Watch the full 15 minute video as a patron here.
I’ve always been responsible for training myself. Not in a “I’m self-made,” kind of claim – those are all bullshit – but because from the very beginning my training has been completely unusual. When I first started, Kevin and I lived in a cabin up in the woods of Fort Montgomery, New York. We’d have to drive an hour, each way, to get any instruction from Master K. Then I’d come home and spend as much time between sessions as I could just working on the things he showed me. Shadowboxing in the woods across the street, running on military land, teeping the beams under the porch. When I got to Thailand, I realized quickly that you get attention from a trainer while on pads, but there are hours of work that you’re responsible for yourself… pretty much everything else. I didn’t even know how to shadow or hit the bag well, so I learned by watching people who did know and kind of imitated them. This is all to say that training yourself is a huge part of training in general, and you can improve by getting serious about it. You can take this anywhere and everywhere; you don’t have to ask anybody and you don’t have to tell anybody. It’s awesome.
This video, this Technique Vlog, is intended for any time you want or need to train yourself. If you can’t get to a gym, if you can’t afford a gym, if you’re traveling, or – as is the case at the moment – many gyms are closing temporarily to help flatten out the spread of the Covid-19 virus. If your gym is closed and you’re spending more time at home for “social distancing” purposes (also something I’m very practiced in), these are things you can do at home with absolutely no equipment required. Got a wall? Got empty space? Good to go. I want to stress that these are not just “workouts” to keep you busy or fit until you can get back to the gym. Anyone can do situps and pushups. But I suspect people feel like they need instruction and an instructor in order to improve their technique, and that’s really not the case. If you watch my recent interview with Dieselnoi about his “Holy Grail” fight against Samart in 1982, one thing he stresses over and again is that you are what makes you any good. It’s discipline, focus, and hard work. I want the message of this Technique Vlog to be that you can improve your technique on your own, not just “keep fit.”
Each of these techniques in this vlog come from Thai fighters (Legends, really) who are in the Muay Thai Library. If you’re not a patron, this is an incredibly good time to become one. There are more than 90 hours of long-form instruction in the Muay Thai Library, tons of techniques and styles and strategies. All of these included in this vlog (and the longer version that you can see as a patron) come from the men in the Library. If you are already a patron, get a pen and take some notes as you watch through the sessions for things that you want to try for yourself. You can do it right there in front of your phone, next to your computer, standing on your bed… anywhere. It’s not even “making do,” it’s the cradle of how every incredible Thai fighter you’ve ever lost your breath watching started and continued and became what he was. Every one of them. So you can do it too. It’s not temporary, as a Technique Vlog, the technique of importance is learning that training yourself is actually a very accessible and valuable skill in and of itself.
If this is something that interests you the full Patreon post has several more ideas, as well as links to instructionals and burnouts that can also help with training outside the gym. Go to Patreon to see all those additional thoughts.
You can also check out my “At Home” workout playlist which is a collection of my live streamed isolation workouts from my home:
