Muay Thai is SO Cool!

Today was my first day training Muay Thai at Fairtex. I made an appointment for a one-on-one hour-long session, since I really needed to get introduced to the basics. I have never once tried to do Muay Thai, therefore, it's all new to me.

My trainer's name is Enn, and I have known him for a while now, since I see him everyday when I go to work... as I work with Fairtex Gear.... Duuh. Anyways, Enn is a friendly and soft-spoken guy, but he is a highly skilled Muay Thai fighter having fought in Ratchadamnoen and Lumphini Stadiums during his 8 year professional career in Thailand. He is originally from a small town near the border with Laos and the Mekhong River.

Anyhoo, my first task, before beginning the training, was to get my hand-wraps on... This part I will have to practice a bit, as this time, Ganyao (another trainer) put them on for me. Basically you have to wrap your hands in these gauze-like wraps to form a comfortable "glove" around your hands, relieving tension and strain during impact. This also adds comfy padding when you wear your Muay Thai boxing gloves.

After getting those on, I did 15 minutes of jump rope. I was not alone in this part. There were maybe 20 others doing this to. It's a warm-up that gets the blood moving and is also a work out since your legs and arms are in constant motion.

Once we were done with that, Enn brought me over to one side of the gym and hence I began my Muay Thai instruction. He showed me the proper way to stand, and where exactly to hold my hands and arms. How to move closer and farther from your opponent. I had to practice this a bunch because, although it sounds easy, it's actually really tricky. You have to coordinate several things at the same time. You really have to start feeling tough and mean, otherwise you will naturally stand and move all dorky... So I did that for a little bit, until I kinda got the hang of it...

Next we moved over to the other side of the gym where all the punching bags are. Enn gave me a pair of gold colored Muay Thai gloves to put on!! I worked on my punching, and soon Enn moved on to show me how to kick with my right leg, then my left. I repeated that a billion times until I got it, and then he showed me how to use my elbows as a weapon. It was so cool! I could really hurt someone.... But it was also hard to get the formation right. I had to punch first and then transition into the elbow swipe, first with the left arm and then the right.

After that, he showed me how to kick using my knees into someone's chest. This was so great. Once you get the hang of the motions you realize that it's really a matter of physics and using what you have to it's best advantage. For example, the placement of your feet can give you 100 times more power than if you put them somewhere else. With the knee-kicks, if you use your hips to push over momentum, your kick can be really damaging! That was cool. After I practiced all of that an hour had gone by...

I was boiling hot and getting a bit tired... I didn't want to push myself TOO hard for my first time. Then to finish it all off then, Enn instructed me to do 50 sit-ups (barf!) and then I was done!

Exhausted yet happy! What a workout! It was so much fun!

I am now sore mostly on my legs, but that is great... I know it's really doing something. This makes me want to go every day, but I think I will keep it to 2 times a week for now. I will do 2 more one-on-one sessions and then I will join the beginner's class during the week.

YAY! I recommend anyone who needs or wants to work-out to scrap the regular gym and take Muay Thai! You get a sense of achievement, adrenaline rush and enjoyment, while getting an extremely well-rounded work-out to boot!