Workout Recap - Week of October 23, 2022
I did indeed skip a day of training for other priorities, which I'll dare to say was the right decision to make. I also had a sparring round with someone who was seemingly going full force, and it was manageable. It wasn't something I'd want to do on a weekly basis (and I won't for this week, since I'm planning to skip sparring in order to make sure I won't have to cancel an appointment on Saturday), but it was good to feel that I could shrug it off and continue to fight like an anvil.
Monday
Muay Thai class
This was the second straight week with a class dedicated to knees and clinching, and what I took as some amount of motivational exaggeration last week seemed like more of a fair assessment this time, because I somehow ended up helping about four people get a better understanding of leverage and positioning while clinching. Not that I'm an expert at that by any means, but I learned a lot from Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu's YouTube seminar on clinching, and that was apparently more than the people around me were aware of. I sent the kru a link to that video in case she thought it'd be worthwhile to pass on to the competitive fighters, but I didn't get any response to that, so I have no idea if she did.
Tuesday
Muay Thai class
We did extended sequence work today. I was doing well keeping up with it, though I got some correction on moving too far while slipping punches. Since I was working in a triad, it didn't test my conditioning much, either. All in all, I feel like this was a class with a lot of potential usefulness (since I do need to drill in some automated counterattack responses to be less of a free target when defending), but it just wasn't clicking with me for some reason. My depression has been on the rise lately, so maybe my mind was too preoccupied to soak it in.
Wednesday
Muay Thai class
It was a pure boxing day, which ironically meant that my legs ended up more tired that usual; tight footwork and prolonged sequences of rapid weight shifting are no joke. I feel like I was very inconsistent with my straight punches, which is obviously not a good thing. Then again, I'm still pretty bad at everything on an absolute scale, so what does it really matter?
Friday
Muay Thai sparring
First things first: I did meet my three goals, so this was a successful day of sparring in terms of getting experience with different tactics (even if it felt like a waste of time due to ongoing depression). I also had a side goal of being very mindful to keep my chin tucked, since I think I was having issues with it lifting during attack sequences in my previous sparring sessions, and I felt successful with that as well; the punches to my head were generally glancing off my guard or forehead instead of tapping my nose, which was the least sore it's been after any sparring day yet. I also had a round with someone (seemingly) trying to go full force, and nothing they did really hurt me; I got knocked around a bit for sure, but I wasn't rocked, and the hits to my body or legs were not an issue. It was a little annoying in the moment that the person was more aggressive than they likely would've been if I was trying to hit hard (especially since I was avoiding doing any knee strikes after they mentioned feeling scared from my first one due to not wearing groin protection), but whatever, everyone has their own goals in sparring, and this was useful as a simulation for being attacked by someone who was too full of drugs and/or murderous intent to be concerned with pain or self-preservation. In any case, I got through it without any notable damage (just a bruise on my elbow from using it to block their foot on a round kick, which means it was a good thing that sparring partner was wearing shin guards), so it built some confidence in my overall defense and toughness. That said, there's still plenty I need to improve at to fight competently. Goals for next sparring: move after every three strikes, on both offense and defense.
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