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Ask the Trainer |
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Training tips From Mr. Richard Smith, world renowned Muay Thai fighter, trainer, and founder of Bad Company Gym, In Leeds, England. Readers are invited to e-mail any questions or advice related to training, fighting techniques, strategy, or other related subjects. All questions will be forwarded to Mr. Smith, who will try to answer as many as possible
Hi, Hi Amanda Dear Mr Smith. Hi Teresa, Thanks for your question. To be honest if your level of fitness is ok for jogging 3 times a week, I would say that you should be fit enough to start out in a beginners class and that the best way to get fit for kickboxing is to do kickboxing! This might sound stupid, but fitness for any sport is pretty specific and while running or weight training may help you with specific areas of fitness such as endurance or strength or power, the only way to find out what areas you need to work on is to train and do the sport first. If you are determined to change your training to a more specific routine to suit your new sport, then I would add some interval training into your runs – such as hill work (find a hill that takes about a minute to run up at a steady pace, after a warm up of about 10 minutes, run up and jog back down building up to 5 reps and then finish with a cool down,) or sprint training – (10-15 second bursts with 2-3 minutes recovery in between). Alternatively you could start some weight training to increase strength and muscular endurance – start with an all over body routine working legs (quads hamstrings and calves), chest, shoulders, back and arms after a warm up. If you go to a gym they should be able to advise you on a specific programme. With regard to diet, you should need to make too many adjustments at first, other than to make sure you get plenty of protein to repair the muscles and drink plenty of water, but make sure you follow a reasonably balanced diet Sorry not to be more specific but really you need to start the sport and then you will see what effect it has on your body and then you will have more idea on what needs adjusting in your training and diet. Once you get started, don’t hesitate to let me know how you are getting on and let me have any more questions that you may have. Regards,
Richard I am a 15 year old girl who is very dedicated to freestyle martial arts. I started at the age of 4 and have started fighting in tournaments since the age of 9. I'm always training and trying new things. I would love to be a world champion in the future and fight for England. What I want to ask you is to help me come up with a training programme that will help me to improve everything. I usually just go on my punch bag for about half an hour every night but I want to work on cardio, punching and kicking techniques. Please write back to me with a training programme because I really need your help Thank you, Kelly Dear Kelly, Thanks for your e-mail. Its great to hear that you are so dedicated. Its difficult for me to suggest a routine for you when I don’t know your training routine, whether you train at a club and what type of Kickboxing you want to compete in. Will it be semi-contact, light continuous, full contact, etc? By the sounds of your e-mail you are training on your own and not at a club. I would strongly recommend that if this is the case, you will find it hard to reach your potential and that you should look for a club with a reputable instructor who has a history of producing fighters in the style that you want to compete. If you want any suggestions or if you can let me know a bit more about yourself, I can advise further, so please don’t hesitate to e-mail back. In the meantime I hope that this helps. Regards, Richard hi my names mel I am from Devon I have been kickboxing for near 2 years. I had to fight a man last night 4 times the size of me came out of it feeling a bit disgruntled, as he had a harder hit and did not matter what I did he came in hard, do u have any tips on sparring someone a lot bigger and how to regain confidence . thanks Mel Hi Mel Thanks for your e-mail. For a start you should not be put in a situation where you have to “fight” a man, never mind someone (male or female) who is much bigger than you. Even if you mean sparring in the class, there is no excuse for someone bigger and stronger, going hard and you coming out of it upset and disgruntled. My first advice on how to deal with this situation is to avoid it! I can give you all the advice in the world about attack, defense and footwork, but at the end of the day none of it will help you to deal with a trained person much bigger than you coming in hard and this should not happen in a gym or in competition. I suggest that you speak to your instructor and tell him/her that you are not happy about this. Any decent instructor will address this and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Regards, Richard Hi there Richard,
My name is Susie and I write to you from Australia.
I have been in serious boxing and kickboxing training for the past 2 years and have some wonderful trainers, yet I like to get lots of advice from many different professionals. My question to you is... Standing at 4'11" tall and weighing in at 40kg (of solid muscle) I am quite little. Being an ex jockey I have rather incredible strength for my slight frame, am at the peak of my fitness and have a huge heart. Now as you can well imagine all opponents have a reach advantage, not to mention I am a great target for some serious head kicks!
I have become quite
efficient in blocking, weaving, slipping and my constant dancing in and
out of range causes my opponent's a great deal of frustration! Now...this is fine as I have the endurance to go the distance, yet as frustrating as it is for my opponent, it too is for me. I was wondering if you could advise me on some offensive techniques as so in between my incredibly frustrating "dancing routine" I can get in a few decent points. Warm regards, Susie Hi Susie Thanks for your question. To be honest it sounds like you have the answers right there in your question! You need to work on turning what could be a disadvantage (your height/reach) into an advantage. Your center of gravity is low and when you are at your range it will be very difficult for an opponent to get their shots off properly. You will find that you need to work on pushing your opponent backwards and not standing directly in front of them – ie step left and right when you are in range. Try to avoid being pushed backwards yourself. Use you lower center of gravity. It would be a good idea to pick up as many tapes of Thais fighting (especially against Westerners) and look at their footwork as they are masters at cutting down the ring and not being pushed back. I hope that this helps Regards Richard hi! i live in the UK in manchester and i have been looking on the website EVERYWHERE to find training in kickboxing for women.i was wondering if you knew any in manchester, longsight!! it would be very useful. i find that i am not naturally confident and want to build it, and want my health to improve also. i am asthmatic and slightly anaemic and am slightly underweight for my ageof 21 i weigh only 7 stone. i am unsure if it would be appropriate for me. what do you suggest. from alexxa Dear Alexxa
There are many gyms in Manchester but on that I am sure you will find offer what you are looking for is Master A’s gym. It is a very friendly small place right in the city center and Master A is a great teacher. He as many girls training there and has produced many champions. Don’t worry about your strength and health as training will only improve it Go to your your doctor before you start to make sure its ok, but after that Master A will look after you. The website is www.masteramuaythai.co.uk where I am sure you will find all the information that you need. If not please let me know. Good luck!
Hello Mr. Smith, Name is Sarah and 19 years old. I am deaf and I wear Cochlear implanted. I was wondering if that thai boxing at the ring permit protection like helmet? I can take off my hearing aid but can't take off the implanted inside my head, the implanted is small and need a little protection. Hi Sarah Thanks for your question. The answer is pretty simple - if you fight Amateur Muay Thai you will wear headguard, body protection and shin pads. Pro is without padding. If you compete on gym shows or novice events, it may be that your trainer will be able to agree with the other camp to wear head protection. I hope that this helps and good luck with your training and fighting. Please let me know how you get on. Regards Richard Hi, Thanks, Philipa Philippa, Thanks for your question and I'm really pleased that you are enjoying your training. Kickboxing is a competitive sport and many people like to test their progress by competing. There are plenty of options out there from Light Contact to Light Continuous to Full Contact. However, many people do not wish to compete and after only 6 months I would suggest that it is a little early for you to consider competing. Most gyms usually follow a grading syllabus which will take you through to the equivalent of Black Belt or Instructor Level. Although Kickboxing in the UK is not as organised as Karate and therefor there is a less uniform grading system, most of the major Governing Bodies do have a grading syllabus for their instructors to follow. Have a word with your instructor and ask whether you do gradings at your gym. If you dont and this is something that you wish to do in order to monitor your progress, I am sure that you will be able to find another local gym that offers this. I hope that this helps, but of course if you want to know anything else, please let me know. Richard Hi, I just started Kickboxing about 2 months ago. In the class we get to use a shield that reads how hard you punch and kick It and the Instructor has said for the yellow belt grading we have to be able to kick the shield with a right front kick and get a reading of 12 from 10 attempts and strike It using a right cross and get a reading of 10 must be recorded from 10 attempts. Using this shield previously my right cross reads at 5 and my right front kick reads a 7. Do you have any Ideas of what I can do to build strength or any Ideas to help me hit the shield into double figures. I'm 5ft 3" and 7stone and I just cannot get It Into double figures. Any help or tips will be great! Hi Emma, Thanks for your question. The first thing that I notice is that you have only been training for about 2 months. With this amount of training, you are unlikely to have fully learned the techniques to the extent that you can yet generate your full power. The most important thing that I would say to you at this stage is to practice! Just keep practicing the techniques over and over again and the repetition will "groove" the techniques into your body so that it generates force more efficiently. Keep asking your instructor to look at your technique to make sure you are practicing properly, getting your body weight into the techniques and generating power from twisting your body. As you get better at the techniques, you will find that your power will improve quite dramatically at first. If you are looking to punch harder, I would advise you to be careful about wrapping/bandaging your hands and wearing decent gloves, as your wrists and hands will need protecting. The most important thing when punching is to make sure that you twist your body using your hip and shoulder. This means that you will have to come up on the toes on the side that you are punching and get your body weight through the shoulder and down the arm. Think of twisting your body as if you are throwing a stone. With kicks, make sure you kick through the pad and fully twist your body, twisting on the standing leg. Once you get you technique right I am sure that you will find you generate enough power to pass your grading. If you want to develop more power after this, you will need to look into strength training incorporating Plyometrics and well as putting more time into your Kickboxing to condition your body. I'm sure you'll get there, but best of luck, and please let me know how you get on. Richard Hi Richard,
Hi Carlie Thanks for your question. My own non-medical opinion is that if you get back into your trainng and improve your fitness, this will help your asthma. However, I would advise you to go see your Doctor just to check that its ok. One who specialises in asthma would be the best to see. My main advice would be to take it easy at first. Dont push yourself too much to soon, as you may end up injured and losing motivation. For the first few weeks dont train any more than 3 times a week to give your body plenty of time to recover.Take a look at your diet too. If you are increasing your training, drink plenty of water and increase your protein intake, look to increase the amount of fresh unprocessed food such as fruit and vegetables and of course reduce the amount of "junk" that you eat. If you want to incorporate other types of training, at first I would look at running or if you dont like to run, go to the gym and use the stationary bike, rowing machines or other cardio equipment but this would be part of your 3 times per week training, not as well as. Build up slowly with your running and other weight bearing stuff as your increased bodyweight may make you a little more prone to injury on your knees and lower back. After 4 weeks, you should be ok to add another session a week - either extra kickboxing, another weights session or some light weights. Your kickboxing trainer should be able to give you some advice in a programme that will suit you more specifically with the amount of time that you have available etc. Its difficult to say how long it will take you to get back in shape, but as its only about 3 years since you stopped training and you are still only 20, I would have thought that your fitness would come back pretty quickly at first (asthma permitting) and definately within 6 months, and you should get your weight back down (as long as you are sensible with your diet) in less than a year. I hope that this helps and GOOD LUCK with your training. Please let me know how you get on. Richard
Hi Richard, Hi, I'm Lisa Houghton-Smith, Richard's wife and thought I'd be better equipped to answer this as I had a baby a year ago! First of all , Congratulations : ) I spoke to a few of the girls on the circuit and most of us managed to train Thai boxing until between 5 and 7 months ( There's a point when your bump gets big and you just feel uncomfortable but you'll know your own body and recognize this point.) Really I can only tell you what I did as the fighters I know I did different things. For example, 2 fighters I know carried on running and skipping at a lower intensity for a while and were fine but it felt wrong for me to do any sort of bouncing from the beginning - Listen to your own body and instincts and don't do anything that doesn't feel right. Keep an eye on your heart rate, most books say don't go above 130bpm but my Doctor said I could push it in the 150bpm range as I was already fit. Also try not to work so hard that you get too hot as this is not recommended. For the first few months I did pad work but 3 sessions a week and one normal gym session ( cross trainer/bike/light weights no abs obviously as you want those muscles to stretch not tighten!) When doing pad and bag work I worked technique and balance as the hormone relaxing will make your ligaments more prone to injury so I slowed down everything slightly and used more hands. Shadow boxing is fine. Balance stuff is fantastic to do from early on as it helps to avoid problems when you have a bump knocking you off centre - Standing on one leg stuff like low side leg raises. Around 5/6 months roundhouse kicks may become uncomfortable - I did lot of front kick drills on the bag ( 10 off one leg, 10 off the other, 100 alternate etc) and boxing. From about 7 months I did shadow boxing, squats, light hand weights, loads of walking, some stationary bike and a pregnancy yoga class. I probably did about 3/4 gym sessions a week and walked everywhere. At this stage I think that it's a bad idea to throw any sort of kicks as you could damage your pelvis not to mention jarring your baby about! The main bit of advice I'd give is to go easy on yourself - If you feel tired, rest - Many times I would come in from work and just sleep then go out for a walk. People can get so competitive so ignore the "I was doing press ups as I gave birth"/" I only put on 6lbs" brigade. All the women I know put on varying amounts of weight regardless of the amount of exercise they were doing. Think why you are exercising - You are not going to get fitter as you cannot exercise to that intensity, you are trying to maintain your fitness so that after your baby is born, you can get back to normal fitness quicker. Enjoy your pregnancy and remember, it's health related fitness now not sports related. Do things you enjoy and look after yourself and bubba! Good luck and please let me know how things go. If you need any more information please don't hesitate to get in touch again, either through this site or on my e-mail address lisa@badcompany.co.uk. Lisa Houghton-Smith Sir: How common is brain tissue and spinal cord damage in women's kickboxing? Do females who participate in this sport run a higher than usual risk of such injury, and will good training reduce the risk? Respectfully yours, Hi there Thanks for your question. To the best of my knowledge there have never been any studies undertaken relating to this so the only way that I can answer this is from personal experience and opinion. I have certainly never personally heard of any serious injury relating to females in kickboxing. In fact such incidents in the sport in general - males and females are extremely rare. Over the last 20 years in the UK I know of only 1 serious incident which involved a brain hemorrhage. There are 2 sides to this however - there is the possibility of acute injury such as immediate trauma and injury, but also of chronic damage that will develop over time due to repeated blows to the head. As stated above I know of no studies related specifically to kickboxing or to females. Your question is "Do females who participate in this sport run a higher than usual risk of such injury". The answer to this would of course have to be yes they do if compared to females who take part in no physical activity, but if compared to other sports such as horse riding, downhill skiing or motor racing, the answer would be that the risk is much lower. Good training will of course lower the risk for several reasons. Firstly the athletes in question will learn better defensive skills and therefore take less punishment. Secondly the athletes will be better conditioned and able to absorb the impact of the blows with better muscles protecting the spine in the neck and back. Of course a factor here is how a fighter chooses to fight. If their style is to "walk through" an opponents blows then injury either superficial or more severe is more likely. This is why I believe that a good coach will teach good defense and that fighters should never take fights unless they are prepared properly. There is also an issue in making weight. A weight drained dehydrated fighter runs more risk of injury due to reduced fluid around the brain and greater risk of fatigue impairing defensive ability. It is therefore important that fighters and coaches take their own safety into consideration by preparing properly and fighting at the correct weight. I have also long held the view that if you want to make boxing safer, the best thing to do is to add kicks! This is because the longer range weapons and increased targets mean that the head is no longer the focus of attack which is spread out around the body. There is more chance of minor injuries such as bruises etc but less of trauma to the head. Of course I accept that a kick to the head is likely to inflict more damage than a punch, but it is very difficult to land a head kick, particularly on well trained fighter. Another thing to consider is your question specifically relating to females. My view is that because it is generally accepted that females different physical make-up mean that they do not usually have the same pound for pound power as men. They can be technically much better and able to inflict damage on their opponents, particularly over an untrained man but this may be a factor that reduces the risk of such injury in women further. I hope that this helps to answer your question. Regards, Richard Smith
PO Box 183, Hello Mr. Smith, I am 30 years old and 215 pounds (5'11"). I have increased my training from 4 hours a week to 8 and will add another 2 hours in March (when I begin to train for tournaments). With all this training (Bagwork, Thai pads, Mits, Paddles and one hour of sparring plus running once a week) what kind of diet can you recommend to help me shed 50-60 pounds. I am gaining muscle and training very intensely but I want to get the edge in my eating so that the pounds come off even easier and I'll be in a better weight class. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks, Shelley in the U.S Thanks for your question. You sound like you are building your training up nicely, but losing 50-60lbs is a big goal! In reality you can only safely lose 2lbs of fat a week without losing muscle too so you need to allow yourself plenty of time to achieve what you have set out to. The initial increase in training levels will help to kickstart your weight loss, and my main advice to maintain this loss is to take it steady. If you are burning extra energy and you impose a very strict low calorie diet on yourself too you are less likely to be able to carry on long term without getting ill. Training hard and dieting will suppress your immune system and make it easier to pick up illnesses unless you go about this in as healthy a way as possible. In order to train hard and get fit you need to eat well to fuel your training and help your body to repair itself. This means that you need to be getting plenty of protein and to be eating regularly. Stick to 4 or 5 small meals a day rather than 2 or 3 big ones as this will keep your blood sugar levels more constant. Keep healthy snacks like dried fruit and nuts on hand so that if you feel desperate you are less likely to go mad and eat sweets, cakes etc. I don't know what your likes or dislike are, or what your routine is or what foods are easily available to you so I wont get into anything specific, but basically cut out as much processed food as you can, and stick with fruit, vegetables, nuts, pulses, whole grains and low fat meats or fish as much as you can. Don't be too strict all the time - allow yourself a day off each week to relax and eat a bit more, getting your cravings out of the way and stoking your metabolism up a bit, and drink plenty of water! I have seen fighters training very hard and eating a very strict diet and still not lose weight, but as soon as they increase their water intake, it drops off. Your body needs water to flush out the toxins that your body produces and the fat loss process needs lots of water to work. Your training schedule sounds good, but it may help to increase your running when you have lost a bit more weight. I wouldn't run too much at first as your joints wont thank you for it and you could end up with injuries. Stick to the stationary bike, rowing machine or other non-impact cardio. I hope that this helps but without knowing your specific routine and diet I have had to keep it pretty general. If you need any more advice, please feel free to e-mail your routine and diet and I could go into more detail, although I am sure that your coach will be able to help too. Regards and Good luck with your programme and training. Richard Smith | |||
