Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Clinch!


Free clinching at YMT on Tues, Thurs and Saturday after mixed levels classes.
Monday after mix class: basic clinch drills for beginners


Practice on a partner, help a beginner, learn from a more experienced student....There's always something you can take from and give to the experience!


Tips For The Muay Thai Beginner




Great read from Laura Dal Farra on beginning your training in Muay Thai...check it out if you are considering YMT as your home base!

"As a Muay Thai beginner, being armed with some preliminary advice will help you make the most out of your time, money and effort. So whether your current focus in training Muay Thai is recreational or competitive, here are some guidelines to help you begin."

Read:
http://milkblitzstreetbomb.com/muay-thai/tips-muay-thai-beginner/




Simon Marcus Talks GLORY 21 Title Fight vs. Artem Levin






Monday, April 27, 2015

Muay Thai Ontario Info and GM Session on Sun May 3rd @ Training Ground Muay Thai



Sawadeekha Gym Owners, Kru's and Coaches,

Muay Thai Ontario would like to invite you to an information session on Sunday May 3rd at 3pm at Training Ground Muay Thai (1203 Fewster Dr, Mississauga). Muay Thai Ontario has been in the developmental stages for years now and we are very excited to be moving forward in 2015. We understand that, after all these years, many of you will have questions and/or concerns. We look forward to providing all of you with an opportunity to ask any questions as well as share information about our organization.

MTO would like to welcome the community for an open forum and information session covering the following topics:
  • The state of the sport of Muay Thai in Ontario
  • Our goals & mission
  • Long Term Athlete Development
  • Membership
  • Participating in and holding events
  • Upcoming event calendar (Shows, Courses & Seminars, etc)
  • Team Canada for the IFMA World Cup
In this information session we hope to answer all the questions that the community has. If you have questions that extend beyond the topics above there will be plenty of time for Q&A during the meeting. If you’d like to send us your questions in advance, please email info@muaythaiontario.org. Students are welcome to attend.

In addition, we will be offering a Google group hangout to allow for distant gyms and students to connect remotely (details to follow). Snacks and refreshment will be served for those attending in person.

Please join us in building Muay Ontario. The only Muay Thai sanctioning body to service the needs of the growing Ontario Muay Thai community. You can RVSP to our Facebook event here.

Sincerely,

Jenypher Lanthier
President, Muay Thai Ontario

Brian Edwards 
Vice President, Muay Thai Ontario


Michael Reid 
Treasurer, Muay Thai Ontario
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We are proud to announce our inaugural event will be held on May 29th by Krudar Muay Thai at 99 Sudbury in downtown Toronto.

Please visit Krudar's the event page for details. Tickets will be available for sale online next week.

 
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Copyright © 2015 Muay Thai Ontario, All rights reserved. 
A shout out to all of the helpers that make the kids classes at YMT fun, educational and safe! Hadja, Shanks and Mike, we thank you for investing in these future heroes!



Thursday, April 23, 2015

Do You Know What Day It Is??


It's Thursday, which means (just like Tuesday), you get PC David running his bootcamp at 6:30!

It's Kru Cam here, telling you a little more about the BC class...

Originally, the bootcamp was a great way to round out the gym schedule by giving students a chance to blast out their cardio and endurance in 1 hour: with exercise, pads and bag work. It evolved into something much more. Some days you can't stay at the gym for too long and need to get in and out...this was one of the purposes the class fulfilled.

Since then, bootcamp has also attracted some super hard core students who are looking to add extra conditioning to their regimen, by doing the bootcamp first before the mixed levels Muay Thai at 7:30. It's become a haven for casual and hardcore enthusiasts alike to utilize the hour.

The preparation to the workouts have also evolved. You can see PC Dave frequently working on his clip board or carrying it around. He meticulously plans every work out, with elements and structure he has been learning from Strength coach/guru Grant Turner, to maximize the effectiveness and safety of the work out. As "balls to the wall" as it gets in bootcamp, you're never doing something random. While it is not a full instructional Muay Thai class, the emphasis on form is still applied to the exercises and bag work to ensure the students are sweating the most without hurting themselves in the long run.

Lastly, the biggest draw here is PC David. He is at once the scariest and sweetest coach in the world. He expects nothing less than your best, pushes you to your limit, but always reminds you that he's on your side. Very few people have his ability to be so strict and loving at the same time. If you ever work out next to him, you'll hear that he actually yells the same stuff at himself that he yells at his students: positive motivation. It still amazes me how driven he is as an individual, and how well he is able to spread that spirit to his students.

Aaaaand don't forget to stay for PC Construction's class at 7:30!  We are lucky to have him!  He is an eternal student of the art of Muay Thai, which means he has an ever growing pool of knowledge to draw from. We are a Muay Thai school after all, and he's one of the best at helping students refine their techniques and strategies. It's worth sticking around to hear some of his stories too. Don't miss it!

Kru Jen and myself will be back at the gym as soon as we are both healed up!


All in the Family

Just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the father/son teams at YMT! Not easy to get into a martial art, but never too late! Even better when your son is right there beside you!

Terry, Sasha and Pat all started Muay Thai after seeing their sons train. All three have been working incredibly hard. Terry frequently spars with the fighters, Sasha clinches with any and everyone, and Pat has just begun his journey by doing every class he can afford to make it to (also bringing his son to smash him with a focus mitt during abs exercises). Truly inspiring stuff. 


Building families at York Muay Thai


Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Elbow Month almost Over

(York Muay Thai Receptionist) Michelle is a beginner in Muay Thai, but quickly learning the basics with Ann Lu 
Muay Thai is known for it's emphasis on damage and effectiveness. The techniques by design are understood as "weapons." Very few people understand this until they see the elbows. Since punching and kicking are normally allowed in other combat sports, elbows tend to be seen as viscous and deadly...so much so that amateur competition usually bans them or limits them to being used with elbow pads. Professional competition in some countries like France also limit them with pads as well, while others limit the style of elbow (12-6 is the most notorious). Elbows among the hardest points of contact in the human body which make them a strong concussive weapon... but they are also incredibly sharp and can cause large gashes on the face.

However, elbows are not always easy to place. The range for them is very specific, as evidenced by the amount of elbows that completely miss the target or land with the forearm (even in professional level Muay Thai). They change the game quite a bit for the competitor not used to throwing them as well. Positions and ranges where one normally feels safe no longer become safe when fighting an opponent who can and will use their elbows. Positioning of the arms and head in clinching changes as well, as many fighters unaccustomed to elbows are used to lifting their head high and not guarding the opponent's biceps.

Lastly, elbows take finesse. Since the arm must be bent in throwing them, you won't generate devastating power from the might of your arm alone. Technique is the king, and must utilize the shoulder and hip correctly to land with power. The power angle of the forearm to bicep will also help create the sharp edge. There are many other small details to pay attention to, which will become natural with repeated, conscious practice.

Come to YMT to learn more on how to use different elbows, both as an attack and as a reversal in these last couple weeks of April!!



Power vs TechniqueSimon ''Bad Bwoy'' Marcus speaks on Thai vs Foreigner training style. Short clip from a mini documentary coming soon!!!!#infightstyle #muaythai #badbwoy #siamno1
Posted by In Fight Style on Tuesday, April 21, 2015


Monday, April 20, 2015

Counter Elbows at the Highest Level

Kaopon Lek, former Thailand Fighter of the Year, pulling off a dirrrrty elbow counter off of Mehdi Zatout's switch uppercut. Enjoy!!




Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Hand Wraps Deal at York Muay Thai

Always short on clean wraps? Buy 2 pairs of handwraps and get the 3rd at half price! We got every colour you need at York Muay Thai!




Happy Songkran!

Belated Thai New year (Songkran) wishes from York Muay Thai!  In Thailand, they celebrate with water guns and balloons in all the streets! In the past, we have celebrated with water balloon fight work outs...this year, PC David decided to use his water gun to squirt students who needed to work out harder :)






Thursday, April 9, 2015

Technique first.


Sharpening nature's knife with Kru Jen and PC Constantine this week! Basics win fights...




Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Kali Escrima at York Muay Thai!


Looking for the next level in martial arts? York Muay Thai is striving to give you the most effective striking possible. Kali Escrima is a highly sought after Filipino martial art that utilizes sticks and blades/knives with footwork and hand to hand combat.

It is an excellent companion to Muay Thai and is just as interesting as it is challenging!
Saturdays from 11:15am till 12:30, you can get your fix right before the 12:30 Muay Thai class!

Check out some sample of the beginner class on the YMT instagram:https://instagram.com/p/1Lr1UJvT1A/?taken-by=yorkmuaythai

https://instagram.com/p/1LsKBsvT1Y/?taken-by=yorkmuaythai



2 Canadians looking forward to the next challenge!

Glory post fight interviews with the two Canadians...reflecting on their strategies of the past, and moving foward!









Monday, April 6, 2015

Pads to Conquer Cancer


Get your chance to smash pads and support a great cause! Our very own Khanh will be running his first Marathon in support of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre on May 3rd. Donate a minimum of $25 to get 5 rounds with PC Dave, PC Patrick or Kru Cam!!

See the link below the image!




Saturday, April 4, 2015

April's Writing on the Wall


Congratulations Simon Marcus and Gabriel Varga!



Last night's Glory 20 Dubai was a great card full of top level kickboxing, highlighted of course by the 4 man Middleweight contender tournament. Although not Muay Thai, which has made Simon Marcus' entry into the league an intriguing one, Glory has some of the best talent and an exciting format to showcase it with.

I'm not speaking about the rule set, which I am personally not the biggest fan of (I would at least like to see catches and sweeps), but the rankings and tournaments. Last year saw a tournament to decide the Middleweight champion, and this event hosted the tournament to decide who the contender for the next title shot would be. Artem Levin won the decider last year and currently holds the belt, and so the winner of this tournament would earn the right to fight him for it.



That winner is Simon Marcus. In a conservative semi final against Wayne Barrett, Simon played an outside game for the most part, timing a cracking left body kick or right low kick anytime Wayne came to make a move. Wayne would edge forward with his own strikes, but Simon answered back each time. It was a fight where both looked tense and cautious not to make any mistakes. It was in the 3rd round where Simon pressured forward more, backing Wayne up with combinations of punches and that serious left kick, culminating with a clinch knee when Wayne was on the ropes with no where else to go. It was a close fight, but clearly Simon's win with the clean kicks landed and strong finish in the 3rd round.


Also on the card was Gabriel Varga, from Victoria British Columbia. The Canadian had won last year's featherweight contender tournament (beating Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai and Shane Oblonsky) in order to earn the title shot against champion Mosab Amrani. This fight was incredible. Mosab came out ripping to the head and body, mainly with his close range hands. Gabriel responded to the champion in kind, although there was a clear power difference and Gabriel was backing up a little more. Still, Gabriel was throwing and connecting to keep pace with Mosab all the way through, making it a tight contest.

In the 3rd was where the tide most clearly started to shift. Mosab became wilder, and his balance was beginning to lack from fatigue. At this point, Gabriel was connecting with cleaner shots as well as with a higher variety (scissor knee, high kick, low kick, hands). Rounds 4 and 5 saw Mosab continue to swing, again mostly with hands, and much wilder...but Gabriel's movement and variety allowed him to consistently catch Mosab and avoid most of the danger. At this point, Gabriel began to show signs of fatigue too, but was kept his work rate fairly level and looked like he could have kept going a few more rounds. While Mosab was still dangerous till the end, it was clear that his accuracy and balance were too much affected by fatigue, and that Gabriel would come out on top. Congratulations to the new champion!



Simon Marcus then fought his final contender bout against Jason Wilnis. Jason had endured a war in his own semi final with Alex Perreira, having knocked Alex down but also being knocked down himself. Simon on the other hand was relatively fresh given his cerebral bout with Wayne. Simon opened up with those serious left kicks again, and as the fight progressed, established his hands a bit more. Jason began edging forward, but mostly to receive Simon's responses. Up until about midway through the 2nd round, Simon was favouring the outside, moving and kicking almost as he did in the first fight. However, there was a clear shift when he began to gain Jason's respect with his hands, thereby allowing Simon to land his knee. These knees made the biggest difference in the fight, through to the end.

Just as in the fight with Wayne, Simon pressed more in the 3rd, culminating his attacks with those strong knees. Jason stayed dangerous with his dynamite hands, but failed to land anything with effect. Jason had more success with his low kick, but Simon answered back each time and continue to spear the body with knees. In the end, there was no doubt that Simon had controlled the bout, and was now the contender tournament winner....and the next in line to challenge the champion, Artem Levin.




Lamnamoon Sor Sumalee Highlight




In honour of knee month ending, here is Lamnamoon! He developed a reputation for having a strong knee game, earning the nickname "Telephone Pole Knees" (yes...seriously). I profiled him years ago on this blog, but the good ones are always worth coming back to.

When watching videos, the primary goal shouldn't be to copy what you're seeing, but to look for things you have already learned and how they are used in real time at a high level. Then, for those with enough ring experience, you can look beyond and see how each fighter adjusts the technique to suit their needs in the moment.

Personal skill is an important part of Muay Thai, but must not be prioritized over basic technique. The significance of this is best described with the common metaphor of building a skyscraper. Without proper support and foundation at the bottom, the building will eventually fall. Your basic technique should always be the priority upon which you eventually build your personal skill. Reversing the process may make you tricky and successful early on, but easy to crumble under serious pressure when the stakes are higher.


Thursday, April 2, 2015