Thanks to my sister volunteering to babysit, I was able to go to my second kickboxing class today. Around 11:30 AM Kathleen showed up with baby Cole, Jama, and Nana! This was going to be a team-effort babysitting.
One of Jama's first comments was "Mike, you didn't need to go to any trouble to pick up for your sister."
I didn't. That's what Jama was pointing out.
"Nope! She gets to see the house in it's natural state!" I said. We all had a laugh at that. You see, Shane loves to dump toys and books out whenever I put them up. He even gets a kick out of opening the bottom drawers of his dresser and pulling all the clothes out while I shovel the back in. It's something of a game for him. I try not to partake and pick up after he sleeps.
After the babysitting unit was settled, I grabbed Carrie's gloves and wraps and headed out. I was doubly excited for class, because I started the week thinking I couldn't go.
Turns out it was a private lesson.
Last week, there were 8 students. This week, I was it. I guess everyone else was out for the long weekend. If I hadn't shown up, I bet Coach would've been pissed he had an empty room! It turned out to be great for me.
Private lessons are expensive. I don't know what Muay Thai/MMA's going rates are, but in BJJ $50 bucks and hour was considered cheap for a purple belt years ago. I paid for a couple of lessons from a brown belt before a tournament for $70 or $80 back in the days of too much disposable income(I think).
Two hours of private Muay Thai instruction for just showing up and getting free childcare back at home: NICE!!
The day was filled with trying to learn fundamentals. All sports have a basic set of tasks that you need to do without thinking about them. Failure to do them automatically prevents you from learning more complex tasks and learning to do them wrongly leaves gaps in your skill set. In a large class, an instructor cannot watch the beginners exclusively, so they may find natural ways to compensate for harder tasks when attention is not on them. If not caught, this leads to bad habits that need to be unlearned at a later date.
Having two hours of Coach watching my every move has left me with a much better understanding of how different Muay Thai is from what I know. I learned a lot and learned that I still had way more to learn. At the least, I learned enough to make watching a UFC fight more interesting. I asked a lot of "Why?" questions, and Coach had all of the answers. I just hope that I can remember everything for next week!
We started off with stance do's, dont's, and whys (at least, we did after I got another hand wrapping lesson). From there, we transitioned into how to protect myself when throwing punches and drilled 1s, 2s, and 3s. The drills started with mitts and transitioned to bag work (which is new to me). After watching me drill on the bag, we'd move to the mirrors, Coach would have me watch myself and we'd transition back to mitts again. After doing arm work, I got a lesson in how to kick Muay Thai style and the drilling started over again.
We talked theory the whole time (which I love). I find the science of body mechanics and the small, seemingly insignificant details which make worlds of difference fascinating. Coach has been doing this for all but a couple years of his life, so he knows a lot. From his little quarter-speed demos I learned that this man could kill me. If I had a gun and the element of surprise the story might be different, but I'd never want to fight him fair. Normally, I feel very confident of my ability to defend myself, because of my grappling ability. Coach is shorter than me, but much broader and has thighs the size of my chest. Maybe some of his fights are online somewhere, so I can see him in action.
Things to practice during the week:
Everything!
Hand-wrapping - this is something I can do without actually working out.
Stance - Elbows down, chin down, shoulders rolled up and forward, hands up in the green to yellow zone making small inward circles, hips forward, feet slightly angled out, slight bend in the knees, and standing with my heels "a paper-width off the ground."
Punching - Always "look down the barrel." Keep the other hand up for protection. Use hips and feet and not so much the arm strength. Pop don't push the mitt.
Kicking - Swing like a baseball bat. No bend in the knee. Start with a small outward step. Keep the kicking leg's hand out for place and range-finding. Always follow through with kicks. I should do a full circle unless something stops me (aka the bag or my opponent). Coach also wanted me to work some on my off leg kicking because I had a harder time with balance on that leg (even though it was kicking with my right I once spun in a circle and slipped off my feet! ha! Everyone starts somewhere).
So yeah, I have a lot to think about and work on. I'll try to do some shadow boxing at some point. Video games are fun, but it's hard to match the thrill of a physical sport when you feel like you're making gains. I want to get better.
PS - What are the 1s, 2s and 3s? There are apparently 6 basic punches.
1 = Jab (forward hand - left for me since I'm a right hander)
2 = Thrust (back hand - "Power in the back!" as Coach said)
3 = Forward hand hook
4 = Back hand hook
5 = Forward hand uppercut
6 = Back hand uppercut
I'm right handed, so I'm supposed to stand left foot forward and right hand back. Coach said ambidexterity "is great" but start with the basics before getting funky (and I agree).
I'm a ways away from clinch work, but eventually elbows and knees get factored in and ranges will change. This art wasn't refined over hundreds of years with nothing to show for it.
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