MUCH HAS BEEN MADE OF THE TRAINING METHODS IN THAIBOXING FROM THE CONDITIONING OF THE SHINS AND FOREARMS TO THE INTENSE WORKOUTS...AND MOST ARE KNOWN FOR THE FACT THAT AFTER DOING SUCH CONDITIONING YOUR LIMBS ARE LIKE STEEL WHEN YOU HIT SOMEONE,BUT DOES MUAY THAI HAVE A CONDITIONING METHOD FOR TAKING HITS AND ABSORBING BLOWS BUT WITHOUT MUCH DAMAGE,IN OTHER WORDS CAN YOU TAKE IT AS WELL AS YOU DEAL IT OUT?
YESITISCALLEDHITTINGTHEBAG.DURINGTHEFIGHTYOUWILLBE PUMPEDWITHADRENLINESOYOUWILLNOTFEELITDURINGTHEFIGHT.EITHERTHANHARDWORKTHEREISNOSPECIFICMETHOD.
I realize that the words above may been difficult to read, but then again, so are your CAPLOCKED sentences.
WolverineX it's typically seen as "yelling" or "over-emphasizing" when somene uses all capital letters, that's why he said that.
In terms of your question..thai boxing develop "bones of steel" because they continuously cause impact to these areas, which causes minor damage to the bone area...this bone then heals..and over and over they do this so that the bone is layering dense bone upon dense bone..ultimately it "hardens" the bones.
I've heard that this becomes a health problem as thai boxers get into old age though..some bone-related diseases are more common as well as general aches and pains. I have no verification of this though.
In terms of being able to take a hit..they spar all the time.. that's why.
but what you're reading sounds like a quote from the Martial Arts Encycopedia I read...:)
Don't read the hype..just study the subject with an open mind...be ready to accept that thai boxers are not that tough..or..that they're the strongest fighters int eh world..whatever your personal research shows you.
They don't turn to steel =P
Thai boxers in Thailand get training that to most of us would seem inhuman. They train with fanatical intensity (for them, Thai boxing is not just a sport,
it's what they are and they do it for their King and country). They are very hard. Very. I'm sure the abuse on their bodies take its toll.
I would think so yeah..but I'm not a Thailander. Accounting for geographically differences in people...people who grow up in the sun all the time are tougher to it's rays...but I don't know if the average thailander is any more tough than we are..they just have a lot more people training in it I would think. I think the only advantage they would have probably would be if some "wise old man" has learned ways to cultivate bone healing faster so they can train harder. Even so...hard as you want..if you get hit on the jaw you'll be in trouble.
I'm sure it's debatable.
I lived in Thailand for one year. Your average Thai
person is not tougher than anyone else. They are smaller than westrners and for the
most part couldn't afford to eat well when they grew up. As for inhuman, sure, maybe they cultivate the myth, but I went to a Thai boxing spectacle in Koh Samui with the owner of the hotel I stayed at. His eleven year old son had his 30:th fight that night.
No protection and seemingly no special rules. Sure,
an 11 year old doesn't punch very hard, but still.
I'm sure no one forced the kid and he seemed to love what he was doing (and he gave the other kid a good shit-kicking) but in the west, that would probably be frowned upon by lots of people (me included. I enjoyed
the fight because it was very entertaining but eleven
year olds fighting for money is not quite all right in my book).
I would agree that is what makes a strong thai fighter...kids who do that stuff develop faster...so they're way more likely to grow up tougher than someone who starts thai boxing at age 20.
I wonder, while you were in Thailand did you see many old men hobbling around from weak bones in their legs? Just a thought.
Well, I saw plenty of old men hobbling around, but
if that was from Thai boxing or construction work
or planting rice or carrying rice sacks is not easy to
tell. Rice farming is the most common job in Thailand
(or was up until a few years ago, at least) and that's
a pretty tough job.
The retired thai boxers I saw in Thailand (the ones teaching) seemed just fine to me. They were clearly long past their fighting days, being overweight and no longer in the shape they used to be, but they were still able to pass on their knowledge to the students.
If someone wasn`t kicking properly, they would demonstrate by slamming the pads HARD and then looking at you afterward to make sure you understood. They also had pretty quick reflexes, dodging some head-high kicks that missed the pads (not that it happened to me or anything ;).
I did notice that their shins looked pretty messed up, like someone attacked it with a rusty machate or something. But other than aesthetics, their legs seemed perfectly fine to me. Just my observation.
Lautaro
heh
My experience has been that the conditioning is really a deadening of the nerves in the areas absorbing the impact (e.g. shins, knees, elbows).
Train Muay Thai hard for a couple of months. There is no mystique in the conditioning. Not only is my instructor in fighting shape, he is small and fast with killer stamina. At 6'3" - 240 lbs, my speed and conditioning is challenged everytime he puts the pads on...
Yeah me too..i'm 6'1, 230 or so (a bit overweight though), but I push myself to be as fast as any 100 pounder..and I am for the most part..but I get winded a hell of a lot faster when I do that I like the challenge though.
Did I mention that for a little guy, he has some power. Especially in his legs, but his speed let's him set up square shots with his hands.
Some people develop power better than others...I think of we big guys (200+) were to develop power in the same way the little folk learn to, we'd knock over buildings. I just think that bigger people get a bit complacent and don't see a need to develop maximum power..instead focusing more on speed since they already have a certain extra measure of power being as big as they are.