The Nerve Of Other Clubs!!

This week we've welcomed more people from other gyms into our fold, the stories they are telling about their old club are shocking!

The club in particular isn't in direct competition and offers a different art. I've never met the instructor and out of respect for him and his students I will never mention him or his club, I know he is successful in his Art and in Business. 

This said It does make you think, how can this person be successful? Why do his students pay more than double what we charge each month? And this in return for only two 45mins classes per week? Why do they pay £200 per year insurance for a family of five? Why do they buy all the uniform upfront? Why don't they realise that being forced to purchase "sparring kit" to take a grading is wrong? And worse still you have to buy from the instructor only!!

Maybe people see the club like the "taste the difference" range at Sainsburys the higher prices the better quality? better tuition? More professional instructors? Well folks a carrot you dress up in fancy packaging is still a carrot! 

Telling your students that they are the worst students in the whole club isn't very proffesional? 10 people in the class's isn't a good sign of quality! Forcing students into competition isn't good for moral,  and over £100 per month on top of membership, joining fees and uniform isn't very good value for money!! 

Look at what you paid for equipment in comparison to sites like blitzsports.com - who's having the last laugh? Oh yeah the instructor who walks off half way through your class, turns up late and leaves you to lock up on your own!!!

Shin Conditioning In Muay Thai

So we've all seen the youtube clip of a Thai Boxer kicking down a Banana Tree and as practitioners of Muay Thai we wish we could achieve the same level of Shin Conditioning - Agreed?

Shin Conditioning for Muay Thai is surrounded by myth and the topic always generates a lot of scepticism but the truth is there is no magic formula, its not witchcraft it is, along with all fight training hard work and requires determination and commitment.

I've seen many methods over the years and most are barbaric and I would suggest detrimental to the long term health of the boxer. I was taught to roll my shins with eskrima sticks or when they are not available any long smooth pole. I personally don't like this option, the pain is intense and I believe too much pressure by the inexperienced can cause long term damage - I've even seen the skin covering the tibia split.

A common misconception is that you are killing the nerve endings in your legs but the reality is that your pain threshold is gradually getting higher. 

I teach shin conditioning in the context of caring for your shins, as you train you will enevitiby clash shins with a partner or catch the edge of the pads while kicking. This will cause bruising to the shin and may be seen or felt as a lump or indentation. As with all bruising and trauma to the body you have to allow time for the body to heal. The difference with injuries to your shin is that the time it takes is considerably longer - lumps and bumps sometimes remain tender to the touch months.

The easiest and most sensible way to build up resistance in your shins is simply to kick the heavy bags, you have to be methodical in your approach ensuring that you adjust your distance so that the whole of your shin makes contact with he bag.

Initially any bag will be ok, the filling in the bag will settle at the bottom becoming slightly harder - start kicking this part of the bag increasing your kicking power whilst encouraging a low level of pain tolerance. Lighter and fasters is better than belting the bag until your shins bleed. 

Once your tolerance is getting higher and your feeling less of a sensation on your shins your ready to upgrade your bag. A heavy bag filled with silver sand (avail from any builders merchant) is brilliant for topping up your conditioning. As you kick the bag the sand moves absorbing some of the momentum of the kick but as the sand compresses the bag will become very hard.

Repeat your training at least a few times a week, gradually building up the power of your kicks, you will notice a difference in around 2-4wks and the beauty of this method is that all the 'dinks' you've recieved whilst sparring are ironed out leaving nice flat shins..

You can use Namman Muay Oil to assist in the healing process before and after a heavy session of conditioning, liberally applied to the shins it will help to bring out any bruising and numb any residual pain.. Treating your shins with an ice pack along side the oil is also a very good idea! 

Does Religion Clash With Martial Arts?

I really didn't want to go down this route, mention religion and many people instantly start to get emotional and defensive of their beliefs and faith. It would be very easy here to look at the atrocities caused by religion and faith over the years, dwell on the 100's of millions of deaths caused by religion and dismiss the followers as being gullible. Im not religious, I understand the need for people to have a faith and I respect them for their commitment towards belief.

Belief in a supreme being plays an important role in the life of most human beings. Religious beliefs have been shown to help people who have gone through hardship, the support offered from religious mentors is second to non -  I personally see this as the major roll of the religious establishment "to offer comfort in times of distress"

Like it or not the martial arts is connected to religion by virtues of history. Learning how to fight to protect your religious beliefs was part of daily life, and Martial Arts were the most effective way of learning how to do this. It was crucial in the historical development of many arts, and it continues to dictate the ways in which many students think and act during practice sessions. 

So given that Martial Arts have derived from religion are they connected to religious practices in 2013? Should students be warned that they are entering a religious environment? Is learning to self defence all of a sudden against religious beliefs? Is promoting improved fitness disrespectful to your faith? - in short Martial arts in 2013 are about as connected with religion as christianity is to football. 

This said we can take many things from Martial Arts roots, Taoism advocates living a simple life, the principles of yin and yang and living in harmony with nature can be taken from Chinese & japanese arts. Buddhism can be viewed similarly to Taoism in that it originally consisted of philosophical guidelines - for eliminating suffering, in this case. Specifically, the Buddha taught that suffering is caused by desire and that eliminating desire eliminates suffering. Similar to one of the ten commandments - you shall not covert.. and the Quran passage 60:12 & 5:38 which also addresses desire and its implications.

A modern-day martial artist should know that religious connotations are still present in Martial Arts but while students may appreciate the value of philosophical aspects of arts, they need not practice religious aspects. During our Wai Kru students with other beliefs are permitted to substitute a bow to their own religion or god whenever necessary. This eliminated any potential conflict and offers more potential benefits for the students.

Meditation is often confused with a religious practice, there is a fine line between nonsectarian meditation practice and religious practice. The most commonly encountered method involves partially closing the eyes and monitoring the breath, which are compatible with most religions. However chanting though out meditation had widely been dropped from the arts - Chanting or saying Hindu or Sikh prayers would for example clearly be a violation of Christian, Jewish or Muslim religious beliefs.

So is there a "Spiritual Clash" with training in Martial Arts and practicing religion? - in my opinion absolutely not - How does learning self-defense techniques - how to hit harder or kick faster, make one spiritual? Isn't spirituality the same as self-confidence, empowerment or serenity? For thousands of years people have been trained in the arts to enhance and protect religion often breaching many of the principles of what makes up the fundamentals of religion - "you shall not murder from the 10 commandments" for example.

If you are Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, you should be aware that practicing certain martial arts and their related religious rituals may be considered sacrilegious. Competing in an ring sport may conflict with your views of humanity - But before making decisions that effect the well being and future of your children you should also know that in almost every art, the physical can be separated from the spiritual/cultural religious practices.

As Martial Artists we understand there is no need to risk violating the precepts of your religion for the sake of training or competing. In fact, it's easy to incorporate your beliefs into your martial arts and omit those beliefs that clash with your views.

As the Chinese sage Confucius said thousands of years ago: "Although you may respect spiritual beings, hold them at a distance. This is a part of wisdom."