Tag: Jab

Martial Arts 09/03/2019: Muay Thai – Balance is king, Boxing, (High, Mid, and Low line)

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Fitness Links, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, workoutLeave a comment

Woo this month in Muay Thai we are focusing on boxing. For the more advanced students Kry Kristen is focusing on the more technical side of boxing. She mentioned when she started Muay Thai she would throw noise punches out there that did not do anything just to get to kicks, however, when she figured out how to pivot and move her feet properly to get power into her punch it changed her game entirely. Anyway this week I completed 6.75 hours of training.

Tuesday 9/03/2019 – 2 hours of training Muay Thai and Kali

Muay Thai – Boxing, Technical training, (High, Mid, and Low Line)

So I know people learn in one of 4 ways. When I was a child they tested me and found I learn all 4 ways equally. This is… wait, I just read an article stating that the learning styles are not exactly accurate… however, when I was a little girl… Hrm… that makes me sound really old. But non the less… when I was little, they tested me and I learned all 4 ways equally. What are the 4 ways you ask? (Memorization, Visual, Auditory, and Doing/manual manipulation) Apparently your preferred method of learning changes based on what you are doing. You don’t learn math just verbally, and you can’t learn language very well just by seeing pictures. So what I was going to say goes out the window.

However, that all being said, and my verbose description aside, for me and martial arts visual seeing it done, verbal, and writing it down is really helping me. So I am going to make another chart for boxing ranges and High/Mid/Low lines shots. Here is the chart below.

For today’s class, Kru Kristen was explaining the different areas for strikes in boxing. How if your opponent goes for the high line, you drop your level and hit say a hook to mid section of your opponent and get the mid line etc. If the go low, you guy high, or mid line. She did not want to be to esoteric but thinking of the opponents body in terms of shapes and areas in those shapes to strike are helpful she said. For me this description is very helpful. I love the thought of this. I am an artist and I think and see shapes all the time. I see the way things are made up, so thinking of my opponent in shapes and how they are made up, to see where to hit in response to something just made a light go on. (see doll above, for shapes and strike areas)

Training:

  1. 1 x 3 minute round jump rope warm up
  2. 1 x 3 minute round plus sign range management drill
  3. 1 x 3 minute round plus sign range management drill with 1/4 turns
  4. The goal of this drill is to focus on pivot, and foot placement on the punches, the head movement and the deep step, then the shoulder check to close range. You are going to be in the inner mid line with the hook before you bob and shoulder check.
  5. Jab
  6. Cross
  7. Hook
  8. Cross
  9. Bob
  10. Deep step in to right side of opponent and shoulder check
  11. Either get out, or continue to press the strikes
  12. Cross to Hook burn out drill
  13. The goal of this drill is the same, pivot, foot placement, and range management, also adding change in level of strikes.
  14. Jab
  15. Cross
  16. Hook to body
  17. Hook to head
  18. Bob
  19. Deep step in to the right side, and shoulder check
  20. Either get out, or continue to press the strikes
  21. Body hook, Head Hook, Cross burn out drill

    Windshield wiper shoulder bump drill
  22. Windshield wiper = Lead hand covers belly, rear hand covers side of face usually on lead side face. Reverse when bobbing other side, rear hand covers belly, lead hand covers face.
  23. Foot work, is female triangle, or rear step out to side of opponent.
  24. Bob with lead shoulder toward opponent doing windshield wiper
  25. Bump shoulders
  26. Bring feet back together, and hands up covering face
  27. Step with lead foot to lead foot to side of opponent
  28. Bob with rear shoulder toward opponent doing windshield wiper
  29. Bump shoulders

    Windshield wiper shoulder bump drill with hook, or uppercut
  30. Foot work, is female triangle, or rear step out to side of opponent.
  31. Bob with lead shoulder toward opponent doing windshield wiper
  32. Bump shoulders Bring, throw a hook/upper cut to opponents head (for drill shoulder so you don’t hurt your opponent)
  33. Step with lead foot to lead foot to side of opponent
  34. Bob with rear shoulder toward opponent doing windshield wiper
  35. Bump shoulders throw a hook/upper cut to opponents head (for drill shoulder so you don’t hurt your opponent)

Kali – 6 count drills

In Kali today we covered the basic 6 count drills. It was nice to work on something we have done before and we have the muscle memory for it already. Some days its nice not having to tax you brain. Muay Thai did that for us today already, so tonight was nice. I turned off my brain and just went through the movement. I tried to make my movements more smooth. Tried being the operative word there.

Wednesday 9/04/2019 – 1 hours of training Muay Thai

We worked on the same things we did yesterday, however, today we added one more drill. Also I worked with a girl who is brand new and because of that I went slower, tried to help teach her how to hold pads, and just made sure she was comfortable. While I go slower, I work on my form. Today I worked on my pivot and the escapes.

Escapes we worked on:

  1. Lateral step in and bump with shoulder to mid section, then bump with other shoulder to create space.
  2. Boogie out ( a way to get out of the corner, or cut a corner)
  3. Quarter turned out and side shuffle out

Warm Up:

  1. Monster walks with resistance band forward and backward across the mat
  2. Side lounges across the mat with resistance band down and back across the mat
  3. Contra Lateral Movement, bear crawls, side ways across the mat and forward and backward across the mat
  4. Agility Ladder drill – Ali Shuffle x 3 minute round

Found the Agility Ladder drill on youtube so you can see it:

New combo we worked on today:

  1. Jab
  2. Cross
  3. Lead upper cut
  4. Cross
  5. Quarter turn and side shuffle out

Today was a good day. Kru Kristen complimented me on my form and movement. She said the more I get into boxing stance. The more I move properly. I am using my body for my strikes and moving my head. That is great news, because when I spar I tend to feel very stationary. I need to learn to move and keep my movement dynamic.

Thursday 9/05/2019 – Took today off, scoliosis was hurting me and causing headaches all day.

Friday 9/06/2019 – 1.75 hours of training Muay Thai – Balance is king, and making your Thai pretty

I love working with Tony, he has a different perspective and he has points of view I had not thought of. When you train with a instructor in Muay Thai, and you go out there in the world, you are representing your trainer/instructor. Muay Thai practitioners really believe, that you represent all of your instructors. (I to believe this, and try to show respect in all things, and only do what would make my instructors proud.) I have mentioned it before, but when you learn from a instructor, when they take you under their wing and decide to teach you, they are taking you into their family. They are taking you into their lineage.

I am lucky and honored to have Tony, Kru Kristen, and Khun Kru Krysta instructing me.

Today while we were training he talked with us about making our Thai pretty. We are representing him out there in the world and he loves it when people recognize his families art as pretty. He emphasized taking the power out of the kicks and the knees. He wants us to put them out there, make them pretty, work on our balance and then the power comes later. He really likes us to feel our bodies and how they work. You can see this in the warm ups we do. I really love the differences between my instructors. I get the best of so many worlds.

I started my workout 30 minutes before class started.

Training:

  1. 5 minutes of stretching
  2. 5 minutes walking knees across the mat
  3. 10 minutes bag work for, working on kicks, teeps to kicks, and closing the distance for knees
  4. 10 minutes of windshield wiper bump drill first on bag, then with partner

Training in class:

  1. 10 minutes of jumping rope
  2. 1 round of easy walking kicks to shields, using both orthodox and south paw stance.
    1. (He wanted us to losen up our hips, get our body moving, and feel how our hips move. Because all to often we are tight we are holding our hands up to cover our faces which is good, but then we tighten everything else.)
  3. 1 round of rear driving knees
  4. 20 push ups
  5. 1 round of pad holding for your partners rear driving knees.
    1. (Tony emphasized that the pad holders responsibility is to hold well for your partner. If they are shorter you should lower your stance and hold it lower for them. His contention is that yes a shorter person can kick higher, but that is a different motion and different kick, than say a torso kick at the shorter person level.)
  6. 20 push ups
  7. 1 round of lead teep, to switch step to lead knee.
    1. (The key here is balance. You want to be able to teep a person to stop them from coming forward, but not eject them. You then want to have your shield up for the second before you switch step into a driving knee.)
  8. 20 push ups
  9. 1 round of holding pads for your partner
    1. (The key here is that he wants the pad holder to not move back on the teep, and to get enough resistance and push back that the knee-er knee is pushed back down and then can get back into stance again. We need to be good pad holders so that our partner can work the drill correctly too. )
  10. 20 push ups
  11. 2 rounds of sets of 50 machine gun kicks.
    1. ( We worked both sides. after about the 200th kick I was gassing. He wanted the power taken out of it and for us to feel the movement and get the speed in. We ended up doing about 250 kicks per round)

Today was a great day of class. I loved it. I am glad I took the day yesterday. I could have pushed through but the way I was feeling was not conducive to a great training day. Some days I just have to take it off. I am slowly coming to grips with that.

Also today I was working on putting more weight on my back leg, and less on my front leg. I have a habit of leaning forward in my stance and that is not good. I makes me slower and less able to react quickly and reduces my power. Tony wants us to feel our bodies and how they move. I noticed my driving knees were so much more powerful when I just leaned back more on my rear leg. This was a light bulb moment for me. We are told to do just that lean back more, but it is hard to feel/see what they are talking about till you drill it out and figure it out on your own body.

Saturday 9/07/2019 – 2 hours of training Muay Thai and Staff – waking up on the wrong side of the bed

Today was one of those days where when you wake up and all the little things that irritate you or upset you through the day add up, you wish you just had not gotten out of bed. Yeah… today was that day. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed as I heard my elders say when I was a wee little girl.

I won’t list all the things that made it bad, or annoying, or sad, just that it was, and so it colored my day. It also made me doubt myself and have to cut out of staff class just to go check that I had unplugged a waffle iron. I wanted to make sure I did not burn the house down. So I missed a good half of staff class.

I had the pleasure of working with my trainer/instructor Khun Kru Krysta and I got to see all of my Thai family and my Kali family. That was nice. I shown up, and I tried to put the work in. As my friend said to me today, “even if you only put in 25% while you are here, you are here and you tried. You did not give up when you had a bad day!” So yeah I did that.

Training today was all things we have done and have been studying. This is good. This is great, because I did not have to over think what I was doing. I could just let for the most part muscle memory take over. Even though I felt like the kicks I was putting in were terrible. I was putting them in, and correcting as I was going.

Staff – We worked on various redondos and backhands.

Striking/Muay Thai Class – we worked on catch, parry, and returning 4 counts to opponent, teeping them and then getting out.

This is a video of me working on some of the drills we did in class. As you can see I am working on my technique. I am just not 100% today.

Well I hate ending on a down note. Wait a second it is not a down note. I went to class I worked things out. I did not let the little things stop me. I might have had a moment here and there that got me down, but I worked through it.

Thank you all for reading. If you have any questions feel free to ask. My respect to you and I hope you follow your dreams to become the best you that you can be.

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Martial Arts 08/27/2019: Muay Thai – Its all in the hips, Kali – Saint Uriel

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Muay Thai, Fitness, workoutLeave a comment

6.5 hours of training this week. Its been another great week of training. I had some hiccups in my week. Work, and life got in the way, so I missed my weight lifting workout, and got some needed chiropractic adjustments. This is a holiday week for us in the U.S. so there is no class on Saturday.

Tuesday 8/27/2019 – 2.5 hours of training Muay Thai and Kali

Muay Thai – Pra Jiad test prep

In Muay Thai today we practiced the fundamentals. We worked only on the Full 4 counts. The Thai 4 counts that he added to and developed by Guro Dan Innosanto. He took original Thai 4 counts and added 4 more. Starting with the Jab, and Cross.

Thai 4 counts are:

  1. Left to Right –
    • left kick
    • right cross
    • left hook
    • right kick
  2. Right to Left –
    • right kick
    • left hook
    • right cross
    • left kick
  3. Left to Left-
    • Left kick
    • Right cross
    • Left hook
    • Left kick
  4. Right to Right
    • Right kick
    • Left hook
    • Right cross
    • Right kick

The added combinations are:

  1. Jab, cross, left to right
    • Jab
    • Cross
    • Left kick (walking kick)
    • Right kick (walking kick)
  2. Jab, cross, right to left
    • Jab
    • Cross
    • Right kick (walking kick)
    • Left kick (walking kick)
  3. Jab, cross, left to left
    • Jab
    • Cross
    • Double left kick (speed kick)
  4. Jab, cross, right to right
    • Jab
    • Cross
    • Double right kick (speed kick)

We then worked on pop the leather where our partner got to do a 4 count then we got to do a 4 count.

A lot of power in Muay Thai comes from the hips. So when you throw a punch you are throwing your body and hip as well. Sometimes pivoting sometimes not but surely using your hips. Its all in the hips.

Kali – Saint Uriel

Woo in Kali we worked on a new running saint, Saint Uriel. But I am getting ahead of myself.

We worked on:

  1. umbrella 6
  2. Umbrella 8
  3. Umbrella 7 (which always takes a minute to get used to)
  4. Umbrella 18 (two sets of umbrella 7, with a transition)
  5. Saint Uriel

I had a blast. My brain kinda bent, but was not melted today. After a Thai class I love having Kali. Its a great way to wind down the physical and get your mind going then I pass out when I get home and showered.

Wednesday 8/28/2019 – 1 hour of training Muay Thai

Today we trained for 1 hour. We worked on basics. Knees to kicks, working on range management (whether to do a leg kick, torso kick, hop kick, or stutter kick). When we go back to basics we get to work on our form and foot work. Which is supper important.

Warm up:

  1. 1 x 3 minute round of jump rope
  2. 1 x 3 minute round of shadow boxing

Training: (manage your range, and choose leg kick if you are two close, torso kick if you moved them a little with your knee, and if you moved them a lot do a hop kick)

  1. Rear knee to Lead kick
  2. Lead knee to Rear kick
  3. Lead knee to Lead kick (focus on stutter step, to decrease time between strikes)
  4. Rear knee to Rear kick (focus on stutter step, to decrease time between strikes)
  5. 30 sit ups
  6. 50 Russian twists
  7. Stretching

That is all for today. I got a good sweat in, but it was not super taxing. I had fun, and I worked on form.

Thursday 8/29/2019 – 1.5 hours of training Muay Thai – Pra Jiad Test!

I was awarded my blue pra jiad! Woot!

Today was the pra jiad test. I was so excited. We get to see just how much we have learned, and how many skills we have picked up. Also today my left elbow is giving me hell. It hurts and I was annoyed it hurt. But this is part of Thai Boxing. Injuries will happen, its how you treat them, deal with them and train around them that matters. So I just did not throw the punches in with my left hand full force, and I made sure that my form was perfect as can be on my holding pads. One last thing I did was make sure my partner knew my elbow was being a bum and that I was going to not hit hard with that arm.

Kru Kristen had us separate in three rows of people. She had us start with a technique demo. To give you an partial example we did the following:

  1. Boxing stance
  2. Kicking stance
  3. Elbows #1, #2, #3, #4, #9
  4. Knees
  5. Some kicks

Then she had us break into pairs and drill the following: (not in this order)

  1. Trigg 10
  2. Boxing 20
  3. Full 4 counts
  4. Four boxing hits and out
  5. 2 x 3 minute conditioning rounds (three kicks hard one side, three kicks hard other side, then clench and 5 knees)
  6. Pop the leather

It was fantastic. It was hard, and the last two conditioning rounds had me gassed at the end. I love working that hard. I loved testing to see where I was. I made mistakes and I could see them, but I kept going.

So yeah I got my blue pra jiad. I could not be happier and or more proud. Woot!

Friday 8/30/2019 – 1.5 hours of Muay Thai Training, with Tony – Body Hooks

Today we got to work with Tony. He is an amazing instructor and has ring experience. He wanted us to focus on body shots today, and getting in for the jab cross and laying in the power with the body shots.

I look forward to Tony’s classes cause I know he is going to work us hard. His classes tend to be more conditioning, with an equal amount of skills training.

Before we started class I was working on the boxing 20, trying to make my flow better and keep my strikes coming in time, and keep moving. I also noticed after looking at the video among other things I need to bring my elbow up for my hooks. Sigh… but I am learning and hopefully getting better.

The combo is:

  1. Jab
  2. Cross
  3. Hook
  4. Cross
  5. Bob and weave
  6. Cross
  7. Hook
  8. Bob and weave
  9. Hook
  10. Cross
  11. Cover incoming right body hook
  12. Left Upper Cut
  13. Cross
  14. Cover incoming left body hook
  15. Right Upper Cut
  16. Hook
  17. Cross
  18. Slip the incoming Supper Man Overhand punch
  19. Either should into opponents mid section, or deliver a right body hook
  20. Left hook
  21. Overhand Cross

Here is the video.

Training:

  1. 1/4 mile run
  2. 1 x 3 minute round of jumping low hurdles with both feet sprinting to the end and jogging back
  3. Jab, cross, body hook
  4. Jab, cross, body hook, head hook, cross
  5. Left horizontal elbow, clear pad or hand, to throw right horizontal elbow.
  6. 1 x 3 minute round of conditioning kicking. 5 rapid/machine gun kicks, on the left and right hand side.
  7. 1 x 3 minute round of jumping rope

It was a fantastic class. I had a great time, and I definitely got my conditioning in. I get to work with a great group of people.

Thanks for reading. I hope you all had a great week. I sure did. I passed my pra jiad test or “powered up” as my daughter described it. I had a blast and got to work with my team mates my extended family. My respects to you all. Keep working to be the best you that you can be.

Muay Thai Camp Day 3…35,136 steps, 5500 calories, and still going, Hardest Day, Trigg 10

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, workoutLeave a comment
This picture was sent to me courtesy of Niki. She is an awesome lady and she was a great friend made at Thai Camp.

Friday Day 3 at camp 7/26/2019

These are the stats that my Fitbit recorded during this day:
35,136 steps
5500 calories
300 active minutes

I don’t know that I have to say much more than that above. Just the shear amount of steps, calories burned, and active minutes should give you a good indication of how that day went, and what it was like.

However, I want to catalog this adventure and save it so I can look back at it. As I mentioned in the last Thai Camp post, day 2, I was told day 2 was the worst. I think however, day 3 was the worst day. My body was exhausted, my feet hurt, my muscles were so tired I felt I had to jump start them with a Dopio (double shot of espresso).

I was excited, and tired, and worried I would not make it through the day. I was happy to see the people I had met and made friends with.

I am sure almost everyone has heard this saying. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Or something similar. There may be something accurate about that saying.

What doesn’t kill us may make us stronger as a group, according to findings from new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The research suggests that, despite its unpleasantness, pain may actually have positive social consequences, acting as a sort of “social glue” that fosters cohesion and solidarity within groups:
“Our findings show that pain is a particularly powerful ingredient in producing bonding and cooperation between those who share painful experiences,” says psychological scientist and lead researcher Brock Bastian of the University of New South Wales in Australia. “The findings shed light on why camaraderie may develop between soldiers or others who share difficult and painful experiences.”

credit: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/shared-pain-brings-people-together.html

I am not saying my camp mates and I went through the hell of war. But we all did push our bodies to the limit. We worked hard, and we tried hard. We all were hurting by this point, and we pushed through. We helped each other. We propped each other up and tried to keep each other going.

To say I feel a kinship with these people is so true. They are my extended and chosen family. They truly have mine and our friends health and well-being at the forefront of their thoughts. I have never felt so loved and accepted from the first step into an event. No one was “to good” to answer questions, and even my introverted tenancies at times, I loved just talking and getting to know these people. I cannot say enough how awesome all of the people in Thai Camp were. When my instructor/teacher says we are all family. I know partly where she is getting it from. Ajarn Chai himself says we are his kids, his family, we all belong to his family. It was amazing and beautiful. This is also true cause Thai Boxing/Muay Thai, is and has been passed down through family, and each style is indicative of what family you learned it from.

Training for the day: (notes: credit Khun Kru Krysta S, and Kru Caro, I have also added to it from my notes.)

  1. Jab
  2. Rear kick to body
  3. Partner presses forward 
  4. Side step and Quarter turn then curved left knee
  1. Partner feeds cross
  2. Scoop cross
  3. Return right elbow #8
  4. Partner throws hook
  5. Inside cover hook
  6. Spinning right backward downward elbow
  7. Spinning left back upward elbow
  8. Return elbow #6
  9. Grab and full plumb
  1. Partner feeds cross
  2. Step 45 to outside
  3. Lead hand on forehand
  4. Rear hand just above elbow Left #8 or Tach Mala elbow
  5. Partner feeds lead hook
  6. You High cover and grab neck
  7. Right #4 elbow
  1. Partner fees rear kick
  2. Check / shin up block
  3. Rear hand goes on top of head
  4. Lead hand checks partner’s right arm
  5. Pull into rear curved knee
  6. Partner feeds lead upper cut
  7. Fade back (same as if for kick) or step back and lean to avoid upper cut.
  8. Rear curved knee with high guard (may not be able to reach head this time)
  9. Long foot jab/teep to move partner away
  10. Or if too close for foot jab/teep, follow with left #8 elbow then right #6 elbow, and then grab for clinch
From Left to Right: Ajarn Chai, Ajarn Trigg, Khun Kru Krysta, Ajarn/Coach Greg Nelson, then me in the front.

I am going to break out of the drills we did for a second, to talk about a person I never thought I would meet. His name is Ajarn Trigg. He is an amazing boxer, and in our school we do several of his drills. Namely the Trigg 10 as we called it.

This man is amazing. He is the one that is the tallest individual in the picture here. So I don’t normally respond in a fan girl sort of way. I have met other celebrities, and that is great. But the inner little girl in me was squeeing the entire time. When I met all these people that my instructors/Kru love and talked about all the time. These people who are the best of the best in this martial art were there to teach us. I could sometimes only barely hold it together.

Ajarn Trigg held pads for me, and worked with me on my stance. It was all I could do to keep myself together, focus and work hard to make him, and my kru happy. When we were done with the drill though I shook his hand, and wai’d at him and thanked him. Then I ran off hopping and skipping and saying I got to meet Ajarn Trigg and I got to work with him. Squee!!! I am still amazed and it has been weeks.

We started with what my gym and Kru called the Trigg 10. We all lined up, we counted off, and were separated into lines. Ajarn Trigg would call out a number say #3 and we would triple jab. Each number or corresponds with a strike. I was next to a girl I met that was from Luisiana. I love her she is amazing and so sweet. She was looking a little lost, and when he would call out a number like #7 I would say, “jab, cross.” I would call out the strikes you had to do. She looked over at me and said, “bless you, and thank you.” She was so grateful that I was calling out the shots so she could do it with us. We talked later and she asked me if my instructors had us doing it. She said she had never heard this drill before. I was happy to help her.

I digress though. Let me get back to the training we did with Ajarn Trigg.

Training with Trigg for the day: (notes: credit Khun Kru Krysta S, and Kru Caro, I have also added to it from my notes.)

  1. Partner jabs
  2. You jab
  1. You Jab
  2. Partner Jab, Cross
  3. Partner Jab
  4. You Jab Cross
  1. Hook
  2. Return Cross, Jab, Cross
  1. Back up jab 3x
  2. Forward jab 3x
  3. Circle L jab 3x
  4. Circle R jab 3x
  5. Quarter turn right cross
  1. Wipe right
  2. Shovel hook
  3. Overhand hook
  4. Cross
  1. Wipe left
  2. Shovel hook
  3. Overhand cross
  1. Wipe outsid
  2. Jab rib
  1. Wipe inside
  2. Cross
  3. Body hook
  1. Wipe outside
  2. Overhand right

10 count straight punch drill1 or as we call it Trig 10

  1. Jab
  2. Double jab
  3. Triple jab
  4. Straight right
  5. Double straight right
  6. Triple straight right
  7. Jab Cross or JR
  8. Cross Jab or RJ
  9. Double jab, straight right
  10. Double straight right, jab 

I have to say this day was amazing. I was so excited and proud of myself for finishing and completing day 3. There were times where I was so tired, I did not think I could make it. I pulled through and did it though. I got to meet some of the greatest martial artists and I got to work with them. I got to make deeper connections with people and grow my chosen family. I love the people we shared a house with, and I can’t wait to see them all again.

Thank you for reading. I have one more post for Thai Camp complete with dropping my trousers story, and Thai Kru tests. My respect for you all.

Martial Arts 08/19/2019: Muay Thai – You can’t fake mat time,Getting ready for my blue pra jiad test, Kali-Punyo Sumbrada

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Muay Thai, Fitness, workoutLeave a comment

8.5 hours of Martial Arts training for this week. Yay!

08/20/2019 Tuesday 2 hours of training – Muay Thai and Kali

Today was a great day! I had a blast in class and felt really good. We worked on parrying the cross to enter with a knee. Then we added in elbows and kicks. It feels good when things flow together, and when your body just does what you have been training it to do.

  1. parry the cross
  2. post on the shoulder or head
  3. throw rear knee
  4. Burn out 25 skip knees #2
  1. parry the cross
  2. post on the shoulder or head
  3. throw rear knee
  4. Rear Tach malach or #8
  5. Lead horizontal elbow or #1
  6. Lead Knee
  7. Burn out 25 skip knee #2

First 6 of the Thai 15

  1. Parry the cross
  2. High elbow cover for incoming hook
  3. Lead #1 elbow
  4. Rear #3 elbow
  5. Rear knee
  6. Lead kick or lead round house

Blitz drill

  1. for 3 minute round, rear knee, to rear kick, you move your partner across the mat, continuing to do rear knee to rear kick for entire round of 3 minutes.

Kali – Punyo Sumbrada

In Kali we worked on the Punyo Sumbrada drills. The Punyo is the but end of the weapon. So for a sword it is the pommel, for a stick it is the shorter end that you hand is near, for a knife it is the but end. This is a Inosanto flow drill that uses the punyo of the stick, or weapon to strike at your opponent.

  1. feeder feeds a #3 strike
  2. you low wing block, and control the feeders striking hand
  3. you punyo strike up to the face
  4. feeder catches your blow with a C clamp/monkey paw
  5. you strike with a witik toward the face
  6. feeder blocks with the stick
  7. You reach inside the box and rotate the hand of the feeder so you can hit them with your weapon
  8. They wipe off your hand
  9. feeder feeds a #1 strike
  10. you high wing block, and control the feeders striking hand
  11. You yank/pull the feeder to you, and punyo strike up to the face
  12. feeder catches your blow with a C clamp/monkey paw
  13. you strike with a witik toward the face
  14. feeder blocks with the stick
  15. You reach inside the box and rotate the hand of the feeder so you can hit them with your weapon
  16. They wipe off your hand
  17. feeder feeds a #5 strike
  18. you low wing block, and control the feeders striking hand
  19. You yank/pull the feeder to you, and punyo strike up to the face
  20. feeder catches your blow with a C clamp/monkey paw
  21. you strike with a witik toward the face
  22. feeder blocks with the stick
  23. You reach inside the box and rotate the hand of the feeder so you can hit them with your weapon
  24. They wipe off your hand

From there we we worked on 4 disarms. We worked them into the above drills.

  1. snake
  2. vine
  3. plus sign
  4. equal sign

08/21/2019 Wednesday 1 hour of training – Muay Thai

Today we worked on the skills and combos we need to learn and know for our pra jiad arm band test. I originally wanted to get in early and get another hour in. But I had lost my bank card at a Starbucks, I went through the drive through and never got it back. I did not notice I did not get it back and the lady at the window did not give it to me. So I had a scare right before class and had to go get it. That put a dampener on my day. However, I went in and trained hard, and feel better now.

Pra Jiad – is a type of armband worn by Thai Boxing/Muay Thai athletes. Originally it was given to a fighter for good luck and confidence, from the family members. If I remember correctly, legend has it a mother tore her skirt and tied it around the arm of her son going into battle. She said, “bring it back to me, this is just a loan.”

The Pra Jiad is also used to show ranks in Muay Thai in some gyms, and by the WTBA (World Thai Boxing Association). Below is a chart of the ranks we have. These ranks are similar to belt systems in other martial arts. My gym and Kru are WTBA certified instructors and our gym is an WTBA gym.

I am currently a green pra jiad rank. I will be testing for the blue band. My instructor looked me in the eye and said you are training, so I guess that is that. =)

So on to today’s training:

Warm up –

  1. 1 round of jump rope
  2. Banded monster walks forward and back across the mats
  3. Banded side walks down and back across the mats
  4. Bear crawl forward and backward
  5. Sideways bear crawl forward and backward

Training –

  1. Trigg 10
  2. Boxing 4 count
  3. Jab Cross Series
  4. Thai 4 counts
  5. Full 4 counts
  6. Then we did one x 2 minute round of 25 right kicks, 25 left kicks, and 50 knees, then we hit the bag hard for the remaining time left on the 2 minute round. My goal is to do 10 in a row like one of our fighters does.

Some action shots I took from today. I am pivoting, and up on the ball of my foot. Woot!

08/22/2019 Thursday 2 hours of training – Muay Thai – 90% of Amateur boxing is straight punches, and Kali – brain melting after a challenging Muay Thai class.

So today is one of the days I have to go into the bakery early in the morning. I get there at 5 am and have to work on all the orders that are due for that day, and start on orders that are due for the weekend. Some require more time to do.

So I am tired by the time training comes around. I am really tired. But hey that is life and so I go. Just have to get my go’er going.

Muay Thai – “90% of Amateur boxing fights are strait punches then getting out of the pocket.” per Kru Kristen. What she is saying is the jab, and cross are your bread and butter. Get in, throw those jab, crosses, and maybe a kick if you can and get out. Don’t let the other person hit you.

Warm up:

  1. 1 round of jumping rope
  2. 1 round of shadowboxing

Training:

  1. 2 x 3 minute round of Trigg 10
  2. 30 seconds skip knee #1
  3. 2 x 3 minute round of boxing 20
  4. 30 seconds skip knee #2
  5. 2 x 3 minute round of Full 4 counts
  6. 30 seconds jab cross blitz
  7. 1 x 2 minute round of 25 kicks left, 24 kicks right, 50 knees
  8. 30 sit ups
  9. And flutter kicks for 1 minute

Kali – Brain melting after a challenging Muay Thai class.

Kali today was challenging. But I felt good, and felt like I got into a flow. I video’d some of the drills we did today. It is good to look back and see the progress I have made, even if it is very slight.

Today we worked on:

  1. Heaven six
  2. Umbrella six
  3. Cob Cob
  4. Inward, backhand, backhand

We worked on all of those in a drill. After your body is tired and you ask your body and more importantly your mind to focus and move your body with sticks and avoid getting hurt by doing the drill right. Whew, does it melt the brain. My brain was giving me this, “ok… you get one or the other. We can work hard to make sure you don’t get hit, but you can’t move to much or you can move a lot and we will give you more energy.” I had to tell my body and brain, nope need both and just slogged through it.

Over all we did well. Had my hand hit a couple times with the stick. That hurts, but over it is ok.

08/23/2019 Friday 1.5 hours of training – Muay Thai – that hit/strike you take and you just know its going to bruise.

Today was an interesting day. I ended up going to the dealership 3 times, because during a routine maintenance appointment for my 1 year old car they could not get right the resetting of the tire pressure sensor after rotating my tires. Why? Because it is a new car, 2018 and the techs just have not learned how to do it yet. Mind you this is a dealership of the same maker of the car. Also of note, the dealership was very apologetic. They were nice, and they got me in right away both times I had to return with my vehicle so they could reset the tire pressure sensor.

I digress. I got a lot done today, but by the time I had to pick up H from the metro I was done for the day. However, I put on my big girl panties and we all went into the gym.

Despite the crazy morning I had, I had a great training day.

Warm up:

  1. 1 x 5 minute round of jumping rope
  2. 2 x 3 minute rounds of Knees across the mat, shadowboxing knees

Training:

Today was clench work and knees

  1. We worked on clenching up and putting long leaning knees in.
  2. We worked on clenching up and putting rear knees in. He taught us to bring them up and pivot on our feet to get more distance to push your opponent away. This is done to break their posture and you can then run your other knees. Like curved knees
  3. We worked on a jab, hook, inward knee combo
  4. We worked on a jab, hook, inward knee, with double left kick combo
  5. We worked on a three elbow combo.
    • You Thai lean and control your opponents hands. Pushing their left hand out of the way, you throw a #1 elbow/ horizontal elbow to face. You throw a #2 or upward diagonal elbowMove the pad/head out of the way Throw a modified side in elbow with rear hand, it is modified by putting your hand on your head as if you are elbow covering, not high covering. Then you rotate and drop the elbow side in and diagonal.
  6. We then did sparring.
  7. We then ended with partner double kicks on the bag. Where your partner kicks twice on the back and then you kick twice on the bag
  8. We finished with suicide runs, across the mat x 2

So during our sparring we wear shin guards. Even so we have a chance of getting hit and getting bruises. These guards only protect the top of the foot and the shins. But if some one knees say my knee then we have a boo boo. I got kneed in the side of my knee well right above my knee in the muscle/fascia . Our knees hit each other. And that is the moment when I realized yup that is going to bruise. It hurts and you can just tell that one is going to be painful. So right now I have a deep tissue bruise, you can barely see the purple under the skin, but I imagine it will blossom.

One last thing for today. I had a really nice compliment from one of the instructors at the gym. J said I was really looking good in Muay Thai. He said you can see all the time I had put into it. That my form was looking great, and I was moving around great. He said, “you can’t fake mat time.” He said you put the time in on the mat and you will see results. Yay!

08/24/2019 Saturday 2 hours of training – Staff training, Striking class

Today marks the last day of my training for the week. I did my weight lifting and run on Monday, then I had martial arts training for Tuesday – Saturday. For a total of 8.5 hours for this week. As you can imagine I am tired, but its a good tired. This is a tired of, I worked my body and now I need a rest.

Staff – Bo Staff Drill

In staff class today, it was a beautiful morning, and we worked Saint Rafael and then we worked on another drill. I don’t know what it is called or would be called but it contains a equis, witiks, redondo, abecedario 3.

I took a video of it and we are still working on getting down and smooth.

Striking class – feint entries

In striking class we worked on feint entries. We feint with our jab, cross, and or left kick.

  1. Jump rope warm up
  2. Feint Jab
  3. Lead kick
  4. Cross
  5. Hook
  6. Rear kick
  7. Teep
  8. Feint Low jab
  9. Feint High jab
  10. Lead kick
  11. Cross
  12. Hook
  13. Rear kick
  14. Teep
  15. Feint Jab
  16. Cross to mid section
  17. Lead uppercut
  18. Rear kick
  19. Teep
  20. Then we did a few rounds of pop the leather.

I had to leave early today to get to my friends wedding. But I had a great time in training, and I had a great time at the wedding. It has been a great week, and I am done. I need the rest day of tomorrow.

I have a few videos and lots of pictures in this post. Thank you for reading. I hope you have a great day. My respect to you all.

Muay Thai… First Friday Night Class

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, workoutLeave a comment

1.5 hours of Muay Thai training. With our instructor Tony. He learned Muay Thai from his father, who learned it from his father, for generations back. Tony is first generation Thai. He is awesome! For reference I am second generation Japanese.

His workout is no joke. He had us doing warm ups with agility ladder drills to improve/quicken our foot work. Followed by 5 kicks. Then more ladder drills followed by 10 kicks.

He had us working on Jab and Cross. However, he wanted us to stay put this time. We often work on footwork, and movement. Movement where we have to cut the corner, get out of the pocket, fade back, or disengage. He wanted us to stay put in the pocket because in traditional Thai Boxing you stay in the pocket. He had us doing that for both the jab and cross, the switch kick, and the knee. Tony is a very traditional Thai practitioner. Because his family is very much more traditional.

Every time I get a chance to work with him. I learn new things. He pushes us, and helps us learn new technique. When we are done, we feel it in our everywhere.

Enough gabbing here is what we did:

  1. Agility ladder drill
  2. 5 rapid kicks left
  3. Agility ladder drill
  4. 5 rapid kicks right
  5. Agility ladder drill
  6. 5 rapid kicks left
  7. Agility Ladder drill
  8. 5 rapid kicks right
  1. Agility ladder drill
  2. 10 rapid kicks left
  3. Agility ladder drill
  4. 10 rapid kicks right
  5. Agility ladder drill
  6. 10 rapid kicks left then right across the mat
  7. Agility ladder drill
  8. 10 rapid kicks left then right across the mat
  1. Feeder feeds any jab or cross, or jab cross, cross jab combo x 2 – 3 minute rounds
  2. Burn out 30 seconds jab cross flurry
  1. Feeder feeds choice of cross, to lead switch kick x 2 – 3 minute rounds
  2. Burn out 30 seconds double kick lead leg
  1. Feeder feeds upward knee using the switch motion to keep yourself in the pocket. x 2 – 3 minute rounds
  2. Burn out 30 seconds double kick lead leg
  1. Partner kicks on the bag for 30 seconds – (This is where you and your partner are on opposite sides of the bag. They kick once you follow immediately with a kick. Lather rinse repeat)
  2. 30 seconds rest
  3. Partner kicks on the bag for 30 seconds (switch places so if you were doing right kicks you are now doing left kicks)
  4. 30 seconds rest
  1. 30 seconds knee #2 (try to get 50 knees in 30 seconds)
  2. 30 seconds rest
  3. 30 seconds knee #2 (try to get 50 knees in 30 seconds)
  4. 30 seconds rest
  5. 30 seconds knee #2 (try to get 50 knees in 30 seconds)
  6. 30 seconds rest
  7. 30 seconds knee #2 (try to get 50 knees in 30 seconds)
  8. 30 seconds rest

Switch kicks– are kicks where instead of cut stepping you are changing stance in place, staying in the pocket, and whipping your leg up into the torso quickly.

So Tony’s style is different from my Kru I train with 4 days a week. Different than Ajarn Chai’s style, and that is good. Ajarn Chai reminds us all the time that each gym is different, each family has their own way of doing things. I find value in learning from many different instructors. There is always something you can learn and make better. Also you might find a way to do something that works better for you.

I am now dead tired. This is my 4th day doing Muay Thai this week. I have one more tomorrow, before I get a rest.

I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks for reading, and keep working to be the best you that you can be. My respects to you all.

Thursday Muay Thai and Kali…Clench Sparring, In a knife fight you drip or you gush

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, workoutLeave a comment

2 hours of training today. Gonna make this short and sweet. Today I have been up since 4:30 am. I did not sleep well, and had to work two of my jobs today.

Muay Thai

We worked on entries with knees again. This time we used a scoop of the jab or cross and returning an knee. This gets you in to return your 4 count strikes.

I got to work with one of our fighters that actually goes and fights in sanctioned fights. He is really awesome and helped me work the drills. He is tall and I surprised him that I can kick as high as his torso. We discussed the fact that these entries are only for when a person is committed to the punches. If they are just throwing noise then you can’t scoop the jab or cross and get in there. I am having a hard time in sparring knowing when they are committed. I have been assured by him and Kru Kristen that, that is just time and practice. You have to know/feel when they break the imaginary barrier to bring the distance in and hit you.

After that, the more senior of the students broke out and practiced clench sparring. That is a tiring set of 6 rounds. However, it is a lot of fun. I feel like my clench sparring game/abilities/skills have gone up since I was at Thai camp. We did a lot of it, and I got to work with a lot of people. I was able to get my timing right and get my opponents in class off balance.

To finish we did:

  1. 100 knees on the bag
  2. 30 sit ups
  3. and x planks

Kali

We worked on knifes. Gunting or scissors move where you cut and pass the opponents arm when they attack you with #1 through #5 attacks.

We worked on disarms with:

  1. a c clamp on the wrist
  2. figure 4 arm control where you cut their throat with their own blade
  3. control of opponents arm and sheath the blade into opponents on leg, or arm pit
  4. three direction peel the blade away from opponents hand

We then got to spar with knives. We all wore mouth guards, eye protection, and gloves. One person had a knife, the other had just their hands. We tried to disarm the person with the blade and not get cut. The person with the blade was trying to cut but not get disarmed. This is another fun asymmetrical sparring practice.

We say in Kali/Silat/JKD in a knife fight you either drip or gush. You don’t want to be the one that gushes. What this means is going into a knife fight knowing you will be cut, but not knowing just how bad. Is more realistic. Knives cut fast and deep, and you will most likely get cut in a knife fight. If you get out of it with a few small cuts, and you did not die, you won!

That is all for today. Thank you for reading, I hope you have a fantastic day. My respect to you and your family.

Saturday Bo Staff and Sriking…High Box with Staff makes my brain feel stupid, My flow has improved

On By Thinks with SpinksIn Fitness, Kali Escrima, Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Muay Thai, Fitness, workoutLeave a comment

2.5 hours of training today. We worked on bo staff, and striking (JKD). Today was the first day after Muay Thai camp where my body felt like normal. Even felt good. I went hard, and got a good workout with my husband and partner feeding me.

We started out with staff class. We had some visitors down from Maryland, and it was cool to have new people in the class. They have come down once before and wanted to train with us again.

Staff Training:

We started off with abecedario with staff. Which while a fundamental move with sticks changing staves makes the movement slightly different.

Abecedario = High forehand, low back hand, high back hand

Then we worked on abecedario with redondo. A redondo is a circular forehand strike from around your head. Not to be confused with an ordabise which is a circular back hand around your head.

Redondo with Abecedario = Circular forehand strike high, circular for hand strike low, circular forehand strike high, low back hand strike, high back hand strike.

In preparation for the high box, we did a roof to shield drill that required the feeder to feed a #15 strike that you roof, then a #15 strike to a shield.

And finally for staff training we did high box with staves. Now this for some reason was more difficult for my brain parts. I can do a high box with sticks, with swords, with espada y daga (sword and knife), but with staff you have to hold with both hands and your body movement is different. Which makes for the perfect storm for Kali brain issues. Which hand.

Staff High Box – #15 strike from opponent, you roof block, opponent returns a #1 strike, you inside deflect and return a #2 strike. The opponent shields the #2, and then you start the circuit over by feeding a #15 to your opponent.

We started to work on middle box/standard but we ran out of time.

I love Kali and the staff class. I love how it stretches my brain muscles and makes me think. Now my brain is dead.

This video is of us working on the Redondo with Abecedario.

Striking (JKD):

We worked on combos. This is were I was able to work on flow, timing, and speed. My partner told me he could see a difference between when I left for Muay Thai camp, and now. He said I flow better, my speed, form and focus are much better. I could not ask for more from Thai camp. I wanted to learn all I could, and to increase my skill set. It seems I have. Yay!

Khun Kru Krysta broke the training down to two sets of combos. First where the feeder feeds, a jab and a right straight cross/cross. The second where the feeder feeds a jab, and a wide cross. For the wide cross think John Wayne punch. Or old western bar fight punch.

First combo –

  1. Feeder feeds Jab
  2. You catch
  3. Feeder feeds straight cross
  4. You parry while doing a simultaneous left kick to inside of leg
  5. You return a cross
  6. You return an upper cut
  7. You return a cross
  8. You return Left torso kick/round house

Second combo –

  1. Feeder feeds Jab
  2. You catch
  3. Feeder feeds straight cross
  4. You split the cross, slide in with a cross to the body
  5. You follow with a hook
  6. You return a cross
  7. Right kick/round house

Third combo-

  1. Feeder feeds Jab
  2. You catch Jab
  3. Feeder feeds a wide cross
  4. You shoulder/bicep stop the cross
  5. You return a cross
  6. You return a hook
  7. You return a cross
  8. You return a right torso kick/round house

Fourth combo-

  1. Feeder feeds Jab
  2. You catch Jab
  3. Feeder feeds a wide cross
  4. You bob and weave
  5. You return a body cross
  6. You return a hook
  7. You return a cross
  8. You return right long leaning knee
  9. You return right torso kick/round house

These were great combos. I loved feeling like I was back into my groove. I liked feeling like I had more confidence, and I love just working on my technique, flow, timing, and target acquisition.

This video is of us working on the third combo, or the stop the shoulder or bicep combo.

I hope you are all having a great weekend. I certainly am. Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any questions. Keeping working to be the best you that you can be. Much respect to you all.