Articles
Training with the Thai's
Page 4 - Preparation for a Fight
Everyone knows that Muay Thai fighters kick and block with their shins. The shin is a big, sharp bone and a powerful weapon. And so it must be conditioned to do this explosive work. Villalobos insists you cannot rush the process. "You condition the shin little by little," he notes. "It takes a long time. Plam training lasts for about 30 minutes and the fighters don't wear gloves. They use their knees to strike but not with power. Plam is neck wrestling."
You must kick the bag with your shins 300 or 400 times a day, and also kick the pads with your shins. Bit by bit your shins will get stronger and better conditioned." According to Villalobos, a fighter should never kick trees or hit the shins with bottles or any hard object. In his opinion, there is no quick way to get the shins ready for battle. "To condition the shins, kick bags and pads with the shins, fight, and do nothing more," he says. " People in the U.S. who do this are trying to take a short way to conditioning. In my travels to 45 camps, I never saw even one person kick trees or pound their shins with anything. Not even one person." Villalobos recalls that the Thai fighters he trained with in Thailand were actually very careful with their shins. "Sometimes in the evening, when we would spar around, in defense I would sometimes block a kick with my shin," he remembers. "The other fighter would get protective. And say, ,no, no, no!' And rub his shin. They are so conscious of their body. They want it perfect. They keep it like a diamond. The fighter must stay strong and healthy with no injuries. A bad shin bruise can take weeks to heal. The trainers don't want to see this."
Thai Boxing is extremely rough and injuries are a part of life in the ring. Thai boxers are, therefore, typically very young in part because the younger you are the faster you recover. "The older you are the longer it takes to heal," Villalobos claims. "I am 28 now and already it takes me longer to recover. Training changes for a fighter as fight day comes near. "Farther away from the fight the boxer does more training rounds with low intensity. As the date comes close, he will do less rounds with higher intensity," he explains. "This is the volume and intensity training cycle." Villalobos adds that athletes from across many disciplines use a similar formula. When the fight day arrives, the young Thai boxers are ready with wind and spirit. The battles are superb and the intensity level is off the chart.
Top
of PageCopyright © 2003 Muay Thai sangka. All Rights Reserved.