Before my thoughts turned to muay thai I rarely had ever stepped in a gym. I don’t know about most people but for me when I had tried to go to a gym before the second I entered their doors my level of self-consciousness would increase exponentially.
Having always been smaller than everyone else I never felt physically adequate. I had no physical confidence and going to a gym and seeing all these pretty people with their toned physiques, six packs and muscles just left me feeling like I could never get to that.
I didn’t start muay thai for the fitness, I did it because I was afraid and because it was so outside my comfort zone because I sought to break past that wall preventing me from believing that I could.
After doing muay thai for the last year and a half at Charn Chai Muay Thai in Thailand and getting to fight several times I came to realize that a normal gym with weights and equipment just wasn’t for me.
With muay thai I felt like I was learning a skill which gave me focus. When I would try to work out at a normal gym I was always alone and that makes you look around while in muay thai you are more focused on doing something that would keep me from feeling self-conscious.
I want to get more physically fit to help improve my muay thai and prepare myself for some kung fu by making me stronger. I am not doing it for the fitness alone, I don’t think that is enough to keep me motivated I want to do it so I can get back into the ring and win.
I don’t know if after doing muay thai 6 days a week 2 sessions a day if I would feel good just lifting, that just isn’t for me. I know that you can learn a lot but I need more which is why muay thai has helped me to get in the best shape of my life even if I still feel like the little kid inside, I hope I can improve and learn.
I never could have foreseen that I could be in this kind of shape and do martial arts but here I am. Now I know a normal gym with machines and where I’d just lift isn’t enough. It doesn’t have the gratification of hearing your kick slam the bag or the pads and where I can focus on technique.
I know you can do that at a gym but there is something about finding the flow when going from one move to the next in muay thai that feels so good and that I couldn’t get out of going to a normal gym. I have not been training since I am still recovering from my last fight but I can’t wait to get back at it but with a plan.
I’ll combine strength training with muay thai and cardio so that when I go into the ring next time that I will win.