The whole seminar circuit intstructorship thing means that guys come in from JKD or Kung Fu or whatever and learn a sequence a few times a year and then are really on their own and usually whatever their original format was bleeds into what they now call "Muay Thai."
Am I the only one who thought the pad holder seemed to get a little carried away at points? I mean no doubt about it you need your pad holder throwing back at you but after all that when your tired they're not supposed to try and light you up. I did have a hard time telling how hard he was really throwing though so idk.
That's their gimmick, tell the student to punch or kick and hit them when their extended. That is one of the major differences between the TBA and the true Thai style seen in the Thai camps.
From what I have seen, TBA pad holder interaction seems to be used to stroke the ego of the instructor, where the Thai style is purely for the benefit of the fighter. 
Okay just thought it might be me. It looked like he was legit tryin to kick the shit out of his student not pulling his kicks or anything
Ryukyu Damashi - That's their gimmick, tell the student to punch or kick and hit them when their extended. That is one of the major differences between the TBA and the true Thai style seen in the Thai camps.From what I have seen, TBA pad holder interaction seems to be used to stroke the ego of the instructor, where the Thai style is purely for the benefit of the fighter. <img src="/images/phone/post_tag.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
This was a vibe I got as well. Dont get me wrong I have seen a few guys who like to work guys a bit harder regarding pace, but never anyone lighting someone up so much as he is getting tired.
it is easy to tell someone do "x then y then z" and then pick them off while they are doing it... so it's a pointless drill.
"From what I have seen, TBA pad holder interaction seems to be used to stroke the ego of the instructor, where the Thai style is purely for the benefit of the fighter".
-Really? Couldn't be to make the test harder? Its just a test, not everyone can be a fighter.
I am assuming everyone here trains in the Va area? Whats the consensus on the best place to train and could you back it up with video of students - not full time fighters? Thanks.
FYI I live in Woodbridge and there seems to be everything except Muay Thai in the surronding area. Thanks.
I have read so much negativity on this thread! To the young man that posted the video, keep training, and don't let the nay sayers convince you that what you are doing is wrong. Rigt or wrong, as long as you are enjoying it, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment, by all means continue to hone your craft.
Jeff Strickland
jeffstrickland - keep training, and don't let the nay sayers convince you that what you are doing is wrong. Rigt or wrong, as long as you are enjoying it, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment, by all means continue to hone your craft.What awful advice..
Nate, The vid of Hiro posted above was filmed about 30 minutes north of Woodbridge at Fairfax Jiu-Jitsu. Too see more video search on youtube for mathewnielsen www.youtube.com/user/matthewjnielsen Matt is our muay thai instructor.
I agree keep training there if it makes you happy but don't go chasing waterfalls you should always be able to get a humble where, when and why from your instructors whenever they have told you to do something.
What I mean to say is, if that's the training you like good for you but you shouldnt be sold (X) when it isn't really (X)
With that said I'm not saying it is or it isn't I'm just saying gimmicks have no place in martial arts, it gets people hurt. Furthermore, you should know exactly the lineage of your instructors and they should be able to explain to you in private why they are telling you to do certain things in certain ways.
Just my 2 cents sorry for the run on sentences.
I don't mean to offend.
sevenone - What I mean to say is, if that's the training you like good for you but you shouldnt be sold (X) when it isn't really (X)That's the entire thread perfeclty stated and why I can't understand Jeff's last post.
Bull_in_chinashop, sir, I mean you no disrespect, but this is the second thread that I have posted on today that YOU have said something I said was inacurate. What, might I ask, give you such astounding qualifications to judge someone? I am not perfect as my MMA record shows, however when it comes to Muay Thai, as well as a couple of other striking arts I am pretty qualified to speak.
Jeff Strickland
And as far as what I saw being TRUE Muay Thai... ABSOLUTELY NOT! But it was what it was, and if the young man feels some sense of accomplishment doing it, then more power to him.
-Really? Couldn't be to make the test harder? Its just a test, not everyone can be a fighter.
Sure, but it is not a very good way of making the test harder. Nothing wrong with the trainer interacting with the student, but telling the student to kick and then kicking their leg out is lame.
How about picking up the pace, doing rapid kicks at the beginning and end of the round, or actually teaching them some defensive/reactive skills they can use in the fight?
Hiro isn't a full time fighter. He major had hip surgery and that video was his 3rd time back on pads with me since June. When you have engrained proper technique, it is fairly easy to burn through the kicks and knees.
Look through conversations like this the cards get put on the table and everybody has a chance to add things to their games. I think it's important again to thank the poster of the video of being brave enough to put his efforts out for us all to critique.
I don't think anyone has been disrespectful as yet, and hopefully it won't get there.
jeffstrickland - And as far as what I saw being TRUE Muay Thai... ABSOLUTELY NOT! But it was what it was, and if the young man feels some sense of accomplishment doing it, then more power to him.
I know man, but it is hard for me to watch someone with obviously a very strong passion for Muay Thai being mislead.
I also trained with his former instructor, master Danny, many years ago. When I started traveling to Thailand, I saw that what he taught me and what I was seeing in the camps was not remotely the same thing. I wish someone would have told me what was up back then.
I'm surprised this turned into such a long discussion honestly. I've got a pretty thick skin, so the comments don't bother me, and were pretty much expected on an internet forum, which is why I posted the video in the first place.
Bill and Matt, who I assume now is also posting on this thread, I feel like a lot of opinions have been drawn from a short video that doesn't really reflect the direction of the program itself. However with that said, I was curious if you would mind me coming by and training with you a couple times so that perhaps you could see my skill set and point me in the right direction of what I might need to work on etc.
Thanks again to everybody for watching, and the not so kind words haha
If it uses the same weapons under the same rules set is it not muay thai just in a different translation, I mean MT is not the same mt that it was 200 years ago in thailand right, but they're both muay thai. Shouldn't we allow for evolution but point out the differences in the techniques and explain the pro's and cons of both.
Matt OSMA - I'm surprised this turned into such a long discussion honestly. I've got a pretty thick skin, so the comments don't bother me, and were pretty much expected on an internet forum, which is why I posted the video in the first place.
Bill and Matt, who I assume now is also posting on this thread, I feel like a lot of opinions have been drawn from a short video that doesn't really reflect the direction of the program itself. However with that said, I was curious if you would mind me coming by and training with you a couple times so that perhaps you could see my skill set and point me in the right direction of what I might need to work on etc.
Thanks again to everybody for watching, and the not so kind words haha
I sent you a PM