ahhh first fight in 29 days!

[Hannya]

Got my first fight coming up and was wondering if you guys have any advice? well other than keeping your hands up lol. I was looking foward to doing this while training all these months but now that its getting closer I'm getting more and more nervous. I'll be doing the golden gloves to get a taste, then the IKF Muay Thai rules a couple weeks after. Dropped down from 205 to 174, so physically I'm ready just not mentally, not sure if I wanna invite family friends to watch or just go with the other fighters from the gym. Just seems like more pressure to not disappoint if you make a big deal about it with the family/friends but then again its your first fight... not to mention this being a huge event/crowd. What you guys think?

btw only been training 10 months on and off.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Got my first fight coming up and was wondering if you guys have any advice? well other than keeping your hands up lol. I was looking foward to doing this while training all these months but now that its getting closer I'm getting more and more nervous. I'll be doing the golden gloves to get a taste, then the IKF Muay Thai rules a couple weeks after. Dropped down from 205 to 174, so physically I'm ready just not mentally, not sure if I wanna invite family friends to watch or just go with the other fighters from the gym. Just seems like more pressure to not disappoint if you make a big deal about it with the family/friends but then again its your first fight... not to mention this being a huge event/crowd. What you guys think?

btw only been training 10 months on and off.

Most importantly have good corner people to help you out. (they will know how to get you focused, relaxed and ready to go) Next relax!!! To many people in their first fight waste way to much energy and are spent after round one. Make sure that your cardio is superb for this fight and that your conditioning is ready to go. (this is always a big plus) Lot's of other tips could be given but start with those three. Good luck!

 

[savior]

the guy is going be just as nervous as you are. Display some confidence and you'll be the dominant force in the fight. Keep him on the defensive the majority of the time, and pick when you want to make contact with him

 

[Drag'n]

Dont try to KO the guy with every hit. Nerves will make you put alot more effort than necessary into everything.Because of this You'll probably get really tired really fast.
So focus on putting combinations together. Fast and loose.
Dont be discouraged if your best hit dosent drop the guy. Just keep going, no matter what. Hes not going to show it if something hurts, but if you keep at it you may be able to break him. Make sure you dont show your pain either. If you do he will just hit you harder.

Before the fight take deep slow breaths and fill your head with positive confidence enhancing thoughts.
Think "I'm fast and loose" " I'm prepared and ready" " I want to fight"
Rather than:
"Man he looks tough" " I dont want to loose" "Do I have what it takes?"
Your mentality plays a huge part on your success.

Let go of worry about winning and loosing. Just focus on doing what you've practised in training.

Whatever happens its a great experience. Good on you for having a go.
And good luck!

 

[thaistyle]

Make sure your cardio is in check. Good cardio conditioning help recover from potentially dangerous punches and kicks. A good corner for is essential for correcting you, seeing your opponents weaknesses and guidance throughout the fight. Definitely try to relax and remain calm before and during the fight. If you get too nervous, you will use much of your energy. I know how it feels to get nervous prior to your first fight. Those of us that have had at least one fight know what your are going through. Good luck, we will be pulling for you.

 

[Hannya]

Just got back and figured I'd update. I went a little crazy on the cardio since I was worried I wouldnt be able to go the 3 rounds, and I didn't have an accurate scale to properly judge my weight. I ended up being 171 for a 178 fight :/ and the worst part was the other guy had to cut last minute to make weight. I think he was around 185-190 but sat in the sauna to lose water weight. Even the crowd noticed the weight difference, which was a little discourging at first.

Making my way to the ring I could hear everyone calling him "champ" and I started to wonder what the hell I got myself into. It seemed my worst fear was coming true that I (a MT guy with 0 fights) would be fighting one of the top people for the weight class. So the round starts off, I land a nice jab/ straight right and I think he was a little stunned, he had a look of "wtf just happened" (my build is skinny with long limbs so I have a nice reach) foolishly I ended the combo right there without any follow ups. Next thing I know the guy rushes me and it just turns into a slug fest, no defense just straight offense. I MT clinch em, and get a standing 8... not sure why I got the 8 but I got it. Round continues with some more wild punches and since I'm used to fighting at range I turtle up and get another standing 8. Soon as hes done counting the bell rings. DING.

During the resting minute I hear the crowd saying "finish em off you got em" and I woulda thought that would demoralize me but it did the opposite, I wanted to prove them wrong. Next round starts I remember I have a jab, I start firing off doubles and circling and am started to get my head back in the game, then he lands a nice straight right and the ref calls it. I wasn't hurt mind you, I was stilling moving foward when the hands were waved in front of me. They let the previous fighters go alot longer even when they were one sided, I still dont think it should have been called. The crowd even let out a huge "BOOO" when the ref stepped in. The guy was real cool and I shook his hand and thanked him for the fight.

It's wierd before the fight I was extremely nervous, kept wondering what I got myself into, and could I really do this? 5 minutes after the fight I wanna get in there and go another 3 rounds... well 2 but whose counting I still feel as though I let my gym down because I know I coulda done alot better, and I know I was trained better. The only thing I wanted to do was last all 3 rounds and that pretty much didn't happen however not because a lack of heart, and not because of cardio heh I guess all that running might have paid off but I'll never know.

Anyways there's my story, probably not something I should brag about let alone post on a message board but I'm not gonna lie about what happened. Maybe some of you will like it. In closing I just wanna say that the boxing/mma/MT community is awesome everyone wished each other luck and was talking about their backround, where they trained, etc; and it wasn't what I expected locker room talk to be about. Besides my black eye today was a pretty good experience, and I'm glad I got my first fight out of the way. At least I can still say I'm undefeated in MT we'll see what happens in August when my first MT fight is.

Now that you read my semi embarassing story, I'm curious how your first fight went. What happened guys?

 

[thaistyle]

Let me get this straight. The guy lands a right and the ref stepped in and stopped it even though you were advancing and still standing? That sounds like you got ripped off. At least your first fight is over and done with. In muay thai, there is no shame in losing. Just fight and have fun. Good luck with your next fight!!

 

[savior]

Maybe you got knocked out and didnt realize it lol! I am just kidding, do you have any photos from the match?

 

[Hannya]

I ordered the DVD of my match so I'll throw it up on youtube when I get it monday so you guys can check it out. I been replaying the fight in my mind everytime I try to sleep the last couple days so I'm positive I wasn't knocked out I went this weekend to watch the other guys at my gym fight and the same ref I had, stopped 2 other fights just like my situation. The thing I don't get is he was a former golden gloves champ, he of all people should know how much training is put into these competitions and how much a fighter can take.

The ref said something to me after he stopped the fight, couldn't really hear over the crowd. But only 2 reasons I can think of as to why he called it was I wasn't working enough; or because he mistook the bruise near my left eye for blood (it was a deep red/purple line in the crease of the eye which later developed into a nice black eye ) which might have been caused by the last right he hit me with. Ah well next time it'll be different, I learned alot and am glad I did it, little big for my first fight having 500 something people watch and it being televised and all but definently worth it.

Next fight Muay Thai August 2007!!

 

[thaistyle]

Maybe the ref saw something that you and the crowd missed. Most ref's are trained what to look for, but I have seen some stop fights in favor of the other fighter, I have also seen them let a fighter get beat so badly that the ref lost his job and get into serious trouble. You may not know until you get a copy of the fight. Good luck with your upcoming fight.

 

[savior]

Ah alright, well we will be looking forward to the DVD!

 

[Drag'n]

No shame man. At least you got in there and gave it a bash.
That takes balls.
I got TKO'd in the first round of my first kickboxing fight. I was crushed inside. It really made me wonder if I was cut out for this sport.
But I took that self dissapointment and used it to fuel the disire to become a strong fighter.
Later I went on to win by KO and get voted MVP in the amature division. So just hang in there. Now you know just how hard you gotta work to be a fighter.
Train hard, and dont give up. It takes time and ring experience to really develop your skills.
Good luck next time.

 

[Thunder Foot]

I look forward to seeing your fight! Just curious, what station was it televised on? Thats a bit unusual for an amateur fight to be televised, especially if its your first.

At any rate, don't be discouraged. It takes courage to step into the ring. And every fight is a learinging experience. You only "lose" if you don't learn anything from it. :asian:

 

[King]

Hey it sounded like a cool fight. Can't wait to watch it (when you get around to posting it on youtube). I was thinking about the ref counting and stoppage. Since it's an amateur fight they are really big on safety. So anytime it looks like you can't defend yourself, out of gas, or look stunned they'll jump in before more damage can compound. It sounded like the ref was really looking out for you guys so don't feel bad. But it sounded like you had fun so good luck with your next bout.

 

[Carol]

Indeed. Great effort and good luck with your next fight!!