Train your neck!

[Dragn]

This year I've been getting severe pain in my neck, shoulder blades, and down my arm. When it gets really bad I can hardly turn my head. I've had to take alot of time off training because of it.

I finally got around to getting it x-rayed last week and found out that I have a mild neck hernia from taking too many blows to the head.

Because we usually wear head gear in sparring we can use fairly powerfull contact without getting hurt. But the head gear dosent protect your neck.

So take this bit of advice from me : If you dont do any neck strengthening exercises, you better start now!

Beleive me this condition is a real pain in the neck!

Since I found out my conditrion I've mentioned it to some of my peers and found out that its quite common amoung kick boxers. One of my trainers has it. So do 2 pros I know, and another guy in my BJJ class.

So take care of your neck guys.

[elbows_and_knees]

if you train bjj and thai boxing, you should get plenty of neck conditioning. In our bjj class, we do neck exercises. In thai boxing, neck wrestling does a good job of it. There are other things you can do as well.

[Ben Martin]

i remember ages ago doing like pressups but with our forheads on the wall and our hands behind our back and just moving a little bit withen we did the same with the back of our heads i think we only did something like 10 reps of each and i remember the next day having a sore neck but that might have been from all the other training i did that day as at that point in my life i had never worked out as hard as i had that day.

[Dragn]

if you train bjj and thai boxing, you should get plenty of neck conditioning. In our bjj class, we do neck exercises. In thai boxing, neck wrestling does a good job of it. There are other things you can do as well.

Your right. But I dont take BJJ classes often enough. At my present level of amature MT competition Grabbing and Kneeing isnt allowed so theres not as much emphasis on neck wrestling as if I was fighting as a pro.

I know some conditioning exercises but its usually left up to us to do our own ab/neck/back exercises after class. Foolishly I didn't do my neck work often and now its too screwed up to do alot of conditioning, so I'm kind of caught in a bad cycle.

[elbows_and_knees]

what organization? I've never seen an amateur thai match where you couldn't clinch and knee. Now, in kickboxing rules and international rules, you can't even clinch, but in thai and modified thai, you can.

[Dragn]

To be honest I dont know off hand.

Here in Japan Muay Thai and Kickboxing are almost identical.There are so many different groups and organisations its rediculous. Some fight K1 type rules but full Thai rules is just as common. Ammature competition is often divided into different classes.

The tournament I've been competing in is relatively new operation called RISE. Ammature comps are divided into A B and C classes. B class, where I've been competing, allows knees but no grabbing and kneeing at the same time. A class allows clinching and kneeing, and I think the pros fight full Thai rules.

I should really be competing in A class but because I've been taking alot of time off from injuries I want to get 1 more win in B class before I step up.

I've got a fight this Sunday

Cant Wait!

[Ben Martin]

what organization? Now, in kickboxing rules and international rules, you can't even clinch.

Oh how i hate that rule

[elbows_and_knees]

Be sure to let us know how it goes!

[Dragn]

I WON! KO in the 2nd round. I dropped my opponent once in the first round with a right cross. Then again in the second with a spinning back hook and then again with with a left middle roundhouse that left him doubled over on the kanvas. YEHAAA!

To top it off I got the best fighter award for the B class. So I'm pretty happy

Still got alot to work on though. I was dropping my guard alot, and throwing some wild punches. I was also lacking in spirit at one point of the fight. I'm going to have to make alot of improvement to make the Japan KUDO finals next year.

Real fights are soo different to sparring in the gym. I learnt I've still got a long way to go.

Cant wait to get back to training. Once my swollen shin heals up a bit......

[Ben Martin]

ahh well done man