Oldest Muay Thai Gym in North America Celebrates 25 Years of Service

If you're in or near San Jose (the San Francisco Bay Area), you're more than welcome to join us. I don't think the press release mentions that we're bringing in a taco truck :)  Donnie-


Santa Clara, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/25/2014 -- – Muay Thai Academy International

WHAT: Muay Thai Academy International celebrates 25 years of service since first opening in 1990 with an open house and principal senior instructors’ recognition. The celebration is open to the general public. There is no cost for admission.

WHO: Dr. Nirmalya Bhowmick, Founder & Owner of Schola Training Group, Muay Thai Academy International

WHEN: 4:00- 8:00 p.m. PDT, Saturday, June 28, 2014

WHERE: Muay Thai Academy International, 320 Martin Avenue Suite D, Santa Clara, CA 95050

Since January 1990, Muay Thai Academy International has provided semi-private instruction of the older styles of Muay Thai and effective and applicable street centric self-defense to civilians, and close quarter combat tactics to law enforcement and members of the armed services. As fitness trends come and go, Muay Thai Academy International has been able to stay true to it’s own training platform while intentionally maintaining a small student base. The Academy operates with a non-profit mentality. Instructors donate their time and are not compensated. Dr. Nirmalya Bhowmick, founder stated, “We’ve been able to keep our curriculum undiluted in response to fads like Crossfit and MMA because we are not in this space for the money. Each of our instructors have careers, we keep the school open and teach because we love the combat martial arts.” Dr. Bhowmick continued, “What we teach is a matter of life or death for some of our students as we do train quite a few local and visiting students that are from various National Security programs. We cannot afford to dilute the quality of our close quarter combat platform.”

This relatively unknown school started out as a small “hole in the wall” Muay Thai gym in Palo Alto in January of 1990. Muay Thai Academy Int’l is recognized as an old style and military style Muay Thai school by a number of international bodies, including the United States Muay Thai Association, the World Muay Thai Council, and numerous professionals from various Dept of Defense and federal government agencies.

Click to Tweet:June 28: America's oldest muay thai gym celebrates 25 years.

The 25 year anniversary open house is open to current and former students, their families, member of the press, and anyone interested in attending. The event will also recognize five Principal instructors with a commendation diploma for their contributions to the Academy and to the muay thai community for the last two decades and will award an official instructors certification to two Senior Instructors.

For more information about the event, visit the Academy’s page on Facebook. If you’d like more information on the Muay Thai Academy, please visit our website at http://www.militarymuaythai.com.

SOURCE: SBWire news service, http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/oldest-muay-thai-gym-in-north-america-celebrates-25-years-of-service-522792.htm 

Truck and Car Pushing

Conditioning Secrets Finally Revealed

Back in the late 90’s there was a T.V. show called “Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed”.

A masked magician would expose the methods behind large scale magic tricks and illusions by explaining how they were done and showing you how they were performed.

His reason for doing this was because he was tired of seeing magician after magician perform the same tricks and illusions over and over again.

By exposing these secrets it would force magicians to come up with new tricks and illusions to entertain us.

Today I’m going to uncover a conditioning exercise that needs to be exposed and updated.

And that lowly exercise is truck and car pushing.

For years I have read articles and have watched videos from coaches, trainers, athletes, MMA fighters on pushing vehicles for conditioning.

If you go to YouTube you’ll find a large amount of videos on car or truck pushing.

For years I have watched and waited for someone else besides myself to come up with a new way to push a vehicle for conditioning.

But sadly it’s been the same way year in and year out, video to video.

Put your arms about shoulder width apart on the back of a vehicle, feet spread about shoulder width and start pushing forward for distance or time.

Then get in front of the hood and push it back, while this works well for conditioning, man is this ever boring!

If you had a barbell and all you ever did was bench press or squat with it, you’d get pretty bored very quickly.

Recently to my excitement I found one, one person who has come up with a new way to push a vehicle.

Getting into a push up position this person put his feet on the back bumper of his truck and pushed the truck with his hands on the ground.

That was awesome, but unfortunately after 35 plus years all I have found are two ways to push a vehicle.

Come on people where is the creativity or out side the box thinking when it comes to pushing a car or truck.

Did you know that one of the favorite exercises of the ancient Greeks was pushing large columns and round boulders on soft sand.

They learned this by watching how their slaves developed strong bodies by moving these types of objects on their properties.

And since slaves were forbidden to train at the local gymnasiums in the city, they reasoned that this was a great way to develop the body.

So to all you experts, trainers and coaches out there, I challenge you to come up with new exercises for pushing a vehicle.

If you can come up with variations for bodyweight exercises, sand bags, kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, clubbells, medicine balls, suspension trainers etc…

Then way can’t you come up with a single variation when it comes to pushing a vehicle for conditioning?

In my next article I will get your mental juices flowing by teaching you five new exercises with variations to get you started.

So now that I have exposed this conditioning exercise, it’s your turn to create the magic!

Until next time, train safely and creatively.


Daniel Sambrano
http://oldstylemuaythai.com

The Warrior Stick

Do you have a hard time with your footwork or body movement when you clinch, punch, elbow, knee, kick or throw?

Do you gas out easily from countering takedowns or clinches?

Does it take you longer to recover from having to continuously use bursts of energy while sparring or training hard?

In a street-fight all of these things can cost you if you’re not conditioned for it.

The drill I’m going to teach you will help you in all these areas plus so much more.

It will develop your footwork, body movement, balance, stability, agility, aggressiveness, strength and endurance.

Not bad for a piece of equipment that costs around 10 bucks to make.

Stick Grappling

Stick grappling is a drill that mimics the movements of a fight and the energy expenditure.

You can adjust the intensity of the drill depending on your state of conditioning.

What makes the drill work is that your training partner will go as hard as you do and visa-versa.

Just like in a street-fight were your adversary will be going at 100% to take you out.

While the drill can be tough it still is very safe for the two participants.

How To Make One

Go to your local hardware store and purchase a wooden dowel rod or thick PVC tubing about 3 feet long and 1½ inches in diameter.

Sand down any rough edges if needed, be careful about using thinner dowel rods, they will cut into fingers and palms due to the force exerted in the drill.

Better to use thicker dowel rods which will help build up fingers, wrists, grip and forearm strength.

How To Drill It

To do the drill, have each participant grab the ends of the stick in an offset hand position.

Then set a timer for 1-3 minutes and go as hard as you can, pushing and pulling your partner forward, back, side to side, circling and pivoting.

If one partner falls down or ends up on his knees he loses.

You can raise the stick up and down, side to side as you move, this drill mimics how it feels to get into a street-fight and get pulled and pushed around as you fight.

You will get stronger from head to toe in a short amount time, do 1-3 rounds, once or twice a week.

Added Benefits

One excellent thing stick grappling does is it teaches you to pay close attention to your center of gravity.

If it’s too high you’ll be thrown around like a rag doll.

In a street-fight if your center is high and you get hit with a powerful haymaker even if you block it, it will unbalance you.

Especially if the guy throwing it is bigger or weighs more than you do.

It also enhances your anaerobic endurance by the constant bursts of energy used in the drill, just like in a street-fight.

And it will train you to recover quickly and stay focused.

In Conclusion

This drill works great for Boxers, Muay Thai Fighters, Grapplers, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Stylists.

And if you’re a street-fighter or self defense specialist this drill will enhance your tactical skillset.

So try it and see how the warrior stick betters your fight game.


Daniel Sambrano

http://www.superherosystems.com/

The Amaizing Bag

Today I’m going to teach you about how to use a piece of boxing equipment that has all but been forgotten by most western style fighters.

Back in the day this piece of equipment was used before the heavy bag, and was thought to be the number one tool to train with.

Bare knuckle fighters swore by it, as it would routinely create savage strikers who could take you out with either hand.

Have I got your attention yet? Good, then it means you’re interested in this information.

Hopefully it will become a part of your training and not be discarded on the junk pile of history.

With this one single piece of boxing equipment you will be able to develop:

· Timing
· Range
· Punching
· Footwork
· Body Movement
· Head Movement
· Distancing
· Pivots
· Blocks
· Bobbing and Weaving
· Slips

And condition your fists for impact and accuracy.

If you’re training for self protection purposes then this is the right tool for you, it will turn you into a very dangerous street fighter.


The Maize Bag
And that powerful piece of boxing equipment was called the “Maize Bag”.

Some today call it the “slip bag”, but if you think that’s all it’s good for, then you’re making a terrible mistake.

This one misconception is what made it almost disappear from the fight game in the first place.

More than any other boxer, when you think of the maize or slip bag you picture Mike Tyson using it to develop his head movement.

It made him a very elusive and dangerous fighter, but this is just one aspect of the maize bag.


How to Make a Maize Bag
To make a maize bag simply use an old large leather speed bag and fill it with corn, beans or sand.

If you don’t have a speed bag get yourself a canvas coin bag, the kind the banks use to transfer coins in.

If you ask politely your bank teller may give you the used ones for free.

Then all you need to do is fill a zip-lock freezer bag with sand and seal it with duct tape and slip it into another zip-lock bag seal it with duct tape then slip it into the canvas coin bag.

The bag will weigh about 15lbs. which is all you will need, but you can fill it with beans or corn instead which will have more give than the sand.

You can also use an old Swiss ball by cutting it in half and putting about 15 to 16 pounds of sand in it, then gather it up and use two to three plastic wire ties to zip tie it, then use duct tape to keep the excess material wrapped together.

You’ll be able to make two maize bags with one Swiss ball.

Next take your maize bag and hang it by some nylon cord so that it hangs no lower than the level of your chin.

Try to hang it from a high ceiling, the higher it is the more it will swing, just make sure that it hangs at about chin height.


How to Use the Maize Bag
Okay, now you’re ready to use your maize bag, but how do you use it? Good question.

Start by swinging the bag and avoid getting hit by it using footwork to get out of the way of the swinging bag.

You or your training partner can push the bag to keep it swinging as you train your footwork, just make sure to stay as close to the bag as you can.

In a real fight if you move too far from your opponents strike you may get set up for a knock out shot, also you won’t be able to counter his strikes as you’ll be too far away.

Practice your shuffle steps, lateral steps, pivots, drop steps or body shifts as you avoid the maize bag.

Bob and weave, slip left and right, duck and parry the bag as you move around.

Do this for a few rounds to develop your footwork and body movement.

We call this dancing with the bag.


Blocks and Shrugs
Next add your blocks, shrugs and deflections to your movements.

And finally start punching it, elbowing it, using your forearms, palm heel strikes, hammer fists and even try head butting and shoulder butting the bag.

All the while making sure you are moving around as you strike, block and avoid the maize bag.

You will find in a few training sessions that your footwork and movement will improve dramatically, not to mention your striking ability.

If you strike the bag bare fisted, which I recommend, you will find that the best way to strike it is with a vertical or diagonal fist.

No hooks or horizontal punches they don’t work to well bareknuckled and can cause serious damage to your hands in a street fight.

Better to use arc punches instead of hooks, striking with the back knuckles of the fist.

Striking the maize bag barefisted will teach you what wearing wraps and gloves wont, and that is which punches work best and are safest for your hands to strike with.

So start using this valuable piece of boxing equipment and you’ll be a-maize-d at how well it teaches you to become a dangerous fighter, whether in the street or in the ring.

Hit and move with purpose using the maize bag, you’ll be glad you did.


Daniel Sambrano
http://www.superherosystems.com/

Ancient Gladiator Exercises

Here is an interesting article on the exercises the ancient gladiators used to get conditioned, add them to your training, who knows they just might bring out your inner warrior...

A List of Ancient Exercises from Galen's De Sanitate Tuenda Galen (130 - 200 A.D.)

Hailed from Pergamon, an ancient center of civilization, containing, among other cultural institutions, a library second in importance only to Alexandria itself. Galen's training was eclectic and although his chief work was in biology and medicine, he was also known as a philosopher and philologist.

Training in philosophy is, in Galen's view, not merely a pleasant addition to, but an essential part of the training of a doctor. His treatise entitled That the best Doctor is also a Philosopher gives to us a rather surprising ethical reason for the doctor to study philosophy.

The profit motive, says Galen, is incompatible with a serious devotion to the art. The doctor must learn to despise money. Galen frequently accuses his colleagues of avarice and it is to defend the profession against this charge that he plays down the motive of financial gain in becoming a doctor.

Galen's first professional appointment was as surgeon to the gladiators in Pergamon. In his tenure as surgeon he undoubtedly gained much experience and practical knowledge in anatomy from the combat wounds he was compelled to treat. After four years he immigrated to Rome where he attained a brilliant reputation as a practitioner and a public demonstrator of anatomy. Among his patients were the Emperors Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, Commodus and Septimius Severus.

Galen divides his exercises into three categories, which we may term "strong", "rapid and "violent", which is a combination of the preceding two. Galen's listing of the exercises gives us a fascinating glimpse into the everyday activities of the Paleastrae, Gymnasia and other more leisurely-areas of the ancient world.

The affinities they have with the various sporting events can be made out: kicking of the legs for Pankration, rope-climbing for wrestling, holding the arms up for boxing.

STRONG:

1) Digging

2) Picking up something heavy

3) Picking up something heavy and walking with it

4) Walking uphill

5) Climbing a rope using the hands and feet: commonly done to train boys in the wrestling schools

6) Hanging onto a rope or beam for as long as possible

7) Holding the arms straight out in front with fists closed

8) Holding the arms straight out to sides with fists closed

9) Holding out the arms while a partner pulls them down

10) The preceding three exercises but while holding something heavy such as jumping-weights

11) Breaking loose from a wrestling waist-lock

12) Holding onto a person trying to escape from a waist-lock

13) Picking up a man who is bending over at the hips and lifting him up and swinging him around
14) Doing the same but bending oneself at the hips also when picking him up
15) Pushing chest to chest trying to force the opponent backwards
16) Hanging from another's neck, attempting to drag him down

Exercises requiring a wrestling pit:
a) Entwine your partner with both your legs around one of his and try to apply a choke or force his head backwardsb) The same but using only one leg to entwine the opponents leg closest to yours
c) The same but using both legs to entwine both of the opponents legs.

Rapid:

1) Running
2) Shadow-boxing
3) Boxing
4) Hitting punching bags
5) Throwing and catching a small ball while running
6) Running back and forth, reducing the length each time until finished
7) Stand on the balls of the feet, put the arms up in the air and rapidly and alternatly bringing them forward and back; stand near a wall if afraid of losing ones's balance
8) Rolling on the wrestling-ground rapidly by oneself or with others9) Rapidly changing places with people next to one in a tightly packed group
10) Jumping up and kicking both legs together backwards
11) Kicking the legs forward alternatly
12) Move the arms up and down rapidly with open or closed fist, increasing in speed

VIOLENT:

1) Digging rapidly
2) Casting the discus
3) Jumping repeatedly with no rest
4) Throwing heavy spears and moving fast while wearing heavy armour
5) Any of the 'strong' exercises executed rapidly: presumably running uphill, swinging jumping weights forward and back, and lifting them up and down, chin-ups and so on.

Other Exercises:

1) Walking
2) bending up and down repeatedly at the hips
3) Lifting a weight up from the ground
4) Holding up an object for a long time
5) Full and loud breathing
6) Placing two weights on the ground approximately six feet from each other, picking up the one on the left with the right hand and then the one on the right with the left hand, then in turn placing them back where they came from on the ground and doing this many times with the feet stationary

The translation of this Galen text come's from an article at Judoinfo.com Submission Fighting and the Rules of Ancient Greek Wrestling By Christopher Miller

I hope you enjoyed the article as much as I did, now get out there and start training like a gladiator.

Daniel Sambrano

"Keep It Simple and Savage"

http://www.superherosystems.com/