Should I?

[Coco]

As you might have read on some of my other posts, I have been into shito ryu karate for about a year now, and earned the rank of green belt(5th kyu). Recently, I have noticed that a new gym opened up, and that it had muay thai! From reading endless posts/articles on this site and others, i have concluded that muay thai is pretty much the thing if you want full contact fighting and if you want to know how to defend yourself on the streets. Anyways, i would sign up, but there are a few questions on my mind before it...I have come to you guys for help.

 

1. The classes are monday, tuesday, thursday, friday, and saturday, but I wont be able to attend monday or friday because of karate. Do you thing 3 lessons a week, 2 hours a lesson is enough?

 

2. There is people of all ages. There is only 1 muay thai class in the whole gym with people of all ages, do you think ill be too intimidated to spar against bigger, more experienced people, or maybe the class will go too fast for the younger students? Im 14

 

3. Do you think training 6 days a week is too much? I would be doing karate mon wed and fri, and muay thai tues, thurs and saturday, also i get free boxing when i sign up for muay thai.

 

4. Do you think i can handle it? So far in my training, i have been slowly building up my physique, as you can see in other posts, to fit them to karate, but i hear muay thai is much much tougher!

 

5. Am i too young to start muay thai? I know kids in thailand start whne they are 8 or whatever, but do you think being 14 years old will be too young in a class of a bunch of adults?

 

Also, i would like to know what kinds of stuff muay thai is about, and if it is worth going to learn it.. as it costs alot of money after all. Also, do you think training on more then one martial art will affect my schoolwork?

 

Oh - and there is also brazilian jujitsu classes, which is worth learning more, jujitsu or muay thai - OVERALL?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Coco

[Vito]

well, being a big fan, id say quit karate and do mt and bjj. since im sure you dont wanna just do that- id stay with your karate for now, and then also try the mt and see how you like it. if you end up lovin it more, drop the karate and do it instead. after that, do the same with bjj, only dont drop anything for it, do them both.

 

as for being 14- i dunno. talk to the instructor, watch a class or two, and dont just go with what he says, but listen to and watch how the classes are going to be taught. depending on how he wants to do things, you might be just fine, or you might want to wait until youre body is more mature. if youre going to be holding pads that adults are going to be kicking full contact, you might not yet be big enough to handle it, i dunno. use common sense is what im saying.

[Luckykboxer]

i would be shocked if your instructor took you on as a student of Muay Thai being 14.

 

Everywhere I know of around these parts have a minimum age of 16, and usually dont take anyone under 18.

[youremean]

1. The classes are monday, tuesday, thursday, friday, and saturday, but I wont be able to attend monday or friday because of karate. Do you thing 3 lessons a week, 2 hours a lesson is enough?

 

It depends on what your instructor says. At our school, you can go to up to three classes a week, but you have to go atleast twice a week.

 

2. There is people of all ages. There is only 1 muay thai class in the whole gym with people of all ages, do you think ill be too intimidated to spar against bigger, more experienced people, or maybe the class will go too fast for the younger students? Im 14

 

What exactly do you mean by people of all ages? Are there 6 year olds there? Anyways, I don't think your instructor would make you spar someone not roughly your same size. You'll probably be training with people your age, more or less.

 

3. Do you think training 6 days a week is too much? I would be doing karate mon wed and fri, and muay thai tues, thurs and saturday, also i get free boxing when i sign up for muay thai.

 

Not at all, unless you start socially withdrawing from all other aspects of your life and then youre obsessed...

 

4. Do you think i can handle it? So far in my training, i have been slowly building up my physique, as you can see in other posts, to fit them to karate, but i hear muay thai is much much tougher!

 

I did karate a long time ago, so I would say MT is tougher, but a good instructor will realize he's pushed you too far when you start to hurl after class... if it really is tough, don't eat before class, the nasuea sucks. Anyways, don't worry that theres big people in your class---you're probably a lot more fit than most adults out there.

 

5. Am i too young to start muay thai? I know kids in thailand start whne they are 8 or whatever, but do you think being 14 years old will be too young in a class of a bunch of adults?

 

Not at all! Seriously! At my school, we have classes for little 4 and five year olds, and then we have classes for 6-13 year old people (but a lot of the students stay in that class until they're 18 because it fits their schedules better than the adult classes), and we also have adult classes. Muay Thai can be tough, but a good curriculum will not overwhelm you.

 

Oh, and I agree with Vito. I'm thinking of adding BJJ to my training.

[Coco]

Ok there is only one more problem... I can just "drop" karate that easly... seems like they added mt just the day after I renewed my 1 year contract for karate, which means i have to do 1 more year - which is till about july next year(will get me to a brown/black belt). Is bjj any good? My karate teacher implies some jujitsu he knows into the bunkais of our katas and I kinda like it, I might try it out aswell. As for mt, I am going to ask to go and watch a class before i start going, and no, I dont think there are any 6 years old doing muay thai at the gym... Oh and one more thing, do you think if i start doing muay thai and bulk up a little as I grow up , it will slow me down in karate?

 

Thanks for the replies so far

 

Coco

[muaythaifreak]

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.

[Vito]

maybe you could stick with the karate for a few years (apparently its a good system youre benifiting from) and do mt some time later. as for bjj, id say its one of the best grappling styles, so if the school is good id recommend going for it.

 

also, bulking up doesnt slow you down until you get to someone like bob sapps size.