[Sparring with Coach - Meme]

9 hours ago, Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu said:

I love sparring with my coach. It's my favorite. But I think that a lot of folks who have apprehensions about it do so because they fear having to "perform" with the coach far more than they do with another student at the gym. Like, wanting to please your coach at the same time as wanting to respect them and not be a dick is pretty complicated. Kru Nu is significantly bigger than I am, but he's got a bad knee and I worry about hurting him, even though I totally shouldn't. So, I don't kick him the same way I would kick a teammate, which just means I'm thinking way more about that than I am with someone else. But then, the reason I love sparring with Kru Nu more than anyone else is that I don't think I "should" win with him, whereas with a teammate it's way more competitive. Plus, he's got way more control than anyone else I spar, so the trust adds to the fun. Karuhat, too. I could spar him all day, every day.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this. Well said. 

[Muay Thai is Not Growing in Popularity - Some Data]

10 hours ago, Patrick VALOR said:

The absolute KEYS to growing the sport are several initiatives that the USMF-United States Muaythai Federation under my direction have implemented and we are already seeing TREMENDOUS results!  The YOUTH is where the future of the sport lays!!!  To me, NOTHING will grow the sport faster than the following.

1)  USA Muaythai Youth Development League (YDL):  A "Little League" of Muaythai, if you will.  Allows the Youth to have a competitive outlet but with a clear ascension model that is safe and developmental with direct feedback to grow and improve.

2) Muaythai Youth Academy (MYA):  A program that teaches teachers how to teach and work with kids so that they love learning and building confidence through the martial arts.  

3) Muaythai Business Academy (MBA):  Fact--Muaythai is a sport.  Fact: Muaythai is a Martial Art.                                        Fact: Muaythai is a BUSINESS!   This program helps educate gym owners and potential gym owners on how to run a successful business so that can possibly devote themselves full time to teaching and giving their students and athletes 100% of their time and energy.

I just got home from a YDL in Hawaii yesterday.  East Coast last week for the Delaware YDL.  Dallas the Previous weekend. Denver before that.  Phoenix the weekend before and Dallas again before Phoenix!  

 

This I absolutely believe to be true. Just watching the growth here has been shocking. For those of you who dont know, this man has almost single handedly brought youth muay Thai in the the US back (check him out online, fb/ig and his page usamuaythai_ydl on instagram.). Yes there were classes before but now theres a level of structure based on specific competition. I dont have any competitors...yet. The important word is yet. They get taught with the idea of ydl competition in mind (whether the goal is to compete or not) and eventually a few will fit and want to compete. Either way its win win.  

[What is Your Favorite Technique?]

General question (and if its been asked already, forgive me): whats your favorite technique and why? Any good memories with using it? Whats your level of experience? 

[Sparring with Coach - Meme]

5 hours ago, Jeremy Stewart said:

It's funny you mention it. I get to experience both ends. At my school, I'm like you, I may be the teacher but I don't consider myself the top of the mountain, I'm there to impart knowledge nothing else, however I know some students feel awry about sparring with me. But when I go to my home gym, where I learned the art and am still learning the art, I like sparring the young fighters as (1) I'm nearly twice their age and I find their energy contagious, (2) The fighters are the best to spar with as they can really help you out. Our Kru is nearly 70 and has been involved with Muay Thai since the early 80's and is a wealth of knowledge. 

Nice! My coach isnt much older than me but could still whup me lol but I really dont mind. Ive been told that its a lose lose to spar the coach either because you lose to them or you do well but then feel bad. I hold my own with my coach but really dont feel bad when I get whupped. I always learn from it. One of the aspects I love about combat sports is how the ego eventually takes a back seat to other aspects after years of getting dominated by others and not quitting. I feel like its one of the healthiest things one takes away from combat sports. 

[Sparring with Coach - Meme]

So how many of you actually dread sparring (clinch or otherwise) with your coach? As a coach I dont really see it so much unless I post a meme or joke about it, then the truth comes out lol. I always looked at myself as merely a gate keeper, not the top of the food chain, so cant really understand the fear of dealing with me. For me, if they can handle me then thats merely the first step. All my top guys can deal with me no problem. How do you guys feel about it? Scary coaches? Or is it fun sparring with them? Let me know

[Beginner fighting in the ring in Thailand]

Not sure if this question was meant for Sylvie particularly or open to anyone, but Id go and train at a gym letting them know from the beginning youd like to fight at or near yhe end of your trip IF they felt you were ready. More than likely they'll train you specifically for a fight and find you someone of equal skill to compete against. The cool thing about muay Thai is you can compete as you learn and grow. One doesnt end when the other begins, so you can compete as a beginner and grow from there. 

[Muay Thai is Not Growing in Popularity - Some Data]

5 hours ago, Jeremy Stewart said:

I think it may be as simple as they don't want to be punched in the face. People may also be under the false impression, if they train at a fight gym, they in turn must fight. The idea of sparring also scares a lot of people as they don't really understand what sparing is about. The general public may view bjj as a safer pastime.

I teach 4 classes a week.  2 at my local gym and 2 in my shed. I get on really well with most people at my gym and heaps of people want to try muay thai, however they don't make the leap. I have been asked whether or not I teach mma, which I don't.  All of the people seem content to stay with their 10am boxercise class.

I have even made it clear, that I am not a fight gym and above all I just want people to come and enjoy the classes, raise your heart rate a bit ,learn a devastingly beautiful martial art with skills that are way more beneficial to them than boxercise. My classes are also aimed at people 45 and over, so they don't feel inadequate amongst the younger set. I could blab on ad infinitum, but my only guess as to why people don't train, is fear of the unknown.

I think thats a dead on assessment. I think thats exactly it. It looks good to view, maybe even from a morbid fascination, but to be on the recieving end is just a no. I think this is why its so important to market to hobbyists and make them really understand the safety. In my time around mma and bjj (over ten years) Ive seen way more serious injuries there than in muay Thai. Sure bumps and bruises, but not the limb and finger injury frequency from bjj/mma. Educating potentially interested but cautious hobbyists has to be a priority I think. 

[Suggestions for Krus and Legends to Film for the Muay Thai Library]

For me itd be Somlak. Not sure if he would be what some consider a legend, but hes been a favorite of mine for a long time. Id love to see him show his stuff. 

[Muay Thai is Not Growing in Popularity - Some Data]

On 5/19/2019 at 4:31 PM, Sylvie_vonD said:

I'm never sure how to view this. I see the statistical decline; I'm experiencing the decline in interest here in Thailand, but I'm also in a bubble where I see more women coming here to train, more promotions showing up abroad, more kids, more more. I certainly don't want an artificial swell like Mall Karate in the US and it just dikutes and disappears. But with genuine interest waning IN THAILAND and promotions changing things up so much, I don't know how to read this.

I have the same issue. I see what I believe to be heavy interest but its got to be my bubble. Because I have a lot of connections in the mma and bjj world though, I definitely see the difference in interest. Whats crazy to me is how a video I shared on ig of Sage getting crushed by Cosmo ends up being the highest viewed post Ive ever had. Its a reposted video too, so the viewership on that video worldwide has to be bigger than any bjj video ever posted. Theres some sort of disconnect we are missing between people liking seeing striking (and muay Thai in general) and the decline in interest (in training in it?). 

[Muay Thai is Not Growing in Popularity - Some Data]

6 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:

 

What the Olympics will do is that it will fill classes with youth, around the world. And youth entry is a huge factor in the health and popularity of a sport. Whether this would translate into long term health is another question. Olympic entry was a huge stimulus to TKD for instance, but that growth also had some notorious deleterious effects as well.

 

And this is bigger than people realise. Many gyms, schools have been kept afloat because of kids classes. No joke. Add in things like the ydl (youth development league) and olympics and you could have a new surge of popularity with these kids coming of age in muay Thai. Already, Ive seen a huge surge in a friend's two gym locations in Hawai'i in his kids classes. Hes grown so much using the ydl as a platform, he had to add more class times and hire more instructors. The last video he posted, a couple days ago, had something like 40 kids all in the gym completely filling the space. Basically these kids are influencers for the future of the sport. Get the kids into aspects of it whether its competition, aspects of training, whatever and watch their love of it grow to encompass all aspects. For me, its the clinch that became a big hit for my kids. I expected other aspects to be more popular, but they werent. In fact bag work and even interpersonal strike drilling were boring after a certain amount of time, but I can let them have a full hour of clinch and theyd be happy. So I use the clinch to grow the other aspects and watch their love of everything grow as well.  

[Muay Thai is Not Growing in Popularity - Some Data]

5 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:

More YouTube data, the last 5 years

Looks like worldwide Muay Thai is holding it's own against BJJ as a search subject on YouTube, in all the charts I've run over the last 4 years this is literally the only positive chart I've seen for Muay Thai (if I can remember them all). But still, Muay Thai is downward trending, the same trend I'm seeing everywhere.

Muay Thai vs BJJ Worldwide 5 years (below)

On the other hand, in a place like the United States it's completely reversed. BJJ crushes Muay Thai as a YouTube search subject:

Muay Thai (blue) vs BJJ (red) USA 5 years (above)

 

There is probably a caveat here, in that people on YouTube likely search for Muay Thai fights, and they very likely don't search for BJJ matches much. So a worldwide edge in search subject worldwide is probably already pretty skewed (making the reverse in the USA even more dramatic) just by subject matter. Google web searches include so many other interest factors such as looking up champions, looking for a local gym, etc. Also note as mentioned, the USA Muay Thai trend is the same trend seen elsewhere, downward sloped. This downward slope is important because we see it everywhere.

Not surprised if mt takes a back seat to bjj in popularity anywhere. Id be curious to see what a comparison chart looks like for number of schools in the US. Also, Id like to see how many have both, especially those that started as one or another then later combined. I know a lot of schools that have both but started as either a pure bjj or pure muay Thai school. I also wonder if theres a way to use the youtube info to our advantage. 

[Repeated Muay Thai Techniques That Are Unstoppable - Leg Kicks, Liver Shots, Elbows]

14 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:

I think early in the fight, yes, the target for a KO is pretty small, but if you keep hitting that area the sensitive "shock" area actually grows over time. A forth round near miss will put someone out if that rib area has been peppered several times, whereas the same shot might have done nothing much (visible) in the first. Much as the leg starts to swell and be more ready to go, I think the body protecting the liver also grows more ready to shock. (As I've written elsewhere, I also think this expanding zone of sensitivity is even more dramatic if there have been re-hydration problems from weight cut, etc.)

Edit: In the larger sense, what interests me is how these kinds of attacks require additional investment. You have to insist on them. In some ways all strikes require investment. You don't throw 3 jabs all fight and really have "a jab". You need to jab regularly and repeatedly. But, there are some kinds of attacks that have huge pay offs (fight enders), but usually after a series of only so-so effects. Just to snag a recent ringside example I had from a month or so ago in a local stadium, I was watching a farang fighter face a Thai who was much better than him in the overall sense (but had not fought in 3 years, called "off the couch" so to speak). The farang wasn't bad, he was in better shape though. After several close calls in the first, in the second the westerner went to a very insistent elbow. Over and over and over. 95% were not landing at all. But it just started stressing the Thai, and stress became distress. It was incredible to just see the Thai melt (he's a friend of ours). The insistence made it happen. Throw only 3 of those, the whole fight goes another way. Throw 20, he just overwhelmed the Thai. It feels like this is a kind of secret automatic win strategy that few go for. It amazes me that these big payday attacks are just relatively under-used. And I wonder why? It is fighter psychology? Lack of knowledge or awareness? The only fight ender everyone knows and loves is the head KO.

Totally agree with that. The body definitely gets more sensitive over the course of the fight. Money in the bank 

[Repeated Muay Thai Techniques That Are Unstoppable - Leg Kicks, Liver Shots, Elbows]

Ok I lied lol I gotta talk about the liver shot too. I have a current fighter who I specifically taught and teach body destruction to. He won his last fight by making his opponent quit in the third (tko) by repeated body attacks (finished by knees in the clinch). He has a nasty lead middle kick he targets the liver and dropped opponents with. I think with the liver, it has to be hit dead on to really get that ko effect. Obviously some people arent as susceptible, but with most I think its just slightly missing the target. The rest of the body takes time to get results, so if you miss the liver shot its just a regular body shot. Good but time investing. I teach that body shots are small money in the bank for later rounds, make as many deposits as you can to invest in your future. So if you miss the liver no big deal. Im gonna go on a limb and say the reason I think people dont target the body as much, especially in the US, is because of the need for an early ko and the practice of those techniques which can produce that. Its been lamented frequently by my peers and my betters about the lack of training to attack the body outside of western boxing. Having a boxing background Ive always seen the value of it not just as a target but in producing the head as a target again after an opponent shells up from past head attacks. Probably the most famous example is Mike Tyson and how he'd use body shots to open the guard of boxers for his nasty uppercuts. Theyd shell, he'd hit the shell amd dig the shell into their body opening the pillars of their guard, giving him a clean line up the middle to their chin. Body shots in general are as important as leg kicks. Both techniques have such a wide use tactically its really ignorant to not study the hell out've them. With that I give a shout out to Sitmonchai gym for specializing in leg attacks and the high low of body/head/leg tactics. 

[Repeated Muay Thai Techniques That Are Unstoppable - Leg Kicks, Liver Shots, Elbows]

Do much info to talk about lol, Ill just talk about the low kick. Its one of my favorites and I tend to specialize in it. I do think some of why it might not be used as much as it should is the low hanging fruit idea, meaning its too easy. Let me tell you, its not. Besides needing buildup to take someone out, theres the simple check that not only stops the kick, it can damage a weapon you need to win. I was taught to check two different ways 1) with the knee cap turned out towards the ankle of the kick and 2) with the knee cap jammed towards the shin. The second one seems like a no no but it actually works well with minor damage to yourself but shuts down the kicker hard. These things make it so one has to be really smart in how they throw low kicks to make them effective, which means a lot of practice on a technique that may seem low in its effectiveness compared to body and head kicks. The thing is, again from experience, if you practice the set ups, timing, and tricks of the low kick, it is REALLY effective and doesnt need that much time in a fight to end it. One of my favorite fighters, not in muay Thai but kickboxing, Bazooka Joe Vallentini has a whole system behind how he low kicks, even with how he places the kicking leg in return based on his goals. He has tester kicks (probes on defense and over all reaction) that he throws a specific way vs damagers. He has specific set ups and counters. Its enlightening how much effort hes put into studying something that might be considered low percentage effective. Just shows that its a really good technique. And thats just one of what you brought up. I imagine theres a lot of similarity to the others too. 

[Looking for Muay Thai gym in Houston, TX, USA]

Mark Beecher runs a gym in Houston called both Houston Kickboxing and Hyena Muay Thai. Excellent instructor and there's a lot of beginners there

[was the instructor trying injure me?]

On 5/6/2019 at 8:41 PM, jet67 said:

was doing a kick boxing class and the student i was paired up with had a strong roundhouse kick, i was holding thai pads for him. i told the student to kick lighter and he did as it was hurting my arms, but instructor came along and edged him to kick harder even when student said yea he cant handle the kick . i could take it for 6 kicks but after that my arms started to really hurt. i evaded one kick as it was too hard and instructor said you need toughen up. 

i think instructor was trying in injure me. my arm is bruised also got feeling instructor doesnt like me as he didnt come along and give me pointers in my technique but he did with other studentss

whats your thoughts.

I dont think the instructor was intentionally trying to hurt you. I do think hes out of touch with what it feels like to hold for a heavy kicker or what it was like when he started. Do you need to adapt to the process? Yes, but you also need time to do it and not feel destroyed during the process. Sometimes coaches are more fighter oriented, meaning they orient towards the harder aspects of the sport and training. Those ones tend to forget that a lot of people train in the arts for stress release and fitness. Some of them are really disconnected to the hobbyist. Suggestion: if you go back, pick a partner whos kicks you can handle. Maybe speak to the instructor and make your goals known. If none of that works and you get the same vibe, then I highly suggest finding another spot that caters to your wants and needs. Just my two cents. 

[To spin or not to spin | Training Spinning Techniques]

So a good friend made this meme a while back and its always resonated with me. The idea being dont pass over the basics and fundamentals for fancy technique. This meme always becomes so relevant when someone in combat sports wins by spinning anything. Not because Im against spinning techniques, but because of how they always seem to jump the line so to speak past tried and true (possibly boring to students?) fundamental techniques with high percentages of landing. For context: (its not muay Thai I know, but it does effect me teaching muay Thai, so...) Raymond Daniels winning his fight in mma this last weekend. If you havent seen it, look up Bellator's social media. Curious to hear people's opinions, reactions, etc.  

[There Are No More Great Muay Thai Teachers in the World - Sifu McInnes]

10 hours ago, Sylvie_vonD said:

It's interesting to me that when you talk to fighters of that era, they blame gambling. Or Karuhat blaming the lack of charisma in modern fighters, no personality to be superstars. He's a fighter, blaming fighters. And Sifu, he's a teacher blaming teachers - or a loss of teachers, really. It's interesting to me that these men are putting the blame in their own wheelhouses. When we suggested to General Tunwakom and Sirimongkol (both in their 70s) that the Golden Era displayed some very old techniques - IN THE RING - both of them said that the trainers of those fighters were too old to have really done much teaching. But, I can attest that sitting in a chair and waving a stick at a distance, you can learn a lot of technique. Sifu made a brilliant point when he suggested that the loss of Arjan - of the men with the real technical knowledge and skillset to disseminate it - had resulted in padmen replacing them as teachers. Padmen were labor; they still are, but now they're also the krus.

I think how and who we blame shows our focus. Id probably focus on the coaches and teachers too since thats my focus. Whats interesting to me is who Karuhat blames considering he is now a teacher, you can see his focus. Hes still a fighter at heart. 

[Question for Punches - What To Do When Facing Them]

For me it really depends on the my goal for the night. Wjat do I want out of this session? If its to minimize damage (say the person is a little outve control), id use a guard and footwork to clear space to keep the pressure off and look for openings to counter and shut the agression down. If my goal is to feel pressure and learn to deal with it, then I might shell up and accept their attack to feel it. I believe its important to counter asap regardless to keep from being run over. Most of the time my goal is to preemptively keep them from over whelming me with outside footwork at range. I usually keep moving so as to not make a tempting target and not let them get a bead on me. Their swings wiff air so I can counter.