# in desperate need of help!



## hakim (Dec 21, 2012)

I've been training muay thai for 3 months now, I've advanced alot and besides the formal training 3 times a week (each training is around 1,5 hours with sundays being 2 hours) I try to practice balance and shadowbox atleast 15 - 30 minutes a day and it's really been paying off, however I have to improve my guard or I wont be able to move onto the advanced courses due to the risk of serious injury. My trainer told me to shadowbox and try to hold my guard up with weights because it'd increase my stamina when guarding, he also recommended asking a friend to punt me with boxing gloves on until I stop flinching etc.

I've only sparred 3 times and even though I'm well versed in my overall offense my biggest issue is blinking, dropping my guard and my natural reaction to kicks with trying to block them by lowering my guard .. I have about a month to improve my guard, any tips?


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## WC_lun (Dec 21, 2012)

What you are discribing is very, very natural with beginners.  I see intermediates many times do the same thing.  Your instructor should have training methodolgies specifically to address those weaknesses.  One of the things it is going to take is time.  I honestly would put no beginner in an advanced class after only four months.  You are expecting way too much from yourself.


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## Touch Of Death (Dec 21, 2012)

hakim said:


> I've been training muay thai for 3 months now, I've advanced alot and besides the formal training 3 times a week (each training is around 1,5 hours with sundays being 2 hours) I try to practice balance and shadowbox atleast 15 - 30 minutes a day and it's really been paying off, however I have to improve my guard or I wont be able to move onto the advanced courses due to the risk of serious injury. My trainer told me to shadowbox and try to hold my guard up with weights because it'd increase my stamina when guarding, he also recommended asking a friend to punt me with boxing gloves on until I stop flinching etc.
> 
> I've only sparred 3 times and even though I'm well versed in my overall offense my biggest issue is blinking, dropping my guard and my natural reaction to kicks with trying to block them by lowering my guard .. I have about a month to improve my guard, any tips?


For one thing, they are right, you need to change your thinking about kicks. Block lower case strikes with lower case weapons. You can bet a punch is coming; so, keep your guard up and knee strike those kicks.


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## Dirty Dog (Dec 21, 2012)

Simple solution: spar more. The only way to implement the things you've been taught is to practice them. Shadow boxing is good, but not enough. You need to spar.
And you don't need an advanced class - any program that claims you're advanced in a mere 4 months is suspect, to my way of thinking.


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## hakim (Dec 21, 2012)

Appreciate the help guys, there's like a formal program that lets you join the advanced courses after having completed the beginner course (it's about 6 - 4 months, I can't honestly remember.) My trainer mentioned that he spent a year in the beginner class (we have 3 trainers, the one I'm talking about right now is the youngest, really good for his age) before moving on because he felt that it's better to have a strong understanding of muay thai in it's core rather than moving onto advanced and trying to move forward while still lacking in the groundwork, and I realise now that you need patience to become good at any sport (moreso in martial arts) so I've changed my mind in rushing my training, I'm still gonna try to advance as much as possible but I no longer feel the need tear myself apart with goals by pushing myself as fast as possible. I think the reason for my relatively quick growth in the sport has been because of me being rather ambitious and because I have a tendency of pushing myself (too much in some cases) thus creating some form of self-made goal of becoming the best as fast as possible .. Keep the advices coming because I consider every bit of help useful!


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## J W (Dec 21, 2012)

hakim said:


> ...he felt that it's better to have a strong understanding of muay thai in it's core rather than moving onto advanced and trying to move forward while still lacking in the groundwork...



Words of wisdom there, advanced training will do you no good without a solid understanding of basics. Be patient and don't try to rush your advancement, a strong foundation is key.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 21, 2012)

more experience, and dont move up to the experienced class with 4 months of training and 4 sparring classes (assuming that you have 1 next month since youve had 3 in 3 months). Ask to stay back, and get some practitioners there to spar you before or after class, or work on drill with them to fight your natural reaction..your instructor should have some drills you can do for that.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 21, 2012)

For some reason, missed this post so gonna reply to it now


hakim said:


> My trainer mentioned that he spent a year in the beginner class (we have 3 trainers, the one I'm talking about right now is the youngest, really good for his age) before moving on because he felt that it's better to have a strong understanding of muay thai in it's core rather than moving onto advanced and trying to move forward while still lacking in the groundwork


Completely agree, focus on the core or youll advance with a lot of bad habits.


> I'm still gonna try to advance as much as possible but I no longer feel the need tear myself apart with goals by pushing myself as fast as possible. I think the reason for my relatively quick growth in the sport has been because of me being rather ambitious and because I have a tendency of pushing myself (too much in some cases) thus creating some form of self-made goal of becoming the best as fast as possible


Push yourself, not to becoming the best as fast as possible, but to becoming the best in general. If you add the 'as fast as possible', unless youre a _very_ unique individual, will just prevent 'the best' part from coming true.


> Keep the advices coming because I consider every bit of help useful!


Will do!


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## Uncle (Dec 22, 2012)

One thing you can do to help with the blinking and flinching which will help you get used to having punches thrown at you and getting hit is.... Have your partner glove up and throw very light jabs at your face while you stand still so he's just tapping you. Let him keep it up until you're desensitized to the idea of being hit. I've had to do this with beginners and I find it's the shortest way to stop them flinching and blinking so we can fix it and move on.


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## Danny T (Dec 23, 2012)

hakim said:


> ...because he felt that it's better to have a strong understanding of muay thai in it's core rather than moving onto advanced and trying to move forward while still lacking in the groundwork


 Very sound advice.



> , and I realise now that you need patience to become good at any sport (moreso in martial arts) so I've changed my mind in rushing my training


 Excellent attitude and decision. It happens a lot and far to often that practitioners and their coaches push fighters up much too fast. Most moving up to soon have bad or incomplete fundamentals and end up with bad techniqes. Heart and toughness can overcome that many times in the beginning but those bad habits and technique will catch up. 

Something I have 'all' my students and fighters do is many rounds of defense only. We work based upon ability. Beginners start off with light punches and at a speed they can handle. They are restricted to 5x5 foot area and can only defend using slipping, parrying, covering, weaving, blocking, and leg checks. As they advance the power and speed of the punches and kicks are increased. In time they are restricted to being against a wall or the corner of the ring. Again, in time they are then allowed to start counter attacking with a jab only, then straight rights, then hooks, then kicks, and so on. Once comfortable and in control they can start free sparring. All of our sparring starts with Jab vs jab only and adding other attacks as the students abilities advance. All the while they are working basic fundamentals and are not allowed to move to the next level until the fundamentals are proper and consistant at speed. When practitioners advance to quickly without the fundamentals ingrained those basics fall apart under pressure. 

Give it time and continue to ingrain the basics.  The proper training at the proper time will allow you to advance at the fastest rate.


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## hakim (Dec 23, 2012)

Once again, I really want to thank all of you for giving me such good advice (keep em coming ;P) got one question aswell, is it bad to shadowbox with weights to improve your stamina while guarding/retracting your punches?


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Dec 23, 2012)

Are the weights making you lower your guard when you shadowbox? r do you consciously make sure to not lower them when the weights get heavy?


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## Touch Of Death (Dec 23, 2012)

hakim said:


> Once again, I really want to thank all of you for giving me such good advice (keep em coming ;P) got one question aswell, is it bad to shadowbox with weights to improve your stamina while guarding/retracting your punches?


Just know they wont help you be fast, just stronger in that position.


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## PoolMan (Dec 23, 2012)

Corner drills...lots and lots of corner drills


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## Danny T (Dec 23, 2012)

Shadowboxing is about smoothing out all your movements and to help solidify your basic fundamentals. Doing it with weights, I believe is counter productive unless you are using a lightly weighted glove. To much weight and your movements will not be helped but distorted. The body will change its movements and positions to compensate. BAD.

Use weights to strengthen the body but when shadowboxing use the proper body movements in shadow boxing to smooth your movements and continue to ingrain the proper movement and positions. Learn to use your latissimus muscles to hold your arms up not your deltoids. For speed develop the triceps and learn to completely relax the biceps. Lots of explosive push-ups and work on extending a retracting the arm as fast as possible.


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## kungfu penguin (Dec 28, 2012)

J W said:


> Words of wisdom there, advanced training will do you no good without a solid understanding of basics. Be patient and don't try to rush your advancement, a strong foundation is key.


a house built on shifting sand will soon topple  build your house on a solid foundation and it will last a lifetime


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## Zero (Apr 8, 2013)

hakim said:


> my biggest issue is blinking, dropping my guard and my natural reaction to kicks with trying to block them by lowering my guard .. I have about a month to improve my guard, any tips?


Lots of good advice here.  As said above, where you can avoid it, you do not want to get in the habit of or be blocking low kicks with your arms/hands.  Arms do get broken by shins from time to time.
For working on this for a while just separately focus on your kicking defense and forget about glove work during this training until the bad habit is excised. Work on your checking with a sparring buddy or your coach so that you get used to blocking leg attacks with your shins and no longer instinctively lower your arms/hands to do so - which can get them busted up and/or expose your head to a good old follow up.  I did this type of focus training a lot until it became second nature when I first went into kyokoshin and kickboxing tournaments as with my TKD and then goju ryu experience I was not used to the same degree of leg attacks, although I still prefer evasion and follow up over checking where I can.


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## Instructor (Apr 8, 2013)

While I am not a Thai fighter (pun intended) in my experience the people who are the best at the fundamentals of an art are better fighters than a person who can do the entire art sloppily.  Drill in the basic class till it's not an issue any more.  Life is about the journey, not the destination.

It's better to be the guy who is awesome at ten moves than the guy who is crap with one hundred moves.


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## KingDiesel (Apr 26, 2013)

with the blinking thing that is something you may never get over.  its not that your scared but your body knows your eyes are sensitive and will protect them at all costs.  dropping your guard is just a balance issue do lots of balance drills and that will strengthen your guard and how long you can hold it up Dropping your hands is an arm fatigue issue hold pads for your classmates it will strengthen stabilizer muscles in your arms and shoulders. dropping your hands to block kicks is due to youve only had 3 months of training a few good head kicks will teach you to keep them up but for the small problems you do have they are easily fixed and im super impressed that at 3 months thats the only problems you have dude kudos to ya


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## isrhammer (May 6, 2013)

The one time I sparred with 100% I was enlighted with fight wisdom (lol). I, for the first time in my Muay Thai sparring found out how to really kick hard (it was a reflex of being hit hard and wanting to hit back), and I also found out how to protect myself and also to hit back while being hit (Check out Mauricio Shogun rua style when with his back to the cage).

Sparring -- Sparring -- Sparring!  this is the key to improvment!

When you'll get puched in the face agian and agian, your body will have that instinct of protecting your head, and while trying to understand how to do it in Muay Thai, your body will implement it.

It takes time, dont rush, just try to learn as much as you can.


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