Training 6 days a week/4-6 hours

[BC_]

Im new to this forum, well Ive been coming here for the past month looking up information, but never posted. My question is this, I live in a city of 10,000 and it doesnt offer any martial art classes of any kind, but Im moving to Arizona in 3 months, and going to train at Arizona Combat Sports in tempe. So I just purchased a Thai bag(6ft/100lbs), 12oz bag gloves, and thai pads all from ringside. I can workout and willing to train 4-6 hours a day. I would say Im above average street fighter, but havent trained in any Martial Arts. My question is were do I start?Do ANy of you have any information on a workout scheldue and can use till I move. Right, now I run 3 miles a day and work the bag, My shins are bruised and a couple good size welts on them. Is this normal? I shadow box first , then use my combo's on the bag. Which is just punching and some elbows. I kick the bag with each leg till I cant stand the pain anymore(Low kicks, mid kicks, and teep kick). So what else should I be doing untill I move to Arizona and can take classes? Any help would be great, and thanks in advance.

[terry]

Given your situation I might treat this period as a pre-season kind of training. Get yourself in really good aerobic and anerobic shape. Strengthen your abs and neck and traps. Jump rope and stretch. You might also want to consider doing some circuit training to train both muscular endurance and strength.

As I remember you'll be facing summer conditions upwards of 115 degrees F in Tempe, so getting your roadwork up to speed now may be a less painful way to address your general physical preparation (GPP). By the time you move you'll be in shape and can spend the summer learning the specific technical stuff you'll need under the supervision of a qualified instructor. Plus, you won't be drilling in bad habits as far as kicking and punching.

By next spring you will have picked up a lot of the technical foundations you need to fight, so your GPP can include a lot of heavy bag work and shadow boxing. But this year, until you build the fundamentals in your sport, I would concentrate on a pretty simple pre-season conditioning routine.

[BC_]

Thanks for the response terry. Do you think I should do Any bag work at all? I dont want to develop any bad habits, but I can say in just a week I can tell and my girlfriend can tell My power and smoothness has improved. My left hook was a little sloppy, but now is a lot better. I have one more question. When kicking with left foot should I change to south paw? Well im off to go running thanks again for the response.

[terry]

Originally posted by BC_ Thanks for the response terry. Do you think I should do Any bag work at all?

Generally, I would say that if you enjoy it and it gets you motivated then I would go for it. If, however, you're dedicated enough to spend 30-40 hours training a week then you're talking about the kind of dedication that makes for a pro. Fantastic, keep it up.

I would be reluctant to motor set a bunch of techniques before you have a teacher set you up correctly. The reason being is that it will be several times more labor intensive to clean up afterwards than it was to learn in the first place. What you will need is cardio vascular endurance to withstand the training.

In my experience you need to be running about 5 miles a day in order to be able to hang with the training at a serious Muay Thai gym. And that is just barely hanging BTW. If you really wanna be ready for the work they'll put you through I would get on a bike and start climbing mountains during the week and do a couple of LSD (Long-slow distance) rides on the weekend. In addition, I would definitely do some rope skipping because you will have to prepare your calves to be up on the balls of your feet for 2-4 hours a day. This will take some doing, so start right away.

I dont want to develop any bad habits...

There are some MT video tapes out there that are pretty good on the basics. You might try those. It's difficult to learn the mechanics from a book. The best way is to learn from a teacher who can correct your specific mistakes and work you based on what your body can do.

When kicking with left foot should I change to south paw?

Generally, there is a quick switch that sets it up. It's hard to explain because the switch is just a transitory setup while your upperbody remains stationary. It's not hard to learn in person though.

[BC_]

Thanks !!!

I thought I would add this short video of me punching the bag, and yes I do love it, great stress reliever. . It keeps me very motivated and also its fun with my girlfreind and I. Let me know if you can tell of any thing Im doing wrong with my punching. THanks again for the advice, I will surley take it. Im going start jogging this week about 4 miles and go from there. Thanks again.Punching Bag

[Crouchtig]

im no expert but...

your guard looks like it is dropping with each punch

you are throwing a punch before the previous one has finished

your elbows are pointing outwards when you punch

your jab is too much like your cross (they are completely different moves with different applications)

but as ive said im no expert, only been doing MT for a few months. can someone with more experience take a look? (not only because they will be able to give better advice but also because i want to see if my advice was correct)

those hits look quite powerful.

[swan104]

Thats really good idea of you posting a video clip of yourself for advice and recommnedations. I agree that your lead hand does tend to drop a little to the centre of your chest when you throw the cross. However, the important thing is that you're conscious of keeping your guard up. From what I've seen, some people drop their guard completely when they first learn to punch. You can then refine your techniques when you train at a gym.

Apart from that, it looks good! When training, its sometimes difficult to spot your own mistakes. Another good thing to do is to concentrate on the technique at first rather than the power. Once your body gets confortable with doing something, then you can start pounding with a bit more power without having to think if your technique is right all the time.

Good luck anyway! It is good stress relief to hit a bag!

[retired]

When kicking with left foot should I change to south paw?

The switch that terry is telling you about is a bit like the boxing shuffle where they keep switching feet fast except you only switch once & as your leg goes back it only lands on the tips of it's toes for speed & then quicklly fires from this position into the turning kick (a picture wont show you this as it looks just like a turning kick but from other side).

Some fighters have been known to switch quite happily between stances to fool their opponent but in most club's iv'e seen you train all your kicks for one stance so that e.g: my left leg turning kick will either be a switch kick or a turning kick with a sideward/forward motion & my right leg will alway fire from the rear.