muaythaifreak

I think he would be a few ounces of dust and bone particles.

Yeah what he said ^^ Never really seen much use for a side kick in MT though. Might better serve you to concentrate on round kicks and leg checks.

Yes... you are far too old. There is a pasture somewhere with your name on it. It's hard to fight when your holding yourself up with a cane after all.

You cannot learn Muay Thai on your own, from a website, or from a book. Mainly because you cannot correct your own mistakes... you won't know what they are. You might get a basic feel for the art but to actually have any skill at it is very unlikely. Find a school, put the work in, that's the only way.

Ramone Dekkar in his day. Not sure I spelled that correctly but you know who I'm talking about.

Do I know this guy?

I agree, if you want to box with them. But if you're clinched up catching knees with your ribs and elbows with your face, it's hard to box. It's also pretty hard to "step much harder" on your legs when they've been taken out by leg kicks. In general, legs are much longer than arms and I can kick your leg without you being able to land a punch on my face.

Who fed you this line of *? People do not get registered as "deadly weapons" in the US. I don't know about other countries, but here that is purely fiction.

No offense, but I would not call that a MT tournement. After all, that's not MT. Sounds like something your instructor set up. It's not a bad thing, it's just not MT.

You can't really turn your hips cause you're doing a straight kick, but just as you turn your hips for a round kick, you have to thrust them forward for a proper foot jab. It's hard to explain in words, but I think you have the basic idea when you say "thrust your entire lower body forward." Once you've got the techinique down, that drill mentioned by LB is a really good one. I do the same thing he's talking about. It will build up your endurance really well too.

First off, why would you have to bulk up to do Muay Thai? Secondly, I'd be cautious of a gym that sells Muay Thai as a sideline and does not separate the classes. This implies to me, (without the benefit of being able to research), that the instructor may not really know anything about Muay Thai and is just jumping on the bandwagon for an extra buck. Serious Muay Thai gyms are quite structured, with classes for kids, adults and separating the adults into beginner, advanced, and many have a whole different cirriculum for those who fight in the ring. Of course it's a bit different in Thailand where everyone who trains has an expectation of ring fighting. Here in the states however, things are different and the vast majority of people who take Muay Thai have no desire whatsoever to fight in the ring. I'd research the instructor before I made any decision. And I would also shop around for other gyms and see what they have to offer.

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here and say you're probably standing upright when you land the kick. Without seeing you do the technique it's hard to say. When you do your footjab, your body, (trunk) should lean back as you thrust your hips forward. All the power from this kick should come from your hips, you cannot do this if your trunk is vertical. Sounds to me like you're trying to stand up more or less straight and pushing with your thigh. Don't. Push with your hips.

I went bear hunting with my Uncle when I was young, (I detest the hunting of predator species now), and I saw him shoot a HUGE bear with his hunting pistol which was a .454 Casull. He had to shoot it THREE times ti kill it! One shot in the throat, one pierced a lung and the last struck the heart. The thing still ran over 100 yards before it dropped. Anyone here who knows anything about hand cannons knows what a .454 can do. It is an extremely powerful handgun. After seeing that, I have no doubt in my mind that an empty handed individual may as well kick and punch a mack truck as a full grown bear, even a sick one. A full grown grizzly bear can break a moose's shoulder blade with one swipe. A human would stand no chance whatsoever, with or without a katana. IMHO I suppose you could get lucky and you'd better hope that you do. An AT-4 rocket launcher might come in handy though.

Sorry to hear about your MT school closing! Anyway, I think he's in a particularly unique position in that he can see from what he has learned in MT what won't work about KM against MT. And I'm sure there are reverse instances as well. If I were you, I'd learn what they are teaching, try it in sparring, try some of your MT stuff in sparring. You can always blame it on muscle memory. If what they teach works, use it, if not discard and forget it. Unless of course you need it for grading. I may be facing a similar delimma soon, my Kru is talking about moving to Thailand. After nine years of training and competition it's gonna be hard to switch styles. Especially since I don't want to.

I have studied with Rick Davis for the past nine years. He a former WKC World Champion, WKA International Champion, and KICK US Heavy Weight Champion. In 1999 he was licensed and certified by the Kingdom of Thailand to teach MT in the US. And his gym was the first MT camp on the east coast with that distinction. When we go to Thailand, we study with Narong Siri. He is a former Champion of both Lumpini and Rajdamnern stadium. He recieved the Lumpini Superstar award in 1976. He goes by the name "Pek". If you like, you can contact my Kru through his website at https://www.championmuaythai.com. He can answer your questions more thouroghly than I can. These are the instructors who have taught me to point the toes down. Worked pretty well for them.