Beginner and could use some help

[avaron]

Hi,

I'm new to Muay Thai, so far have been practicing for 2 months have 1 hour classes twice a week. Now I'm aware of my misgivings, I'm told quite often that my technique is messy and I'm quite stiff. My problem is that my mind gets confused a lot and basic steps fall out of my head. I know every technique is a power transition from foot to hip to shoulder and combos designed to take advantage of each attacks movement to create some form of elastic power transfer. Now Trying to focus on my movements while engaging my opponent creates this problem that if I focus too much on the combos my movements becomes stiff and I forget to use the power and I forget to roll my shoulders, but if I do the inverse, the steps in the combo seem to fall out and I end up doing step 4 instead of step 3 and my hands drop more. Is there any way or trick to order this more in my head? I'm quite fast and strong, but all of it is for nothing if I can't get the technique right and I really feel I'm falling behind.

Thank you.

 

[Sukerkin]

I am not making light of your misgivings when I say that, at only two months in, I really would not be concerned at the difficulties you are encountering.

It is so common as to be universal (at all levels of experience) that as you learn and are instructed/corrected, the various elements of a form/technique become better or worse depending on where the focus is.

Repetition and time are the only 'tricks' to making your martial arts instinctive and to reach that mental state that is similar to what is termed mushin, where conscious thought is not part of the process of technique but 'marshalls' the strategy of what you are doing. There is no real need to be in a rush to 'advance' - if you are in martial arts for the long haul then you have the rest of your life to hone and improve. It's part of the pleasure of training in something that is intrinsically difficult.

 

[Cyriacus]

Heres the thing: All those things are gonna happen. When you practice for following all the steps, as you called them, thats how you practice.
Watch a pro fight. Or an amateur fight. Alot of the stuff, like keeping your hands up and proper power generation all diminish very quickly. Just dont take that as an excuse for not working on them. Youre trying to get as close to that perfect idea as possible, but actually being technically perfect at all times is ultimately impossible. Your threshold will increase with time.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Yeah, this is totally normal. After 2 months of training 2 hours per week, you've only had about 16 hours of training total. You've probably got a ways to go before your individual techniques start looking good even in isolation, let alone in combination. Have patience. I've probably got close to 1000 hours of Muay Thai practice under my belt and my technique still isn't all that hot.

 

[avaron]

I'm not really trying to find a cheat, but I am a very competitive person, regardless the gap in experience of my peers, I wish to be fitter, faster, stronger and more controlled. I just wish to get any advantage I can, so any tips would be great. I already do an extra Saturday class for an hour and a half that does fitness and pad work. I also on certain days off go to the gym and swim, skip and other fitness exercises and I practice on the heavy bag and do some shadow boxing in one of the empty studios.

 

[Carol]

Two posts so far and both mention "cheat" ?

 

[Cyriacus]

Two posts so far

 

[Zero]

Hi,

I'm new to Muay Thai, so far have been practicing for 2 months have 1 hour classes twice a week. Now I'm aware of my misgivings, I'm told quite often that my technique is messy and I'm quite stiff. My problem is that my mind gets confused a lot and basic steps fall out of my head. I know every technique is a power transition from foot to hip to shoulder and combos designed to take advantage of each attacks movement to create some form of elastic power transfer. Now Trying to focus on my movements while engaging my opponent creates this problem that if I focus too much on the combos my movements becomes stiff and I forget to use the power and I forget to roll my shoulders, but if I do the inverse, the steps in the combo seem to fall out and I end up doing step 4 instead of step 3 and my hands drop more. Is there any way or trick to order this more in my head? I'm quite fast and strong, but all of it is for nothing if I can't get the technique right and I really feel I'm falling behind.

Thank you.

As others have said, the main thing is a matter of the time you put in and you are only just starting out.

That said, what often worked well for me and what I was told by my old sensei, when working on combos or more complicated applicaitons was:
- slow things down;
- forget about the power.

In your own time, particularly if you have access to heavy bag but shadow work also, work on the individual techniques shown in class so you apply each of them correctly in the first place. Then work on putting the combos together but put them together at a slower pace, go through these again and again until you are comfortable with the moves and transitions in both your body and mind. Then start picking up the pace - over time.

Secondly, don't worry about power for now, just focus on throwing the techniques and combos and making sure you are able to target accurately what you are striking at, be it a place on the heavy bag or the strike pads/mits. When you have the techniques down, the power will come easy enough. Also, the greater your understanding of the biomechanics behind the moves, the more power you will ultimately be able to achieve in time (ie KO punch not just from big biceps, it comes from the triceps, lats and hips and your placement of weight both behind the punch and in line with your leg/knee - your coach can drill you on the technique itself). It is a beautiful thing when you execute a technique without effort but that results in a powerful strike or KO and all that will come to you in time I am sure - no doubt on both the dishing out and receiving end : )

Slowing things down and not worrying about power may sound like you are heading in the wrong direction but it will get you where you want to go. You will be able to pick the pace up soon enough. Also, don't worry how you fare in sparring in class, this is a safe environment where you can learn your techniques and ring skills for competition.

As an aside, keeping your gloves up is a crucial part to your techniques and defense and this will also come to be second nature - keeping your guard up becomes a problem even for seasoned fighters when the tank runs dry. It you have any hills (you can do on the track/flat also but not as hard) around you I suggest going for runs where for stages you keep both hands up in guard manner for a long duration. You might look like a nut but this is great for conditioning the arms and shoulders and I found worked wonders on my ring endurance for keeping my hands up.