YMT at Southside's "New School" show

York Muay Thai team repping strong at Southside Muay Thai's event. Congrats on a great card SS, and thanks to all of the YMTeam that made it out to support!



 

YMT at Undisputed MMA's 5th year Anniversary (9/20/14)

York Muay Thai athletes demo at Undisputed Martial Arts 5th year Anniversary Party from Saturday September 20, 2014. Conrgrats to Undisputed on their 5 years and thanks for having us. The event was very well run and it was a pleasure being a part of it.

Lester, Kumar and Vlad- Welcome to the Next Step!

We would like to congratulate our next set of intermediate trainees in Muay Thai!

Instructors at YMT nominate our students to continue to the next level if they demonstrate high averages among the following criteria:  1. dedication/commitment, 2. technical competency in the basics, 3. respect for the culture of our gym and it's students,  4. physical conditioning.

Boys, this is not an achievement, but an opportunity. We are proud of how hard you have worked thus far and are excited to see what you do with it.

The Latest Buakaw Fight: vs Zhang Chunyu (video)

Here it is, in true to YMT blog fashion. 

Buakaw is one of these most well rounded full Muay Thai fighters in the world, and as of late he's been just taking guys a part with every weapon in the book.

So while I post this for you to see some super sharp knee work (both as offensive manuevers that we've worked in class, and as defensive returns/counters), you'll get to see him once again put on a clinic using an array of strikes and movement. Try to look for what you've learned in training...but also don't forget to enjoy!!

Khao! Defensive Knees

Here are two fights where knees played a prominent role in the overall story line of the battle. Even more interesting is that these are fights that took  place under K-1 and Glory events. These are kickboxing events with limited/no clinching or elbows, meaning that knee work is limited to specific ranges and uses.



In this video, you can see Aikpracha, the "hitman". He is known for his absolute ferocity and aggression, and likes to let his elbows go. In this fight, you see a lot less of that aggression as he has never fought under these limited rules before. By the second round however, he really starts to use his knees both defensively and offensively. In both cases, he is successful because he finds the range of his knee and executes it at the right time. This is possible because he has trained to the point of absolute familiarity with his knee technique, and can apply it confidently when his opponent is in the correct distance. Finding the range of a knee is not the easiest thing to do, but allows you to use an incredibly powerful weapon.

While Aikpracha still seemed uneasy with the different style of fighting, his understanding of his range kept him in the winning column. It's important to realize that this kind of understanding can only come from constant drilling and refining of the basics.



In this fight, you get to see the famous Buakaw. He uses a combination of head movement, swing kicks and knees to respond to the aggressive punches of his opponent. Instead of fighting fire with fire, Buakaw uses water. His flow allows him to redirect his opponent's aggression into his own attack.

Buakaw's knees in particular are well timed, which is even more so visible here than in the Aikpracha fight. He is able to read the commitment of his opponent and make them fall right into the spear point of his knee.

Again, constant drilling of the basics and actively seeking to refine them are the keys to gaining this type of skill. When the tool is sharp enough, one's mind is less preoccupied with how to perform the technique and instead focus on WHEN. 

Ask any fighter though...the tool can never be sharp enough. We want to make sure that we continue to build upon both our base techniques and our skills. Come sharpen up on some timed knees for the rest of the week at YMT!

YMT visits Ajahn Chai

 

York Muay Thai took the opportunity to visit Ajahn Chai, a renowned instructor in the U.S., and learn from him this past weekend. It was a great seminar with lots of things for us to add to our Muay Thai tool boxes!

Always learning! Always moving forward!

YMT at the York University Football Game...Go Lions!

York Muay Thai hit up the York University's first football game of the semester to give the campus a taste of what we love...Muay Thai!

Students and game watchers got to put on the gloves, learn the basics and smash some pads! We had a lot of fun working with all the different faces and introducing them to what we do.

Got to see some old friends as well as meet many new ones! A beautiful day for Muay Thai and sports :)

Click on each photo to enlarge:




Even the York U Lion got on pads...PC Construction giving it some work!  Ohhhhway!