The Bongo

There's a bloke in our gym that wants to fight. He's not as good as his friends tell him. The coach has had a diplomatic word to the effect that he will be even better 'in a few months time.' I reckon a year. It's what a good coach does, sets up fights and protects his fighters. Good luck with your new gym Clay. Hope it's a good one. When you make friends with a few of the regulars, they;ll let you know of other decent gyms locally, and their strengths and weaknesses. You'll soon be set, even if the first one you try is not the one that you find the best. Hope you fulfill all your personal goals mate. Get them elbows dirty dude!

Sorry to reply with a question, but who are you? One of the best Nak Muay I've met never trained formally. He described himself as 'a bit of a handful everywhere I go,' and, 'a bit of a scrapper.' If that's you, just get a few months and wing it... If not, about 18 months if you train hard two plus nights a week, plus train compulsively at home. Get a heavy bag to develop smoothness and get your training pals to hit you with a bit of meaning once a week. Reading up on the rules where you mean to compete is good too. If you join a decent club with good coaches they'll match you up just fine. You might be better off asking how to find a decent club tbh.

Thanks Kevin, that makes perfect sense. There is a ton of stuff that one could delve into. For the purpose of Muay Thai I think and feel that you've summed it up very succinctly and accurately.

Good Lord! There's a PHD right there waiting for someone into comparative sociology. Can you please explain 'unfair matches for Westerners a little?' I'd be fascinated to learn more.

Anything stitched can be restitched! Most cities have a cobbler/leather worker who can fit the required foam. I'd imagine that foam selection is pretty difficult.

The journey should change us. We should not travel a journey contrived for our convenience. I experienced similar working in the Middle-East. People had to live with 'face' and real social pressure, none was projected onto me, at least none that I understood. I love Sylvie's Muay Thai and her approach to fighting, the respect that she shows to the retired fighters and her coaches. Unfortunately, 'All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.' Money corrupts. All relations are social, but those mediated by money and social hierarchy are corrupted too. More power to Sylvie's project! Keep it real!

I'm more of a grappler too. It took me about three years to adjust my mind to Muay Thai. It's easier to feel swamped in something unfamiliar, plus large gloves feel all wrong when I parry or trap. I also found that I'd sink my weight when I should go light as an opponent gets close. Initially, I was only happy clinching or going for sweeps and trips. My style is still pretty unconventional but I can go a round with a smaller or less trained opponent and not get hit once now and then. Set up strikes with shovel kicks and low kicks, sweeps, and grabbing their guard. Glove blocks use your grappling skills too. Grabbing someones guard and using your knees is good too.

I guess you're in the UK? If so, do college. At your age it's free. As for after college, do what youth allows. Have a go at fighting. You pay for uni whatever age you are. Nothing wrong in doing something in uni in your mid -20's+. I did a second degree in my 30's. I would not have been held back by a career as a fighter earlier on. As you get older, you begin to regret the things that you didn't do, far more than the things that you did. Good luck in your fight career!

Whatever the art, only you can truly answer your question. I'm 49. I train twice a day, twice a working week. With no work I'd be fine training twice, but then I've always had decent stamina. I train 9 to 10 1/2 hours per week with a physical job of 20+ hours hard physical work. If you have a desk job, build your strength with resistance training. You'll be amazed at what you can do.

Your instructor is a fool. Pad holding is a serious technique in its own right. He should have taught you how to kill the power in a kick with movement.

Excellent thread. We are us. We should express this; whoever we are. Explaining how we can do this through the medium of a sport we all love is invaluable.