MadelineGrace

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

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

I love memes in general! i don’t make them though.

Congratulations LengLeng id love to watch yours on video too if it’s available ( how did I miss a cat? I do love cats)

I love that too!

Wow! That’s awesome good for him!

I’m going to quote Sean Fagan the Muay Thai guy here and say very loudly and with a frown “ FUCK NO you’re NOT TOO OLD!!!!!! ” lol. Sean Fagan cracks me up. ( he’s very serious about muay thai but he acts goofy on occasion for fun and I love that. Life’s hard. Muay Thai is hard. Ya gotta laugh when you can imho ) also PLEASE anyone who has any thought in their head they may be ‘too old’ for Muay Thai and especially for fighting - watch this video!!! also TO ADMIN HERE : can I please punch anyone in the face who is ONLY 35 ( still young!) who calls themselves old? Is that allowed??? just kidding. Sorta. seriously watch this video https://www.muay-thai-guy.com/blog/muay-thai-mondays-how-old-is-too-old-to-start-fighting

I can’t LOVE your reply and these facts/videos you shared any more. Just awesome. Thank you.

I just watched the fight video with the voice over commentary. ( I saw it live too. I missed the 1st round live but saw it from 2nd round middle on) congratulations!! ( no further comments Bc I’ve only been doing MT for 5 months so I have no real insight or in-depth knowledge. I just enjoy watching and listening. And learning if im luck enough) who is the other fighter that is on here that you said fought really well even though it was her 2nd fight only? Congrats to her also.

Hi Brian. (Like you I started Muay Thai only 5 months ago and train 3x a week without exception) first- I don’t blame you. What a let down and disappointment. Of course Muay Thai is fun but the trainer can make it or break it. A ‘ work out & conditioning ‘ oriented class is just NOT the same as being taught by a charismatic ( you said magnetic personality) trainer who really knows his stuff and loves Muay Thai. I’m wondering if, while you wait to see who the gym hires permanently to replace him, you could research where else the original trainer teaches at as well as other Muay Thai gyms that are within in commuting distance. Is that possible or is it the only Muay Thai place in your area? it sounds like you are understanding of the gym owners situation but the fact is- you are currently NOT receiving what you signed up for and what you paid for. It’s an inferior product in a sense. ( it sounds like). I guess you need to decide how long you are willing to wait until there is a suitable and permanent replacement. ( 2 months? 6 months?) A similar thing happened to my son in tae kwon do he went consistently from around 2nd thru 4th grade- in total for about 2.5 years if my memory is correct. He ( we) were told he was 6 months away from a black belt. Then the trainer everyone loved was abruptly fired. Replacements came but the program wasn’t the same and no progress toward the black belt was ever given. Then the owner sold the business to a new guy. The new guy was great but did things differently and my son basically lost his ‘ ranking ’ ( I don’t know how to word it. He just was not close to earning a black belt anymore with the new owner) he lost interest. He Quit. We lost $. It was a very disappointing thing at the time. ( fast forward he’s big and now entering high school and discovered and loves Krav Maga so he does that. I’m happy for him though I wish he’d do Muay Thai with me ) do you by any chance have an interest in BJJ or boxing classes to tide you over until a Muay Thai teacher is hired? That’s just a thought. I’m just curious if you have other martial arts gyms that have Muay Thai near you? That might be the best option ... even if you ask for your membership to be put on hold until a new MT teacher is hired. Good luck. Don’t give up!

Update i just had another FUN muay thai class this am. I put all the above suggestions into place I got my thinking straight I thought to myself ‘his mood isnt my concern’ ‘Stay out of his head‘ ‘No over- thinking! No attempts to figure out what he’s thinking’ ( etc) my only job is to be an attentive student and try my best. Period! (I know I’ll still have bad Muay Thai classes occasionally Bc thats just life. But I’m going to seriously limit my overthinking ) thanks for letting me discuss it here and hearing me out. It helped.

You are so right AND I do understand it! and I’m going to put it into practice ( will everything be perfect from now on? No - we all know it won’t ) but this does help. thank you!!!!!

( new to Muay Thai) in practice we were doing various combinations where for example person A throws a cross then person B parried that cross and throws a cross in return. ( and back and forth with that sort of thing) In that example which person is the feeder? Since both people are throwing strikes I’m not sure. Thx

Omg I ***LOVE*** that mantra. Its exactly what I need! i like that you said ‘ people are allowed to feel shitty and be short with me’ ( even while you’re hypersensitivity in nature also) I think I needed to hear that! Thanks- great advise!!!

I just left a VERY FUN MUAY THAI CLASS The combos were just like the ones I could not remember on Saturday but today only 4 at a time so I was fine- No memory issues and no problems. So I’m happy My instructor seemed to be in his more patient and should I say ‘gentler easy going teacher mode’ vs his hard ass teacher mode ( I’m not trying to criticize him. My goal is to learn Muay Thai,be a good attentive student and try my best and improve. I can’t help when I react to him when I’m lost and he seems annoyed and a bit hard assy )

Anyone care to explain ‘ try not to try’ im not sure i ever saw that blog post. it sounds so simple that I’m sure I’ll complicate the hell out of it

Yes! Very helpful. My instructor tells me to go from 0 to 100 back to 0. He tells me to RELAX. He’s 100% correct. I absolutely fit in the typical western mode ( like in the graphic in this article) of TENSION/self critical ——> explosion/power —— > tension rather than the Thai way of: relaxed—> explosion ——> relaxed thanks so much for you feedback. I appreciate it

Maybe about 8???

(Kind of long )I’ve been training 3x a week for almost 5 months now. I LOVE it !! For a little background I’m middle aged, small, very fitness oriented but NOT ‘ sports oriented’ and no previous martial arts experience. ( I also strength train, do yoga, HIIT and group fitness classes) I had 5 great and fun classes in a row. But then today sucked really bad and *I hate the way I feel* right now there were probably about 8-10 of us in class.The combos ( or are they called drills?) were a bit longer today ( so the issue was more steps to them. Both strikes and defense ... idk how else to explain ) the instructor demonstrated them slowly but only one time today. Other days it’s more then once. In a nutshell - I just couldn’t remember them and neither could my partner the only other female - - a 14 yr old girl who started maybe a month ago. I’m pretty sure everyone else in the class( beginners like me and then more experienced students) all remembered them. I saw no one struggling like me. This happens every so often. {adding this part Bc it effects things: I tend to absorb the energy and mood of a person or group and am VERY sensitive to moods and what not. It’s just who I am} my instructor (the owner) ....I like him. I really *hate* frustrating him. He’s a retired professional fighter. Middle aged but younger then I. Trained in US and Thailand. Teaching for many years from beginners to professional fighters. In most ways he’s a phenomenal teacher. I wonder sometimes if we might not be a good fit in terms of teacher/student. ( note I’m not blaming here. Not all people are the right fit for each other. i sensed his mood was (how should I describe it...???) ....Just that some days he’s in a ‘tougher less tolerant mood‘ . less tolerant of mistakes. He’s not always like that. ( clarifying he is actually fine with mistakes in general. That’s his job, of course) But It’s just too many mistakes such as me today repeatedly not remembering the combos he seems to get irritated) His facial express looks totally annoyed and he’s just kind of a rougher coach. I hate when he’s stares at me all annoyed and says “WHAT ARE YOU DOING ????!!! ( I feel so helpless wanting to do better but can’t at the moment) I get so uncomfortable that then my mind is even more blank with a worse memory Bc of nerves . It sucks. The bad part is Im trying my best. Im a very dedicated and attentive student. I fully admit i seem to be the worst student at remembering combos. ( Do I need to mention or justify my intelligence now ??? I mean I am decently intelligent. Not a brainiac. I made it through college and then grad school with pretty good grades but just DONT ask me about math. ) i * should* be able to remember the combinations but sometimes I don’t - I suck. Today my mind might have actually been a seive ( ? Sp). his facial expression and demeanor only make things worse for me. Today I felt like I was in a no win situation. I wanted to leave class (of course I didn’t) and just start fresh again next class Bc it seemed hopeless. it sucks so bad that I’m trying my hardest Bc - that means there is *no ability* for me to try harder . I wish I could. What do I do? i find myself thinking - would he prefer i quit Bc I feel like I frustrate him On days like this. ( it’s not every class) I don’t mind at all how hard Muay Thai is. I’m up for the challenge. I’m motivated. I find it fascinating and fun. I love it. I want to get better. I HAVE improved and I have the ability to improve more. But classes like these ..... it wears on my psyche. It’s discouraging. Feeling like the worst at ‘ retaining’ certain combos. What I really hate is my teachers response to it. It’s really a struggle for me. anyone else have this issue? Or advise? ( I will take any constructive criticism) its not even like I can practice ‘ retaining combos better’ like I can practice other aspects of Muay Thai . Also I wonder ... As an adult learner whose clearly trying my absolute best.... is it even appropriate for him be so agitated with me?? Or is it a muay thai thing ( I take beginner ballet for adults. Ballet is also hard core though maybe in a difference way than Muay Thai. The teachers are never rough on you when you suck. ) i just don’t know i so badly wish I could fix it. I can’t even tell you how motivated I am. bc of my kids and babysitter issues- all other Muay Thai gyms are too inconvenient for me. ( that’s only Bc of my kids and the commute to the gym. If I had no kids or grown kids I’d drive further in a heart beat. No question ) I’ll consider other gyms - it’s just.... not ideal at all. If you made it this far, thanks for listening edited to add this: I realized part of it is a communication problem. When he goes over the combination or drill....he’ll say ‘ got it? ‘ and look around the classroom. No one says anything. everyone nods yes or gives no answer. ( this is pretty much always. Maybe there’s a question or 2 on occasion) times like today when I know I don’t know it- I say nothing. I don’t feel safe to say anything bc i can tell I will get a look or an attitude. I’m not comfortable. This isn’t all the time but often.