[quote]SKELAC wrote:
Imagine those 400 lb.-squatting athletes on the moon! whhooooaaa!!! they would be able to squat 2500 lb. pounds there!! If they attempted to jerk off,they would rip their genitals clear off! [/quote]
bahahahahahahahahahaahhahaha
[quote]rundymc wrote:
[quote]SKELAC wrote:
[quote]IronClaws wrote:
Though the average man that can squat 400 pounds would almost certainly destroy their own body by merely taking a swing. Torn pec, bicep, neck, tendons, etc.
It is pretty destructive to punch things with force, outside of training to do so, from the ground up, it becomes a fairly dangerous and risky thing to try. Certain tendons and muscles build themselves up slowly to help your body weather the storm of punching with extreme force, the neck/tendons there will get thicker, your back will build up in a distinct way, your own body will build up in a way to protect yourself from the strains of punching.
If you workout to some advanced degree but haven’t built your body up doing the movements of punching, throwing a powerful punch is likely to rip you apart.
It’d be pretty pathetic to tear a bicep or pec some-how while taking a swing, or fucking up your own shoulder.
[/quote]
Whats that shit youre smoking??? :))))
Even if you were capable to produce this extreme force,there are bodies protective mechanisms to shut it down to safe levels.
Have you ever heard of Golgi tendon organ,genius? [/quote]
You don’t know what you are talking about. Tommy Hearns regularly tore his pecs and shoulder ligaments during fights. At the end of his career he had had his left and right pectorals reattach 29 times and doctors operating on his shoulders would turn to Jesus after witnessing the unspeakable damage and scar tissue in the joints.
AND he was only a 300lb squatter. Imagine what a 400lb squatter could do.
Why hasn’t anyone thought of this? I just don’t understand.
[/quote]
Well, in the face of that logic, I guess I’ve gotta convert too.
500 lbs. squat/WBC title belt, here I come.
What’s the big deal with shadow boxing? I’m curious what it actually helps and improves exactly. I’ve done it several times, but I always feel like a dumbass because I’m not sure what I’m working towards while doing it. Maybe it’s just inexperience, but I don’t know what kind of techniques I should be throwing. It’s difficult to throw kicks in the air.
I’ve heard about shadowboxing in a mirror to help with technique and that shadowboxing in general helps technique, but I don’t think that’s the whole story with it.
Does it help speed? Should I just be trying to throw quick, light combinations? Does shadowboxing kicks do anything?
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
What’s the big deal with shadow boxing? I’m curious what it actually helps and improves exactly. I’ve done it several times, but I always feel like a dumbass because I’m not sure what I’m working towards while doing it. Maybe it’s just inexperience, but I don’t know what kind of techniques I should be throwing. It’s difficult to throw kicks in the air.
I’ve heard about shadowboxing in a mirror to help with technique and that shadowboxing in general helps technique, but I don’t think that’s the whole story with it.
Does it help speed? Should I just be trying to throw quick, light combinations? Does shadowboxing kicks do anything?[/quote]
Shadow boxing is a very big deal, although far too many people just go through the motions. The key to good shadow boxing is to imagine you are facing an opponent (different kinds of opponents, obviously). Then practise all the ways you’d deal with that opponent’s different attacks. For example, slipping jabs, and moving your feet to get outside your opponent’s lead hand, taking a half step back against a shorter opponent so his jab falls short, but yours is still in range, catching a jab and counter jabbing etc. There are thousands of possible situations that you can practise as slowly as you need to to master your reaction. Shadow boxing is, in my opinion, probably second only to competitive sparring, in terms of importance and its potential to bring you on as a fighter.
Avoid doing lightening quick aggressive movements in shadow boxing, since you’re punching air and might strain yourself save that for sparring and the heavy bag. Relax into it, and just let your hands go comfortably. You’re trying to develop the skills, technique and fluidity that is key to being a good boxer.
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
What’s the big deal with shadow boxing? I’m curious what it actually helps and improves exactly. I’ve done it several times, but I always feel like a dumbass because I’m not sure what I’m working towards while doing it. Maybe it’s just inexperience, but I don’t know what kind of techniques I should be throwing. It’s difficult to throw kicks in the air.
I’ve heard about shadowboxing in a mirror to help with technique and that shadowboxing in general helps technique, but I don’t think that’s the whole story with it.
Does it help speed? Should I just be trying to throw quick, light combinations? Does shadowboxing kicks do anything?[/quote]
Shadow boxing is a very big deal, although far too many people just go through the motions. The key to good shadow boxing is to imagine you are facing an opponent (different kinds of opponents, obviously). Then practise all the ways you’d deal with that opponent’s different attacks. For example, slipping jabs, and moving your feet to get outside your opponent’s lead hand, taking a half step back against a shorter opponent so his jab falls short, but yours is still in range, catching a jab and counter jabbing etc. There are thousands of possible situations that you can practise as slowly as you need to to master your reaction. Shadow boxing is, in my opinion, probably second only to competitive sparring, in terms of importance and its potential to bring you on as a fighter.
Avoid doing lightening quick aggressive movements in shadow boxing, since you’re punching air and might strain yourself save that for sparring and the heavy bag. Relax into it, and just let your hands go comfortably. You’re trying to develop the skills, technique and fluidity that is key to being a good boxer. [/quote]
great post.
I ll only add that watching yourself in the mirror sometimes can help you streamline and tighten your strikes or spot a small error in your technique.Otherwise,shadow boxing /fighting should be done visualising and going mentally through different fight scenarios while being kinestaticaly aware of your body,angles,timing,etc.
What I personaly try to do is to watch a champion MMA fighter fights on Youtube several times and then try to copy his mentality,tactics,technique and rhytm through shadow fighting.By holisticaly copying a champion fighter while always being mindful of the challenges and situation in that moment of fight,you can get a deeper understanding of the fight by trying to re-create the fight kinestaticaly in your mind while shadow fighting.
Watching a fight will only give you one perspective,but actually going through the motions while visualising yourself in that situation and reacting like champion did (but you only use the moves that did work in that fight),youre getting familiar with the situation and how you should react.
Next time ,when you spar you try to apply those solutions.
Another great thing about shadow fighting,you dont need any equipment,elaborate warm up or much space,you can casualy do a few minutes of it in your place here and there throughout the day.
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
What’s the big deal with shadow boxing? I’m curious what it actually helps and improves exactly. I’ve done it several times, but I always feel like a dumbass because I’m not sure what I’m working towards while doing it. Maybe it’s just inexperience, but I don’t know what kind of techniques I should be throwing. It’s difficult to throw kicks in the air.
I’ve heard about shadowboxing in a mirror to help with technique and that shadowboxing in general helps technique, but I don’t think that’s the whole story with it.
Does it help speed? Should I just be trying to throw quick, light combinations? Does shadowboxing kicks do anything?[/quote]
Shadow boxing is a very big deal, although far too many people just go through the motions. The key to good shadow boxing is to imagine you are facing an opponent (different kinds of opponents, obviously). Then practise all the ways you’d deal with that opponent’s different attacks. For example, slipping jabs, and moving your feet to get outside your opponent’s lead hand, taking a half step back against a shorter opponent so his jab falls short, but yours is still in range, catching a jab and counter jabbing etc. There are thousands of possible situations that you can practise as slowly as you need to to master your reaction. Shadow boxing is, in my opinion, probably second only to competitive sparring, in terms of importance and its potential to bring you on as a fighter.
Avoid doing lightening quick aggressive movements in shadow boxing, since you’re punching air and might strain yourself save that for sparring and the heavy bag. Relax into it, and just let your hands go comfortably. You’re trying to develop the skills, technique and fluidity that is key to being a good boxer. [/quote]
And if you squat more than 400 lbs you had better go no more than 50%. Might tear a pec.
[quote]devildog_jim wrote:
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
What’s the big deal with shadow boxing? I’m curious what it actually helps and improves exactly. I’ve done it several times, but I always feel like a dumbass because I’m not sure what I’m working towards while doing it. Maybe it’s just inexperience, but I don’t know what kind of techniques I should be throwing. It’s difficult to throw kicks in the air.
I’ve heard about shadowboxing in a mirror to help with technique and that shadowboxing in general helps technique, but I don’t think that’s the whole story with it.
Does it help speed? Should I just be trying to throw quick, light combinations? Does shadowboxing kicks do anything?[/quote]
Shadow boxing is a very big deal, although far too many people just go through the motions. The key to good shadow boxing is to imagine you are facing an opponent (different kinds of opponents, obviously). Then practise all the ways you’d deal with that opponent’s different attacks. For example, slipping jabs, and moving your feet to get outside your opponent’s lead hand, taking a half step back against a shorter opponent so his jab falls short, but yours is still in range, catching a jab and counter jabbing etc. There are thousands of possible situations that you can practise as slowly as you need to to master your reaction. Shadow boxing is, in my opinion, probably second only to competitive sparring, in terms of importance and its potential to bring you on as a fighter.
Avoid doing lightening quick aggressive movements in shadow boxing, since you’re punching air and might strain yourself save that for sparring and the heavy bag. Relax into it, and just let your hands go comfortably. You’re trying to develop the skills, technique and fluidity that is key to being a good boxer. [/quote]
And if you squat more than 400 lbs you had better go no more than 50%. Might tear a pec.
[/quote]
Haha, excellent point.
[quote]SKELAC wrote:
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
What’s the big deal with shadow boxing? I’m curious what it actually helps and improves exactly. I’ve done it several times, but I always feel like a dumbass because I’m not sure what I’m working towards while doing it. Maybe it’s just inexperience, but I don’t know what kind of techniques I should be throwing. It’s difficult to throw kicks in the air.
I’ve heard about shadowboxing in a mirror to help with technique and that shadowboxing in general helps technique, but I don’t think that’s the whole story with it.
Does it help speed? Should I just be trying to throw quick, light combinations? Does shadowboxing kicks do anything?[/quote]
Shadow boxing is a very big deal, although far too many people just go through the motions. The key to good shadow boxing is to imagine you are facing an opponent (different kinds of opponents, obviously). Then practise all the ways you’d deal with that opponent’s different attacks. For example, slipping jabs, and moving your feet to get outside your opponent’s lead hand, taking a half step back against a shorter opponent so his jab falls short, but yours is still in range, catching a jab and counter jabbing etc. There are thousands of possible situations that you can practise as slowly as you need to to master your reaction. Shadow boxing is, in my opinion, probably second only to competitive sparring, in terms of importance and its potential to bring you on as a fighter.
Avoid doing lightening quick aggressive movements in shadow boxing, since you’re punching air and might strain yourself save that for sparring and the heavy bag. Relax into it, and just let your hands go comfortably. You’re trying to develop the skills, technique and fluidity that is key to being a good boxer. [/quote]
great post.
I ll only add that watching yourself in the mirror sometimes can help you streamline and tighten your strikes or spot a small error in your technique.Otherwise,shadow boxing /fighting should be done visualising and going mentally through different fight scenarios while being kinestaticaly aware of your body,angles,timing,etc.
What I personaly try to do is to watch a champion MMA fighter fights on Youtube several times and then try to copy his mentality,tactics,technique and rhytm through shadow fighting.By holisticaly copying a champion fighter while always being mindful of the challenges and situation in that moment of fight,you can get a deeper understanding of the fight by trying to re-create the fight kinestaticaly in your mind while shadow fighting.
Watching a fight will only give you one perspective,but actually going through the motions while visualising yourself in that situation and reacting like champion did (but you only use the moves that did work in that fight),youre getting familiar with the situation and how you should react.
Next time ,when you spar you try to apply those solutions.
Another great thing about shadow fighting,you dont need any equipment,elaborate warm up or much space,you can casualy do a few minutes of it in your place here and there throughout the day.
[/quote]
Good points. It is also helpful to look at champion fighters and ask yourself how you would have dealt with their strengths and how would you have exploited their weaknesses (although this might be more for the experienced fighter). Visualise yourself fighting against these guys. How would you have imposed your style and strengths on them, and stopped them taking advantages of your weaknesses.
Just as you should always try to spar people better than you, no matter how much it can suck at the time, you should take that philosophy into your shadow boxing - an the one area where it is possible to fight people better than you without ever getting hurt, and where you can keep going back and perfecting your skills.
Thanks for the info. I think I need more experience and knowledge though to fully understand and do what you guys talk about. I just don’t know how to deal with or counter guys who have been there a lot longer than me and kick my ass. So it’s difficult to come up with a way to try to counter their styles in shadow boxing. I’ll still try to work some shadow boxing into my days.
Is there anything you can do on your own to train speed? Not just hand speed, but reaction speed/timing, movement. I know speed bag is used for the hand and reaction speed but I don’t have one of those. Wondering if there is something you can do on your own?
Are you training as a fighter in a proper gym. If you are the advice we can give you will be different from if you are an enthusiast practising at home
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
Is there anything you can do on your own to train speed? Not just hand speed, but reaction speed/timing, movement. I know speed bag is used for the hand and reaction speed but I don’t have one of those. Wondering if there is something you can do on your own?[/quote]
Reaction time can be trained. However getting real benefit is often situation specific. This means having great “reaction time” driving does not automatically equate to great “fighting” reaction time. One reason is that in order to react you have to be able to perceive the thing you are reacting to. This usually takes training.
It is also variable depending on fatigue/health/emotional state so your “best day” vs your “worst” can be worlds apart.
You can make a “Maize” or “Slip” bag at home. Drilling with partners is key in order to make sure the “reaction” part is beneficial (if I can react twice as fast as you, but my reaction is to wet myself and flinch I am probably not going to kick a whole bunch of ass).
Finally, and this is an area where boxing shines, angles and “timing” have a hell of a lot to do with “perceived” speed because they will allow you to be more efficient. You will be forcing me to cover more space and do more work than you to land the same shots. Much of the “lightning fast”/he appeared beside me type of stuff comes from being out classed rather than out raced. Good boxers hit from angles that you cannot see/are not ready for. If I am constantly tripping over your jab if may seem fast to me, even if your hand speed is merely average. If you have ever had the experience of getting jack slapped by someone who is ring wise, but on the wrong side of 40 you are familiar with this experience.
Regards,
Robert A
[quote]Robert A wrote:
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
Is there anything you can do on your own to train speed? Not just hand speed, but reaction speed/timing, movement. I know speed bag is used for the hand and reaction speed but I don’t have one of those. Wondering if there is something you can do on your own?[/quote]
Reaction time can be trained. However getting real benefit is often situation specific. This means having great “reaction time” driving does not automatically equate to great “fighting” reaction time. One reason is that in order to react you have to be able to perceive the thing you are reacting to. This usually takes training.
It is also variable depending on fatigue/health/emotional state so your “best day” vs your “worst” can be worlds apart.
You can make a “Maize” or “Slip” bag at home. Drilling with partners is key in order to make sure the “reaction” part is beneficial (if I can react twice as fast as you, but my reaction is to wet myself and flinch I am probably not going to kick a whole bunch of ass).
Finally, and this is an area where boxing shines, angles and “timing” have a hell of a lot to do with “perceived” speed because they will allow you to be more efficient. You will be forcing me to cover more space and do more work than you to land the same shots. Much of the “lightning fast”/he appeared beside me type of stuff comes from being out classed rather than out raced. Good boxers hit from angles that you cannot see/are not ready for. If I am constantly tripping over your jab if may seem fast to me, even if your hand speed is merely average. If you have ever had the experience of getting jack slapped by someone who is ring wise, but on the wrong side of 40 you are familiar with this experience.
Regards,
Robert A[/quote]
Great post, and great info for everyone. Anecdote - my coach is a former British champion, with nearly 300 fights. He is over 60. We did light sparring recently, just a round for a bit of a laugh, and even though I had size, stamina, strength, athleticism (through age advantage, if nothing else) and recent, regular fight experience all in my favour, he still more or less held his own, through sheer timing and ring smarts. I pride myself on being quite a canny fighter, but I still found myself wondering on more than one occassion how he ended up on the inside, landing combinations. Learn angles, learn to time your shots, and you will beat most people at your weight on the amateur ciruit
[quote]IronClaws wrote:
Though the average man that can squat 400 pounds would almost certainly destroy their own body by merely taking a swing. Torn pec, bicep, neck, tendons, etc.
It is pretty destructive to punch things with force, outside of training to do so, from the ground up, it becomes a fairly dangerous and risky thing to try. Certain tendons and muscles build themselves up slowly to help your body weather the storm of punching with extreme force, the neck/tendons there will get thicker, your back will build up in a distinct way, your own body will build up in a way to protect yourself from the strains of punching.
If you workout to some advanced degree but haven’t built your body up doing the movements of punching, throwing a powerful punch is likely to rip you apart.
It’d be pretty pathetic to tear a bicep or pec some-how while taking a swing, or fucking up your own shoulder.
[/quote]
Holy shit, pick up a physiology textbook dickhead.
Where do you come up with this shit
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
Are you training as a fighter in a proper gym. If you are the advice we can give you will be different from if you are an enthusiast practising at home[/quote]
I’m training at a gym that trains fighters. I don’t know if I’m training enough or properly. There is only 4 days with 1 hour classes for Muay Thai during the week at night. There is 1 bag/pad conditioning class, 1 technique class, 1 that is half technique and half pad class, and then 1 sparring class. Just doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Sure we practice a lot of different techniques and stuff, but it’s not like I’m getting any advice on what I need to do to improve or what I need to do to prepare for my first fight.
You say you’re training at a gym that trains fighters, but are you training to compete as a fighter, or are you just looking to stay fit and learn a few things about fighting?
-
if you don’t know that you’re training enough or properly, you probably aren’t. One of the great things about combat sports (taught properly), is that you are left in no doubt about the intensity and value of your training. Most of the burden is on you though to put 100% effort in every time you train. It’s an individual sport and you must develop the mentality that you will push yourself harder than you thought was possible, every single session.
-
training PROPERLY 4 days a week is plenty as an amateur. Is the primary focus of your gym producing competitive fighters, or is it catering to the local MMA fanboy demographic of people who want to pretend they are training as fighters?
I mean no disrespect and I’m not familiar with Muai Thai gyms, but there is a fitness fad for ‘MMA’ (as can be seen with the likes of boxfit as well) where people claim to be ‘fight training’, when really they are only going through the motions. It’s no disrespect to you, but if that is what your gym is primarily aimed at, my advice would be to look else where if you are serious about being a fighter.
- If you have made your intention to fight clear to your coaches, and you are not getting advice and constant individual attention, then you should move gyms. You don’t want to learn the hard way to ‘train hard and smart, fight easy’. I gather from a mate who competes at the top level of amatuer MMA, that you see a lot of people in the ring for their first fight who really shouldn’t be there, because they are underprepared, and under coached. They get battered and never come back. Personally, I think that is disgraceful, and it’s something I have seen less of (although it still exists) in boxing. Do not take unneccessary chances with your health. If you find yourself matched against someone who has been well coached in your first fight, and your coach has neglected you, you will take an unnecessary beating, and that’s a fool’s game for pseudo-tough guys.
[quote]Grimlorn wrote:
Thanks for the info. I think I need more experience and knowledge though to fully understand and do what you guys talk about. I just don’t know how to deal with or counter guys who have been there a lot longer than me and kick my ass. So it’s difficult to come up with a way to try to counter their styles in shadow boxing. I’ll still try to work some shadow boxing into my days.
[/quote]
This is where studying film of great fights can be a valuable tool.
The first step in devising a strategy for beating someone who beats you is figuring out “what is their advantage”? A couple of common advantages are reach/height, speed, power, aggression/pressure, conditioning, and technical superiority. These advantages pretty much apply to any combat sport, but some are greater advantages than others depending on the nature of the sport.
Some people might have more than one advantage over you (especially if you haven’t been training that long and they have been), but generally there is one primary advantage that will give someone the edge over their opponent.
Next, try to think of or search for past champions or noteable boxers/Muay Thai fighters/Muay Boran fighters/Kickboxers/MMA fighters who also possessed the advantage that you are looking to take away and see if you can find videos of them being beaten. Try to observe the overall strategy of what allowed the challenger to beat the champion/individual, not the specific techniques (though you could also observe those if you want).
For instance, George Foreman was probably one of the most powerful boxers of all time. In his early career he was basically the living breathing embodiment of power. Go watch his fight with Joe Frazier (who had just beaten Ali for the HW title) and look at how quickly his superior power just overwhelms Frazier. But, Ali was able to take that power away from him through conditioning, mind games (he was pretty much taunting George through the whole fight, tricking him into trying to take Ali out with every punch he threw), and a strategy of trying to absorb Foreman’s power on more durable parts of his body (namely his arms) and using the ropes to absorb some as well.
Another good example of someone taking away another great fighter’s power advantage would be either Ali vs Liston, or Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler. In both instances the more powerful fighter’s advantage was taken away through superior speed and positioning.
This also brings up another important consideration though, which is that not everyone has the attributes to pull off every strategy. If you can’t punch and take a punch like Marciano, it’s probably not a great idea to try to copy his fighting style. Likewise, if you don’t have the natural speed of someone like Roy Jones Jr. or Floyd Mayweather Jr. it’s probably not a great idea to try to fight like they do either.
Once you understand the strategy necessary to take away the advantage you are trying to focus on that your attributes support, then just gear your shadow boxing to executing that strategy.
[quote]
Is there anything you can do on your own to train speed? Not just hand speed, but reaction speed/timing, movement. I know speed bag is used for the hand and reaction speed but I don’t have one of those. Wondering if there is something you can do on your own?[/quote]
In the past I’ve done things like reacting with a defensive movement or offensive movement every time the TV cuts to a new scene. This can improve general reaction time, but IME it’s not all that beneficial in improving specific reaction time. Nearly all defensive actions have an element of timing to them that has to be specific to the desired task. So even hitting something like the speed bag isn’t going to develop the task specific timing speed necessary to deal with a given attack.
What you can do on your own is work on your control of distance and “set point” while shadow boxing, hitting the heavy bag, or double end bag through the use of rhythm and footwork. You can’t slow down someone’s muscle fibers, but you can potentially slow down their mind/reaction time, force them to react to you rather than the other way around (akin to being the one to say “go” in a footrace), and make them attempt their attacks from too far away (causing them to reach and have “hang time” on the end of their techniques) which will give you more time to react as well as leaving them open to counter attack.
LondonBoxer,
great post. I saw alot of that people being underprepared because they had shitty coaches and then got beat pretty bad and never returned, when they could have had a promising future.
On the topic of old dudes that will beat your ass, I give you former contender and crackhead, Dicky Eklund
[quote]666Rich wrote:
LondonBoxer,
great post. I saw alot of that people being underprepared because they had shitty coaches and then got beat pretty bad and never returned, when they could have had a promising future.
On the topic of old dudes that will beat your ass, I give you former contender and crackhead, Dicky Eklund
Exactly.
They used to say that no matter how fucking drunk Dickie got the night before or how much crack he did, he used to be able to walk into the gym and spar 12 rounds or train or whatever.
And the one thing that I thought “The Fighter” showed off - and it’s part of what drew me to boxing - is that no matter how fucked up you are, if you’re a good boxer, you’re a dangerous guy.
I know it’s only a movie, but I read the accounts in “Irish Thunder” as well, and both Micky and Dickie were tough bastards out in the street. It’s one of those things where the sport is basically so simple, and so repetitive, that no matter how messed up you are, you’re going to have a shot.
That might not attract others to the sport, but as a guy who has spent the better part of 10 years in bars, it always attracted me.
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
[quote]666Rich wrote:
LondonBoxer,
great post. I saw alot of that people being underprepared because they had shitty coaches and then got beat pretty bad and never returned, when they could have had a promising future.
On the topic of old dudes that will beat your ass, I give you former contender and crackhead, Dicky Eklund
Exactly.
They used to say that no matter how fucking drunk Dickie got the night before or how much crack he did, he used to be able to walk into the gym and spar 12 rounds or train or whatever.
And the one thing that I thought “The Fighter” showed off - and it’s part of what drew me to boxing - is that no matter how fucked up you are, if you’re a good boxer, you’re a dangerous guy.
I know it’s only a movie, but I read the accounts in “Irish Thunder” as well, and both Micky and Dickie were tough bastards out in the street. It’s one of those things where the sport is basically so simple, and so repetitive, that no matter how messed up you are, you’re going to have a shot.
That might not attract others to the sport, but as a guy who has spent the better part of 10 years in bars, it always attracted me.[/quote]
Oh, definitely. Anyone who has been doing a combative activity like boxing, wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu or anything else where you are actually having to deal against non cooperative opponents since they were a little kid is going to be a hand full. The skills are so ingrained in their neuro-muscular systems that they’re practically like walking or breathing to these individuals.
[quote]LondonBoxer123 wrote:
You say you’re training at a gym that trains fighters, but are you training to compete as a fighter, or are you just looking to stay fit and learn a few things about fighting?
-
if you don’t know that you’re training enough or properly, you probably aren’t. One of the great things about combat sports (taught properly), is that you are left in no doubt about the intensity and value of your training. Most of the burden is on you though to put 100% effort in every time you train. It’s an individual sport and you must develop the mentality that you will push yourself harder than you thought was possible, every single session.
-
training PROPERLY 4 days a week is plenty as an amateur. Is the primary focus of your gym producing competitive fighters, or is it catering to the local MMA fanboy demographic of people who want to pretend they are training as fighters?
I mean no disrespect and I’m not familiar with Muai Thai gyms, but there is a fitness fad for ‘MMA’ (as can be seen with the likes of boxfit as well) where people claim to be ‘fight training’, when really they are only going through the motions. It’s no disrespect to you, but if that is what your gym is primarily aimed at, my advice would be to look else where if you are serious about being a fighter.
- If you have made your intention to fight clear to your coaches, and you are not getting advice and constant individual attention, then you should move gyms. You don’t want to learn the hard way to ‘train hard and smart, fight easy’. I gather from a mate who competes at the top level of amatuer MMA, that you see a lot of people in the ring for their first fight who really shouldn’t be there, because they are underprepared, and under coached. They get battered and never come back. Personally, I think that is disgraceful, and it’s something I have seen less of (although it still exists) in boxing. Do not take unneccessary chances with your health. If you find yourself matched against someone who has been well coached in your first fight, and your coach has neglected you, you will take an unnecessary beating, and that’s a fool’s game for pseudo-tough guys.[/quote]
I’m at an MMA gym that primary trains MMA fighters. It has Muay Thai for striking, BJJ for grappling, and then there are MMA classes that combine the two. Some train for Muay Thai fights and some train for MMA fights or both. I want to get an amateur Muay Thai fight. I just feel like there are some holes or things I need to work on in my training and when I ask people more knowledgeable than me I don’t get any answers. I have a pretty good understanding of technique and I think that’s my strength really. I don’t know maybe I should change gyms. Sounds annoying as hell as I’ve been training with these guys for the last year to just up and leave to another gym. I have to think about it. I just want to train harder than I’ve been, and learn more.