Slim

Iamrushman, I am 30, feeling 23, except at times like this!! Its gone from a pain to ache, if theres any change (for the worse) I will go to a docter. I thinks its going to be allright, as long as its not an end to my glorious carreer! hee hee. Character building..yeah, that sound good.. And part of the learning curve..

I must humbly agree that boxing is (in my opinion) a martial art, although my dictionary says a martial art is an " Eastern fighting sport" (honestly what does it know). I also beleive that anyone serious about punching hard ie. Muay Thai, Kickboxers and all the rest would improve their game by cross training in boxing. And it makes awesome self defence, unless you have to defend youself in a martial arts ring fight, which kindoff falls out of the self defence catagory. OK now Ive said too much. And this isnt "mine's bigger/better/faster than yours".

I put on some UK DJ hard house fat bass tunes for weights and cardio, I like Rage Against the Machine for gettin' all angry on a bag or whatever. I have to have music when training alone.

According to the sales pitch, the Muay Thai Bible. http://www.muaythaionline.net/features/kraitusreview.html It sounds awesome.

I hope that didnt sound insensitive! I think its important to get a program that is realistic to fit your lifestyle, I know wieght loss is a serious issue, Im not making fun of your friend.

I think thats pretty funny, a weight loss program of sitting around drinking coffee!!

Well....its kinda in my knees..behind my kneecaps.. thats not much help, sorry! Theres no swelling or bruising or anything, after these few days of treating them like newborns pain seems to be receeding somewhat, it seems to be worse in the middle of the night so Ill know more in the morning. Do you think I should be using some kind of wrap support in the future?

Thanks for replies, I guess what Im most afraid of is becoming like Jack, sorry to say it dude, but that sounds serious. I read that because of poor blood supply, cartilage cannot repair itself as well as muscle, skin and bone. I want to train hard, the last thing I need is a permanant injury. A lot of pressure must be on the knees while kicking, I wonder how common this is in martial arts?

Ive just got over a 3 day flu, everything is nornal now except for the pain in my knees. I started skipping and running a few weeks ago, and along with Muay Thai Im afraid Ive done some damage. I always stretch and try to be aware of pushing myself to hard. All I can think of is to have a week off, just sticking to upper body work, and see if they come right. Has anyone else heard of something like this?

Ive just started Muay Thai and had the same idea as you, do some pre training. I would suggest you build strength in your chest with heaps of pushups, and abs with situps, because if its anything like my class you do heaps of both. If your fitness is down do some running, skipping or bike riding 20 mins a day every day, you'll be able to keep up the pace in class. Stretch always, to prevent injury and improve circulation. I wouldnt recommend learning any punches or kicks before you go, I found things that I had learned in Karate hard to break once they were formed into habit. You will be taught correct technique once you're there. Also dont get discouraged if you feel a bit clumsy and unco-ordinated I am assured this is common and will pass with time. Go for it, good luck, and always before anything - stretch, if you are a "learn the hard way" person, you will be out of action recovering from pulled muscles while you learn this lesson.

Extract from the book Hyperventilation Syndrome: Breathing Pattern Disorders, Dinah Bradley. "Hyperventilation means moving more air through the chest than the body can deal with. Most people have experienced hyperventilation - also called over breathing - to some degree, usually in the form of an acute attack. Its a nornal reaction to sudden danger or excitement, and the signs are easy to pick. Breathing and heart rates speed up. Adrenalin pours into the bloodstream. The nervous system is on 'red alert' Muscles tense up. Sometimes people faint or collapse - or find super-human resevoirs of strength. When the stressful event is over, the body returns to its normal relaxed state. Less easy to spot is chronic hyperventilation, a breathing pattern disorder in which over breathing becomes a habit........" etc. etc. I thought of you when I read this, hope it helps.

A dyslexic walks into a bra.....

An Irishman, a Welshman, an Englishman and a Scotsman all walk into bar. The barman says, "Is this some sort of a joke?"

Angus-when you knee someone in the head, are you leaping up and connecting, or keeping one foot on the ground and pulling them down?

Just remember guys, that the cellphone is a very high frequency ie small wavelength (microwave?) transmitter/receiver. Think of the body parts in close proximity of a cellphone in the frount jeans pocket!!

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender looks at him and says "Why the long face?"

Hi everybody, first of all Ive got to say I love this site. So much to learn, so little time!! Im Australin born, at 13 came to New Zealand and started Judo, had heaps of fun and got to orange belt in a few years. This training has come in handy in a motercycle accident by doing a dive roll after hitting the back of a car. A witness came up at said "Nice roll mate"!! I did a few more years of Kempo karate, it seemed more an exercise in discipline (which every young fella needs) than a compeditive art. After a few years spent on less physical more indulgent pursuits, I have started again to respect my body, and be more discerning about what I put into it. So I have started training at a local Muay Thai gym, and have been moved out of the beginners class into the next one. I also do weights at home. My aim is competing, if my skills develop to that level. Im 30, currently struggling with giving up smoking. Peace and Respect. Slim.

Its a pretty powerful thing, it worked so well in helping me give up smoking it was scary, but in saying that, it didnt make a bit of difference to a friend of mine who tried it. When I was talking to the hypnotist about what I wanted I mentioned I was a student, and anything he could to to improve my (fairly slack) study habits would be great. My study habits didnt actually change all that much, but Im sure my ability to remember and recall information improved a lot, I went from getting c's (just passes) to B+'s consistantly and a few A's, it surprised the hell out of me. Of course that could have been a natural process that would have happened anyway, but.....(cue spooky twilight zone-type music)

I think hypnosis could be used to improve a martial artist performance; by increasing concentration and alertness, for overcoming pain barriers when training etc., increasing co-ordination, possible increases in reaction time, overcome prefight nerves, improve confidence and determination, to help relax in rest times and speed recovery. Actually Ive already quoted some bits out of a book I found, heres something that may be interesting:"Every movement of a muscle is preceded by the will to move it;and this decision in the brain is passed to the spinal cord, along the nerves to the junction of nerve and muscle, and then to the muscle itself which duly contracts. In the chain of events leading from the decicion to move a muscle to its actual movement (most of this process is entirely automatic), it is the will power which tires first.In that same chain of events, it is the will-power that responds best to hypnosis. To introduce a little more will-power cannot conceivably be harmful when the margins of safety are so great." I also think the hypnotic trance is very similar to a meditative state, along with other states of mind used in sport, religion, etc.

Danny boy, could you please explain to other way to K.O?

I have a book about hypnotism, in the chapter about is applications in sport, it mentions using hypnosis to increase will-power and the ability to put up with discomfort and pain (the example in the book was distance runners). It was also claimed that "Hypnosis not only increases muscular power enduranceand cardio-respiratory efficiency; it allows athletes to enjoy complete relaxation between events which inevitably speeds up their recuperation". A bit different to keeping your eyes open when attacked, but it could be worth looking into. Another quote from book: "When it comes to increasing concentration and co-ordination, hypnosis has no equal". Sounds good, make mine a double!

Im not really sure of the scoring rules in Muay Thai, besides a knockout win, what do the judges look for? Whoever lands the most and gets hit the least I would guess, are more points awarded for certain techniques?

Ive been told that a persons "on/off" switch is their chin, hence a popular target for fighters. Why is this? Will a blow of equal power be less effective to other parts of the head? Also, is the object of roundhouses to the thigh to disable that leg by damaging muscle? Is there a fairly common strategy for thai boxing? You guys are a weath of knowledge. Respect.

Thanks for that, Ill make my target my first in the ring fight. In my forth lesson Im getting the hang of it, the old karate habits, like wide stances and snapping kicks will have to be broken first though! This Message was edited by: Slim on Aug 16, 2001 3:13am

This is kind of along the same lines as SubmissionFighter's question, does anyone think that a 30 yo guy could start Muay Thai with the intention of one day fighting in an amateur fight? I figure this depends a lot on if the right skills were developed to a compeditive level. How long would it take a fit person to train to that type of level? Incidentally the guy is me and Ive started training at a local gym, as well as doing weights and stuff at home. Thanks for all advice, respect to all.