Workout Recap - Week of October 27, 2024
No double-class on Thursday this week due to the kru wanting to end early for Halloween, but I went hard with the opportunities I had and got some unexpected positive feedback along the way.
Monday
Muay Thai class
This was a simple fundamentals day, doing a couple of punches into a kick. It was kind of a light day for me, since I was working in a trio on top of doing only a single class, but it still felt good and productive. I've been trying to focus on the spacing of my round kicks so that I consistently have space to drive through my target, and it seems to be paying off.
Tuesday
Muay Thai class
This first class was another fundamental striking review. I was working in a trio again, this time with a pair of newbies, so I kept my striking relatively light in order to protect them. Even so, it was a good chance to think about dialing in my technique to be as clean and efficient as I could. The second session was surprising sparring, which is always welcome. I'd thought it was supposed to be light, but most people seemed to be going full-tilt, so I mostly tried to knock off my rust by focusing on my defense, making sure I wasn't holding my breath, and keeping my midsection braced against any potential body shots, which I generally succeeded at. I ended up only doing four or five rounds since the kru wanted the competitive fighters to go shark tank-style to work on their stamina and thus I ended up mostly being a boundary guard and calling out when it was time for people to switch. That said, it was nonetheless good to regain confidence in my defensive soundness, even if people seemed to be disrespecting the bite on my bones from keeping things light on my side.
Wednesday
Muay Thai class
This was a boxing day, possibly due to the high attendance not leaving much space for kicking. We practiced basic punches and slipping. My brain was being uncooperative, so I was having some trouble judging the distance for optimal impact with my hooks, though I was still generally getting good results when I did land them, so it wasn't a total loss. It was also good to finish up with some calf fatigue, as confirmation that my emphasis of late on getting more leg into my punches hasn't been entirely imaginary.
Thursday
Muay Thai class
In contrast to the previous day, there was very low attendance for this class; I guess trick-or-treating is popular with competitive fighters. Anyway, the kru used the class to have us work on some uncommon but still highly effective sequences, which was a fine change of pace. Interestingly, while I was packing up my stuff to leave, one of the competitive fighters mentioned that a friend of theirs who I did a couple of sparring rounds with on Tuesday had thought I was hitting them hard and had been surprised when their body blows had no significant effect on me, which came as a complete surprise to me because I'd been treating those as fun light rounds. It's possible that fighter was blowing smoke up my ass, but another fighter who'd been in that class also said they'd noticed that person and I really going at it when they were taking a round off. So, in the end, I guess it's all yet another reminder that I don't fit with neurotypical society, but it's also a sign that I would probably be a dangerous person for a random bigot to try fucking with. A worthwhile trade, since there's no avoiding that first half for me.
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