How long before the ring??

[skilzkid]

For the boxers that have went into the ring...how long did you do Martial Arts/Muay Thai for before your first fight?? I'm 25 and a half, and I started Muay Thai last fall...just wondering if I could still make it to the amateur ring without my dentures getting knocked out

[da_mill]

You need to talk to people that have seen you fight spar pad work etc.

I trained for a while and have quite reasonably conditioned shins now, and very flexible, and etc. However, it was only recently started to spar properly, and it shows how much work I need! Since then bin improving. You need to work with different peopel so you can work out how good you are for yourself - and train and work accordingly

[terry]

A lot of people think that it takes a long time to learn how to be a fighter. It takes hard work, coaching, intestinal fortitude and more hard work. But it doesn't have to take a long time. Muay Thai repeatedly produces fighters through a short but intense period of training, sometimes as little as six months. I would recommend you find a trainer who is training people for the ring and have him evaluate you.

Terry

[skilzkid]

Thanks for the replies. Along with not being physically ready for it, I don't think I'd have enough self-confidence to go into the ring for at least another 2 years (given I continue with 3 days of hard training with an instructor and 3 days training on my own per week). That would put me at about 28 years old before my first amateur fight - does that sound too old for the first time to step into the ring? Also, do most amateur boxers (not counting the kids in Thailand that are simply thrown into the ring) step in with at least 3 years experience, or are there a lot of the 6 month type of fighters that Terry is talking about?

[Tom Yum]

Hey Skilz. I'm in the same boat as you. It appears we have been doing MT for the same amount of time. How is your fighting style? Do you fight more aggressively against sparring partners outside your school? I find that I fight better when sparring other kickboxers, MT or karateka who are not from the same gym. Have you also experienced this?

[skilzkid]

Considering that weight classes aren't really factored in too much at my school, my style changes a little depending on my opponent, but I can say overall that my game is more "sting like a bee" and not enough "float like a butterfly". I think most people weighing 210 or 215 are going to be like that. Against smaller opponents that tend to dodge more than shield and weave around a lot, I usually try to take it to the plumb and will be more than willing to stay at punching/knee range. Against my size and larger, I tend to try to keep it to kicks since I'm decent with thai kicks and teeps - also probably because of someone who outmuscled me kept landing straight rights one day and there was nothing I could do about it, so I'm hesitant to go inside against the bigger guys. It seems my instrutor is working with me on speed a lot lately with focus mitt drills. I don't have much experience outside of my school. A few karate-ka have come in to join/try out the club and I didn't have any problems or get particularly thrown by sidekicks or backfists - thai boxing generally has a tight defense. Anyway, like I said before, I still need at least 2 years more hard work before I would feel anywhere near ready for the ring - both physically and mentally, and even then may not be ready...ring or not, I'll keep training hard for da love of da game

[terry]

Most guys in the U.S. cannot afford to train full time, so it is difficult for them to ramp as quickly. It's that rent, heat, car payment, insurance, groceries stuff. However, if you were able to work out six hours a day under the guidance of a professional trainer for six days a week it wouldn't take long. I've seen guys at Fairtex do it by living at the camp and working to support the camp part time while training full time. It's possible in the U.S., but difficult.

Alternatively, in a few camps in Thailand you could train full time for six months on about $3,000.00. That is another route. But you would have to impress the trainers enough to take you on first, and that would take some doing.

Terry

[skilzkid]

Yeah, I see a lot of "farang" comment all over the web about training at the Thai camps and say it is the experience of a lifetime - a lot seem to like the Lanna camp in Chiang Mai (http://lannamuaythai.com/). I don't think I can convince the fiancee to understand taking 2 months or more off of work to go on a vacation without her (she'd have to stay and look after the dogs). The whole mortgage/job thing gets in the way too

[da_mill]

>also probably because of someone who outmuscled me kept landing straight rights one day and there was nothing I could do about it, so I'm hesitant to go inside against the bigger guys

did this guy just keep hitting you with one two combos? (eg jab, cross)?

My sparring partner is an ex karate'er and hence very fast. However he's also bout 6'2 and built like a shithouse lol, and he can fight. However, it works my speed lol. As you see in boxing, a good jab can control opponents - You need to make sure you've got a good block to contain it and stop followups - if you know or can work quickly enough when you see the cross coming, you need to sidestep. Preferably outside, but any kind of avoidance will do = especially in Thai, people seem to prefer avoiding than having to guard or block. If someone is throwing massive straights in your direction, it tires you out, and also stops you coming forward-

hence, make sure you work around and to the sides, especially if the guy is using the punches for power (eg he isnt throwing a kick or another punch after the one two, eg if he knows he can control you he will try and move you around and land some heavy hits as well), and you can get excellent counter hook openings. Just make sure he doesnt duck (uh oh) lol. There are always openings to be found you just gotta find them - and have the speed to implement them. I've spent a lot of time on my footwork after training with karate and TKD guys that were simply so quick it made life VERy difficult.

[skilzkid]

It wasn't anything particular about the way he was getting me...some were set up with jabs, some were set up with kicks, some were just really solid counters. Like I said before, I need to work on my speed and footwork more. I've upped the amount of skip rope I've been doing (which I need to back off on since I'm getting shin splints), and the instructor is constantly yelling "faster" at me during drills, so hopefully I'll be a little more agile...plus I've seen more focus mitts than Thai pads in the last month. I see the point about avoiding...blocking hard punches can be tiring, and if the opponent is strong and your block is even a little off, the punch may still land (which is part of my problem - half-a$$ed punch blocking by my 2nd and 3rd round of sparring). Just something I have to keep working on.

[Tom Yum]

Right on

I've noticed the same things as you. The heavier guys that I fight also make use of the right cross and rear leg round house. While the smaller guys move in and out. I like the response that da_mill said about moving from side to side, thats something that I'm trying to work on.

This may sound strange but I've tried throwing unorthodox combos and have had some occasionall success with this (i.e. jab, right hook to body, right uppercut to chin, left hook to chin, cut kick to mid section). The r. hook to the body doesn't come from lunging in after the jab, rather it is thrown after a quick bob and weave to the r. after the jab. The uppercut that follows is often a suprise because not many people will uppercut from that position

When I first tried throwing the r. body hook by lunging in after the jab (big mistake), I often lunged into the opponents counter jab, so the bob and weave worked well against a counter jab or overhand.