16 and needing help with training

[Haruko]

Okay, I just TODAY learned about Mauy Thai [well, decided to look into it. I've only know about it for about a week.] and really want to train and learn, all day I have been shadowing boxing and made a very poor punching bag to practice my kicks. Can anyone give me any suggestions on where to start? How long and far should I run for training? Any good warm up exercises? Encouraging words? I have to be very careful, I am of. . .very poor health [ ] so I need to do my best and prepare my body well before I do anything to strenuous.

[Garland]

Okay, I just TODAY learned about Mauy Thai [well, decided to look into it. I've only know about it for about a week.] and really want to train and learn, all day I have been shadowing boxing and made a very poor punching bag to practice my kicks. Can anyone give me any suggestions on where to start? How long and far should I run for training? Any good warm up exercises? Encouraging words? I have to be very careful, I am of. . .very poor health [ ] so I need to do my best and prepare my body well before I do anything to strenuous.

...hella. Where do you live?...I might be able to look up an instructor for you.

[the tick]

Okay, I just TODAY learned about Mauy Thai [well, decided to look into it. I've only know about it for about a week.] and really want to train and learn, all day I have been shadowing boxing and made a very poor punching bag to practice my kicks. Can anyone give me any suggestions on where to start? How long and far should I run for training? Any good warm up exercises? Encouraging words? I have to be very careful, I am of. . .very poor health [ ] so I need to do my best and prepare my body well before I do anything to strenuous.

Very poor health? You got a disease?
As for running. It depends on your current fitness I guess. Don't over do it in the beginning. Run as far as you can and don't push yourself to much. I started out at only running 15 minutes before I went home. From there I slowly build up to 1 hour. Thats plenty enough. As for warming up. Stand on the spot and pull up your knees. Waist height while punching forward. Move on the balls of your feet. Do some push ups and sit ups. Take about 10 to 15 minutes. After that 2 rounds of 2 minutes of shadow boxing. 30 second break between rounds. You should be pretty warmed up now. And find yourself a gym.

[>:)]

I'd would say just don't even bother attempting to do any actual MT technique training til you find a good teacher to teach you ther right way otherwise you might end up with some bad habits hard to shake off. Just focus on raising your strength, cardio and flexibility levels, and get your body prepared for a lot of brutality!

[Haruko]

...hella. Where do you live?...I might be able to look up an instructor for you.

The panhandle of Florida, near Destin and Fort Walton. I looked up and couldn't find any on sites and checked the phone book and most places seem to specialize in Kick boxing or don't even specify [So i have some calling to do!], and probably wont allow me to use my elbows or knees. If you know any, any where near me, please do tell! :]

[Haruko]

Very poor health? You got a disease?
As for running. It depends on your current fitness I guess. Don't over do it in the beginning. Run as far as you can and don't push yourself to much. I started out at only running 15 minutes before I went home. From there I slowly build up to 1 hour. Thats plenty enough. As for warming up. Stand on the spot and pull up your knees. Waist height while punching forward. Move on the balls of your feet. Do some push ups and sit ups. Take about 10 to 15 minutes. After that 2 rounds of 2 minutes of shadow boxing. 30 second break between rounds. You should be pretty warmed up now. And find yourself a gym.

Thank you very much! Ehh, as for my health, I have panic attacks, heart problems [just frequent palpitations and such like that. they think it mite be mitral valve prolapse.], I am 92 pounds and 5'3 [underweight] and I get winded easily. . .aaand i might have a bit of a problem with my spine :[[ [ we hope its just a cyst or tissue problems.] So, I have to make sure I don't try too hard at first and mess myself up too much! I need to work my way up [which i hate doing. ] I know I probably am the least suited to do this, but, still, It excites me to think about such an activity and I really enjoy training~!

I need to make sure I warm up well enough, so thank you for your advice! [I hurt really bad right now lol xD Too much zeal yesterday!]

[the tick]

Well, in that case you should see a doctor first before you start doing anything.

[Little Apple]

What ever you eat now, add a sandwich to your day. Talk to your doctor 'cause he knows you, and a sports doctor 'cause he knows activity. In addition to/before Muay Thai, find a place to work out gently to increase fitness; but keep working out! I know lots of people who over came health schtuff by applying themselves hard core to martial arts.

Examples: my buddy Dan: born with 3 fingers on each hand, one leg gone below the knee, other leg missing second bone, only 4 toes on that foot. He trains every day plus lifting, rock climbing, softball, vollyball, and he's coming to Ajarn Chai's Oregon Camp this year.

This girl Liz: had a degenerative nero-muscular disease, trained with us for a semester and she could walk for longer and control her limbs better than before.

Last but not least, Bruce Lee: Dude was a runt. He had all kinds of medical problems when he was little (I am not familiar with all of them) and he turned himself into one of the best martial artists of all time.

So there.

[Haruko]

aww, thank you so much you guys! :] I will talk to my doctor [err. . i might wait for that part, he would probably just laugh at me. ^_^; If you knew what I looked like, you'd know why my father laughed when I said I wanted to learn Muay Thai. . .or any sport, really. ^_^;;]

And I just got word that there is a teacher who teaches Muay thai at a local gym! I hope he will have me! <3

[..n..]

I hope things work out for you, Haruko! Take everybody’s advice about the doctor stuff and find a good Kru. Even under the best of circumstances there’s going to be a learning curve w/ MT so just ease into it and before you know it you’ll start making noticeable improvements. Hell, getting your kick stance, footwork, and punching/kicking form down can take some time and won’t be overly strenuous physically. Plus, the initial attention to detail will pay off many fold in the long run. Good luck!

[rickyparis]

Thank you very much! Ehh, as for my health, I have panic attacks, heart problems [just frequent palpitations and such like that. they think it mite be mitral valve prolapse.], I am 92 pounds and 5'3 [underweight] and I get winded easily. . .aaand i might have a bit of a problem with my spine :[[ [ we hope its just a cyst or tissue problems.] So, I have to make sure I don't try too hard at first and mess myself up too much! I need to work my way up [which i hate doing. ] I know I probably am the least suited to do this, but, still, It excites me to think about such an activity and I really enjoy training~!

I need to make sure I warm up well enough, so thank you for your advice! [I hurt really bad right now lol xD Too much zeal yesterday!]

First start with your mind , leave aside doubts and fears , think of yourself as somebody who will climb up a mountain , so first he has to to work on his weakness an gradually get better . Don´t overdo with your training but never stop trying to get better. Face your limitations and then extent your boundaries.And yes, it´s hard , but there are many hard things that are worthwhile in life respect your body and strenghten your mind.

[Ghost]

Okay, I just TODAY learned about Mauy Thai [well, decided to look into it. I've only know about it for about a week.] and really want to train and learn, all day I have been shadowing boxing and made a very poor punching bag to practice my kicks. Can anyone give me any suggestions on where to start? How long and far should I run for training? Any good warm up exercises? Encouraging words? I have to be very careful, I am of. . .very poor health [ ] so I need to do my best and prepare my body well before I do anything to strenuous.

FIrst thing is to find out where you stand for sure health wise and get your docs advise on if you can train now or have to wait a bit first. when he gives you the all clear then you should begin.

You are lucky in that you are so young, if your doc says you cant train yet dont lose heart, you can learn and read and watch fight vids, all part of it and you will learn alot from that even if you dont gain any physical skills as such yet. you will at least know what you are going to be doing is meant to look like and have some understanding of it.

You have so many years ahead of you that you shouldnt worry too much. THe advice others have given is excellent and very inspirational. Stick around on the forum and learn.
I truely wish you all the luck in the world mate.

[fightstuff]

Hi Haruko,

As before mentioned consult your doctor to see where you stand exactly. In your case I would suggest seeing a specialist, as a GP will not be able to guide you fully to what you can and cant do, as their range of medicine is quite broad.

If you do get the go ahead I would suggest you go straight into MT, as doing general fitness is very different to doing MT. I've had students who think they are physically fit because they run x miles a day and do x push-up, situps, etc. However after one training session they are nearly dead. The reason why is because in MT you are using muscles that you have never used before and the pace changes so quickly. This shouldn't put you off. It should encourage you. I think MT is one of the best ways to improve fitness and give you focus in life, but obviously I am bias.

In addition it is very important to tell your instructor your medical conditions, as he may need you to sign a disclaimer. In addition he can keep an eye on you. I have trained people who are physically disabled, had heart conditions, etc. It's not a problem as long as I am aware of it.

If it did come down to it and you can't train (which I don't think it will), as ghost suggested watching fights and reading forums will help you a lot. I remember back to when I snapped my ACL. I couldn't train MT for 1 1/2 years, so at that time I was just watching videos and reading books. I was told that I couldn't train again. How wrong they were!!! I was back teaching and training after 1 1/2 year. You just need to know your body and train accordingly. I've not got myself back in the ring yet, but that time is coming :-)

Ghost just out of interest who do you train with?

[Ghost]

Hi Haruko,

As before mentioned consult your doctor to see where you stand exactly. In your case I would suggest seeing a specialist, as a GP will not be able to guide you fully to what you can and cant do, as their range of medicine is quite broad.

If you do get the go ahead I would suggest you go straight into MT, as doing general fitness is very different to doing MT. I've had students who think they are physically fit because they run x miles a day and do x push-up, situps, etc. However after one training session they are nearly dead. The reason why is because in MT you are using muscles that you have never used before and the pace changes so quickly. This shouldn't put you off. It should encourage you. I think MT is one of the best ways to improve fitness and give you focus in life, but obviously I am bias.

In addition it is very important to tell your instructor your medical conditions, as he may need you to sign a disclaimer. In addition he can keep an eye on you. I have trained people who are physically disabled, had heart conditions, etc. It's not a problem as long as I am aware of it.

If it did come down to it and you can't train (which I don't think it will), as ghost suggested watching fights and reading forums will help you a lot. I remember back to when I snapped my ACL. I couldn't train MT for 1 1/2 years, so at that time I was just watching videos and reading books. I was told that I couldn't train again. How wrong they were!!! I was back teaching and training after 1 1/2 year. You just need to know your body and train accordingly. I've not got myself back in the ring yet, but that time is coming :-)

Ghost just out of interest who do you train with?

Hi mate good post, haruko has plenty of advice now.

I train with Sangtienoi mate, the guy that fought dekker, his nickname was the deadly kisser dont know if you know him. His gym is a no-farrang gym generally. SO i had to go for a try-out to see if i could get in. going well now.

[fightstuff]

Yeah i know of Sangtienoi. Excellent fighter. I used to teach and train for Master Sken. I'm living in Thailand now, so I just go to the local gym not far from my home