# New to Kickboxing / Muay Thai? Here's some tips.



## sugarfoot8802 (Jul 24, 2016)

Hello!

A few months ago I joined the local mma gym and I've documented the process and given some tips for beginners and some good things to know before you start. 

Article is below  and if you have no questions or comments, please let me know!

"Introduction to Kickboxing, Muay Thai & Boxing"


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## Kickboxer101 (Jul 24, 2016)

Sounds fairly similar to my kickboxing classes except there's an additional sparring session after if you want it


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## sugarfoot8802 (Jul 24, 2016)

Kickboxer101 said:


> Sounds fairly similar to my kickboxing classes except there's an additional sparring session after if you want it



How long did you train before sparring? Our gym has a grading system and until you've reached a certain level you're not able to spar - I'm at the level but have had concussions in the past and in hesitant to spar.

How was your experience sparring?


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## Kickboxer101 (Jul 25, 2016)

sugarfoot8802 said:


> How long did you train before sparring? Our gym has a grading system and until you've reached a certain level you're not able to spar - I'm at the level but have had concussions in the past and in hesitant to spar.
> 
> How was your experience sparring?


Myself personally about 3 months and yeah we have a grading system but it's not a huge part of it and anyone can spar when they want to we don't do hard hard sparring majority of it is drills with partners then a bit of free sparring. 

To be honest at any decent gym you shouldn't be getting concussions I mean fair enough accidents happen but the coach should be really promoting light contact and you can wear head gear which will reduce the risk. I've seen some wear like a full headgear like a baseball mask basically. Personally that's not for me as it reduces vision but when I compete since I'm amateur I have to wear head guards for fights so I wear one when I have one coming up.


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## sugarfoot8802 (Jul 25, 2016)

Kickboxer101 said:


> Myself personally about 3 months and yeah we have a grading system but it's not a huge part of it and anyone can spar when they want to we don't do hard hard sparring majority of it is drills with partners then a bit of free sparring.
> 
> To be honest at any decent gym you shouldn't be getting concussions I mean fair enough accidents happen but the coach should be really promoting light contact and you can wear head gear which will reduce the risk. I've seen some wear like a full headgear like a baseball mask basically. Personally that's not for me as it reduces vision but when I compete since I'm amateur I have to wear head guards for fights so I wear one when I have one coming up.



That's cool! I definitely am looking forward to it and the more I talk to people the less worried I am about getting any head injuries. I'm not a wuss by any means but because of previous head injuries I have to be a bit more cautious than most. 

Our gym just uses typically boxing headgear and shing guards and 16oz gloves for sparring. 

I should be into our club's sparring program in the next month or so and I'll be documenting it for sure!


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## Tez3 (Jul 25, 2016)

Kickboxer101 said:


> Myself personally about 3 months and yeah we have a grading system but it's not a huge part of it and anyone can spar when they want to we don't do hard hard sparring majority of it is drills with partners then a bit of free sparring.
> 
> To be honest at any decent gym you shouldn't be getting concussions I mean fair enough accidents happen but the coach should be really promoting light contact and you can wear head gear which will reduce the risk. I've seen some wear like a full headgear like a baseball mask basically. Personally that's not for me as it reduces vision but when I compete since I'm amateur I have to wear head guards for fights so I wear one when I have one coming up.



Firstly he said he'd had concussions in the past and he really should not be taking even light blows to the head. The damage is cumulative. Head guards are proven not to protect the brain at all, the damage, concussion or bruising to the brain happens when the brain hits the skull, a head guard cannot stop this. In amateur boxing this has been recognised and head guards are no longer used.
Blows to the head don't have to be powerful for the brain to be bruised, that's the danger, a bruise is a bleed and bleeding in the brain is dangerous, it leads to strokes and brain damage. After concussions the medical advice is avoid if at all possible all blows/strikes/bumps etc to the head. That means light contact as well.


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## Kickboxer101 (Jul 25, 2016)

Tez3 said:


> Firstly he said he'd had concussions in the past and he really should not be taking even light blows to the head. The damage is cumulative. Head guards are proven not to protect the brain at all, the damage, concussion or bruising to the brain happens when the brain hits the skull, a head guard cannot stop this. In amateur boxing this has been recognised and head guards are no longer used.
> Blows to the head don't have to be powerful for the brain to be bruised, that's the danger, a bruise is a bleed and bleeding in the brain is dangerous, it leads to strokes and brain damage. After concussions the medical advice is avoid if at all possible all blows/strikes/bumps etc to the head. That means light contact as well.


Sorry but at what point did I tell him to spar he asked for my experience and that's what I told him at no point did I say oh you should go and spar that's his choice no one else's I just said what my gym because that's what he asked


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## Kickboxer101 (Jul 25, 2016)

sugarfoot8802 said:


> That's cool! I definitely am looking forward to it and the more I talk to people the less worried I am about getting any head injuries. I'm not a wuss by any means but because of previous head injuries I have to be a bit more cautious than most.
> 
> Our gym just uses typically boxing headgear and shing guards and 16oz gloves for sparring.
> 
> I should be into our club's sparring program in the next month or so and I'll be documenting it for sure!


Of course healths more important than training tell your coach your issues and make sure all partners know to avoid the head


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## Tez3 (Jul 25, 2016)

sugarfoot8802 said:


> That's cool! I definitely am looking forward to it and the more I talk to people the less worried I am about getting any head injuries. I'm not a wuss by any means but because of previous head injuries I have to be a bit more cautious than most.
> 
> Our gym just uses typically boxing headgear and shing guards and 16oz gloves for sparring.
> 
> I should be into our club's sparring program in the next month or so and I'll be documenting it for sure!



Sorry to be the black cloud here but are you talking to the right people. Please talk to a doctor before sparring, having had concussions before it should worry you I'm afraid. A lot of work is being done in the medical field that sports such as rugby as well as combat sports are taking on board.


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## Tez3 (Jul 25, 2016)

Kickboxer101 said:


> Sorry but at what point did I tell him to spar he asked for my experience and that's what I told him at no point did I say oh you should go and spar that's his choice no one else's I just said what my gym because that's what he asked



Settle down sunshine. You didn't tell him to spar but you told him that at any decent gym he shouldn't be getting concussions. ( yes you said barring accidents but that's irrelevant) Hitting hard enough to cause a concussion isn't the problem, even light blows to the head can cause bruising and that's cumulative. Look up the science.


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## marques (Jul 25, 2016)

A good gym should respect the health of its clients. The average joe doesn't need any concussion (or mental desease) to face the boss or clients next day. For the fighter and/or professional...this risk is just part of the job. They need to go harder in training. Personally, I don't want any heavy blow to my head. But I need to accept it will happens from time to time.


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## Tez3 (Jul 25, 2016)

It's good though that the risk are being recognised by sports people and that all precautions are taken to minimise those risks. Head guards for example are no longer seen as being helpful in cutting the damage to the brain, hence the ditching of them for men in boxing, hopefully they will ditch the women's ones next. Concussions that happen during a match, game or bout are being taken seriously instead of just shrugged off as part of the 'fun'. More understanding of the damage even mild blows can cause should mean training is done smarter not just harder, there is little need to bash each other's head in during training even for professionals who in my experience in MMA don't do that. There is still a macho mind set among some where taking blows to the head is seen as being desirable to show how tough you are, hopefully that too will die out as will the 'I got punched in the head a lot and it's never done me any harm' thoughts.


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