Then I got paired up with a tall Italian guy again, the one from the previous post Today was boxing only sparring and he was really good at using his reach to his favor. He used footwork to circle away and attack without me being able to hit back. Everything was going fine, until he decided randomly to start going hard, rocking me with a right hook. This time I know it wasn't my fault because I never even hit him due to his reach. So I lost my tempter and yelled out though my mouth guard,
"Okay, you want to go hard, let's go hard!"
He stepped up to me face to face and said okay, let's go hard. And then it began. To be honest, I was a bit worried what I had just gotten myself into. I hadn't even been able to hit the guy the entire round and now he has permission to really push it. I was already a bit gassed from the two previous rounds of sparring the other guys, but I was determined to give it my all. He caught me a few more times at full power as I was trying to close the distance but once I was inside I was able to hit him, and I hit him hard. You could instantly see his eyes change, I hit him again and gained his respect. At one point, we got a bit too close and got into the clinch. For a second I thought one of us, in the heat of the moment was going to throw a knee or an elbow, but I'm glad that both of us were respectful to the sport enough to keep to the sparring rules even in the heat of the moment. We pushed away and continued.
The only unfair part was I'm pretty sure he was wearing 14oz gloves and I had on my pillow like 16oz Fairtex ones that I only use for sparring. You may not think it's that big of a difference but it really is. Having 14oz gloves on make you hit much faster and harder, and since they are lighter it's much easier to punch through my guard and defend faster without getting tired. But even though he was quite a bit taller and had a good 4 inches of reach on me, I'm quite a bit heavier, evening out the playing field.
The good news is, as soon as the round was over, we gave each other respect with no hard feelings or ill will. I'm starting to think that Italians and Europeans in general just spar hard as the norm and it's nothing personal.
It was actually really good experience and practice as it's closer to what I would have to do in a real fight. I also learned that when sparring a taller opponent with long reach, I really have to bully my way in close if I want any chance to hit the guy. I was also able to push my cardio even when I was tired and finish the round strong, never lowering my guard. It's been 7 weeks since I first arrived in Thailand and started training, and I'm finally feeling like cardio is getting up to par and I'm getting close to fight shape. Hopefully within 4 weeks I'll feel ready to step back in the ring. And I have my sparring partners to thank for that, they are the ones pushing me beyond my comfort zone and getting me ready.
After sparring, instead of pad work we ended up doing 5 rounds of technique drills. I know some of you when looking for a gym always ask how is the technique of the trainers. Personally, I much prefer doing pad work and don't like technique drills at all. At this point I feel like I would benefit a lot more getting the basics down and building a strong foundation than adding tools to my tool belt. I did however, learn a few things that I had no idea how to do before, so even though I don't like doing technique, I can see why it's important and why they teach it.
Today we learned how to properly catch a front kick (teep) and how to pull them in after catching it to get them off balance and attack. I really liked this technique as I normally just absorb front kicks as I find them more annoying than painful. I know i'm going to regret saying that the day someone knocks the wind out of me with a teep but at least now I know how to properly defend against it. We also learned a few other ways to catch and return kicks that I'm planning on trying out next time we do Muay Thai sparring.
We ended the practice with three people on a heavy bag, with one guy holding it while the other two did 50 kicks. I started with my right kick, we switched positions, and did my left kick and then held the bag for the other two guys. I was quite happy that I was able to kick with good technique, speed and power today. At one point, Chon, the head trainer who was standing behind us watching, smacked me in the ear, reminding me to keep my guard up while kicking. A few weeks ago he sat me down and explained to me that he doesn't hit us for fun, he does it as a reminder to keep our guard up. I told him that I understand and appreciate him doing it.
Today was a good day overall. I just finished my chocolate protein and coconut milk shake and it's time to relax. Hope everyone has a fantastic New Years Eve. Happy training and keep in touch, I love receiving comments, even just ones that say hello.
-Johnny @ MyFightCamp.com
Hi
ReplyDeleteIm really interested in coming to train, have a really random question: is there usually tension between fighters in a gym, or is there more of a team spirit at the gyms you've been to?
Also, have you ever witness or experienced relationships in the gym, romance between male female fighters?
Most fighters at the gym have a really good team spirit and we're all friends. There's always the one guy that people don't like, but usually he's the one that doesn't train with the group anyways and is off to the side training by himself.
DeleteThe nice thing about Muay Thai is as long as you run and train along side the group, you all go through the same torture and become pretty close because of it.
As far as romance, i'm actually writing a chapter about it in my book as we speak, but mainly it's not between people at the gym itself, but guys going out to hook up with tourists or thai girls at the bar. The girls at the gym often get a thai boyfriend, usually a trainer. =)