threeoaks

I love this description of teaching. That is true of the best art schools too - individual teachers with strong styles, but no "house-style" for the ensuing artists.

Laughing on Metro North. Barf.

Well that blog post was just fantastically gross. Thank you. I like the scars, flat out.

I enjoyed the fight but I also really enjoyed the ring girls getting credit and gym affiliations! Those ladies work hard!

Love that - all of you blew up one line. Beautiful, positive way to describe a type of focus that some people pathologize but I see as the root of genius.

Severe drug addiction and alcoholism run in my family and I am no exception - total garbagehead. It is not uncommon for fighters to treat their addictions this way; Kevin Ross is a prime example. Exercise put a damper on my problem until college sports ended, then I had to seek help which I did. So I no longer use sports (or substances) to regulate my moods and basic personality although I remain addictive in every sense; I freaking love combat sports and Muay Thai in particular. Now its just passion though :) Two years ago my son was bedridden with an unknown illness for nearly a year. We made the rounds of doctors including two different big city hospital systems and my own very expensive East/West (allopathic and alternative) doc. We even brought him across the country to the famous Mayo clinic to try and get him diagnosed. He was nauseated every. single. day. for months. Time was creeping by so slowly and I had to be calm and positive for him. I was also beyond furious at every patronizing _(*&*( _{#%*{)( doctor who treated me like a stupid hysteric. To compound it I had (and still have) differing views of the situation than my spouse. There would have been total mayhem had I not been training boxing and Muay Thai. One of my trainers knew the situation and while not delving in (to keep me from crying), displayed every kind of empathy and kindness available to a sparring partner and padholder. It may not be your grandma's idea of empathy (violence rather than hugs and tea), but for me it worked and I am eternally grateful. My son is better now, but never had a diagnosis. I am charmed by laurakg's prescription for menopause. As I approach it I am definitely becoming a battle axe in every way and its ever more fun to train Muay Thai.

My gym Stockade Martial Arts, is located in upstate New York, 30 minutes from my house. It is a nice small space in a row of historic buildings. The gym is co-owned by a trainer, his wife, and a current Lion Fight Pro. I am not sure of the exact number of fighters but its pretty small, maybe 10. Occasionally fighters will come down from farther upstate for a few weeks leading up to a fight to be coached and then cornered by our coaches. There are a fair amount of people coming from far and wide to train with the main trainer; their presence is not felt at every class because they often have to travel. It is all Muay Thai with the exception of BJJ Fridays and Kali Sundays. Usually there is a Thai fight playing on the telly as you come in the entryway, which not like being in Thailand but still nice. It is also indicative of the stylistic focus; this is not an American style kickboxing gym or a fitness center. The focus and admiration seems to be for Thai and international style Muay Thai. I know that's general but its based on observation and I don't want to speak for the coaches. Two days a week there is a kids' class, otherwise it is organized as follows: 1 hour bagwork at 5 (beginner's are welcome here), 1 hour padwork and technique at 6, 1 hour sparring and/or clinch at 7. Sparring is by invitation but its not horribly exclusive; its just to keep the absolute beginners out and to allow the trainers to make sure people have appropriate control. There are open mat periods as well on the weekends; the gym is open for something 7 days a week. There are two higher level pros who train at the gym on their own during the day as well as at classes (as coaches and sometimes to train). There are only two weekday Muay Thai mixed-level classes, because around here most people work during the day. One owner offers private lessons as well; he's an incredible teacher. They sell shorts and you get a glove/guard/shorts package when you sign up though I already had the gear from another gym so I don't know the type or quality. Think its Twins gloves anyway. This is my third gym offering Muay Thai and by far the best in both atmosphere and quality. Its laid back yet technical and the owners are welcoming to women to train and/or fight. I'd say the price is competitive with the local places; they want people to able to train but of course have to make a living. I have trained at one more and one less expensive place. Very good value.

Some other martial arts require full power on pads at all times. Maybe this is happening with her; has she trained other forms? Or as Sylvie says (and has written about), she really may not know. My boxing training partner has absolutely not a clue how incredibly hard she hits - just stone hands. Its great. But I had to work hard to get her to back off the power on my head - she just did not understand (other people took some rounds with her and hit her medium power so she'd get a sense of it). She is a really good person who requires loud, clear, verbal communication (not squints & hints or anything which I would read but not everyone does). Sorry they keep sticking you with the girl. I hate that. Not because I hate working with other women but the assumption is just annoying. It also makes me feel like the guys don't want to work with me, which may be true in some cases but too bad. I am just an annoying southpaw but I claim my place and hopefully, prepare you for fighting a southpaw :teehee: .

She's lucky you did your best to alert her to her jackassery, and she got a nice direct telling off by Master Toddy, and now DOWN she goes, never to get better. Its my most feared brand of fuckery in life - to be unteachable. Arrogance almost always equals stupidity. Pity the fool (or just get rid of her). I appreciate your generosity though Emma. Its understandable to want to never spar with beginners of course. I obviously don't want to give someone a nagging, pointless injury, hence the thread. But I'll never get better without people being willing to go at it with me, and to tell me my mistakes directly, instead of grumbling privately. Thanks again.

Just got put on notice for this today. Oops. Wish I read it first. Thanks!

Eh is it not right to just bang her up a little, make it clear what going hard actually is? Oh you said she gets all nutty and doesn't listen. Oy. Sounds super annoying.

Thank you so much for going! Yeah I love the sound - Geoffrey Hutchinson did it for me. He is a sound artist who did this as a job but I asked him to twist it however he liked. I am glad he went with mostly really sounds though for slo-mo he turned it into that chattering sound (which is better than the low tone that would normally be there). It is not meant to be TOO overwhelming but its edited to work with your peripheral vision kind of like sparring would (set up patterns and break them). Anyhow so glad you liked it and thank you again! I'm really touched you went.

I fan girl frequently and Rjiker is my God. Thank you, Emma! Enjoying now & also shared to FB (crediting you, yr blog & MTR).

Very exciting fight thank you. Pity you are left out though; is it a political thing? Clinch looked great here. No sweeps? Was it a rule? So much standing on one leg makes me wonder (in clinch). Thanks again.

Yay! I am on the road with slow thumbs (cell not laptop) so short response - this is great!

OOHHH!!! This is like a goldmine. Thank you. I see the more experienced people going slo-mo with their kicks in doubles padwork and I really appreciate it because I can see the shape of the kick better. This means the angle is super visible to me and since I don't produce that downward arc yet I can really emulate it. Now your points about knee to knee contact with hesitated kicks makes sense. So be deliberate but not all jerky about it. I better shadow a LOT. As for knees I am so far from sparring with knees its crazy but yes - no nuts, no crotch shots. Oof. Again - priceless.

Thank you this is exactly what I am looking for. Appreciate it NewThai! (now I frigging wanna go spar.. relaxed.. except NOW. injury is a bore).

The foot injury described in another thread inspired this question: can you experienced people please describe common and very SPECIFIC beginner's mistakes in sparring? I am not talking about going too hard and trying to "win"; I want to know about common & pointlessly destructive "flinches" like the elbow reaction that broke someone's foot. I don't know when I will be cleared to spar by my doc and my trainer but I'm excited (and have done in regular boxing) but I am big and don't really want to injure someone like that. Just visited an 12 year old girl who was concussed pretty bad at my daughter's karate school. I am not afraid of violence, just want to know what types of control you all notice are commonly underdeveloped in Muay Thai beginners. I have already read Damion Trainor's and Sean Fagan's posts on the subjects and again, I am not a total tool - I have sparred in boxing somewhat - I am just moved to inquire because though I am training teep defense, I am not yet aware of things like that elbow jerk tendency. Thanks!

Not sparring in Muay Thai yet so this is very helpful on what NOT to do - of course I know not to go too hard or try to win (I have some experience in boxing) but I did not know about this awful elbow reflex. We are drilling teep defense and I just thought of it as... teep defense. I wonder if its possible to start a detailed thread on errors beginner's make in sparring (I've read Damian Trainor's post and Sean's somewhat similar one)? I had just begun sparring in Muay Thai and felt like I had 15 limbs not 8 (when I got injured) so while I don't want to get all psyched out about it when I return, it would be great to know how to avoid common beginner mistakes above and beyond being the jackass who tries to "win". Be gentle though - it sucks being a beginner and I will probably be one a long time!

Just fantastic. Evil explosive southpaw with so much variety. Thanks.

Incredibly interesting. Going to read more. Thank you.

Sorry to soapbox it but: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/07/emdr-trauma/399650/?utm_source=SFFB Again - your essay was beautiful & I recognize this missed the point.

I do like all these reasons to train over 40. I also really appreciated the "Muscle Power" post on 8 limbs. The fight between Aurora and Gerry was almost unwatchable though - I hate seeing that kind of height/power/skill and age differential. Very glad to read that Gerry got back at it and did much better. Cannot believe she is that old. Any time you mention age or someone being old and fighting I appreciate it. Part of me also is embarrassed though. My trainer posted a video of some padwork with a 58 year old and everyone was very appreciative in the comments (or a few people were anyway). For me I appreciate it but I also kept thinking 'jesus he's slow. aw come on pick it up... standup for the old folks.. oh no he's wobbly too'. So its bittersweet.

Doesn't Lion Fight break up the clinch kinda fast?

Well that was a beautiful post, Kevin. You two are a beautiful pair. I would add this example of trauma recovery (less poetic but just my experience), that EMDR which is used by the U.S. Army for PTSD in vets for example, uses rapid eye movement manipulation to relocate traumatic memories. In other words, horrors, like rape and war, are stored in too readily available form by the brain, instead of going back in time as they should. In dreams (the REM stage), we store our memories every day (you see peoples' eyes moving when they are deeply asleep - this is the process). During EMDR therapy a combination of talk and moving the eyes (with a pendulum or just a finger), permits the separation of the horror from immediate memory stores (thus no traumatic response in daily life any more). My limited experience of sparring tells me that it is the most highly sensory, visual experience possible and so much depends upon making things happen outside peripheral vision, for example. Perhaps this incredibly consistent, vigorous use of her sensory apparatus has disseminated and diffused the horrible memories of Sylvie's rape. I frigging hope so. EMDR has worked for me in profound ways. Good luck with her family and much wonder and love to you both in your radical, exemplary marriage. http://www.emdr.com/general-information/what-is-emdr.html