Today marks exactly one month since Saray and I landed in Chiang Mai to learn Muay Thai. To commemorate this date I thought it would be nice to share some of the more practical things I have learned since I have arrived. Really, the list is quite long, but here are the five most important recommendations I would offer any newbie to Muay Thai, in particular, if they are starting their journey in Thailand. Here they are:
Give yourself a good start!
My first day of training was kind of hazy, I was exhausted to say the least. I loved it, it was the kind of training I had hoped for; between rounds I was seeing taste and hearing colours. It was a real test to my endurance and there lies my first piece of advice.
Run! Don’t run away, I mean, start running or if you already run a bit, run some more. I suggest this because in the beginning the thing that you may suffer from the most in training is a lack of endurance. The training sessions are long (usually about two hours) and without more than 30 seconds rest between rounds. This is because in muay thai gyms they train you as if you’ll be going into the ring to fight, so you need to be able to go the distance. Don’t stress too much though, they will bring you up to speed, but why not give yourself that head start before you arrive.
Hygiene!
My first session in the gym also taught me about the hygiene, hygiene for your own and for others’ sake. The training that day was gruelling and it was upwards of 35 degrees Celsius, after the session I looked over the training area. People strewn about everywhere, some collapsed on the ground and others on the other end of the spectrum still hitting the bags. Sweat was everywhere. To the uninitiated it was kinda gross, the mats were slippery with sweat and the smell was, well, perhaps you can imagine. On top of this, after training I found two, matching, killer blisters. One for each big toe. Yikes!
In this kind of environment we are prone to infection, the particularly pervasive kind being staph infections. I have had this kind of infection before and it’s not fun. I can’t recommend more the importance of keeping clean. Shower often and cover up those cuts and blisters. Some good sports tape will do and keep some anti-septic powder or liquid handy. I also recommend that you purchase your own gloves and guards. Most gyms can loan you these but they are often pretty old and dirty.
Be assertive!
Several times over the past month I would turn up to training and be the only woman there. Now, I have never been a super confident person and these situations have left me feeling uncomfortable, so you can imagine how, in this more macho-like environment, I could feel. Plus I’m pretty green at all of this. Often in these situations I would be picked last for the pairing drills and left feeling like a bit of an outsider. My advice here is to work on being more assertive. Seek out your sparring partner, pad man or technique buddy, don’t wait for them to come to you. You have to remember why you are there and recognise that your goals in muay thai are as equally important as anyone else’s. Don’t short-change yourself.
One thing at a time!
In the beginning of all things, well, most things, the learning curve is generally steep. When you start training you may feel as I did and have trouble digesting all of the new information coming your way. Where do my feet go? Hands up! Jab, punch, hook, uppercut, kick, fake, teep! It’s a lot to take! And then someone starts hitting back at you at the same time! I don’t know how you go but my reaction was to close my eyes and wait for it to be over. Yep! That was my major issue in sparring from the first day. My eyes kept shutting. So it soon became apparent to me that I should take this in baby steps, one thing at a time.
So what I did was during our sparring sessions I would focus only on keeping my guard up and eyes open, everything else I did was of secondary importance that day. Doing this helped me progress a lot faster and I was better at adding new technique later on because I had built a better foundation in the basics… like keeping my eyes open. So in all, don’t try to do too much at once, be patient and results will come.
Keep on grinding!
My final recommendation to anyone looking to train, well, anything actually is to continue grinding away at it and perhaps fall in love with the process of training. Not all days are the same. Some days you progress a mile, some days an inch and other days you might feel like you are going backwards. Regardless of how you feel, how you progress or how the session felt that day, they are all part of the journey, and each day brings its own unique colour to that journey. So remember how awesome it is what you are doing, savour each kick you give to the bag and each strike you get from your training partner, because they make up the path you are taking in life, enjoy it!
-Jaime
