new to Muay Thai and forum

[XGuruX]

Hi, my name is Brian Menzies, 21 years old and always wanted to do Muay thai since I saw Sasha Mitchell in kickboxer 2,3,4.

the onyl place that teaches Muay thai is one school in Orlando. The instructor doesnt teach trad. waikru ceremony or any of the spiritual stuff so i decided id rather do it on my own. plus he didnt seem very friendly at all. so moment i graduate and get my life together I am moving somewhere where I can train in REAL Muay Thai. I was thinking of going to fairtex or move back home to NJ and train in Princeton school w/Rick Tucci. He sounds so familiar I think he did demonstrations at my school before when i was young. Princeton is only 15 mins away from where I cam from.

so if anyone can give me tips on how to train on my own? I ahve a heavy bag that came with small gloves and i ahve 25 lb dumb bells i lift. im only about 5'8" and 140 lbs but im hopin to really get up to about 155-160 which seems doubtful. anywho I really enjoy Muay Thai and hope someone can help em with tips on leg conditioning as my legs are pretty strong(used to be a hockey goalie).
I ahve a 90 min. instructional video taught by Pudpad Wararoot(sp?). it is great. ok im done. thanks everyone!!!
-Brian-

[dave_UK_MT]

No real answer but I don't really think you can 'teach yourself'.

Learning out of books or videos may mean you develop bad technique.
Sounds like your unlucky not having a good gym near to you.

Hope you get sorted.

[holte2]

i definetly wouldnt move anywhere just to learn a martial art, especially one you have never done...i say give that school a try for a little while, if it is just lacking the spiritual, but everything else is cool, you could learn about the spirituality side on your own...

[charong]

you have to learn the wi kru before you learn muay thai it is very important.

[dave_UK_MT]

Why?.............we don't in our gym.

Its only taught to those who will be competing.

I'd rather spend my time learning how to fight.

[charong]

Is your instructor Thai?

[Trace]

"Wai Kru" means "paying respect to the instructor" and it is one of the most important traditions in Muay Thai.

In order to really understand Muay Thai, it is necessary to learn about the rituals and traditions. There are 4 forms of the Wai Kru ceremony (trainee fighter initiation, annual homage ceremony, teacher initiation, and pre-fight ceremony). The wai kru is such a vital part of the beautiful art of Muay Thai, that without it, the art loses its authenticity.

Ajarn Chai places a huge emphasis on the importance of the Wai Kru. Recently at a seminar in Dayton, he said that if the promoter says that the fighter cannot do the Wai Kru because there "isn't time", then the reply should be that the fighter "doesn't have time to fight". It is THAT important.

Performing the wai kru is also a requirement in the Level tests under Ajarn Chai, and it particularly carries a lot of weight in the Level 3 instructor test. There have been people who did not pass the test simply because their wai kru ceremony was not performed to Ajarn Chai's satisfaction. There is so much more to thai boxing than just the physical aspect.

[dave_UK_MT]

I appreciate thats its as important in MT as the fighting itself but at my level (non competing/beginner) I would rather learn the techniques first.

My instructor is not Thai but has trained and fought in Thailand.

Our gym is split into 'fighters' and everyone else. Its a case of if your willling and able to put in the effort to become skilled enough to compete then our instructor will be prepared to put the time in to teaching you the rituals.

It would be a waste of time to teach a class of 15 - 20 students, some of which will be there for the first time, the rituals of MT rather than the fighting techniques which is what everyone is there for. If I turned up for the first time and the class was learning Wai Kru, something of which I had no appreciation of, I don't think Id have gone back for the next session.

I'm babbling on a bit here here but another point is; I don't feel ready to be taught the sacred parts of the art yet. When I feel I can do MT some sort of justice only then would I feel comfortable with going deeper into the spiritual side of things.

[Trace]

No, you're not babbling; you make some very good points. I agree with you on everything you said. Your instructor obviously knows what he is doing, and shares the wai kru when the student is ready. And being that he trained & fought in Thailand, you have no doubt as to his knowledge level and appreciation for Muay Thai. Maybe XGuruX should discern whether that Orlando instructor "doesn't teach" the wai kru because he doesn't place any importance on this aspect of the art, or if he just waits until someone shows a serious interest? Although if someone isn't very friendly, it sure doesn't encourage you to join there.

[dave_UK_MT]

cheers

Back to the original question; Give the class a try and see what you think after that, the instructor shouldn't have been off hand with you but you don't know....he might have had a bad day or something.

Go back, try it, if he's still unfriendly then your better off somewhere else.