| I've got a confession to make. I like watching science | | | | which is used for traps and setting up joint locks, and |
| programs and nature programs. I recently watched a | | | | the horse stance, which is designed for powerful |
| National Geographic special on The Science of the | | | | punches, and combinations. There's a lot of emphasis |
| Punch and learned a lot about martial arts that I hadn't | | | | in the Muay Thai instruction DVDs on good stance and |
| considered before. I learned that the single most | | | | good footwork; you have to be able to go from a |
| powerful punch - by a factor of 30% - was from | | | | grab-and-pull to a head grab to a knee to the sternum, |
| good old fashioned Western boxing. I saw a lot about | | | | and for that you need good balance. |
| transferring energy from the back leg through the core | | | | I'll be honest - I had an easier time with this one than |
| of the body that I'd known before, and some really | | | | most will; I've worked with Wing Chung Kung Fu and jiu |
| cool stuff from ninjitsu that I'd never seen before. But | | | | jutsu for years, and a lot of the concepts transfer |
| what impressed me most of all was watching their | | | | over well; most of what I got out of Muay Thai was |
| section on Mauy Thai, and how some of the | | | | the focus on pure pragmatism. It's entirely about taking |
| combinations in Mauy Thay deliver the ultimate | | | | the block and setting up the counterstrike, be it with |
| combination of economy of motion and force to the | | | | knee, elbow, fist or foot. I could see from the Mauy |
| body. | | | | Thai instructional DVD that I got that real Muay Thai |
| This inspired me to check out some Mauy Thai | | | | practitioners get hit a lot - there's much more contact |
| instructional videos. Yeah, yeah, it's Yoshi talking about | | | | in the DVD than I'm used to seeing in training or |
| Yet Another Couch Potato Style Kung Fu Style, right? | | | | sparring. |
| Not quite. The thing about Muay Thai instructional | | | | Following along, I got a good workout, and was really |
| DVDs, since Muay Thai is, effectively, a mixed martial | | | | glad it was just me and a freestanding bag rather than |
| arts full contact sport, is that the DVDs are really | | | | me and some kid who's 10 years younger than me. |
| about bare bones practicality. They're not going to load | | | | Seriously, that Muay Thai instructional DVD made me |
| you up with lots of "Contemplate the caterpillar | | | | feel my years. My knees were aching when I was |
| weaving its cocoon" philosophy - they get straight on | | | | done, and I was soaked. It was a good workout, like |
| with it, covering stances, blocks and traps, and how to | | | | most martial arts training is. I can say this - I'd never try |
| combine them into combinations. | | | | this with another person without some serious |
| Muay Thai words from three basic stances - the | | | | protective gear on me! |
| closed stance, which is used for kicks, the side stance, | | | | |