More tests
June 26, 2009 by nopstar
We’ve covered this in the past… but recently it’s begun to make a little more sense to me.I’ve never been in an environment where there’s a formal test… I get why it’s used, (mark progress, separate levels, motivation, etc.) but once you are tested does it mean that your in a separate class?
I came across this the other day, it’s some footage . I know there must be some of you here who train there. Do you guys still have these tests? It seems less test, more initiation. Judging from the footage, it’s 3×1 min rounds? Is this a test to move out of beginner into the general group? (BTW I love that they have Billboards in their gym!)
I came from an environment that was quite the opposite of this. If you wanted to fight, chances were my trainers probably wouldn’t have said no, even if you weren’t ready. At times I personally felt is was necessary to have groups broken out (beginners, intermediate and advanced). To often I found that sessions were run according to the abilities of the beginners. If you were beyond that then you needed to find good training partners to continue upping your game.
How are things run where you train? Do you have levels? Do you test?
Thats not the Muay Thai Academy in North Hollywood. It looks like Sakasem is in the ring, so I’m guessing it’s at his school in Utah.
thats not fucking mta…. how could you not know MTA….. it appears this site is full of canadians, brits, and euros. this explains a lot.
http://muaythaiacademy.net/main.htm
thats mta. this is a muay thai site isnt it? MTA is known.
they had an amazing group of trainers in their history for being in LA. kru puk still conducts day classes.
Seems like a bunch of guys who want to feel good about themselves by beating up beginners.
We do run different levels, beg, mixed, intermediate and advanced/fighters. There’s also testing if you feel so inclined, which I do not and have never been asked to.
The different levels are nice, since the sessions are more tailored. Good too if you’re injured and need to avoid something, you can jump in on easier sessions and still get a good sweat in.
Personally…I always thought artificial rankings were sort of dumb. Some people even use color rankings by prajead or mongkon. Very mcdojo-ish touches I never cared for and think are out of place. I think broadly you have fighter training and everyone else. Beyond that get in the ring if you really want see where your skill level is.
Rankings to me and tests like this one are sort of dumb to me. And frankly speaking that guy is way too fat and looks so poorly conditioned that the ranking system to me is no different than what is in classical martial arts a free pass for some out of condition unskilled slobs to get some rank. The guys testing him a re not much better. They do the typical western pad man static dummy thing. A good pad man you can throw nearly anything at and they will catch it all.
How can guys that look barely competent as bad pad men test you in Muay Thai? This is a ring sport it’s not point karate. Fake rankings mean nothing. The real test is in the ring. These guys get a black belt in buffet eating not anything else. Their conditioning is honestly shameful. They look below 30 and yet they are all fat and rally weak looking. Ok end rant.
Also…Tapout Banner on the wall is the first indicator of how much of a clue these guys don’t have.
Add some cheesy ass 90s era nu metal to the mix and this picture is complete. The fat guys are exactly the kind of suburbanite pretend bad ass that eat up artificial rankings like candy.
From what I see, I think it doesn’t do anything. The “testing” looks like a sham. I’ve never had to do a “testing” like this, my thai trainers just threw me in the ring to fight. I hope they didn’t charge for this “testing”
Teep’s got it!
If I went to a gym where the trainers did that to me Id fucking run them over in the car park afterwards see how hard they are then.Just blatantly revelling in belittling unfit/begginners, listen to that sound track listen to the shouts as each kick etc lands they actually enjoying it and getting a kick out of it.What a bunch of bellends, seriously outraged by this shit.Ever watched Foot fist way?This film is ripping the piss out of you you fake pricks
where i train we don’t test our students but rather compromise them and help improve their games. What i see here is that intructor have no muay thai standard?
This to me looked like a Muay Thai version of Frat house Hazing. We have levels that you can test for at Tampa Muay thai. The biggest difference Is we focus on using Technique and some physical endurance and traditional Wai Khru, instead of beating the crap out of entry level students. below is the testing for level 1 boxers.
Level 1 Boxer (Jad Neung Nak Muay)
-2 x 3min. Rounds – 20 L / R Roundkicks (each round)
-Wai Khru
[certificate awarded]
At our gym, we have basically 2 groups; one for beginners and one for advanced students. Being in 2 broad groups makes it so that we both meet people that possess more as well as less experience during training and the sparring session at the end of each training, which I find helps my game a lot.
As for ‘testing’… my test is going up against the best guys there, stepping things up so they do the same, and still being able to function the day afterwards. Stepping things up means that the hits come harder and faster, though only if both parties consent. Knowing you’re at least holding your own against people with more experience and skill than yourself is the best sort of test I can imagine, but worthless if you’re not up to it yet. Then you just function as a banana bag, which the people in this film seem to be doing.
In my humble opinion, they’d benefit more from sparring with those closer to their skill level or, ideally for the one being taught, a more skilled fighter who adapts to their level and corrects mistakes / teaches new things while sparring and training.
Grades and levels are a farce, as far as I’m concerned, especially in an art as functional as Muay Thai.
This was not muay thai…
Its a bunch of frat boys with MMA training picking on out of shape beginners.
I dont think you’d ever see this crap at a traditionnal muay thai gym.
I go to Siam no. 1 in Canada and although its mostly foreighners the Ajahn here keeps things as traditionnal as possible. The idea is to learn Mt and learn to appreciate all aspects of thai culture that comes with it…
No to be a douchebag and beat up and the guys who arent in shape to begin with. I’m willing to bet they had to be pay an arm and a leg for this ”testing”,
i went to a gym that had tests – i refused to take them, which i was told was construed as me having an attitude problem. i agree with nop and feel that it’s necessary to break people into groups (as sometimes sessions are run according to the level of the beginners), yet mandatory testing is silly to me. particularly when you’re expected to pay for it, as is the case where i was previously training. you could identify a person’s level by the colour shorts they wore, and it just seemed crazy to me that it affected people’s self esteem in the gym. no disrespect intended, but it just all seemed like an illusion to me based on nothing that someone profited from.
This is not the first vid of this kind I’ve seen claiming MT testing. I don’t see how any parties involved are going to benefit from this. I dunno, what kind of thai pads they are using, but depending on the type, it can be worse to get hit by them than with a pair of gloves. Especially, if you get hit with a hard edge. I also don’t like the idea that the pad holders are allowed to hit you whenever but you are not allowed to hit back, unless they prompt you.
When I trained in Las Vegas, we had ‘testing’ about every 4 months, I believe. So 2 times a year, we would test. These tests weren’t mandatory. I never participated in these tests, I didn’t feel a need to. Belts are for pants! (haha, jk.) Our tests weren’t too bad, though. My Master would ask us to do certain combos, etc. to see the level we were at. This was to see how fast you were learning and what you needed work on. Essentially, it was to better help you in learning. My older brother had trained there for a few years so I always had him to tell me what to work on, and he would always assist me. I miss training. :( haha
So, the trainers beat up the student and the student can’t fight back? How is that a test? Here is the test of ranking at my gym. You spar! If you get your ass kicked by someone, literally and technically, then you know he is better than you. No need for formal ranks because it will show in the ring. I really like the part of that clip where the trainer hits his student with the corner of the thai pad! I take it he was trying to test his forehead as if he was elbowing it, not sure about that one.
I am glad everyone here at least agrees beating the shit out of out of shape people who cannot defends themselves doesn’t really ‘test’ much. Most of you guys are on the same page as me when it comes to rankings.
This guy’s a bad joke. I am fairly shocked he’s in a place like L.A. While it’s not Northern California you’d still think potential students would be better educated than to go to this guy for anything. Oh well at least some crappy nu-metal band and Tapout got something from him.
Was at a TBA school for a bit, and I completed tests where there were 3 Levels until you become a Khru. Each test had them hit you back constantly and you had to complete 65 kicks and 35 knees per two minute round for 2 rounds. Also, technique and Wai Khru were tested.
Been training at a Sityodtong now and dont know of tests like that…I think its just years and short upgrades.
at the end of the video i was w thought i was going to see someone bench press a motorcycle.
bryanp is absolutely correct. sparring is the best way of testing yourself and knowing where you belong. not only does it point out your flaws, but it forces you to react quickly and counter. these “tests” simply gave unknowing beginners blatant openings for their pad holders to exploit. most of them didn’t even keep their hands up, they were not prepared and shouldn’t have entered the ring. the onlookers actually enjoyed the spectacle as the new guys got beat up. this was a sad display of faux thai training.
That’s bad! Like Michael Jackson Bad! or as Run DMC says, “bad meaning bad, not bad meaning good!”
sparring was the best way to get my ass kicked by senior members 24/7. it sucked. clinching was always fun, but getting pounded and toyed with in the headgear while tired as hell was not fun. my kru would throw you in the ring or in a smoker at the first mention of it. thats where i fucked up.
Yeah that is not MTA in North Hollywood. I and I’m sure other people whole do or have trained would appreciate it if you remove that from your post cause what is in the video isn’t really something that MTA should be associated with.
Also, when training for fights, the trainers usually go pretty hard on the fighter- similar to this, but of course the fighter should be in shape and ready.
the boys at MTA would not be amused..
I think these guys are just ‘The Academy’.
nopstar,
you have failed us once again. correct your errors and redeem yourself with porn links. editing the article would help too.
Dude is from Indianapolis. That explains a lot. In California this amount of BS would not pass go. Just my take: this is another example of a group taking advantage of people eager to learn about Muay Thai. Watching those fat guys get the shit beat out of them is simultaneously hilarious and sickening. This test is a joke. Honestly though the tested have no one to blame for this but themselves. People that seek a ‘master’ should not be shocked when they get owned like a slave. A little education could have spared the public humiliation the fat guys had to endure as part of a ‘test;’.
At our Gym we have a Beginners Team, Trained Team and Fight Team. If you are moving up, the way its decided is simply just our Head coach who determines if you are ready or not. He is always there, so no bigge. This “Test” is bullshit. WHY?? Why not a sparring session with one of the best, and if you dont get totally whiped, then you are ready to move a level up? Based on how you move, think, act, react, and your condition, he will determine!! But really, all you need is to observe your students, and reflect a little and you can decide if he is ready to kick it up a notch or not.
Agreed!! People being hazed more like it.
I don’t believe in the formal testing but agree there are definite advantages to separating groups. Beginners should be getting their basics down so that they can then move on to trickier combos and what not.
Sparring and fighting is the only true test of where you really stand.
Anyone know if these guys actually fight?
Testing is stupid.
And testing unfit, unskllled overweight people is REALLY stupid.
If you want to be ‘tested’, the ring will give you all the testing you’ll ever need!
I got no problems with having separate groups in training, i.e. those who are just doing it to get fit/have fun, and those who want to fight … but surely any reasonably competent trainer can tell which group a person should go into by either just talking to them, or giving them a quick burst on the pads?
I know i don’t get out much, but I’ve never seen anything like this in muay thai before … the whole concept of ‘testing’ reminds me of ‘grading’ in karate.
Is this ‘testing’ idea wide spread or is it just happening in America?
‘just happening in america’?
what are u implying? and wtf are you from?
It means roughly ‘I’m better than you’.
Hey SE
I wasn’t implying anything …
I certainly wasn’t trying to imply anything negative about America.
I was just asking is this (‘testing’) approach wide spread worldwide, cos I haven’t seen the ‘grading’ approach with the (limited) exposure I’ve had with muay thai camps / schools etc..
I actually had a little snoop around and it seems to happen a bit in my country too (Australia) … I’ve found a few schools that offer colored belts and stuff … just like karate.
I wonder if they do this in Europe, also?
And Stack …
I certainly wasn’t intending to mean I was better than anyone …
As you’re well aware, I’ve REPEATEDLY made it clear on here, that I’m no expert on muay thai, and my own skills are hardly worth crowing about.
But you’re free to think what you like!
Of course.
hahaha
but seriously if you imply negative things about muay thai in the states ill fucking bury you.
I currently train at a place that does “level testing,” and it’s kind of irritating. The gym charges a fee for anyone to test, but the testing is mostly about your ability to run through a given routine (the gym teaches some other styles besides muay thai but carries over the routine thing to all styles, so it means you have to go through certain moves on the pads. Left kick, cross, hook, right kick. Repeat. Ugh, boring.). Certain classes, like the sparring class, are off limits if you haven’t tested to a particular level. I’m only here temporarily for work, so I haven’t bothered with any of it. Can’t wait to get back to my old gym where there wasn’t any of this nonsense.
Hey SE,
I made it clear to you I wasn’t implying anything negative about muay thai in the US!
What’s with the death threat?
How will violence fix anything?
Fightgeek – “Is this ‘testing’ idea wide spread or is it just happening in America?” I can see how an american could get offended by that statement.
S.E I have finally come to the conclusion that you’re a very angry person….lol…very entertaining (at times frightening)…U shouldn’t take everything so personal though. Your reaction to his comment was somewhat ironic considering that I remember you chanting something equally as prejudice when u said “it appears this site is full of canadians, brits, and euros. this explains a lot.” As Stacks so eloquently stated “It means roughly ‘I’m better than you” Are you?
Stack is always on point!
Back to the real issue of this post……Not to be funny or anything but MY OPINION is…..this video seems actually pretty “typical” of the american way when it comes to combat sports (I’m quite sure americans are not the only ones doing it though)…if I’m not mistaken the term is called “meathead”. Honestly, this kind of behavior does not really shock me as unfortunately the MMA mentality tends to seep into MT (or anything else for that matter.
I see what you’re saying Spyda but its only common with people who don’t know what they’re doing as these Indiana guys clearly don’t. And actually hmmm… yeah that does include a lot of MMA gyms I’ve been in and have seen first hand. The meathead factor is a lot more abundant than should be. Which is ironic because so few of them have actual ring experience.
Stack, clearly you don’t realize that jumping a drunk dude with four of your friends counts as ring experience…
also just reiterating the video above is NOT from MTA in north hollywood.
btw SE have you (in the last two years) or do you train at MTA?
just wondering
Well, here is my .02.
That video is absolutely one of the most horrible MT related things I have ever seen. It degrades the art, the sport and the tradition. That gym and all of those guys should be ashamed of themselves.
That said, we do have testing at my gym. I don’t mind it. We have a sash system, and the colors progress as the individual progresses. The tests are a way for us to perform at a higher level than normal. I started MT when I was 38 and am a father and business owner. I have no business ever getting in the ring, so the test is the closest thing I will ever have to a fight. We have two tests per year.
Also we have a beginner class and an advanced class. After one year of constant attendance in the beginners you are allowed into the advanced class. I don’t think there needs to be any more separation than this. It seems to work very well.
On a personal level, since I can’t get in the ring and risk getting hurt, I have taken my pad holding to a very high level and in that way I can “fight by proxy”. I donate a LOT of time at the gym holding pads for our fighters and they very much appreciate a good pad holder. Those guys in the videos are so bad at pads I can hardly stand it.
Dan….I think only the trainers and pad holders in that vid should be ashamed of themselves….the others are just plain IGNORANT to what Muay Thai is really about. Also, I would like to point out that in my opinion one year of constant attendance does not make someone better……What accomplishes that task are one or a combination of the following…..dedication to excellence, talent, a good teacher, competent pad holders/sparring partners, hard work, humility and research….feel free to add more to the list…lol.
I like the “fight by proxy” methods…..I’m also one of those pad holders who can catch just about anythin someone throws at him.
guys I’m sure Nop just hadn’t had the chance to edit the MTA error…..lol….I think we got the point though, this is not an MTA vid….lol.
Stack, I just could never get into that “meathead” mentality….I guess maybe because my motives for taking up and sticking to Muay Thai were not because I wanted to “bash someone’s face in”…..I don’t have to smack myself silly before a bouts or a sparring session to soop myself up….I just go out there and have fun.
:-)
I have watched the vid again and the more I watch it…the more I find myself disturbed. I mean some of this pad holders are really trying to hurt these guys. By the way….What are these guys really testing for?? Looking at their techniques I don’t think any of them should have been eligible to take any MT test whatsoever. That tells you a lot about that gym.
Spyda – Not so sure – most of the guys who were “testing” were supremely out of shape and don’t look too dedicated to anything. Perhaps they just don’t know? Tough for me to give them a pass since their conditioning is at a very low level. But at least they are there tyring to improve themselves and get a sweat on. Obviously the owner of the gym and those assholes kicking and punching the beginners are guilty of many sins.
I would agree with you on the one year thing. I should have elaborated a bit – one year is just a sort of benchmark our gym uses, if the skills and dedication are not there, there will be no admittance to the advanced class.
I also agree that the video is extremely disturbing.
I’m sorry to be off topic and I hope I don’t catch shit for what I’m bout to say!
R.I.P Michael Jackson….I kno this is a MT blog so I understand why anyone has mentioned it.
…I think that this is a stupid way of training….
the guys in the video are begginers…if u knock them out…they’ll never improve their technics in MT and their ability to stay on the ring….
this is my opinion…
No offense Dan but if you’re past the age of fighting in the ring why does one get artificial rank from a fake test? Because someone spent money or time? Because the gym owner is afraid you’ll be discouraged from a lack of rank and leave? Fighters get their level of respect from fighting. Muay Thai is a ring sport. Everyone should train Muay Thai but not every should try to fight in it. No amount of BS tests is going to trump what’s accomplished in the ring.
The color rankings are for mcdojos. They have no place in Muay Thai. If you’re into a martial art to get a rank you can be proud of may be that’s the wrong reason. BTW I’m not saying that’s you Dan. But you can’t wonder why others laugh at the rankings and see them for what they are.
Holy crap… I’ve stopped trying to figure out what’s going to be popular on the site. I find it amazing what kicks off and what doesn’t . Firstly my apologies to MTA, I got the info from the vid.
I’m currently in merrakech editing the blog from my phone, for fear that SE might crawl even deeper up my ass. Seriously I’ve let you down again? Can you count the amount of times Ive come through?
Anyway heading back tomorrow, hopefully we’ll have some fight footage from this weekend? Anyone?
Good night
Stack – a couple of things. I have said repeatedly that I understand that rank is not a part of traditional Muay Thai.
The tests and ranks are indeed artificial. There are some serious badass fighters that are of lower rank than myself and could easily kick my ass. So why the rankings then? Perhaps it is a reward for coming to class, participating, etc.
There are many people that take the tests and sashes very seriously – it is the closest thing they will ever have to a fight.
You said that “fighters get their level of respect from fighting”. This is true, but if you had every gym cater only to fighters, you would have no gyms. How many people enjoy MT like myself and never fight? Tons!
Personally I don’t get that excited about rank, rather simply want to keep improving myself, especially in pad holding.
It is what it is. Not saying rank or tests are right and wrong (except in the case of the test in the video, which is VERY wrong). I didn’t set it up, just relating what I’ve got.
Everyone should train Muay Thai.
Not everyone should fight Muay Thai.
Artificial rank in place of achievement in the ring is a joke.
Fair enough Stack. The only gym that teaches proper MT on a consistent basis in my area does tests, therefore I will need to do tests. Gotta work with what you have.
Yeah I know Dan.
I’ve been training at MTA since 1991. We would NEVER do anything like that to our students.
Our gym has always had more of a “family” atmosphere. The senior students help the mid-level students, and they in turn help the beginners. Everyone here is always focused on helping share the knowledge and techniques.
Often, people will stick around for 30-60 minutes after class to help the new guys with techniques and trade tips with each other.
Just beating up the new kids for some kind of initiation isn’t our style.
The issue isn’t really “testing”. The issue is this insane notion that the color of your belt/sash/ prajead has magically increased your ability to take a punch and keep pushing forward. I don’t think Muay Thai will go Hollywood any time soon.
There are exceptional gyms out there that use a “testing” system. They do it for many reasons. Extra cash flow ( it’s a business after all), seeing if students are ready for heavy sparring, and also to further the progression of the sport by producing competent instructors who can teach proper technique. At the end of the day train hard, do your thing, and don’t get caught up politics of it all. There’s 3 people in the ring; but only one of them is trying to hurt you.
lol, these guys got their cues from the tba tests. this is hazing, pretty much. if you want to be down, you have to do it. whatever – if you lack authentic training, i guess you just make something up, like this. i guess if you don’t fight, it doesn’t matter anyway.
that being said, the level here in america is getting a LOT better from what i’ve been able to see. a friend of mine was recently at the tba tournament in iowa (ironic, isn’t it, lol.) and said the level was pretty good. i’ve seen some fighters myself who are very skilled and it makes me feel good about the future. of course, some people just see it as boxing + kicks, but you know, that’s not right and muaythai is its own sport with its own flavor.
the way i see it, muaythai is like a language. some people learned how to draw (not write) the letters of the language, and then put the drawings together to form what look like words, but are not legitimate in the language, and then run around saying they can speak it. anyone can get in the ring and hit each other, but that doesn’t make it muaythai – no matter what the promoter says. lol. my two cents.
Sem! he looks like he is having such a good time in there haha. he will be out at our gym in august for a seminar again. always a pleasure and much is to be learned.
i think the intensity of this video got everyone fired the hell up (see: SE vs fightgeek)!
my testing / my partaking in helping test has been like this for the 3 years i’ve been at my gym as my kru is a student of Sem’s so i understand this otherwise barbaric and vicious display of muay thai haha. our testing is given as an OPTION to those who want their muay thai training to get a little more serious. it never really comes as a surprise. our LV.1 testing schedule is 5x3min of rope, 3×3 shadowbox, 1 hour of technique, break, 3×3 sparring, 3×3 pads, 50 push ups, 100 situps, 25 side situps each side. everyone knows those rounds of pads are coming and its with a morbid curiousity non-testing members of the gym come to watch.
given that this is an option, it is not a standard at the gym. we have plenty of folks who are in it to lose weight, have fun or just keep busy and ‘testing’ is just a once-a-year watercooler discussion to them. my instructor and senior students enjoy testing not because its a way to ‘trim the fat’ but to measure the heart of those who want to test and move ahead. you can teach a right cross, a tip knee and a flying elbow but you cannot teach heart. you either have it or you don’t.
those “overweight fat guys” getting “whipped on” could very well be lean mean killing machines on their way to an amatuer title in a few years and they would have this test as their first stepping stone. the way sem stands behind them and pushes them (especially after that guy eats an instep) to the head shows alot – after all, he could just be sitting ontop of the adjacent turnbuckle snickering.
kudos to those firm believers in trial by fire and knowledge through pain. shit’ll put some hair on your chest.
I like Sakasem and I trained with him a couple of times in AZ. I respect Sakasem a lot.
However that being said I still don’t advocate this ‘test’. Since I’m assuming you have also trained with Sem you too know how much he pushes you in conditioning. It honestly borders on insane. These guys getting the complete shit beat out of them are obviously not conditioned or ready for a fight. So this is hardly an adequate test of ‘heart’ when they obviously don’t feel they could be bothered to show up in any condition near adequate.
No, this is more of an opportunity to beat on people who cannot adequately defend themselves. I don’t know if this is Sem’s idea or not. But my respect for him doesn’t transform this exercise into a good idea.
Like many others here have said the test is in the ring.
Oh yeah that means for you guys wondering yeah I’m old school like that. Like your mom’s Adidas track suit worn-in and comfy.
yeah i see what you are saying Stack.
I could just be biased to this as this is the very thing i’ve gone through a few times. i agree a smoker/interclub fight would be an alternative. i do think that the idea of your gym mates cheering you on, your instructors/kru(s) watching you and your pad holder really making you hold your shit together is an invigorating experience. nothing beats the congratulatory words of said gym mates and the knowledge that you just went headlong into an impossible 3 rounds simply surviving and performing under pressure…all because you said you wanted to.
i know of a certain gym that gives out different colored prajed and mongkons for completion of tests. we get a pat on the back and are expected to skip more rounds of rope, kick longer rounds of pads and all in all train harder. nothing like karate when i was 16.
I have to be fair too. If this is optional and voluntary well shit I cannot really say the guys testing are being abused or anything.
Stack–by trained with Sem in AZ, do you mean his solo deal in AZ or at Chandler Fairtex?
Chandler Bryan. I also met Bilam Nesradine there. It was brief but pretty memorable.
Stack
yep, you are O.G.
I’m Chandler Alumni as well
Which kind of brings something back to memory. Fairtex Chandler used to conduct tests like these. They had a “shorts test” and an instructor test as well.
Did you partake in those Bryan? I sincerely mean no offense but I sort of disliked those as well. May be I am a big wuss or something but I don’t like seeing people who cannot really defend themselves get beat up.
I took part in the instructor test, which meant I was on the recieving end. The bit of saving grace was that it was Ganyao holding pads for me. Which was ok, because, well, he held for me everyday, so I was used to his special brand of chaos.
The instructor test there also involved a lot of apprenticeship type stuff, learning how to work the corners, wrap and tape hands properly…it was a long process, not just the pad work test.
I saw a few of the shorts tests…..they were interesting. I never was on the giving end of any of the tests….I don’t really think I could do that.
I would seriously dread Ganyao doing me in like that.
hahaha! I’ve been on the receiving end of Ganyao’s “chaos” too many times, my ass is still sore……..(only those who received that would know). I think testing is fine but not that kind of testing with pad holders beating up the beginners. IMO, it should be done with more emphasis on technique. That being said, the real test is in the ring….
At Fairtex we recently started our level system because of the growing numbers of students and mismatched partners. When we test it’s only on technique, we don’t have a trainer who’s itching to get back in the ring beat the shit out of the students.
Nop, you’ve have many posts about getting a bad partner during pad holding. That’s the only reason classes should be set into different levels so hat each person gets the best training they can for each class, without the risk of injury or the intimidation.
I showed this to Jongsanan and he said he used to do this too. he said it was fun for him haha.