# 05...04...03...02...01



## Muay Thai Hackney (Sep 20, 2010)

Alright guys, new member here. As you can tell from my user name, i'm from Hackney, East London England, and i'm..well, very interested in Muay Thai, I guess is the only thing I can say, lol.

I'm 25 years old and didn't really start any Muay Thai training attempt until I was 23. My mum did a bit of Muay when she was in her late 30s, and it wasn't until I started watching more youtube videos, MMA, and, ahem, Ong Bak D) until I decided I really wanted to learn to his beautiful and reliable form of combat. 

The problem is, I have been doing Muay Thai on and off  a lot of this is due to lack of commitment, work, lack of funds and finding a suitable gym or whatever. I would train Muay Thai for a month, then take several months off, and then go back, which is unacceptable. I want to be doing this at LEAST 2 times a week. 

I'm 6,2, weigh about 14 stone (190-195lbs to the yanks out there), so I have a lot of length on me..thing is, not very good at using it.  I feel I need to be stronger in the clinch and I need to work on my leg/body kicks, particuarly on my left side.  I have powerful hooks and decent uppercuts, but that's about it. I need to really mix in the elbows and stuff.

Anyways, one of the main reasons I joined this site was to get advice about developing stamina and power. I only get to go to the gym once a week, there is no squat rack there so now I do body squats a lot and leg press once a week to develop my legs. There is no bag there to, so I don't really do anything to condition my shins. I shadow box a lot, and that's it really. I feel like I have learnt enough to understand how to perfect my techniques in my hands and elbows and some of the basic combinations, but my fitness and the desire to feel like I can realistically defeat somebody is something I seek.

Any general advice on how to get fairly fit for Muay Thai. I don't want to loose too much body mass, but I want hit faster, harder and not kick like a girl, like real Thais. I do think it's worth mentioning that I have asthma and always carry an inhaler, hope there are some fellow asthmatic Muay Thai trainees out there??

Sorry for the long message but just wanted to give you guys a good idea about what I am and my limits.


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## Jenna (Sep 20, 2010)

Welcome to the forum Hackney boy  I think finding a good gym [subtext: a good trainer] would be an ideal jump-off point to refine your physique and your skill to the level you want them.  I visited a pretty sweet MT gym near Bethnal Green some years ago and but maybe it is not there now?  Hey good luck with your training and again welcome to the forum, hope to see you round  Jenna x


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## Steve (Sep 20, 2010)

Welcome.  I don't train Muay Thai and I live in the States, so I'm not much help.  But finding a good gym is always a great start.

Good luck.


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## Muay Thai Hackney (Sep 21, 2010)

Jenna said:


> Welcome to the forum Hackney boy  I think finding a good gym [subtext: a good trainer] would be an ideal jump-off point to refine your physique and your skill to the level you want them. I visited a pretty sweet MT gym near Bethnal Green some years ago and but maybe it is not there now? Hey good luck with your training and again welcome to the forum, hope to see you round  Jenna x


 
Thanks for the welcome guys  

Yeah, I just searched a Muay Thai gym in the Bethnal Green area and the results came up with the KO Gym, which seems to be a popular brand for Muay Thai in London. I will check it out today after work and see what's up. But judging from the website, it looks pretty good  

http://www.ko-muaythai.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=4

Just checked the prices. Oh dear, 75 quid per month is a bit pricey, don't you think? I would only go 2 times a week anyways, but even 10 quid per session seems a little much. I was training with an unofficial club before and believe it or not, every thursday it was 2 pounds!! The best deal ever, really.

 My trainer kept pressuring me to come on other days to different areas though, but they were too expensive for me at that point in my life. Something like 15 quid per session every sunday. I was embarrassed to tell him I didn't have the dough to pay all the time, and when I did sometimes tell him, he'd just say 'oh well, you have to let me know when you want to take it seriously then'. 

This discouraged me from training for a bit, but i'm mentally stronger than that and now I have a good new job I can afford to go to at least 2 sessions a week, but I wanna get the best deal I can, you know? I may have found a decent place in Stoke Newington though, called the guy earlier and he seems cool so may check that one out too. Plus it's only about 7 quid a lesson, which is more than reasonable. 

My skills need to be improved dramatically, as does my stamina and conditioning. Problem is, I look like i'm in great shape from an aesthetics stand point, which I think is why I think my previous trainer pushed me harder than he should have for my first lesson. I had to explain to him that I have a naturally atheltically look shape but I am no fitter than the a guy who eats KFC every day, lol. Anyways, I just hope that my new trainer(s) don't overestimate me due to my physique but at the same time I feel wimpish telling them that i'm in bad shape and not to take it easy on me. 

Anyways, sorry for the long **** post, guys. I type way too much, I know. Looking forward to posting a lot more


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## seasoned (Sep 21, 2010)

Greetings and welcome to the MT site.


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## Jenna (Sep 21, 2010)

Muay Thai Hackney said:


> Thanks for the welcome guys
> 
> Yeah, I just searched a Muay Thai gym in the Bethnal Green area and the results came up with the KO Gym, which seems to be a popular brand for Muay Thai in London. I will check it out today after work and see what's up. But judging from the website, it looks pretty good
> 
> ...


Eeek 75 quid a month is a wee bit steep and yes £2 per session is pretty cool if you can still get it round these parts!!  I would only suggest ruling everything in until you find the club or school that is right for you yourself.  I mean even if you tried out that KO place for a session or two you might get some solid training plans that you could use for your independent training etc.  I am sorry your old trainer was equating your lack of finance somehow with a lack of commitment nonetheless I'm glad had did not dissuade you from the sport!  I am sure you are far from bad shape if you have trained already still everybody is the new guy in a gym at one point.  The trick, as you know, is to stick it until you are no longer the new guy and but a regular feature   Hope to hear more from you, Jenna x


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## jungerkrieger (Sep 26, 2010)

dude u live in london u should take a trip to netherlands and visit remy bonjowski how ever u spell his name! i love watching him fight!


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## Muay Thai Hackney (Sep 28, 2010)

Yeah i've heard of Remy. Not seen too much but what I have seen I have been impressed with. I suppose going to the Netherlands would be significantly cheaper than going to Thailand, but I would still prefer to go over to Thailand and see how the originals do it. Maybe even check out some Muay Boran places.  Plus i'm a HUGE fan of Yodsaenklai having seen him destroy people on Asia Contender and other videos, so I would love to go out there and just train with him for a day or two, just to get some advice or whatever. Nureuopol too would be exciting to meet. The way these guys move and fight..it's unreal. I know they've been training since the age of 1 or whatever, but I have never seen anything like them before. They made a lot a great fighters on Contender Asia look like they didn't know what they were doing. 

But yeah, I will consider going to Dutch Land for a weekend at some point early next year, junger. Thanks for the advice mate.


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