control

[disgruntled]

as poor eYoon learned, i find that i do not have as much control over pulling my punches as i use to now that i have started muay thai. i guess in a sense that is good for me because i use to be the opposite extreme and almost always pulled everything, but lack of control is still generally a bad thing. when i train in muay thai, there is little need to pull punches as much as other MAs that don't have big gloves or are less contact based.

how can i develop better control. idealy i would like to go full power but have the control to stop it and not just throw a punch that is constricted or slow so that it is almost already pulled back.

[sirdarksol]

That's a tough one. Here is my thought.

Work with a partner. Have them holding a striking target and have them move the target toward/away from you throughout the exercise. (Tell them this ahead of time. The point is randomness)
Throw your punches/kicks, starting slow and focusing on at least starting them with a lot of power. Then try to slow them so that the impact is lighter.
The randomness will sort of mimic circumstances in training where your target isn't where you planned him/her to be, or where his/her block missed.

[disgruntled]

interesting.... but you would still have to throw the punch expecting to pull it. is there a way around that? or should you alway attack that way?

[sirdarksol]

You could try adding in something where your partner randomly calls "pull" as you begin a punch/kick.

I have never been in a fight, so my opinion on how to train is limited in that aspect, but I always plan on pulling my punch if my target moves (if you're swinging at a friend, expecting to lightly hit, but he steps backward or forward, it can change the amount of energy in the impact).

By the way, what did you do to eYoon?

[disgruntled]

LOL... i hit him to the head a couple of times... light punches, but still... i think i even got a body shot in here or there my accident. we were sparring at a MA meet up with a bunch of my old HKD classmates.

sorry again

[eYoon]

Originally Posted by disgruntled

LOL... i hit him to the head a couple of times... light punches, but still... i think i even got a body shot in here or there my accident. we were sparring at a MA meet up with a bunch of my old HKD classmates.

sorry again

hahaha yea... and all my kicks and punches stopped before it was going to actually hit you!!! LOL but some of those were my fault anyway cuz i was still feeling a bit sick i wasn't 100% focused so i left myself open a lot.

here's a sort of unorthodox way of me training accuracy and control...

if i'm practicing by myself, i'm usually in my basement with all my gear and stuff. in the open space i have in my basement, on the ceiling there's a light. one of those lights u switch on and off by pulling on them string thingies that hang down. i let that hang down, and on the end of the string it has that tiny metal thingy (wow, i'm horrible at explaining things). i practice kicks and punchs so they are as close to that as possible without actually making contact, or i make contact if i want to practice on accuracy... and i vary the height sometimes.

it sounds silly, but i have enough control i can kick a cigarette out of friend's mouths if they piss me off by smoking around me... haha.