New to muay thai... intimidated

peanutandjelly · 11-15-2012, 07:06 PM

Not sure where this is supposed to go, I hope it's in the right forum! Apologize if not.

So, I've recently joined a gym after trying many out in my area. Been wanting to do a martial art, and thought muay thai would be a great experience. Most of the muay thai classes that I tried seemed more cardio oriented, with less direct instructor guidance on actual technique, if that makes sense. Mostly big-box gyms. But I found a smaller gym that has an awesome instructor, small classes, and who takes time to give me one on one instruction, etc. Signed up after a couple of classes.

It seems like most of the guys in the class fight competitively in some way or another; not all, but a decent bit. Most of them are bigger, more experienced, and better in shape than me. They are all incredibly kind.

Well, today we did a little bit of sparring, and the instructor teamed me up with specific people and told them to go very light on me. I've never been hit in the face before, or kicked, or been in a physical fight whatsoever. All I got to say is, now I'm somewhat intimidated.

Felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Even though most of the guys didn't even bother throwing many punches/kicks, when they did I felt like they were so fast that all of what I learned on how to block (especially kicks) went out the window. I was flinching and looking away, which everybody universally told me not to do. Like instinct. One of the punches I took felt pretty hard (could have been me), got a momentary splitting headache. I also accidentally got kicked in the eye as I was turning away and leaning down from some punches. Guy apologized and it was OK, but it did hurt.

Anyways, I'm pretty intimidated and it's very hard to see myself getting to the point of actually being able to block and even land a punch on the guys. Everybody has to wear teeth guards, shin guards, and gloves, but I'm still afraid of getting seriously hurt. Seriously thinking about just doing their cardio kickboxing, even though I really don't need to be losing calories at my size ;).

Not sure what I'm looking for. Just throwing it out there. Anybody else have a similar experience?

Discipulus · 11-15-2012, 07:20 PM

Oh yes. I can assure that that's the gist of at least 95% of people's first experience sparring. You flinch when you get hit, you gas really hard and really fast, and all your technique goes out the window.

Don't be intimidated, man. Stick with it, keep up the light sparring, and you'll be surprised how quickly you improve, both technically, and in confidence and composure.

Phaiym · 11-15-2012, 07:21 PM

Phaiym · 11-15-2012, 07:23 PM

but in all seriousness...just stick with it. at least you are at a gym where everyone seems to be respectful and doesn't have that, "psh you're a noob" ego...a friendly environment is VERY important.

i was intimidated too...especially seein' trained fighters hitting bags and pads right behind me...but none of them look at you as if you are a complete idiot. they are very respectful and nice

everyone starts somewhere brah...sounds like you are in a great environment. just keep it up!

and spar more...the hardest thing for me was not closing my eyes...i still do sometimes, but practice and don't give up!

Free your mind · 11-15-2012, 08:19 PM

I think everyone feels this way when they first become involved in a combat sport. If you think this is something you really want to do, then train as much as you can and not only will you stop feeling intimidated but you will also be one of the guys who has to "take it easy" on people.

Marsupial · 11-15-2012, 08:20 PM

It's tough, but it is a learning experience.

I haven't been able to train in ages but, when I do get to go back, I actually want to ask for some hard sparring because my class moved away from that for a long time and was essentially just a cardio-based thing. It has recently changed to more practical technique focused stuff again, however.

Last time I sparred was a horrific wake-up call where my lack of aggression caused a puzzled partner to simply drop his hands and stare at me with disbelief. I need to learn to hit and get hit a lot more. I'm actually morbidly curious about taking a semi-decent beating, just to find out more about my own capacity for receiving punishment.

Hey, I overheard one of my BJJ instructors, an accomplished grappler, explaining that when he dabbled in MMA, it took him about 8 months of training to get used to being hit. It's natural to flinch/freeze/flee from strikes.

swirldog · 11-15-2012, 08:44 PM

It takes time TS. I was nervous as hell when I first took up kickboxing.

Philosophy · 11-15-2012, 08:48 PM

When I started, there was one guy in the class who was about 40, 6'3", 220 - 240 and a former semi-pro kickboxer. He would light up everybody who was new. Thankfully, he was so arrogant he never got any better, and he would never bring his hand back after he jabbed. Side note: My right cross quickly became my best punch.

If you don't have that guy, be happy. There is ALWAYS that guy, I swear.

Discipulus · 11-15-2012, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philosophy

When I started, there was one guy in the class who was about 40, 6'3", 220 - 240 and a former semi-pro kickboxer. He would light up everybody who was new. Thankfully, he was so arrogant he never got any better, and he would never bring his hand back after he jabbed. Side note: My right cross quickly became my best punch.

If you don't have that guy, be happy. There is ALWAYS that guy, I swear.

Lucky for you he was 40. My guy who's better than me and refuses to go light is 18 years old.

peanutandjelly · 11-15-2012, 09:16 PM

It's definitely a relief to me to hear it's a common newb occurrence ;). I am lucky that all the guys are pretty friendly. I'll keep trudging along with it.

Nobody that I see at the gym wears any head gear when sparring (but they do wear teeth guards). Is that generally the case with muay thai?