Respect is an important part of life in general. You should respect your body, when it is telling you to take it easy, I did that when I was listening to my body the last two weeks. You should respect the art, your instructors, and fellow students.
Respect in martial arts is a huge thing and rightfully so. In most Asian cultures to disrespect your family, your elders, your peers, and or your instructors is something that would not only affect your life but your after life. I can remember my obaasan (grandmother) talking about our relatives how our actions and the way we conduct ourselves in the world reflected on our family and the respect we had, and the respect we shown to others. But I digress, that could be a whole other blog itself.
You find respect in all martial arts. Some gyms/dojos have true and honest respect for the art, the instructors, the history, and the students. Some gyms we call them belt mills, or mc-dojos, (think martial art schools that don’t emphasize learning, but you can buy your belt) don’t. But they do have a history of bowing and showing respect, because there is a thred a small line of history and tradition that comes from respect in their teachings. I also believe it is not expected when you go to a martial arts gym/school to see that respect shown.
I can only speak to the martial arts I study, and my families history. So here is what I know:
Muay Thai –
- The Wai is hand pressed together at chest level, or forehead level, with head slightly tilted. The higher the hands the more respect you show.
- We Wai before getting on the mat, and before leaving the mat. To show respect to the school, and instructors.
- We Wai before and after working with a heavy bag, partner, or dummy.
- We Wai before class in a line toward the teacher and the students, and we Wai after class to the teacher and the students.
- Muay Thai is steeped in its history, and my instructors the the progenitor of Muay Thai in america Ajarn Chai really emphasizes this. It is important to him, his students, his instructors, and it is part of the Muay Thai history. I wrote more in depth about the Wai and Wai Kru in a separate blog here. The long and the short of it is we show respect to the art, the space, the instructor, the students, and the equipment. It is a big part of our culture.
Kali –
- We Bugat (bow or salute) and it changes from hrm… style to style. We study Dan Innosanto’s Kali/Escrima style.
- So we have a short bow with back of hand to head and butt of weapon to palm. Most often used after an instructor is giving instructions and now it is time to break off and practice.
- We have a longer bow, that represents open heart, open mind, open hand of peace. Where you kneel, hand to head hands out, and so forth.
- All of this to say this is how we show respect in Kali. Again it is respect to the art, to the instructor, to the history, and to school.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu –
- We bow and respect before we get on the mat and before leaving the mat. This is for showing respect to the gym and the instructors.
- We line up bow and show respect at the beginning of class, and we bow to the Masters and Professor Sauers pictures, the flags of the U.S.A. and Brazil at the end of class. We do this to show respect to the instructors and the art.
The major overarching theme is respect to the history, the gym, the practitioners, the instructors and those who came before you. Those who passed it down to you. Those who took their valuable time out to teach you.
Tuesday 09/08/2020: Muay Thai 1 hour
I focused on pad holding today again. Letting my calf rest for one more class.
Respect is paramount in Martial Arts. We show respect for the art, we show respect to our opponents, to our training partners, and training equipment.
Training on pads all night makes my body sore, muscle wise but you also have to take into consideration that the pads just dampen the blows to your body. But your body is still taking some of the blow in. That is why holding pads correctly is so important. If you don’t, you will actually run the risk of getting injured.
Class was very much fun again.
Training: I held pads for these drills, where I had to throw strikes and then be in position to take strikes to the pads.
1) jab, cross, rear knee, jab, cross, lead knee
2) south paw stance same drill as above
3) jab, cross, body hook, cross, bob and weave
4) south paw stance same drill as above
5) jab, cross, step to your rear side and body hook, overhand, uppercut, get just out of range
6) south paw stance same drill as above
7) parry the jab, split the cross low, body hook, cross, bob and weave to avoid the hook
8 ) south paw stance same drill as above
9) bump drill – to work the windshield wiper cover, and bump strike with shoulder
10) bump drill with punches – bump, uppercut, hook, bump, uppercut, hook
Thank you for awesome fun class Khun Kru Krysta!
Thursday 09/10/2020: Muay Thai 1 hour
I got back into training today. My calf felt ok so I decided to try fully training on it. Overall it did well. I am a little sore and tired but that is to be expected. Honestly, I thought it would hurt more. But I think I was smart this time and listened and did not push it on this injury letting my body heal.
I used the weighted jump rope to start the class off with. 1.5 lb rope is… it’s a great workout but you don’t want it to hit your toes.
Respecting your partner and the art is a must especially if you want to train with us. Many great people came before me, Ajarn Chai, Guru Dan Inosanto, Bruce Lee, Pedro Sauer, just to name a few of the people in my Martial Arts family tree. People sit up and take notice when they hear those names. But really my tree goes back hundreds of years with countless names and we show respect to honor them too.
Thank you Khun Kru Krysta for teaching us respect and making sure we keep up the legacy.
Training: jump rope warm up 3 min5 kicks each side extra training after every two rounds
1) jab, cross, rear leg kick, jab, cross, lead leg kick
2) held pads for H Extra kicks
3) jab, cross, body hook, cross, bob and weave
4) held pads for H Extra Kicks
5) jab, cross, right step ( orthodox) body hook, overhand, uppercut, tie up and puta Kapala Silat take down
6) held pads for H Extra kicksH = high, L = low
7) feint jab, jab (H), cross (L), hook (H), cross (L)
8 ) held pads for H
9) bump drill, windshield wipers cover no punch
10) bump drill, windshield wipers cover with punches, uppercut, hook
Bonus:
10 kicks each side It was fun and great getting back to full training.
Saturday 09/12/2020: 2 hours of Kali/Staff and Muay Thai Training.
Today was a great fun day of training tha k you Khun Kru Krysta.
Most Asian cultures respect is a super important aspect in anything you do. You see it in many schools of martial arts. We bow get timing on and off the Matt.
In Muay Thai you Wai, or put your hands up in what looks like prayer hands and bow a little. Hands are held together in front of your chest or chin with the fingertips pointing up and dip your head slightly. The higher your pressed hands are the more respect you are showing. Bowing your head slightly.
In Kali we do a shortened form of open mind, open heart, hand of peace opening that we practice in the in Kali, but we place the back of our hand on our forehand and then the butt of our stick on our open palm of the other hand.
In BJJ we bow to the masters pictures, the flags of Brazil and America, and to the teachers and class mates.
Kali/Staff:
1) full box staff combo
2) 15 combo that Doc Bob was kin enough to show us.
Training:jump rope to warm up, jumping jacks and push ups between rounds for active recovery
1) Jab, Cross, Rear Knee, Jab, Cross, Lead Knee
2) held pads for H
3) Jab, Cross, Body hook, Head Hook, bob and weave and get out
4) held for H
5) Catch the Jab, Split the cross, return lower cross, head hook, Cross, bob and weave and get out
6) held pads for H
7) Jab, low cross, hook, cross, rear kick
8 ) held pads for H
9) Jab, low cross, head hook, cross, rear knee
10) held pads for h I really need to worm the bump drills.
11) bump drill with windshield wiper cover
12) bump drill with windshield wiper cover, upper cut, cross
Bonus:
30 kicks right side, 30 kicks left side focusing on power not speed.
Respect comes in many forms, and at the end of the day it took many people, years of their lives to learn and then teach you these skills. It took generations, and history to form these styles of martial arts. There was suffering and heart ache, there was oppression, hero’s, villains, and common folk. There are stories surrounding and intertwined with the arts I am studying. I am so lucky, and always amazed at the caliber and martial arts royalty (for lack of better words) that I have been able to train under and with. I am amazed that I am learning what they are teaching and one day hope to pass it on.
This blog is meant as a way for me to keep track of my training, and it has evolved to being something far more important. It is a way for me to keep the history, the love, the lessons, and the respect of the martial arts I study. I can look back and read about a lesson I had with Ajarn Chai, what I learned and how I felt.
Anyway, thank you all for reading it. I hope you found something helpful or at least enjoyed it. If you liked it please hit the like button. If you feel moved to do so, please comment. If you want to hear more about my adventures, feel free to subscribe. Have a wonderful week and I will be back with more adventures.
Thinks with Spinks 