Hello all. I live in Thailand and have trained Muay Thai on and off now for about 2 years. Training is expensive here though so its mainly been off! To background you up, I had a pro MT bout about a year ago and lost my first fight. Basically I worked at a bar for a few months then trained one session per day for six days with zero sparring and then fought. Yes I know how insane that was but I needed the money. The fight didn't go so bad but I want to know how it would be to actually do things properly for once. When I get paid this month I'm going to head back to the gym, one of the best MT gyms in Northern Thailand this time; Lanna Muay Thai in Chiang Mai. In addition to training every morning at Lanna I'll be throwing in as much strength and conditioning and NoGi as I can manage. The aim being to go from ok shape and ok striking ability to amazing shape, great striking and ok ground game in roughly 14 weeks. Before I join Lanna on the 24th of March I'll be following this schedule. After the 24th you can just replace 07.00 - 08.00 with 07.00 - 09.30 Muay Thai. I understand it's pretty hardcore but I've trained twice per day before, I have two rest days every week and the NoGi class can be hard, light or skipped depending on my needs. (it's a private training group as opposed to a proper class). The NoGi may also be MMA on the odd occasion depending on how people feel. So this is the aim; Mon: 07.00 - 08.00 Yoga, Skipping, Shadow Boxing 13.00 - 14.00 Striking Strength Workout from UFC Fit DVD Series 18:00 - 19.30 NoGi Grappling (optional) Tue: 07.00 - 08.00 Yoga, Skipping, Shadow Boxing 13.00 - 14.00 30 Minutes Stretching / 30 Minutes Dumbbell 18:00 - 19.30 NoGi Grappling (optional) Wed: REST DAY Thu: 07.00 - 08.00 Yoga, Skipping, Shadow Boxing 13.00 - 14.00 Plyometric Strength Workout from UFC Fit DVD Series 18:00 - 19.30 NoGi Grappling (optional) Fri: 07.00 - 08.00 Yoga, Skipping, Shadow Boxing 13.00 - 14.00 30 Minutes Stretching / 30 Minutes Dumbbell 18:00 - 19.30 NoGi Grappling (optional) Sat: 07.00 - 08.00 Yoga, Skipping, Shadow Boxing 13.00 - 14.00 Shark Attack Workout from UFC Fit DVD Series 18:00 - 19.30 NoGi Grappling (optional) Sun: REST DAY I'll try to post an update every day. I'll also be creating a website and blog as this little experiment in Thailand is only the beginning. I'll be hitting up Europe, Brazil and Russia in the next 12 months! Thanks for any interest shown. Sincerely, The Pilgrim.
Your timetable seems short on cardio to me-how about adding an hours running first thing every morning.Once you start some regular sparring you might find yourself running out of gas otherwise. 14 weeks does'nt seem long to get the results you're hoping for, best of luck !! (why not start a training log to chart your progress and get a bit of support/advice ) edit:had'nt noticed this was in training log section ,doh !!
Hi Ned, This is my training log matey! There's 20 minutes of skipping every morning plus all the additional training? Once back at Lanna MT the padwork etc is a real cardio burn. I've never had a cardio problem to be honest, was a long distance runner in my early teens and I'm quite light anyway. Maybe I should have added, I'm 6"2 and weigh 72 kg hydrated.
So your a farang living in Thailand for two years? I assume you went there for the purpose of attending a Muay Thai training camp, got burned (ya, I've heard they'll milk foreigners who don't know any better for all their worth) and just kinda hung about (they let you do that? When I was in Asia, they kept a hairy eyeball on me, had to report to the local police/military precient on a regular basis, etc., but maybe Siam's a bit more open, then?) and you worked odd jobs here and there ( how'd ya manage getting passed the local job competition? ) and have decided to become an itinerant, wandering man o foot n fists. Sorry if I'm missing something - but that has been my speciality of late. Sounds ... romantic. A bit of Jack Kerouac, David Carradine/KungFu ( but in reverse! ) Well, have fun! Wish I could. Just one thing, why is it your doin so much grappling? I only took Muay Thai class a couple of times a week - in the States, which is a far less intense prospect than a real-deal in-country training camp - and it didn't exactly leave me with enough energy for doing suplex's on my off days - But I'm old, anyroads. Best of luck to you.
:wow: I can't ever get in my mind how skinny you'd have to be to be that weight and that height! What sorts of training methods does the striking strength dvd have on it? Also with the no-gi stuff, is that for fun or are you looking to compete further with it? Anyway, best of luck with your training log dude!
MartialPilgrim, Thanks for sharing! You said you wanted to improve your fighting shape in 14 weeks - any specific reason for that timescale, like are you planning to fight or something? Your schedule looks great. I'd even look at making Wednesday a light technical day instead of complete rest (I train a couple times a day, 6 days a week, but manage to do it because I eat lots and sleep well! ).
Hey, thanks for the reply. I work online as a writer so I can live anywhere really, Thailand is nice and cheap though. Training is $300 per month for twice per day though which is why I've only trained on and off. The drunk trainer operating out of a shack-gym gave me free training in exchange for a fight, but it wasn't really free as he took 4/5's of my purse hehe Plus the matchup seemed a little poor for my debut... c'est la vie. Anyway, I'm making better money these days so $125 for 3 hrs of Muay Thai every morning is fine. So far as previous movements are concerned, I've been in Thailand, Malaysia and Laos after spending some time in Switzerland and Germany. Been on the road for about 2 years now... it's pretty easy to stay in Thailand long term on multiple tourist visas. The reason for the NoGi is because I would like to compete in MMA in the future. I love NoGi actually, it's much more fun than MT imho. I've trained grappling before but it's not good enough at the moment for competing, so really intent on getting some regular training in. It's something for fun and future endeavours. There will sometimes be MT and MMA sparring at that evening group too. Hey Sloth, yeah I am pretty lean! I'll try and put a photo up for some before and after goodness. The striking strength workout is full of various push up variants (spiderman, matrix etc) in addition to core work and lunges being done with dumbbells. It's a good workout actually, I feel a bit silly with it on but it does a good job of beating me down. Hello Mr Stretch, 14 weeks is how long I have before I fly back to the UK. Once I'm back in Europe I'll still be able to train every day but whilst I'm settled in one location for 3 and a bit months I really want to hit it hard. Competing wise, I'm hoping to get a few MT bouts. Getting fights here is very easy tbh. Also, apparently they give you free training if you fight every 3 weeks and they don't nab your purse (much). We'll see! You only get $100 per fight up in the north to begin with anyway so I'm not too fussed. If training and competing can financially balance out I'd be happy enough. I thought about doing MT on the wednesday morning too but I'm building some websites at the moment and really want a day that I can just focus on the financial/creative portion of life. Maybe I can wangle in an hour of heavy bag... I enjoy that a lot and its as easy or tough as I want to make it then. Thanks for the interest folks, I do appreciate it. Wasn't expecting much in the way of comments for a while tbh. :heart:
Aye, and you'n be for certain that he was prolly taking a few coins from your opponent's promoter/trainer for finding his new apprentice some fresh meat. But you say it warn't a bad hiding, so maybe that's not the case. Me hopes you've been taking pictures of your adventures and travels along the way. One of my favourite "fightelogues" <--- new word courtesy of belltoller --- was Sam Sheridan's "A Fighter's Heart". I was particularly glued by his description of life in a Muay Thai camp.
I got TKO'd by legkicks in Round 3, it was a learning experience that's for sure. When those things hit the sweet spot, it's like instant leg paralysis. It's funny because the first few didn't really bother me so I became pretty lazy with blocking them. MISTAKE. He was testing me for that weapon and I should have realised that. Was still in sparring mode too to a certain extent, far too many jabs and teeps instead of looking for a kill. Won't make that mistake again. I'm not overly annoyed by that first slightly odd fight at all. I learned loads from it, in fact I doubt I'll ever learn so much from one bout again. I'll try and get this pilgrim website up next week old chap. All the best.
For someone who didn't have proper training ( gathered from your first post ) no contact (full, semi or otherwise) you developed that third eye very quick. One would be surprised to find out how many enter their first bouts in "sparring mode" not quite cognisant of the difference between live-fire exercises and actual combat. "Looking for the kill" being an acquired taste that usually first makes itself known in the absence of that first victory.
WEEK 1: 17/03 - 23/03 MONDAY: 30 minutes of shadowboxing and stretching in the morning. Legs felt a little weak. Completed the Striking Strength workout from the UFC Fit DVD. Killed me as per usual but the endorphin hit and post workout meal made the effort worth it. Thought of the day: "Weaponise the architecture"
I thought I could just edit the same Week 1 post... damn you MAP. TUESDAY: Did my morning shadow boxing and some random plymetrics too. I really enjoy handclap pushups, makes me feel like Bruce mo'fo'ing Lee! The rest of the day was a huge FAIL. I did a bit of dumbbell but didn't manage the strength routine I'd set for myself. Got to around 10pm and I decided I was too hungry to be sated by rice, eggs, herbs and beans. Drove into town and came across a leaflet on a table which offered a free whopper burger at BK if you buy a whopper meal. So yeah, I beasted 2 whoppers, fries and sipped a little bit of the coke. That little bit of coke then kept me up til 3am.
Skipping is an absolutely fantastic Cardio exercise (IMHO) and is much more of an efficient choice than running, especially with regards to the time to benefits ratio. Regards, Travess
Also, running on the roads here is an easy way to get hit by something! Pavements are non-existent. WEDNESDAY: A scheduled rest day, watched some muay thai fights on youtube whilst throwing teeps and whatnot. It's always nice to watch for new combinations and techniques.
I think the data (off the top of my head) showed 10 minutes of jumping rope is equal to 30 minutes of running.
THURSDAY: 15 minutes of skipping in one unbroken round. 20 minutes-ish of shadow boxing followed by 100 teeps each leg. 30 minute stretch routine followed by 30 minutes of full body dumbbell workout. Friday: POLLUTION EVERYWHERE! Went outside to skip and my eyes were stinging... whole day was a write off. This, by the way, is what is stopping me going back to the MT gym immediately... spending 3 hours per day doing intensive cardio outdoors is a big no for the next few weeks. Today was particularly bad though. It's local farmers burning the rice stubble on their farms, it's crazy. *grumbles about Asia. Anyway, I watched my Lovato Jr. instructional for an hour whilst doing some pushups and boxing shadow work. Kind of frustrating to be trapped indoors all day but hey, I got plenty of work done.
