Looking to train in Asia

Damian Mavis

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I'm going on a trip in December to train in martial arts around Asia. I'll be staying a month in Thailand to train at a Muay Thai camp and then after that I wanted to go to Hong Kong, Japan and Korea maybe staying one to 2 weeks in all those places. I'm looking for information on schools I can train at while i'm at the various countries. Can be any martial art really but my main background is Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do. I'll train at any school regardless of style or affiliation. Thanks in advance for any info anyone can share with me!

Damian Mavis
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Damian Mavis

Damian Mavis

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Probably not too big, honestly I want to train in Kung fu in Hong Kong and Karate in Japan.

Damian Mavis
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W

WaterCircleHarmony

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Most TKD is WTF in Hong Kong. Try looking on university websites for addresses.

As for kung fu, watch out for certain affiliations with members of the underworld at certain clubs.

Best wishes.:asian:
 
M

MartialArtist

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Two weeks only? The most you will get in two weeks is probably LOTS of conditioning and some mental training (TKD in Korea) while in Thailand, you can learn a few of Thailand's tricks in muay thai. In Hong Kong, look for wing chun but don't expect to learn anything else other than the basics, maybe some basic teachings on chi sao.

Japan isn't that big on karate. Shoto is big in Japan. Well, Okinawa is part of Japan but specifically, that's the place you want to go.
 
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Damian Mavis

Damian Mavis

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Ya I know what I can learn in Thailand haha, but thanks for the tips none the less. The priority of the trip is the Thailand part where I will train at a couple of camps and hopefuly fight in the ring. I'll be there for about a month and then am deciding where to go after that.

Seeing how I teach TKD I thought it would be wise to do some training in Korea just once in my life, just for the experience. I've gotten a couple of tips where to go for serious TKD training and avoid the sporty schools. Hopefully I'll spend 2 weeks there.

As for Hong Kong or Japan, I just really want to see those places and don't care what I train in. My kung fu is rudimentary so the basics sounds fine. It would be a kick to train in classical Karate while in Japan too. If I could find martial arts tournaments to compete in anywere from point system to full contact I would love to do that in every country I go to too.

I want this to be an intense martial arts experience. I'll sight see a bit but I would like to spend the majority of my time training all day.

My only concern is if those countries have as many crap schools as we do.

Damian Mavis
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M

MartialArtist

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While in Korea, visit Moo Duk Kwan for at least education/tourism.

Their ratio of crappy schools is MUCH lower but that doesn't mean there are any. The martial arts are our culture and we carry our arts on our back. You should also look at hapkido there as it's even less commercialized over there although many instructors teach aspects of both TKD and hapkido and because of they are complementary, it's not like the master who claims he knows all styles of kung fu.

A tip before you go is to do lots of cardio and aerobic activity to get your aerobic effeciency up. It makes training a LOT easier and you have much more energy and time to put into skill and technique training.
 
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Damian Mavis

Damian Mavis

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Martial Artist, I mentioned I was training at a Muay Thai camp for 3 weeks to a month before I go to Korea so I'm thinking you don't realise what is involved in the camp training so I'm going to break it down for you a bit. You tell me if you think my stamina will improve by doing this:

7am wake up and immediately do a 16km RUN
Followed by 2 to 3 hours of pad work and sparring.

BREAKFAST (finally)

Another 2 to 3 hours of MORE intense padwork and sparring

Break

Another 2 to 3 hours of padwork and sparring

Dinner
Sleep
Wake
Repeat

Just so you totally get what the padwork and sparring is all about it's high intensity nonstop full power work out, for 2 to 3 hours several times a day. One week in a Muay Thai camp is known to make soft Westerners lose 30 pounds... in one week.

I'm actually training NOW 3 months in advance to make sure I'm ready just to train in Thailand, if I can get in shape fast enough I will also fight in the ring while there.

I think after that I'll be ok to train in Korea don't you think? heh

Don't mean to sound like I'm teasing you it's just that I was surprised you suggested I get into good aerobic shape for Korea. Most people know that Muay Thai camps offer some of the most intense martial arts trainings in the world. Thanks for all the tips though, I'll check that place out in Korea hopefully.

Damian Mavis
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KennethKu

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Originally posted by Damian Mavis

...... One week in a Muay Thai camp is known to make soft Westerners lose 30 pounds... in one week.....

A word to the wise, sir. If the 30lb is muscle loss, you might need to increase your calorie intake then. I have not a clue about the diet they feed you at the camp there. But asian diet is generally lower in protein %. In light of that and the strenuous routine there, you might want to eat 1.5 pounds of beef a day (depending on your weight). 1 lb of beef has about 125 grams of protein. To maintain your muscle, you would need around 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. Since you are training with insane intensity, 1.5 gram of protein per lb of body weight may be needed.

If beef is out of the question in Thailand (Buddhism), any other type of lean meat will do as they all have similar amount of protein per lb.

Good luck to you and have fun :)
 
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Damian Mavis

Damian Mavis

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Dear lord I can't believe you mentioned eating all that meat and I'm a vegetarian!! Blashpemer!

HA! Actually I'm living in a vegetarian household at the moment and it's a nightmare. I just ate cereal for dinner..... it's hard to eat healthy when you can't eat meat and the vegetarian dishes all taste and feel like baby food. blech I have to stop going out to Wendy's.......

The weight loss is usually every ounce of baby fat getting burned right off. Foreigners go down there with a 6 pack and the trainers will grab the skin around the flat tummy and say "too soft! Work harder!" The foreigners that lose 30 pounds usually have a little extra to lose already though. But still, I know it's dangerous to burn muscle instead of fat but I don't think I'll have to worry about that because they serve beef and lots of it at the meals.

Damian Mavis
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M

MartialArtist

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Originally posted by Damian Mavis

Martial Artist, I mentioned I was training at a Muay Thai camp for 3 weeks to a month before I go to Korea so I'm thinking you don't realise what is involved in the camp training so I'm going to break it down for you a bit. You tell me if you think my stamina will improve by doing this:

7am wake up and immediately do a 16km RUN
Followed by 2 to 3 hours of pad work and sparring.

BREAKFAST (finally)

Another 2 to 3 hours of MORE intense padwork and sparring

Break

Another 2 to 3 hours of padwork and sparring

Dinner
Sleep
Wake
Repeat

Just so you totally get what the padwork and sparring is all about it's high intensity nonstop full power work out, for 2 to 3 hours several times a day. One week in a Muay Thai camp is known to make soft Westerners lose 30 pounds... in one week.

I'm actually training NOW 3 months in advance to make sure I'm ready just to train in Thailand, if I can get in shape fast enough I will also fight in the ring while there.

I think after that I'll be ok to train in Korea don't you think? heh

Don't mean to sound like I'm teasing you it's just that I was surprised you suggested I get into good aerobic shape for Korea. Most people know that Muay Thai camps offer some of the most intense martial arts trainings in the world. Thanks for all the tips though, I'll check that place out in Korea hopefully.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD
I'm not saying you were in bad shape. I'm saying that in Asia, they train harder. For the muay thai camp, it will not hurt to just do some cardio so your experience at the camp can be geared more toward technique. This is from my experience and the experience of my students. If you have difficulty running 16K (who doesn't, but I mean like winded as you throw up), you are not going to learn as much as if you just run a bit before you pack up. That way, you can have more energy spent into other things. You can condition yourself anywhere, but technique/sparring training in Thailand is something you can only do in Thailand.

Even if you are in good shape, get in better shape so you can learn a lot more there.
 
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Damian Mavis

Damian Mavis

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Ya I'm trying to get into good enough shape to not look like an *** while I'm training. I'ts not enough for me to just go through the training, I want to do it well.

And my response to your previous post was because I thought you meant I better be in shape for Korea when I'll be training in Thailand for several weeks before that... but now I see you meant get into shape for Thailand, oops.

Damian Mavis
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M

MartialArtist

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As anyone who's trained seriously knows, if you are winded, you are not going to learn a lot. Not only that, but if you actually learn techniques, you won't be able to practice them as well thus you can't burn them into your memory kinesthetically so developing instinct for that technique would be so much more difficult.

There are scientific studies that you shouldn't practice coordination, technique, speed/power, or anything of that sort when you're tired. You learn less effectively, you won't remember as much of it, it'll throw your coordination off for when you're well, it'll slow you down, and a lot of other negative effects. When you are very winded, the best things you could do is mental stamina and other mental training and physical conditioning.

Like I said, you can condition yourself pretty much anywhere. But the biggest reason to go to Thailand is to learn techniques and learn things that you can only learn in Thailand with the exception of some good instructors.
 

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