[RJ Powell]

To keep myself out of trouble here on sherdog i have decided to begin a training log that will chronicle my Muay Thai training(first and foremost), as well as my conditioning and strength training. I will not log my diet here because it seems people are really touchy and opinionated about that topic, so that will stay secret. My goal is to compete at a professional level and to make my holy pilgrimage to the land of smiles. This is just my introductory post so i will provide a little background on myself:

My name is RJ, i am 19 years old, soon to be 20 in november and i'm an avid Muay Thai(sometimes kickboxing) geek/fanboy/practitioner. I have been punching and kicking in some form or another since i was 6, mostly asian martial arts. I started with Karate classes, then i went on to practice and compete in Tae Kwon Do a couple years later. After that i trained at a Hapkido studio in the philippines for a couple months. Coming back to the states i went back to training TKD for another couple years. I quit when i was 12, didn't care to get my black belt even though i was close, i was also annoyed by the lack of contact and how my instructor never allowed me to block kicks with my legs(which i picked up as a habit for some reason).

I then joined Hawaiian Kenpo(don't be fooled by the name, it's pretty much american karate/kickboxing with black Gis). I never participated in the sporting aspect, i was more focused on the self-defense applications, as well as doing Katas and stances, and teaching the kiddies. This was when i became interested in the sweet science. So i started teaching myself how to box on the side, which i wouldn't recommend if you are completely new to martial arts. I taught myself how to skip rope, as well as the basic punches and movement, all i would do is shadowbox and hit the bag occasionally.

Some years later when i was around 16, my Kenpo instructor passed away after i recieved my black belt from him. The class slowly degenerated into a day-care/McDojo, everyone was leaving, i too felt it was time to move on. A few months before leaving i developed an interest in MMA(through liddel vs. ortiz, then through TUF), at that point i thought MMA was the "truth". This was when i ventured into Gracie Jiujitsu, it was nice, my instructor (marcelo, a Rillion gracie black belt) told me i had "good hips" for jiujitsu, but i lost interest within a couple months.

I graduated from highschool, and still had a strong passion for (-watching-)MMA. I was 17 going on 18, this was a confusing transitional period in my life. Started going to college, developed a liddel-esque beer gut from all the drinking and less exercise, and also having a car now. I shopped around for a good striking school, went to this semi-mcdojo ("Temple")Muay Thai school -it was pretty much user-friendly Muay Thai taught like a Karate class-. I also started training in kickboxing with an old Japanee guy named Haruo, he was good, but he taught mostly Boxing with some elements of Muay Thai.

Finally, i got a real job in Information technology working for the government/navy. Started posting on sherdog at work, this is where i am today. Found my true love in Muay Thai, not boxing, not MMA(though i still love to watch both on TV). Recently found an authentic, yet obscure Muay Thai gym filled with badasses, working full-time, slowly working college into my schedule. My MT instructor says i have great natural talent (tee-hee), but he can tell i am prone to gluttony, laziness, complacency, inconsistency, narcicism etc. all that good stuff. Basically i need to work harder, and lose the gut.

I'm out to prove to him and everyone else that i do have the heart and work ethic to reach my dreams in this sport, i'm not just a fucking lazy ass "natural talent", and my whole library of trivial MT knowledge isn't a waste. This is my passion and my obsession. Mmkay?

[RJ Powell]

I work(post) late nights, so it's pretty hard to get to the gym more than a couple times a week, in a few weeks i will be moving to midnight-morning work, this will give me a chance to sleep during the daytime and wake up just in time for Muay Thai training every day.

here is what i have been doing for now.

Morning:
3 miles roadwork(warmup)
15 minutes thai skipping rope
6 minutes tire bounce
3x5min rounds general shadowboxing(1 min rest, thai style YEAHboii!)-elbows,knees,kicks,punches,footwork-
2x5min rounds teep work
2x5min rounds straight punches(jab/cross)
2x5min rounds kicks
2x5min rounds punches on bag

100 kicks on bag ea. leg (the bag i own is too soft, my instructor saw it and said it was "cute")
200 continuous knees on bag(again, difficult because i own one of those soft pussy MMA bags)

soft as a woman's private parts


-it is apparent my shins need MAJOR conditioning, i thought my shins were pretty tough, but they aren't, my instructor almost made my cry like a baby by having me go shin to shin with him for reps upon reps. I definitely teared up a little. It hurts. Now i have a few lumps on my shin which i am hoping will only serve to strengthen it. He even let me borrow his shin hardening baseball bat, it is wrapped in cloth and i beat my shins with it.

- The gym i go to has authentic thai punching bags, i tried kicking one, and could only kick it 25% power, and even then i would wince in pain. I need to get one of those fat-ass windy or Twins bags, the ones that are covered in leather and feel like they are filled with rocks. To think the thai elite shin kick these bags full force:

a real man's kicking apparatus, you're basically trying to snap your shins in half on this solid object(though it never happens because the pain will stop you first), and when i say hard, i mean hard.



also, along with the baseball bat, i am also regularly doing hellfighter's shin conditioning, it really does a number to your shins.

Shin Conditioning from K-1fans.com
Uploaded by gwmma

[RJ Powell]

Here is a Thai skipping rope, this will determine whether you want to continue doing Muay Thai or not. It will really test your love. Thais do this for at least 30 minutes every day.



thick ass handles, heavy as fuck, slams into my bare toes when i mess up, my shoulders ache, my forearms burn, i wanna go back to my leather speed rope.

[MatterOverMind]

Good luck with everything.

I can't wait to see how you progress in MT.

[RJ Powell]

Thanks man, i appreciate it.

---------------------------------------------
Thai pads, they range in thickness and size, some are soft, some are thin and rigid, some are so beat up that it hurts to kick them for both the striker as well as the holder. You can throw all strikes on these pads, and a good holder will move around with you and throw techniques/feints and correct you. Kind of like sparring, once you get good at it. They are usually accompanied by a belly pad for easier teeps, but not always.



here is P4P best, Saenchai Sor. Kingstar working the pads.(again, thanks hellfighter)

Saenchai preparing for Jomthong
Uploaded by StefTan

[andrewbc]

any plans on fighting any time soon? way to start a log to bro!

[RJ Powell]

I bet you are asking, why do thais practice the same kick over and over again on the bag? is there no variety in Muay Thai?

There is VERY much variety in muay thai, just masterful variety, here is an explaination:

Muay Thai is an art of perfection and efficiency, realistically there are only two basic kicks you need to learn and perfect, and that is the "kick". Yep, the kick, or roundhouse to be painfully specific. And the other one is the footjab, or the teep.

In muay thai, every kick other than those two are just the icing on the cake, supplemental. And yes, muay thai traditionally has a large variety of kicks, most every kick that you see in karate, you can see in old-school muay thai.

Now the two basic kicks (roundhouse and teep), have numerous variations. The roundhouse can cut through the opponent at different angles, going high, low, upwards, chopping down, bending at the knee. The teep also has several targets- the hip, the face, the abdomen.

So back to the question, why do thais mostly practice the basic roundhouse/teep?

Because if you know how to throw the roundhouse at a comfortable height perfectly time and time again, you can do it well going low, you can do it well going high, you can do all the variations. They all stem from the exact same MECHANIC, only with slight modifications. Same mechanic, just different targets. So why train in all these different fancy things when you can focus on one thing with all of your energy. 3000 kicks a session, make it happen baby!

See what i mean about efficiency? This doesn't make Thais one dimensional, it makes them machines!

A Thai who has masted the "kick" would be so well conditioned in it that he would throw it without even thinking, not caring if he crashed into your rib or your shoulder or guard because either one would hurt like a bitch. Kind of like a baseball player practicing his swing, except your leg is the bat.

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” -Bruce Lee

[RJ Powell]

Originally Posted by andrewbc

any plans on fighting any time soon? way to start a log to bro!

Yeah, i need to do something somewhat constructive while i am on here or else i will resort to causing all kinds of trouble on these boards.

I want to fight within the next year or so, but i have to trust my instructor's guidance, we shall see.

[takeahnase]

Good luck!

[takeahnase]

Or rather:

โชคดี