Hi! New to the forum and very excited to be a part of it :)
I'm fairly new to Muay Thai, having joined a gym in NY earlier this month (and did Muay Thai on and off for a few months two years ago). The gym is wonderful-- the kindest instructors and members who are extremely patient and generous with their advice-- and I couldn't have asked for a better environment to train in everyday.
In the past week, a new girl has joined the gym, and I was initially really excited to see that a woman has joined. I talked to her pre-training, and she seems like a nice person. As there are fewer girls at the gym and especially at the morning sessions, every time she is comes, we are paired together. Just as a note, she is a few inches taller than me and at least 25 lbs heavier than me, but I often train with the guys so I was not really concerned.
We began the last session throwing light punches or kicks to practice blocking. From what I understand, you were not supposed to be throwing these punches and kicks at 100 percent, especially since we were not wearing shin guards. Yet, she keeps kicking and punching extremely hard, even after I stopped and requested that she go a little softer. I continued to kick her semi-softly thinking she would understand that was the strength at which she should kick-- she did not seem to get it. (I am very ashamed to admit that when she didn't stop going hard, I got annoyed and started going as hard and because I'm faster than her, got in a few kicks and punches she could not block. As soon as she requested that I go softer, I felt extremely bad as I wasn't supposed to go hard anyway and definitely toned it down. And the instructor told me to go slower as she's new-- and he is totally right.)
Also when doing pad work, she doesn't wait for me to set up between and assumes upcoming combinations. More than once, she has kicked or punched me without being prompted (it is not fun getting kicked in the head when she assumes I'm going to prompt a roundhouse and doesn't seem to notice the pad I have up for a jab!). The instructor came over a few times to correct her form and her not waiting but I don't think he realizes how hard she is kicking and punching when it is her turn to hold pads and I am practicing my blocks. Also, this is just an annoying thing but perhaps because she goes so hard all the time when she's not supposed to, she often gasses out while she's holding pads for me, takes break and I don't feel like I'm getting full rounds of practice. :(
I'm not sure if it's just me being inexperienced with pad work but are people supposed to go that hard? I've worked with male training partners before and have never experienced something like this, but now I'm wondering if they were taking it easy on me because I'm a girl. We've been paired up three times now and it's the same thing each time, even after I mentioned the issue to her the third time. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to handle this situation. I'm worried that since I am usually the only girl at morning sessions, whenever she comes to the gym, I will be paired with her. I'm a bit discouraged and would appreciate any advice or feedback!
Also, apologies in advance for how whiny this all sounds!
