My First Muay Thai Lesson

Today was my first Muay Thai lesson. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I talked about this in another post – my martial arts dreams in recovery. I did originally plan to be in better physical shape before starting these lessons, but that was probably just putting things off. As well as this being something that I’ve yearned to do for a long time, I’ve also had doubts – maybe it’s a bit crazy for a middle aged man to learn this type of fighting system.

First Muay Thai Lesson

My sleep was interrupted last night by a nightmare. I dreamt that my first lesson involved stepping into a ring for a professional fight with the trainer teaching me techniques as we went. I woke up feeling anxious.

I had expected to be nervous on my way to the lesson, but I actually didn’t feel so bad. The drive though the Bangkok traffic was enough to keep me occupied; Sitsongpeenong gym is about a half an hour from my home.

I had arranged for a private lesson and the instructor was waiting for me outside when I arrived. I had seen the camp in photographs, but it was my first time in real Muay Thai gym. The instructor gave me a pair of shorts and we headed straight into the ring. For a few seconds I worried that my nightmare might be coming true, and that he would be expecting me to fight on the first day.

The lesson started off with just punches aimed at the trainer who was holding focus pads. Next we worked on knee attacks before moving on to kicks. At ten minutes I was thinking this wasn’t so hard, but by the time we reached the half hour mark I was struggling. The last half hour wasn’t easy for me, but I was able to keep going. When the trainer told me he wanted me do to a 100 sit ups on a bench I thought he was joking – he wasn’t. Even when I was fit in my teens I can’t remember doing more than fifty sit-ups. I decided to just go for it and did enough to keep the trainer happy. The last part of the training was weights and that was really tough. I have been promised that this is going to get easier. I sure hope so. I have only trained alone for years and to a much lower intensity.

I have felt sore and bit weak all afternoon, but it is not such a bad feeling. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for years, and it is all going to be worth it. I know that live is short; we all need to make the most of the time we have.

Don’t Forget to Visit the Middle Aged Muay Thai Website (just click on the highlighted text and you will be taken right there)