WhiteShark

IT's funny I am totally different in sparring than fighting Sparring I tend to smile a lot and even laugh it off if somebody lands a good shot on me I really focus on having fun and trying to stay relaxed so I can learn. BUT When I fight it's all about destruction. I try to execute my techniques very hard. And have gotten knockouts by kicks to the legs and knees to the body.

hey, what if this kid is really good? Bruce Lee must have sounded like as much of a fool to his contemporaries. Also, you do not know the use of the horse stance if you think anyone recommends it as a fighting stance, it is for focusing and training powerful punches.

Bump! As long as this stays constructive I think it's a good thread.

I train in Shidokan and Muay Thai. They are fun hobbies and I enjoy the company of the people I train with. To me that is the best reason to train. Oh yeah by the way my instructor is the CURRENT Shidokan US and World Champion

Have any of you guys experienced problems with the way Muay Thai Fights are judged? Let, me explain the problem I am seeing. In Muay Thai a well landed knee to the upper legs and abdomen is a devestating shot. You can actually feel your opponent weakening in your arms. However it is not an obvious move. On the other hand a high kick that glances off your gloves/headgear does very little damage but everyone sees it happen. In the fights I have had and watched, fighters seem to be getting way to much credit for ineffective flashy moves and not near enough for short punishing shots. Have you also experienced this? My main theory is that Muay Thai judges that know what they are doing are really hard to find so you end up with a lot of Full Contact judges who are judging Muay Thai bouts. These judges have never fought Muay Thai for the most part and don't understand the key differences.

Your first fight is an entirely mental barrier. My first fight was in Iowa for the IKF belt! I felt more than a little out of place The whole first round all I could think was man this guy really wants to kick my A$$! Remember you are not sparring anymore you have to fight like you mean it and be prepared to be hit as hard as you can.

Muay Thai Strengths - Violent powerful kicks. unexpected clinches and knees. Close combat elbow techniques. Leg damaging takedowns. Weaknesses - Sport style lacks groundfighting I won't list lack of ki training as a weakness because my personal jury is still out on the benefits of that. BTW I crosstrain in Shidokan Karate and MMA to be more well rounded.

27 is me I feel vastly superior to my sedentary peers (I wish I was kidding) As far as fitness changes goes in my teens I was in great shape. I was the swim team captain and a cross country runner. But just a few days ago I did my first 1 handed pushup. Which leads me to believe I might actually be in better shape now!!! I previously thought I'd never be in as good a shape as I was then.

My favorite is not real exotic but kinda strange to my friends. Yogurt, All kinds, I love yogurt. especially Breyers!

Bretty if you are fighting in semi-knockdown tournaments or ring fighting you might want to develop an in between stance. That will let you throw kicks and punches from one stance, but still allow you to quickly shift into the side stance for higher kicks and the front stance for more powerful punches. Shidokan Karate is a good example of this the "fighting stance" they use is a great all around in between stance. Your feet should be shoulder width apart with your prefered leg back about half way to a deep front stance, then your hands should be loose fists at chin height with the same hand as the front leg slightly farther forward. keep your weight 50/50 on each foot. here is a good picture of a couple variations, Shidokan encourages you to keep you hands in a safe but comfortable position. http://www.shidokan.co.uk/Gallery/Bbelts01.htm

It really depends on how soon I see the "shoot" and how committed he is to it. If its a feint or I see it soon enough I would keep my weight forward and try to get a knee in the face. (which would be legal because the only time I'd be fighting a shoot fighter would be NHB!) If it's quick and I am too late for that I would fall back and try to go to my guard until the ref makes us stand up for inactivity!

Hmmm how do I say this discreetly... practice "self love" with your left hand. Soon it will be powerful like your right!

Kicking immovable objects only leads to injury DO NOT DO IT! I am so tired of seeing that specific bit of bad advice. Kick pads, kick bags, kick your friends don't kick walls trees or anything else!!!

Saying "swith stance" sometimes confuses beginners. I alsways try to explain it as "step right kick left" this technique also keeps you moving forward instead of being stationary and switching stances. You start by steping forward and off to the right with your back leg in this case your right leg. This winds up your hips and creates the best angle. then roll your hips over and deliver the roundhouse. Remember to stay on your toes and pivot that right heel forward.

I recently lost a (muay thai)fight to a really elusive boxer. My thai style stalking was reallly ineffective and he would sneak in and throw his combinations then run away. By the third round I was so frustarated that I ran across the ring and nearly tackled the guy! Anyway he never really hurt me and I had him obviously scared at the end but he still won on points by always landing and escaping. Since then my coach has had me doing footwork drills at the end of every practice. They are really helping me know my way around the ring and cut people off. Usually I spend 3 rounds just moving around the ring no strikes at all. The first round I move right for a full circle with my back facing the ropes at the outer edge of the ring. then I repeat the drill to the left do this continuously for 3 minutes. So circle right using the whole ring then circle left. Second round I go forwards and backwards in an X pattern. Third round, crab walk (straight right then left) in an X pattern. This has really helped me stay on my toes and get comfortable moving. Try to play with your pace, speed up at the end of each round and always keep your eyes up where your opponent would be.

Look no further than Muay Thai, if that's not enough contact for you seek help Seriously we spar in some way at every workout. And we spar full body all moves except elbows about twice a week.

RisingDragon, Where do you live? I'm curious as to the availability of MMA clubs in your area.

I always do on the heavy bag and in pad kicking drills, in sparring I use it sporadically, not sure why. Interestingly I had a Tae Kwon Do instructor once who told us to use "ice" instead because it was a more natural word for english speakers and still created the stomach tightening effect. Over the years my Kiai" has becaome a noise somewhere between "us and ice". The sounds different people make is always curious to me. There is a guy in our school who has my favorite Kiai, it sounds like he is growling or roaring every time! I tried it one day and made myself hoarse LOL !

Pretty soon somebody is gonna tell you to go introduce yourself, but before they do I'll tell you the basic kicks/punches depend on what you are doing. What style are you going to train in? if it's just Kickboxing, the lineage makes a little bit of difference.

Are you stretching a lot? Loss of speed is often really a loss of flexibility, especially if you quicken back up once you get going and get warmed up in your boxing workouts.

Kensai gives good advice unless you are out of shape, which it sounds like you might be When you are practicing a lot it's hard to work in all the other stuff he mentioned the best thng for you to do is run on every off day.

a soft woman!

Ti-Kwon-Leap, who in there right mind is letting you get behind them without touching them? Have you pulled this technique off while sparring? If so what kind of stance was the person(sucker) in?

Larryjf, have you considered adding something after the hook before the front kick in my experience you are a little too close to do a good front kick after a solid hook. Another cross or a knee would help you reposition for a front kick. Just a thought...

Another thing about the US at least at amateur levels is too much intensity in the first round! In a real traditional Thai fight each round gets more intense and the fighters feel each other out in the early rounds, some say this is just to drive up betting odds. But I think it also has to do with less deciplined fighters in the US amateur ranks. Also most US schools/fighters talk constantly about what a powerful hard art it is so they rarely try to finese thing in the ring.