Conor Sullivan

If you were to tire that quickly, it would largely be breathing technique. I had the same issue for my first and second fight, but corrected it for my third. The main problem with being nervous is how the body will tense up, which includes limiting the breathing. From my experience, Thai kicks are one of the most energy consuming attacks in martial arts, and perhaps it is why such a distinct breathing technique has grown in Muay Thai. Strong abdominal muscles are very important to have when it comes to your armor against knees and body punches. An over abundance of muscle can certainly limit one's breathing and movement in extreme cases, though if you are building that muscle in a non-stationary way, you should be able to maintain looseness. ( When I do pushups I usually accelerate on the push upward to mimic a punch). For the breathing technique, you want it to develop naturally. I believe to learn it, you have to push yourself to an exhausted state and begin to vocalize your exhaustion as you push on. With every breath out you can say "ha". This will be easier and less awkward when you are already gasping for air (lol). The point of this is just to emphasize communication toward yourself, to your body, and to your training partners. It's easy to get lost in your head and lose focus on breathing while training, so the goal is to overemphasize it vocally and keep it conscious. This should give you more endurance, and keep your body loose and free flowing. Always remember to breath out on your strikes as well, whether it's a slight "shh" or a "HIYAAAA"

Ankle wraps are mostly meant for protecting the ankles from rolling but they also protect some parts of the foot. Some bags and pads are softer than others. I'm not a fan of thai pads that never seem to break in and always remain hard - I like slightly soft ones that are able to develop an inward curve - they hurt less. Also with bags, if they're too hard or compacted heavily at the bottom, they will hurt. Largely I think you should work on extending your hips out and really aim to always connect with your shins perpendicular to the pads. Better to attain consistent technique even when tired. Though connecting with the foot is useful in kicking, like in head kicks, conditioning your feet is necessary. Im pretty sure my feet have grown ever so slightly from kicking so often. I always used to connect with my foot as well and I was able to get to a point of not feeling pain in them anymore. A hot epsom salt soak is fantastic for the easing muscles, though when it comes to an injury or bruise, I would ice the area first as soon as possible after training.

It's a great weapon to weaken a puncher's arms and neutralize their attack. With the power a good middle kick presents, you will be far more inclined to cover up in defense than to take the kick to the body. It also requires a great amount of energy to throw a good Thai kick, so keeping it as a staple technique to practice in training will help to maintain the high level of endurance needed for a fight. For a great example on how middle kicks can be used for neutralizing, check out Buakaw vs. Mike Zambidis.

On the subject of reducing the visual field to emphasize different qualities, typically when im making a video or drawing or painting, ill take a moment to slightly cross my eyes to blur what im seeing so that i can better see the overall composition and shapes. Similar techniques are simply standing further back from the piece, or even turning it upside down, so that the focus is on shape and composition, rather than letting the brain work off of preconceptions of the subject matter. It is an interesting subject - of limiting a sense to improve the others.

None of them are working. Upload to youtube!

Ah i appreciate that! Yeah, most people just throw some face paced footage on an EDM track and call it a day. I was trying to convey the more serious samurai spirit and the calmness and clarity that comes from training.

Oh yeah, the high contrast and very little grey. I think in general b&w can be great for muay thai because it helps to minimize the footage down to shape and movement to help better display the fundamentals of the art. I like your camera movement during action as well, it doesnt over-literalize what is happening and captures the emotion and intensity even in a seemingly calm environment. Ill have to share another short experiment i did that has a similar dark mood that you seem to go for

My buddy shot some footage of us training last year, and i editted it. I gave it a sort of dark vibe so i thought it might fit here . I havent done much video work since school but ive started up again the past couple months.

Dont worry about speed man. Keep focus on the technique - the speed comes with fluidity. The kick comes straight up like a knee and the hips turn over. Its a big hip rotation and the arm swing is needed to help bring the leg over and keep balance. Work within your flexibility range too. If youre trying to kick out of your range the tightness will slow the kick down. Focus on bringing your foot back to the ground so that its a big arc rather than just going up and striking. The body will be hesitant to commit to speed if its not sure where the foot is going to end up and leave you off balance. Practice in shadow a lot. Use the bag to try out what you've practiced in shadow and keep that cycle going. And what andy said previously, imagine your leg is just a giant slab of meat, and the rest of your body is the only thing that will tense to propel the leg.

I came to that conclusion on my own through training - that you can ingrain technique more easily when you are fatigued. It has to do with the body being warm, muscles being loose, your weaknesses being made more obvious, and your mind going on autopilot without distracting thoughts so that your muscle memory can be the main focus. You can see it in fights where a guy looks like he has awesome technique in the first round, but then he starts looking more and more sloppy as the fight goes on. Theres a difference between looking sloppy and looking fatigued. Train your technique when you're tired, so when you are tired in the fight, your technique is still good.

When youre standing stationary, sway your hips forward and back, shifting your weight from the front to back foot as you do. Never actually stand stationary. Also, use the bag as a dance partner. Use an outstretched arm to maintain the same distance from the bag so that you have to move with it to keep that distance. Dont worry about power on the bag, think more of timing - connecting with the bag as it sways into your strikes. You want to feel every strike sink in and feel good, like a puzzle piece snapping into place. I think when you find that feeling, you will feel the rhythm come. Keep swaying the hips and drawing all your power from the hips.

I can check it out and give advice

Banchamek gym was great. I rented a bike from chiang mai for a week and drove up the highway until you get to the countryside. You end up driving through a small town before finding the dirt road to buakaw village. I think the place is still in the early stages of development and they have plans to greatly increase the gym size. When i was there, yodwicha was training along with 2 or 3 other thai fighters. Their farang fighter alex was stil there as well. 3 other guys from around the world were staying there as well. There were 2 thai trainers- one being alex, who holds pads and i had a great time working with. When i first got there, Buakaw was napping on the patio. He would coast by on his crazy motorcycles every now and then, and he sat in the gym for a couple sessions giving some feedback on training. Its not so much a busy and active gym and feels more like a country resort still early in the making. You may not get the traditional active thai gym experience, but you will get the feel of rural north thailand and the lifestyle there. Really it seems like a small self sustaining resort farm village with muay thai. One evening i had left for pai and got lost trying to find accommodations outside the gym, but it had gotten too late. I was wandering the dirt roads after dark on my bike and some locals found me and were extremely helpful and friendly and found me a place with beds. I gave the guy who guided me there 20 baht and he gave me the most genuinely love filled mega hug i ever received. Another night i got waved down at a small grill/bar in the town outside buakaw village and was invited for drinks and food where the banchamek trainers showed up to party which was pretty surreal after previously picturing them as pristine old masters. Keep in mind there is very little english in this area and you will be getting a very authentic thai experience. Overall, you can get very good training at banchamek, though if its your first time, i wouldnt go for more than a week- even just a few days is enough. When i go back i want to go there for a week to hopefully get to work with buakaw, and i enjoy the country life, though for more serious and populated training grounds with more prospect for getting a fight booked, i will go back to charnchai in pai.

To pass on the art for thai people.

You should be comfortable in both stances. Its more healthy for the body and more useful in the fight.