Video Your Training Sessions

Video your training people. Sure you might look like a wierdo, so maybe save them for private lessons. Either way, getting your training on video and watching it later is going to be helpful to you in more ways than one. I haven’t had too much time to train over the past 6 months. I’ve trained a handful of times to say the least.

The other day i decided to hit some pads with Robert Lek after a long hiatus from training. We were trying to get all the rust off me. Taking it slowly, going through the motions and not concentrating on anything in particular.

I’ve watched the video and have seen everything i need to work on.

1. I’ve lost a lot of my flow. I could tell while hitting pads and watching the video. There are parts where i am hesitant which is not usually the case. After a long time being away from hitting pads, i was a lot more stiff than usual. Especially in the clinch and with some teeps.
2. Didn’t check kicks well. There’s was only one kick in there that Robert threw and i didn’t check it. And i know if he threw more out, i would have had trouble with them.
3. Telegraphing my right kick. At (1min 30secs) here is way too much exaggeration in my hand movement when i kick with my right leg. Include a stupid mini hop in there and my kick will be seen a mile away.
4. Bad balance. There’s a few times when i switch kick (kick with the left). You can see at (4min 10secs) that i kick with the left and it lands so that my feet are too close together. You want your feet, no matter which one is kicking, to land in the exact spot it came from, and so you can throw a right cross after the kick with ease, just like at (4mins 17secs) and (4mins 52secs).
5.  Terrible gas tank. This video was only two rounds of pads. After it i felt like i had been through hell and back. Have to work on the cardio now.

I’ve been doing Muay Thai for maybe 6-7 years now. I’m no beginner, but i sure as hell ain’t no Buakaw. The video helped me see everything i need to work on all over again.Here’s some great advantages of it

1.  Watching your progress – You can mark and examine your progress during your time in Thailand.  See where you started out and how far you’ve come.
2.  Pick up on good and bad technique – If there’s one thing i tell people before they record themselves, it’s “you don’t look as flash hot as you think you do”. It’s even the case with me. Time to pick up on where your doing wrong and where your doing right.
3.  Recall – Anytime you need to recall techniques it’s right there for you to rewatch and learn from.

Born in Australia, training in martial arts since the age of 9. My first trip to Thailand was back in 2007. Since then i have made numerous visits back to the "land of smiles" to feed my addiction of Muay Thai. During the month of November in 2010 i had to decide between working a 9 to 5 job back home for the rest of my life, or sell all my worldly possessions and move to Thailand to live and train for the next few years. Thankfully i chose the latter. I now spend my time training Muay Thai, meeting new and interesting circles of people, sipping coconuts under palm trees on the beach and measuring the cost of everything on how much Pad Thai i could buy with that money.

Mike (Admin)

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