel abroad for work very soon. Heard great stuff about Sitjemam and Santai up in the north when it comes to fighting opportunities for women. So sorry about this. They been promising you fights that never materialize while you keep paying training fees?