Training Rating/Quiz?

[mariaclara]

I guess everyone agrees our coach making us keep a training chart is ok.

But what about rating/quizzes?

Each of us have their own Training Chart. AFter every session, we fill in how many kicks/punches/knees/elbows/pushups/burpees/sparring rds/whatever else........ our chart. (voluntary & no cheating)

But the part some of us feels awkward with is the quiz/rating.

Sometimes after he teaches us a Combi/Technique (after we do it a couple hundredX), he passes out slips of paper to seniors. We then do the technique/combi he taught.Then the seniors rate our performance from 1-10. Gives comments/corrections.

Some feel this is too much stress/pressure on us. They don't like it. They say, they want to just train & take it easy. Personally, I like it.

(I do like his suggestion (which I do especially when we have give&take/sparring) we video ourselves training so we can review it at home.)

Comments/opinions please?

 

[Akira]

It's taking things too far imo. You're soon going to find out how good you are and what you need to work on when you spar. There's no substitute for fight experience.

Also, how can you remember how many knees/kicks/elbows etc you do every round? I guess a little easier if you're doing 1 combo per round but who trains like that? For example, I'll do 3/5 rounds thai pads just freestyling it, then a few rounds on the bag, maybe a couple of rounds of teep kicks or on the uppercut block then maybe some clinch sparring for 15/20 minutes then finish off with 100 knees on the heavy bag. There's no way I can keep count of all that.

Also, what is more effective? Doing 100 knees with good technique or 500 with sloppy technique? Bits of paper and training journals are all good but they pale in comparison to trying out what you're learning in the ring.

 

[mariaclara]

oh, I forgot to mention, this is for beginners only. Especially for those who do not even know how to punch/kick/elbow/knee/combi.

For some peeps like me (quite a number of us in our gym), who are in it only for fitness & just learn MT, we don't usually go on to fighting in the ring.

For the guys like you who want to fight in ring, well, they really practice tough/hard. maybe practice 2hrs am/ 2hrs pm Those who can afford it, even go to Thailand.

But my question is mostly on the use of rating (like a quiz).

Like for us who will never fight in the ring. We know it's to correct sloppy techniques/etc. but we feel embarassed/stressed.

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It's taking things too far imo. You're soon going to find out how good you are and what you need to work on when you spar. There's no substitute for fight experience.

Also, what is more effective? Doing 100 knees with good technique or 500 with sloppy technique? Bits of paper and training journals are all good but they pale in comparison to trying out what you're learning in the ring.

 

[Inky]

how do they expect a beginner to remember all the subtle movements that lead to proper body mechanics and how many punches / kicks etc that they threw at the same time?

This seems counter productive and wicked stressssfulll

The time would be better spent trying to concentrate on proper body mechanics, stance, and keeping your guard up.

Tho, getting good feedback from more experienced people (most of the time) is a GREAT help. (I also think it's good to be a little nervous when you have to demonstrate a teknique. You'll be nervous in a fight as well so you get a better evaluation of what your doin'.... you can throw a combo 1000000000000 times correct at home but if you can't throw it properly under pressure, knowing what you need to work on will do you a great service in the long run.

 

[Tez3]

You may not fight in the ring but sparring will usually give a good indication whether you have picked it up okay. that's also usually enough pressure without quizzes etc, the journals can be a good idea but I think it depends on how they are done,

 

[Rob2109]

This sounds a little too much to be honest, i'd much rather spend 2 more rounds free-spar or techniques than filling in a sheet but everyone's got their own way of training i guess. We mix with the fighters as much as the guys doing it for fun and hold pads for different people each lesson, that way we mix with different levels of expertise as well as different heights, different strengths etc.
I know it's a Western convention but shouldn't your sash/belt be the best way of determining what level you're at? Fair play to you if you're okay with it though, you should always enjoy training. If it gets you the results you're after then go with it.

 

[alphacat]

Also, what is more effective? Doing 100 knees with good technique or 500 with sloppy technique?

This great point you've raised made me thinking about something.

For a beginner, is it worthwhile to have a Muay Thai session alone, where you practice the techniques you learned in class?
For example, throwing 50 left jabs, 50 right crosses, 50 jab-cross combinations, and so on.

I'm a beginner, and I get to go to my gym only 2 times a week, 1 hour each time, and I feel that it really slows down my progress.
But on the other hand, I don’t have the opportunity to visit the gym more often, since its close on the weekends.

Will it be useful for me to have such self-practice sessions?

 

[Akira]

I think any extra training you can do outside of class is great, however classes are extremely important. It's hard to gauge how your technique looks and where your weaknesses are from a first person perspective, especially as a beginner. You don't want to get into the habit of doing something wrong early on, and the techniques are a lot more technical than they look.

Keep up the classes but if you can do extra, that will help you improve quicker too. You need someone watching and evaluating what you're doing.

 

[alphacat]

Thanks Akira (As always!).
You're very helpful to me and I appreciate it

Yeah I agree with you that the classes are the most important part in your progress.
Perhaps I'll change one of my 1 hour cardio workouts into a 30min-technique – 30min-cardio workout (having the technique part preceding the cardio part).

Its hard though having a technique workout with no punching bag or no one holding Thai pads for you, since it becomes pretty boring after a while.

The correct way of having a technique workout is writing down all the moves/combinations I wanna practice, and following that list, right?
Any recommended quantity of repetitions per drill?

 

[Akira]

Do as many as you can until you collapse from exhaustion, then do more next time.

No, really...instead of doing x number of repetitions, try setting a timer for 2/3/4 minutes, then give yourself a 30 sec/1 minute rest, then go for another 2/3/4 minutes. Either that or pick a number between 20 and 50, and do that instead, it's up to you mate. I always use a timer, but that's just personal preference. The only time I count reps is when I'm conditioning.

I guess if you're getting bored, try not to overdo it for now. Set aside 30 minutes, start off with some skipping, do 2 rounds of shadow boxing then onto some rounds/sets of technique. Finish off with 50 step up knees or elbows. Unfortunately training in muay thai does get boring sometimes. Down the soi at my gym they start frying chicken about 30 minutes after I start training and the smell wafts up into the gym so in the afternoon sessions, more often than not I'm thinking about food instead of what I'm doing.

Are you practicing your technique in front of a mirror?

As far as the list, don't try and cram too much into one session, just work on one or two techniques, think about the basics over and over again like staying relaxed, keeping your hands up, chin down etc... you want it to look good so you can impress chicks with your style and technique.

 

[alphacat]

Hey,

I read your post just before going down and working out, and it was really helpful.
I trained in front of a mirror, and had a great one.

I practiced all the punches (jab, cross, hook, uppercut), elbows (horizontal, forward, uppercut, chop) and kicks (low & mid kick) that I learned in the gym during these 3 weeks, and it taught me some great things, like not leaning backwards when throwing an uppercut elbow which made me lose my balance in the last class when I first practiced elbows.

It also raised a few questions which I'd like to ask please.

1. When throwing a punch, when should you close your fist?
Right before thrusting your fist or during the time the fist does its way to the target?

2. I noticed that just before I'm throwing a jab/cross/hook, I turn my hips a little against the direction of the strike's motion, and from that point I start moving my hips in the "right" direction along with thrusting my fist.
On the one hand, by doing that I gain much more power in my strike, but on the other hand, it gives the opponent the opportunity to see my strike before its executed.



Thank you very much! :asian:

 

[Akira]

Yeah, no problem mate.

1) Your fist should already be closed. I'm not sure why your hand is open. If you have your guard up, your fist should be closed. The only times you open your hand up is when you elbow, parry, or grapple/knee.

2) You should turn your hips as you throw your hook, not before. You say that you're getting more power by turning your hips against the direction of the strike before you throw it, but once you work on your technique, you'll get just as much power from not doing it. It sounds like an easy solution (just stop doing it), but it is. It's far far more important for you to be relaxed and using correct technique rather then getting a lot of power at this stage.

For an example, check out how fast Parowit can kick.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXH_arNuLS8[/yt]

The only reason he can kick so fast and so hard is because he's staying relaxed. If you get your technique down first, the power will come naturally.

 

[Akira]

********.

I dunno if anyone else is having trouble viewing that video but I can't see it. The youtube link is

 

[mariaclara]

1. like Akira said, your fists should be closed.
but ...relaxed.
only gets rigid upon impact.

2.he's right. don't. just start your jab/cross/hook/kick/etc from your normal stance. except when u shuffle from one stance to another to do a kick/knee. or when the body turn is part of an earlier strike.

It also raised a few questions which I'd like to ask please.

1. When throwing a punch, when should you close your fist?
Right before thrusting your fist or during the time the fist does its way to the target?

2. I noticed that just before I'm throwing a jab/cross/hook, I turn my hips a little against the direction of the strike's motion, and from that point I start moving my hips in the "right" direction along with thrusting my fist.
On the one hand, by doing that I gain much more power in my strike, but on the other hand, it gives the opponent the opportunity to see my strike before its executed.



Thank you very much! :asian:

 

[Akira]

I just remembered something. Did you see the recent Pacquiao vs Hatton fight? Remember how easy Pacquiao won that fight? I read in an interview with his trainer that he had noticed that Hatton 'cocks' his punches (kind of the same thing you are doing with your hips) so Pacquiao could easily tell when he was going to throw something. Check it out on youtube if you didn't see it, Hatton was completely outclassed, he couldn't land a shot on Pacquiao.

 

[alphacat]

Hey guys,​

Thanks a lot!​

1.
I didn’t explain myself correctly.
I meant to ask when should you harden your fist – at the moment of impact or when throwing the fist – and my instructor today told me just what MariaClara has said, to make it stiff at the moment of impact.​

2.
Akira, I just watched this 2-round fight and its amazing.
He didn’t do this when throwing jabs or crosses, but every time he threw back or forward hook, he first twisted his hips in the opposite direction.
And indeed, he maybe managed to hit him only once with an hook, and it was during a clinch.​

I must say though, you gotta have real good instincts in order to see this coming, since it’s a real short premoving.​

Well, I learned my lesson ​