My 2nd Inter Club Thai fight - Comments & Advice appreciated

[mattandbenny]

So this past weekend i had my second inter club muay thai fight. (My first one was about 8 weeks ago - thread here: http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/m...ght-please-let-me-know-your-thoughts.3208531/ )

I'm 26 and 71kg (walk about weight - same day weigh ins). I am the white guy in the red/white shorts. Fights were all scored draws.



In my first fight 8 weeks ago i was a little too hyper - too much bouncing around, putting too much into my shots etc, so i tried to slow things down a bit this one and relax in the ring a little more, not put as much power into the kicks.

Unfortunately, just like my first fight, i gassed badly in the 3rd round which resulted in a very poor showing that round! He caught me with a couple of decent knees to the body as well which took even more wind out of my sails. My coaches told me i won a close first 2 rounds, so was disappointing to end with a poor R3 for the second fight in a row.To be fair though, my opponent was a bit better & faster this time (he was only 17!), so maybe this had an effect.

I think it's just a mix of the nerves / adrenaline, as in training i can do 3x 1:30 rounds with decent guys ok without gassing too badly. Not sure how to sort my nerves out, as i seemed to be just as nervous for this one as my first one.

I still need to fight moving forward more - I think the main thing for the next one will be to not back off as much, as i know in Thai boxing fights aggression scores points. I'm comfortable on the back foot & counter punching, so sometimes in the fight i forget and go back into old habits fighting on the back foot.

Anyway, all comments - both positive & negative, constructive criticism etc is welcome, and I look forward to hearing them.

 

[j123]

Hey Matt,

I'm noticing your chin coming up a bit high on your strikes, try to get rid of that habit

Like in your previous thread, you tend to back step a bit instead of standing firm or clinching when he gets too close. It'll take time to adjust. Is the reason for this, because you want to keep your range for your strikes?

Nice leg and head kick in the second. You slipped though, but did they mark it as a knockdown?

Try to work more clinch next camp, in the second around 4:15-4:20ish you had a good change to turn him, put him on the ropes and work from there. Don't ever open up like at 4:15 expecting the ref to break, he took advantage of that and attempted a double collar tie. To someone experienced in clinch fighting, this is like Christmas, and it won't be good.

Always interrupt combos, in the 3rd your opponent landed a couple of good shots and controlled the rhythym. Do your best not to let this happen, you said you were gassed, but even if the strike is weak, it screws with his head slightly, he'll lose steam and he won't control the pace.
The longer you wait to interrupt, the worse the next strike you may eat. Try to keep it at 2-3 strikes max before you interrupt, ideally you'll want to interrupt after 1 to 2.

Try to get more body kicks in as well, you threw alot of leg and some headkicks, but I think bodykicks as a taller guy would work well. They're stronger, and it works as a deterrent for someone wanting to close distance. If there's no threat, they'll close in, make them respect your strikes.

As for gassing, it takes time, I didn't start properly adjusting my breathing until my 5th (2nd fight, but I had 3 exhibitions prior to that). Its majority, breathing related. If you already know this, carry on, if not:
-When you exhale on each strike or in the clinch while not inhaling you will gas, you can have the best tank in the world, if you do this you'll still gas out.
-In between rounds is when you slow your breathing down, which in turn will slow your heart rate down. Its difficult and seems very tough especially after an intense round, but once you get it down, you'll thank yourself you did it. You can recover about 60-70% imo once things slow down.

Anyways, thats what I've got, keep training, and hopefully the next one will be better. Its still a good fight / exhibition regardless.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Im not going to comment on the fight (cant watch from work) but regarding to cardio, I found 2 things extremly useful:

1) Jogging: 40/50 minutes 3 times per week. Slow, dont kill yourself.
2) Plyometrics: Burpees, Jumps, etc. Exhaust your self a few times a week doing that.

When technique is not up there yet or you fight a better opponent, you need to outlast and tire him. You can be 1996 Ernesto Hoost, but if you are gassed you cant do anything.

 

[Gandhi]

Nice fight.

I always sit down between rounds, rest time is for rest.

U started teeping well in the second round, while doing mostly fakes in the first and none in the third. Bouncing that front leg and poking it forward / with some fakes will really mess a shorter person up (anyone really). Unless they are really good at the counter I would work that in more.

Also basics of hands up chin down. Try running with hands up sometimes, that can help.

As far as gassing, it's experience, dont sweat it.

I thought u did well here.

 

[mattandbenny]

Thank you for the above comments & tips.

j123 - Not sure why i've developed a style of fighting more on the back foot, it just feels more comfortable moving around and trying to counter punch. And i dont think it was scored as a knock down in the second, i'd like to think that being so close she could see that i just slipped after throwing the head kick. Thanks for the in depth analysis, very helpful.

Number one thing to work on for the next one is to fight moving forward more. Also to work on getting a bit tighter when throwing punches.

As for the gassing out in the 3rd, i'm going to try to work on my breathing more, as you guys have mentioned. In training we do very little clinch work, and even less clinch sparring, so maybe i was holding my breath a bit & not breathing properly whilst in the clinch. This and do more running!