So it’s come to my attention that there are a few people at my gym who don’t actually understand how to spar. I’m not making a statement about their skill, everyone has to start off somewhere, I’m talking about people who don’t know how to use sparring as a tool for improvement.
There are a couple of guys who I won’t spar with; I’m going to put them into 3 buckets. Flailers, Assholes, and the Clueless.
Yan Daeng, former Omnoi Stadium Champ, and yours truly sparring at Ingram
The Flailer is dangerous because they’ve got Zero control. There is guy at my gym who is the classic flailer, you just don’t want to get into the ring with him. You’re almost guaranteed a black eye or a nice kick to the nads if you choose to spar with him. I don’t think he’s malicious, he’s got tard strength and is severely uncoordinated. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t been doing Muay Thai for that long, but he’s keen on fighting… I think he’s done the last 3 or 4 smokers at our gym. It’s awful, limbs flailing and flying everywhere. He’s got one kick that is a straight up punt.
The Assholes… pretty self explanatory. These guys will go hard with people they know can’t fight back. They will conveniently tell people to go easy when they’re getting their asses handed to them. This is the worst offender of all. No amount of warning or reprimanding makes a bit of difference. They just do what they want. We’ve got one or two at our gym. The one dude, Is just such a dick. There are several of us who suspect he’s on roids. His testosterone is off the charts.
Finally you’ve got the Clueless. There’s still hope for you. You’re just starting out, you think sparring is all out war. You think by going harder your “training” harder. Your technique is generally shit but you’re not a Flailer. You’re actually somewhat coordinated and you want to learn, you’re just a little over zealous. I want you to pay attention, this post is for you.
Nuapetch (Ex-Omnoi champion) and I at Ingram Gym Bangkok
Sparring is not used to build your ego.
Sparring is give and take, when sparring leave your ego out of the ring. Tough to do, but you’ll find that if you’re concerned about “looking” bad or getting owned then you don’t have the right mindset. As soon as you can let all of that go, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll get out of sparring.
Sparring is not used to build power
You don’t spar to see how hard you can punch or kick someone. This is what heavy bags are for. If you want to kick , punch, knee something hard? I invite you to use the heavy bags.
Sparring is not a substitute for Thai Pads
Sparring isn’t a substitute for pad sparring. You work Thai pads, to improve your timing and technique. As you improve your form, you can begin to put more power and speed into your strikes.
Sparring is about control
For those of you who’ve trained in Thailand you’ll notice sparring is very very light. I would say that you are going at about 30-35% power max. This is where you put all the technique and timing you’ve been drilling into action. The idea is to work on your movement, defensive skills and timing. Yes there is solid contact but you need to be mindful of the amount of power you’re using, exercise control. This isn’t an amateur fight… your not in there to knock your training partner out.
If you feel like someone is going too hard, speak up. Otherwise you’re going to retaliate and it’s going to turn into a flailing match and someone’s going to get hurt.
If you’ve guys have any advice or horror stories etc. Would love to hear them.
July 20, 2007 at 6:34 am
“I’m going to put them into 3 buckets. Flailers, Assholes, and the Clueless.”
That has got to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while because it’s so damn true. I have plenty of experience with all three. There a few flailers that enjoy sparring constantly and make the sound of a stampede in the ring. The assholes come in the way of short guys who think they need to prove themselves. I do however, spar with the clueless just to help them out from time to time.
July 20, 2007 at 6:37 am
Scott-
That’s quite insightful… because the ass hole I’m referring to is also short. Hmmmmm….
July 20, 2007 at 6:47 am
I admit…I’m clueless, but improving slowly. The control thing is tough to get a handle on as well as remebering to stay relaxed and working on combos. I just try not to get too fancy and adapt to what’s working. I prefer going against the experienced people, even though its probably tough on both of us (dull for them, painful for me). Avoiding the a-holes and flailers is difficult and I sometimes let my temper get to me with both (i.e. 30-35% with control becomes to “oops…sorry about the elbow to your noggin, I guess my balls are still hurting from your last kick and I wasn’t thinking right”)
July 20, 2007 at 7:22 am
Beautiful post Nop…..I luv sparring….I think I am one of the most experienced guys in my gym, so if I spar with someone with about the same skill level as me, we just usually “feel it out” and more often than not, we end up going at 35%-50%.
Now dealing with less experienced guys is a lil more tricky but I have a fail proof solution and it works all the time…I just simply tell them ” I’m gonna hit u just as hard as u hit me!”. Most people get the message and if they get outta line, a nice headkick puts them right back on track. Trust me…it works.
July 20, 2007 at 7:44 am
I have been visiting your site for quite sometime now and have never posted anything…..This however was too good to not say anything!
The 3 categories you describe are hilarious and so true! I think every gym has at least 1 or 2 of each….. clueless and flailers are the most common at my gym (thank god we don’t have any major @ssholes). I think that there is much to learn from this post, sparring should not be an all out session to see if you can knock-out your partner…Instead, it should be used (as you said) to work your fighting technique, timing, defense, movement, and reaction. Fortunately, for me I have the privilege of sparring with non other than your friendly neighborhood SpydaMan whom just happens to be much faster and coordinated than I am….I think that I owe most of the progress I have made over the past year or so to these weekly sparring sessions! However, I am certain that if I were simply focusing on power or trying to hurt my partner I would be no better toady than I was a year ago.
July 20, 2007 at 7:59 am
Nothing is more truly than the short asshole. My god….Ohhhh lawd…..
In the nieghborhood, theres this shorter stocky guy that comes around when me and my friends are sparring, his ego is over the speed limit…
So we ended up sparring ( well i was sparring and he was for reals ) , the boy couldnt get close so he gets mad, took off his gloves and started swinging at me crazily.
It didnt turn out to be a smart idea for him.
July 20, 2007 at 8:50 am
Like Lgal, I’ve been visiting your site for quite some time now but never posted.
This here is VERY off-topic, but I just wanted the people here to be aware that there is a History Channel program tonight covering Muay Thai.
Its on at 10pm EST.
As for the sparring is concerned, I’m a newbie and haven’t gotten to that level but I do see those exact categories when I observe them at my gym. The assholes are the funniest to watch…cause they tend to make a fool out of themselves.
BTW, what brand of shin guards are those in the picture??
Great Site!
July 20, 2007 at 8:55 am
Hi,
I was wondering what brand and size are those shin guards in the photos?
I want to buy one for myself, they look good.
July 20, 2007 at 9:15 am
This post is so true. The problem is, very few people will self identify into one of these categories. I wish this was posted around the ring area, with the question on the end “Which one are you?”
I think this is compounded with trainers that do not discipline people properly and do not run good sparring “programs.” At my gym, we just have “sparring” after class but its not really in a class format. I swear, it really does not look like anyone gets any better. They just spar until they get hurt, and then take time off, and then come back. So you see people going at it, including the flailers and the assholes, and man it turns off a lot of people. It is really unfortunate, because of how valuable sparring is. Some people will just never do it, because after working all day, who wants to deal with another asshole when this is an elective activity that people are paying for.
One possible solution is to request a more formal sparring class that is a lot more controlled. That has not happened at my gym though…
July 20, 2007 at 9:17 am
Respol,
Hope you don’t develop any bad habits…Listen to the advice given in this post and you’ll develop your skills much faster.
Also, the name is igal….but no worries.
July 20, 2007 at 9:32 am
great post… Wha about the coach?? The guy who tells you how to sparr while your sparring??? And they are not that good. Or the guy who smells??
July 20, 2007 at 9:33 am
Emil & Igal
I would swear that those shin guards are Thaismai, however I can’t find them anywhere online. The closest match are these from Raja
July 20, 2007 at 9:57 am
All the sparring I’ve done is class formatted where the Kru matches people that he thinks will work well, and then rotates them. This avoids the “problem people”, plus he yells at those types and rotates them to a bag.
July 20, 2007 at 10:00 am
“I’m going to put them into 3 buckets. Flailers, Assholes, and the Clueless.”
that is one of the greates lines I have ever read about sparring and it’s accurate and funny.
hat being said I think we all have experienced assholes.
Fortunatly I was always with great group of guys.
BUt once in a while the asshole just comes in to the gym.
Now personally I am not forgiving in the ring if you are intent on hurting me as soon As I assure myself that those are your intentions
I am going to educate you about muaythai.
and it going to hurt.
I have sympathy for the clueless because it’s not there fault and they are willling to learn and improve.
I do not spar with flailers at all
because they are a combination of the assholes and the clueless. You dont know if you should hurt them or teach them and sometimes you just don’t thave the energy for that.
I make it a point however to watch people on the bag and how they work it. how they listen to the person holding pads for them and
alsoI wait to see them spar someone else.
and inthe case your aboutto spar someone for the fist time and right before youspar they say lets go light. I promtly prepare my self for the wrost.
because if you are about to spar you dont need to say that. sparring should be light.
Now whoever if you are about to spar and someone sayswe are going to go a little harder then usual now that make me feel safe because this person is leeting me know what up.
NOw I have met asshole all sizes
I happen to 5’8″ so I meet a good rang of assholes.
the last one I encounterd was on my first day of sparring after I hurt my back last summer.
Now this asshole comeup to me and says hey we should go light. and since I know what that could mean I make sure I tell him I just came back from an injury so that would be good for me.
when the bell rings the first kick this guy throws
wraps around my back it was a body shot with a slight step out . IT lands real hard NOw I dont’ know IF he thought I was not a good fighter since I had never sparred him before but that what he did.
lucky for me it turned out that I ha d fully recovered from My injury and the blow had no affect on my spine. BUt the thought of wha twent through my mind after I just spoke to this dude .
the first words out of his mouth after that kick was I hope that is light enough. I said yes and promtly intrudced him to my right leg.
Ands so his education On Muaythai began .
and just so you know he wasn’t a begginer supposdly he had trainned for years.
anyway I tell people to come down when sparring as much as I can I yell at them control control. Hoping they get it at some point.
sometimes I just kick them out of the ring and tell them they are not allowed to spar. go shadow box.
July 20, 2007 at 10:01 am
nopstar,
Those are nice!! I think I’ll order me pair…..Spydaman’s boy (Cheddha) borrowed mine….. permanently it would seem (I lend them to him about 6 or 7 months ago and well, they seem to be his now…..lol).
Also, Dii Mak I agree. Most people are unaware of the fact that they themselves might fall into the category of an @sshole, Flailer, or clueless. I will admit that I was a flailer when I first started training about 2 years ago, I was 225lbs and heavy into weight lifting which gave me “tard” strength and very little control…all I knew how to do was to throw a cross…that was it! Things have changed now, I have learned control and lost a good portion of that “tard” strength along with about 45 lbs.
July 20, 2007 at 10:21 am
There’s definitely been occassions when I’ve been an asshole in the ring. Sometimes if I’m sparring someone I particularly dislike I get a little wound up and start trying to knock their block off. There was another time when I was pretty mad at a friend who goes to the gym so subsequently I tried to kick not only their head off but all my other sparring partners that day. Sometimes its hard not to try to punish people for their “transgressions.”
One of the good things about sparring is the range of emotions you’ll end up going through, from fustration, to confidence, to emotional defeat. Its a good way of helping you to remain calm when you’re actually fighting.
I also think that when most people start they don’t really have a good idea of what they’re doing. It usually takes about a month or so of consistent sparring for a new person to learn the ropes. That time ends up being a huge learning curve for most people. They learn timing, technique, control, and how not to be an asshole.
July 20, 2007 at 10:52 am
How very true matt!
Just several months ago I found myself very frustrated and needed to get all that anger and frustration out. I asked around the gym if someone wanted to go all out and one of my friends step up as well as my instructor…it was great!! I got my ass handed to me and by the end of the class I was as calm and contend as ever!
I think this type of sparring is fine as long as both parties are fully aware of they are getting into.
July 20, 2007 at 11:59 am
I don’t know.. seems like bringing baggage into the ring because your having a bad day is an overall bad idea. It is a sport and people are there to learn. Matt, maybe you knew your sparring partners well enough to know that you guys could go hard.
But if not, you could cause someone to never want to spar again. If someone says “tough, its a combat sport”, re-read Nops original point. Sparring is not to be used to get your frustrations out. At least, that is not the thai way. If someone needs sparring to do that, they probably have other issues.
The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is deal with someone who has something to prove to themselves, and doesn’t mind fucking things up for other people.
July 20, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I’ve also visited this site many times but never posted anything but for this topic, I couldn’t agree more with the categories. The flailer is the worst for me, as my balls have been hit many times by flailers. They don’t mean to but for some reason, there’s some sort of magnet on their foot and on my balls. The asshole is easier, I just use the teep a lot. The clueless, I spar with them a lot because I have to, I’m a instructor, but they are fun for me because most of the time, they are so eager to learn.
July 20, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I have been all of the above. Maybe currently an asshole.
July 20, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I especially enjoy the knee sparring/clinching with sweaty, hairy, out of shape guys that feel a need to take off their shirts..UUGGHH Been away from sparring for a while but i bet you guys know what I mean. I also think that when the a-whole type person gets out of control it is completely acceptable to “BANGKOK” the hell out of him, preferrably with a knee but a roundhouse does the job as well. How about the guys that want to get hit during sparring? I can picture them at a swanky bar in the Financial District talking to the ladies – oh ya, i was sparring against a forner Lumpini Champ. hahaha I honestly like matching up with two other buddies (or non-categorized guys) and finding a corner of the gym to spar. What do you guys feel about the guys that show up all nice and fresh just to spar when everyone else has either done a class or has already done their workout? … You can always round up some buddies and hit a local park on a sunny day for some sparring..
July 20, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Followed by beers and lunch after at a local pub/drinking hole.
July 20, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Suli “What about the coach?? The guy (who’s no good) who tells you how to spar while your sparring??? Nice call, completely forgot about them. As annoying as they are they don’t seem hell bent on taking your head off.
Ernesto
“What do you guys feel about the guys that show up all nice and fresh just to spar when everyone else has either done a class or has already done their workout? …”
I would have to say these guys often fall into the Ass Hole bucket. I understand that people are on different schedules, but my experience has been that these guys love to spar people who are too tired to answer.
July 20, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Like Bunkerd says,”Look what happens when you know TOO much..” hahaha
I agree.. they are looking to beat on human heavy bags to lift their own spirits, boost their ego and make up for their other inadequacies. Maybe..
July 20, 2007 at 12:49 pm
I think I know that asshole. He is short, but totally roided out. He looks like a pissed off fire hydrant.
Spydaman, I’ve tried that ” I’m gonna hit u just as hard as u hit me!” theory, and it doesn’t always work. Well, at the MT gym it’s ok, because I’m 5’9″, 155, and there’s usually a good number of guys my size to train with. But I also train at a different gym (different art), and I’m ALWAYS the smallest guy. Usually the shortest, but definitely the lightest.
You’d think that these bigger guys would realize their advantages and back off a bit. On the rare occasion when I have a solid reach advantage on someone and I’m landing cleanly on someone, I tend to BACK OFF when land a succession of solid blows. If I’m dealing with a newbie and they do the cardinal sin of turning away from the fight, I do NOT use that opportunity to go berzerk on them. More often than not, I’ll actually STOP, so we can both analyze the situation and learn from it.
But as I said, I’m usually the smaller guy, and I’m usually at the receiving end of longer reach. So, it always amazes me when these bigger guys just try to tee off on me. I’m talking significantly larger guys, 50, 60, 70+ pounds heavier. A 220+ pound guy teeing off on me is like me teeing off on 100-pound girl. I may land 5 times as many shots, but it only takes a couple clean shots from a guy that size going all out to do some damage.
So, these days, I’ll tell people, “let’s feel it out for a minute, and whoever hits the lightest, we’ll go at THAT level”. It’s been a refreshing change. I can work on movement and evasion on these bigger guys, and they can work on trying to hit a little pinball bouncing around at their feet. ;)
There’s always going to be those problem guys. But I’ve gotten to the point where I’m confident enough to straight up tell them, “Nah, I don’t have any fun sparring with you.” In my opinion, sparring should actually be FUN.
July 20, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Anyone ever in counter the tough girl?? she tries to go hard??? what do you do???
July 20, 2007 at 1:19 pm
I was just about to ask that very same question Suli!
I have seen some of these girls try to knock some poor guys head off and the poor dude didn’t know how to deal with it. Should he have returned with a hard shot and actually hurt her, everyone would have considered him to be a major asshole! All he could do was to try and run away from her for the entire round.
July 20, 2007 at 1:50 pm
uh oh… that’ll be me, the asshole :(
and dammit, i’m short too!
that’s the beauty of sparring, i thought… when you’re getting wailed at tell your opponent to cut some slack, and then when he/she does, kick the bitch in the ribs. you heard that right, he/she. taking asshole to a whole new level. ;)
July 20, 2007 at 2:17 pm
What I meant to get across is that I think everyone has moments when they are assholes, myself included. Some people are just pink starfishes more than others. Everyone has bad days, that’s part of training.
July 20, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Suli, when you encounter the “tough” girls- you lose!!
You can’t start going off because you’ll look like a woman beater, and you if you take their beating you just end up getting beat up. This destroys both the ego and the body.
July 20, 2007 at 2:35 pm
I have a tough girl story. This was probably 5 years back. I was playing basketball with a few friends at the park. On the other half of the court was another game going on. Black girl, burly, taller than me and i’m 5’9, got mad because her ball fell onto our court and one of our dudes accidentally kicked it onto the grass field. She told us to go get it, we said no because were in the middle of a game. She wasnt have it and pushed my friend to the ground and said ” One of you chinks better go get that shit or i’mma chunk all of you ” ( or something like that).
With her guy friends behind her mad-dog’in all of us. I thought, o’yeah, theres gonna be a rumble.
But my friend Chai ( the guy that got pushed down ) went to get her the ball. End of story.
He was a bigger man than I. But dont you just hate those tough girls? It’s almost worst than a tough guy.
July 20, 2007 at 2:37 pm
“Tong Po
Suli, when you encounter the “tough” girls- you lose!!
You can’t start going off because you’ll look like a woman beater, and you if you take their beating you just end up getting beat up. This destroys both the ego and the body.”
I think you can apply just enough pressure. This requires control and being mindful right? You and you alone know what your intentions are… you should be able to spar without being a bully (attacking them because they made you like a fool… ie. ego), or a pushover.
July 20, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Nop….I think those are Everlast shin guards u got on…I think I can make out the letters. I can be an asshole but only to people who I have watched being asshole to others. If ure gonna spar with someone who is not a good as u are, there’s no point in being a bully because you shouldn’t have anything to prove. Nobody is gonna give u props for beating up on the newbie.
July 20, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I also to try hit tough girls in the forehead. It hurts less than the nose, and won’t potentially rock them like hitting them in the jaw or temple. I just keep tapping them with shots to let them you COULD nail them if you wanted to, but you’re not in there to be a meathead.
Kicks are a little tougher. I defintely don’t try to sink in any round kicks, so I can go faster with them. Again, just keep tapping away to keep them honest. I’ve never actually encountered a girl that will catch a teep or a round kick. That would be interesting.
But I agree with Nopstar: you don’t want to be a dick, but you defintiely don’t want to be a pushover, even if the girl is hot. ;) She won’t learn anything that way, and you should be in there to learn and have fun.
July 20, 2007 at 4:33 pm
OH….and by the way..I wanna thank all of those people who decided to take part on this post, especially the few who had never posted b4. (Wuddup Igal).
July 20, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Tough girl story-
My girlfriend was going to go at it with a 300 lb slob of beef- with the slobs mother watching no less! I intervened and was “mindful” not to touch the fat ass bitch- she was probably about 18 years old or less, and if anything went down- I would have to put her fat ass down and then deal with her hippo like mama. My neighbors were watching the whole thing go down and I finally got my GF to calm down and go in the house and the hippos to waddle their way home. I really wanted to smash the fat little pigs face in and her mama, but I remained calm and told everyone to just go home. They said I had a small dick and left. How did they know?
July 20, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I also have share the same ideology as Spyda with Tough Girls.. Tap that forehead.. Use speed to let them know you’re on them but if they want to play hard .. that’s on them. What happen to gender equality?? lol then you can ask her out on a date.. ehem I mean grab a bite after training..
Nop: THanks for this topic. I knew it was going to be good when you told me Tuesday but i wouldn’t have imaging this great a response.. I’ll have a few drinks for you..
Next subject.. drinking or diet for Muay Thai..
July 20, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I think I’ve read every single post on MyMuayThai.com. Every-single one.
This has to be the most interesting. with the most response.
Great Job.
July 20, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Those shin pads don’t seem to be EVERLAST, because they have a white outline.
And these prostyle EVERLASTs don’t:
http://store.titleboxing.com/everlast-mma-shin-guards-pro-leather.html
July 20, 2007 at 4:52 pm
VIVA TARD STRENGTH!! Have a great weekend people!!
July 20, 2007 at 7:38 pm
We must be goin for a record….lol
July 21, 2007 at 2:33 am
right on the money I agree totally sparring is about control and timing
July 21, 2007 at 1:41 pm
awesome post!!
I too fear the flailer.
July 21, 2007 at 5:28 pm
i got bullied in the ring today man!!!
July 22, 2007 at 2:25 am
Yes, the picture indeed is showing EVERLAST (scratching head) …but I cannot find any website selling such EVERLASTs.
So probably these are only sold in thailand?
July 22, 2007 at 10:59 am
I’ve made a poster of this topic. I will put it up in our gym. Maybe this will give a hint to those assholes and flailers. I think clueless folks are okay because thats why they are there. To learn.
July 22, 2007 at 7:51 pm
phew…i’m none of em and in our gym we only got 1 flailer…he’s the only one younger then me on the gym and that was the annoying part. He was keeping his head this low that if i would step forward he would get my knee in his face. It was his first time there but still i got a littel bit annoyed. Because he was younger and very very weak i couldnt attack him. In our gym if you try to beat up someone less experienced then you then you can leave. So i kept blocking…even though he was literally just hitting somewhere, i didnt know if he was even aiming. He allmost ended up getting my knee in his face it was only a matter of inches. But he is low to the ground that annoys me.
July 23, 2007 at 6:19 am
About time I post something, wouldn’t you agree Spydaman!
Also, I have always found that a few solid kicks to the legs are the perfect way to keep flailers and @ssholes on the right track. It’s kinda hard to throw bombs without fully functioning legs!
July 23, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Good topic. At my gym we have here down in North Hollywood we have all the above categories. We have one asshole who always goes hard regardless of who he’s sparring, beginners, experts, small, big,etc. Atleast he can say he treats everyone equally :) But he has no control and it doesn’t help anybody learn anything. If the asshole is someone new that nobody knows or likes then everybody teams up and goes hard against him just to try to give him a message that he will get what he gives. One time a newbie was going real hard on ones of the other newbies so the other guys from our gym just went super aggro on him. He got the message. Flailers tend to be the newbies who haven’t developed much technique yet but in a few weeks they seem to start getting better about not flailing. We spar at the end of each class at my gym and usually when we are all totally tired from drills, pads, etc so it helps keep the power down. BTW, just a quick question regarding technique: What do you do when the opponent catches your round kick like in the above pic??? I usually try to pull them in and clinch up but find that it doesn’t work all the time since if the opponent is fast enough they just kick my support leg out from me. Any ideas? I’ve been avoiding doing mid-line kicks with the more experienced at my gym since they love to catch rounds and teeps.
July 23, 2007 at 4:39 pm
To respond to the message above, if you are from MTA i have an idea who you are talking about, but again, i’m sure there are people like that at every gym, and to your last question, once again if you are from MTA Kru Nob knows some sick drills that are very helpful with ur situation 2:00 class.
July 23, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Have any of you guys been in a real street fight after developing your Muay Thai skills, i’m not a trouble maker and don’t usually pick up fights, but it’s always interesting to know how all the hard training will pay off if you get in a fight.
July 23, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Yea..it was about time Igal.
July 24, 2007 at 6:01 am
Answering the questing about what to do when someone grabs your kick…..What I usually do when Spydaman grabs my kick is drop to the ground before he tries to sweep me!!
No but seriously, I usually try to drop my leg in so I can end up in the clinch…jumping around and swinging your arms will only delay you getting dropped on your butt!
July 24, 2007 at 11:25 am
Once somebody grabs your kick, immediately slightly bend your knee of the grabbed leg and twist your whole body, it will be out in no time.
July 24, 2007 at 2:06 pm
One of the many tricks I do is bend the knee that was grabbed while pulling the guy towards me…rotate my foot so that my toes faces the ceiling then push the hell outta his rib in a teep motion (with the grabbed foot). U can also just punch the sh*t outta him but keep in mind that u will get thrown…but at least u will have the satisfaction of hurting him too. U can also do wut everyone else is sayin….clinch up. The best answer I can give u though…..if all else fails……Work on ur speed, set ups and timing and u won’t have to worry about people grabbin anythin…..lol….Chok Dee!
July 24, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Spydaman, there is a similar technique that I like, but can be used mainly in fighting.
Your opponent grabs your right leg with his arm. You twist your foot behind his back, you pull him hard towards you(bending your knee) and simultaneously you throw a right elbow to his temple or nose (etc) (this is done in one motion), right after this, you push him back with your shin (pushing on his ribcage).
July 25, 2007 at 2:00 pm
^^^^Thanks for the suggestions with the sparring!!!!! I’ll try all the above suggestions.
August 5, 2007 at 7:05 pm
[...] entire evening. I don’t think any of you will disagree that Yong Soo Park definitely gets the Flailer award. Pretty impressive actually, even the flailers at my gym rarely get you twice in the same [...]
August 14, 2007 at 5:01 am
[...] it’s not that bad of an idea. What if you had arm bands for Flailers, and Assholes? That might [...]
September 2, 2007 at 4:05 pm
“You’re almost guaranteed a black eye or a nice kick to the nads if you choose to spar with him” ahahahahahahaha “nice” kick in the nads! ahahahahaha. I’ve been there before.
September 26, 2007 at 5:20 am
I live in North Carolina of USA and there are very VERY few people here who know how to spar or how to fight MT. I always end up having sparring partners who cant even kick past my hip and kick in an upward motion!. It is my dream to spar in Thailand with a champion like BPP, Anuwat, Namsaknoi, but in not a rich tourist who can visit Thailand once every year.
February 19, 2009 at 5:48 am
i am only about 5 5 145 pounds and i have trouble getting in close enough and land clean punches can anyone give me some advice? also a great brand for shinguards are Twins