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Self training help

6K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  BearInTheClinch 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm pretty new to Muay Thai, and not that great of a fighter. I have been doing Muay Thai for the last 2 months. I managed to swing it with my college to join an MMA gym in Dallas for the summer, write a personal journal of what I have been doing, and recieve an Asian Studies credit and PE credit in return.

I have to say, I've never done anything better in my life. I'm in the best shape that I've ever been, I'm way more confident, and I just like the fact that I've found exercise that's completely badass.

My biggest problem, however, is that my independent study got cut short. I contracted spinal meningitis, was in the hospital for a week, and just got the all clear to start exercising again. I'm not in Dallas anymore, but in Oxford, Mississippi.

I kind of feel like I have my legs cut out from under me. I'm ready to get back to this, and I've started some pretty basic conditioning to work off the atrophy, but I don't have access to even the most basic equipment. I don't have a punching bag, a partner to spar with, and the nearest gym with a Muay Thai instructor is 60 miles away.

All I have is my gloves and shin pads, a set of (cheap) Thai Pads, and my friend's old standing punching dummy that he doesn't use anymore.

I love this way too much to give it up now. Any help on what I can do on my own to stick with this sport
 
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#2 ·
ok im gonna try and give the best advice i can. honestly i use to drive 90miles to a different state ONE WAY to train until i moved closer to a good school im at now. of course i couldn't go as much as i would have liked to but it was better than nothing if you have the money for gas..

2. ebay has tons of dvds, tutorials, youtube, etc and just practice shadowing in the mirror shadow boxing is a very good exercise.

3. find a friend or family member who would like to practice a bit with you. roll around, hold pads, teach him a few things you learned, even put up a craigslist add of someone in your area looking to train. it will work trust me.

4. you always have us. take a vid of you practicing im sure everyone here would gladly give input.good luck man.

Shawn..
 
#3 ·
I know you're focused on Muay Thai, but its impossible to train this stuff solo, especially with only a couple months of training. The reason is that there is so much technique you won't get, even with videos. I know this isn't what you want to hear but its a functional reality.

Have you considered another type of fighters gym such as mma, boxing, jits whaterver? As long as it is not a mcdojo it should be ok.

Good luck with your endeavors. Let us know what happens.
 
#10 ·
this is a good post, you cannot do jack as far as Clinching goes without a partner (and that partner must be semiskilled you can't teach them yourself unless you are already a great Clincher) and if you arn't Clinching you arn't doing MThai so you should look into Boxing
It's not as thorough as MThai but it's still effective striking and it should be easier to find for you then MThai in America.
there arn't a whole lot of places that are all that far from a boxing club of some kind.
as far as working out on your own I mean you can get a heavybag from Dicks Sporting Goods etc for like 70 bucks, a pawn shop should have a used one for 50 or less
you should be able to save up that much money in relativly short time
a bag stand is usually lil pricy but do you have a really sturdy tree outside in your yard?
 
#4 ·
Damn, I guess this is the downside to living in a state that's #1 in diabetes and obesity. Not a whole lot of exercising going on. There is a gym that teaches cardio kick boxing. However, it's completely non-contact and low impact, which is maddeningly unhelpful.

As far as I know, there is no gym that does boxing here. Also, there is a martial arts club that teaches traditional jiu jitsu and Brazilian jiu jitsu. I know nothing about either of those, but if they can provide anywhere near the cardio that Muay Thai has given me, I'd be willing to give it a shot.
 
#5 ·
I actually think you might enjoy the jits workouts. They have a different type of cardio than Muay thai, but use alot of the same mental concepts. Keeping everything tight, technique set ups, baits, etc. Basically the difference is a knockout vs. isolating a limb and breaking it or choking or competitor.

Rolling can be a pretty intensive workout. Give it a try and let us know what you think..
 
#6 ·
Yh dude jits is awesome my favourite is bjj but thats personal preference i like submissions and ground fighting if your into a mma style go for bjj and go for that kick boxing cardio class if they teach you how to kick and punch correctly all you need to do is get the power and you have a basic striking game and depending on who teaches you foe bjj if its like the gracies your well on your way :)
 
#8 ·
Teaching yourself to strike is like teaching yourself to have sex. You can do it by yourself, hell its kinda fun, but at the end of the day youre still just ******* yourself.
 
#9 ·
Find an instructor.

Seriously, as has already been said, striking the air is just not helpful. Without proper instruction, it's really tough to build a skillset because you can't effectively identify the mistakes that you are making and correct them. You might be able to tell that there's something wrong with a kick. Hell, you might be able to fix a few very obvious mistakes, but the basic stuff really requires someone who can watch your technique and correct the mistakes as you go so that you can feel the difference.

There really is no replacement for good instruction. Even as you come up in the sport, there is not a whole lot that can help like instruction, because of the impact that it has on your thinking, and it's constantly challenging.

I'd maintain the fitness and even watch some tutorials and stuff to see if you pick up some techniques while you don't have access to proper instruction. But seriously look for an instructor, because that's where the real progress is.

EDIT: It's a good question, though, because there are a lot of people who try to train themselves. Very rarely does it turn out well. Every once in a while you have a great like Evan Tanner (RIP) but most just look like Charlie Z.
 
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