As I said in my last entry, for the last four months I've been learning Muay Thai. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's an eight-point style of kickboxing that hails from Thailand. In Muay Thai you learn to utilize your fists, elbows, knees, and shins to brutalize your opponent into submission, unconsciousness, or a really sincere apology.
Back in April/May I was looking for a new hobby to get into and also another way to keep fit after a few months of beating my body back into shape. Eric had started going to fitness classes at a small gym on the south side of Taichung that also had Jiu Jitsu and he said they wanted to open a Muay Thai class. I only knew the basics about Muay Thai but thought that it was just what I was looking for, so I signed up.
Man, that first class had me feeling sore.
One of the things that sets Muay Thai apart from other fighting styles is the use of the clinch. Boxers clinch when they get tired and or want to avoid a few punches, so they close with their opponent and basically hug each other. But, MT fighters use the clinch to control their opponent's head blast knees into their chest, ribs, or face. So, you spend a lot of time trying to get a grip on your partner's head and pull it down so you can practice putting them to sleep with blunt force trauma. When I drove home after that first class I had to prop my head up with my hands because my helmet felt abominably heavy on my exhausted neck. Not to mention the fact that I was totally drained from kicking pads with all my might and learning that my left leg was pretty stupid compared to my right. However, I like a challenge and learning how to fight could certainly be handy someday, so I've stuck with it.
Our class usually runs like this:
- 3 minutes of jump rope, 20 push-ups, 3 minutes of rope, 20 crunches, 3 minutes of rope, 20 squats
- 2 rounds of shadow boxing
- Stretch
- Clinch (2 minute rounds, swapping partners each time with increasing intensity)
- Drills and techniques
- Sparring (Tuesdays)
- Blast (Thursdays)
Pretty much every class I slam through about 3 liters of water and wish I had more. Sometimes we don't turn on the AC, either, and I don't get sweaty so much as wet. Fun. Oh yea, a blast is a bit of cardio madness right at the end of class, such as punching the heavy bag as hard and as fast as you can for 20 seconds. Which doesn't sound so bad until you do it for 5 minutes with 40 second breaks if you're lucky.
Demitri, our teacher, is a very experienced fighter and has done around five MMA matches. He's studied boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kung Fu, and probably a few others. In other words: you wouldn't like him when he's angry.
He's hard but fair in class, and he makes sure that we're pushed hard and earn our water breaks. It's equally fun and terrifying to spar against him and I get in a lick now and then, but usually it's me soaking up the damage and trying to hang tough. It gets hard to endure the barrage of hurt he throws at me and also plan a counter move that won't get me a kick to the leg, ribs or head. He's fast.
Usually I feel a little disappointed if I leave class without sore spots or bruises; I kinda like having battle scars to show off. Here's a few photos of how Muay Thai has beaten me up so far (click to have them come up in Lightbox).
As I mentioned above, at the end of class on Tuesdays we get to spar against each other and try to use what we've been learning. We wear lots of protective gear, which helps, but we still end knocking each other around quite a bit. Usually for leg and body kicks we hit nearly full on, but, understandably, we soften things up a bit for head shots.
Now, yes, I usually come out of class with a couple tender spots (or a black eye!), but that comes naturally when you are learning how to fight. Part of learning how to hit is also learning how to get hit and keep moving. I feel fantastic and in shape and enjoy the challenge every time I go to class and it's instructive being pushed to my limits of endurance and mental toughness. This kind of thing is certainly not for everyone, but it is definitely for me.
In closing, here's a clip of Eric and I wailing on each other at the end of class recently. At 38 seconds you see some of the clinch I mentioned earlier. Can you tell who is who?