First Night Of Boxing

[baronbvp]

Update: I love this class! Muay Thai is filling the bill - all fighting, no kata.

[bushido_man96]

Great deal! What kind of drills do you guys get to do, Baron?

[baronbvp]

What kind of drills do you guys get to do, Baron?

The pace of warmups and conditioning is accelerating. First night was 25/75 conditioning and learning, last night was 50/50, and now it goes to 75/25. Not that you learn less, but that you do what you've already learned faster so as to condition simultaneously.

We practice footwork, kicks, punches, knees, and elbows as well as clinching. Last night we started wearing the gear for the entire class. I had to wear my karate sparring gear since my KB stuff hasn't come yet. We also did some combinations, which after awhile gets a bit tiring holding your hands up - an old lesson but freshly apparent.

My lack of hip flexibility is my weakest area, so I'm really concentrating on improving that so I can move better and kick higher. One thing I liked about Shorin Ryu is that the kicks were mostly low, but MT has some high ones. I need to be able to at least teep kick someone in the chest and roundhouse to their torso. I doubt I'll ever get to the point where I can kick someone in the face unless they are 4 ft tall.

We did some partner work where we kicked each other in the thigh and pushed each other's faces to get used ot a hand in the face. This is all pretty tame but good for those who've never sparred to get used to contact.

Next week (week 3) we start getting punched in the face. By week 5 it should be full contact all around. We can go on Saturday as well for free, so I may start doing that if I can convince Mrs. Baron. Once a week isn't enough.

[bushido_man96]

Man, that all sounds great. Keep the updates coming for us!

[cross]

Thanks for hijacking my thread baron!

Nah, I dont mind, sounds like your training is going well. Glad to hear your enjoying it. Keep us posted.

[baronbvp]

Sorry, Cross!

[baronbvp]

Tonight was my first night of full-contact sparring in Muay Thai. Wow. It's been a long time since I went like that. It was only one round of 2 minutes, but this was at the end of our hour and a half workout session.

I'd say it was a draw, or maybe I won. I forced him to back out about four times. I took some serious punches to the face but threw some wicked ones as well. I had forgotten how LOUD good punches are when they hit your face! I noticed the noise more than the contact, although that certainly gets your attention too. Also, I can't kick worth a damn except for the teep or front snap kick and the occasional low round kick, so I gave up trying. It's just too easy to leave yourself open when you are tired.

I was pretty winded when it was over, but so were the other guys. Afterward, the other guys were congratulating us on a fierce round. I am by far the oldest one in my class at 45. The others are almost all 15-19 years old, including the guy I sparred with. I was proud of not having to stop due to fatigue, but we all have some serious conditioning to do. Eventually we will be doing 3 rounds of 2 minutes each with 1 minute breaks. If we have to do it at the end of class again, there will be some hurting puppies. I'm sure we will all grow less wild and more efficient though.

I am determined to slip and duck better, to deflect rather than block punches, and to become the teep master. But it was great fun!

[bushido_man96]

That's great to hear, Baron. Keep hanging with those young kids, and you will be all the better for it.

[cross]

Good to hear your training is going well Baron.

I am starting boxing again soon. Found a good trainer who lives near-by. Trains his son who recently went pro and is quiet a good boxer himself. Should be a good addition to my current training.

[baronbvp]

Excellent! Sounds as though you have the right guy training you, Cross. I'm excited to hear how it goes.