I don’t care, but I do. When I am in the midst of my work, the only thing that matters is the work. When confronted with the alternative reality others post, I am known to get a little cranky. I don’t let my behavior change due to other’s poor behavior, but I vent when appropriate. Here is my vent, don’t claim to by a place of higher education when you have a Kindergarten level understanding of your craft.
Kickboxing, Muay Thai, and MMA are combat sports. Muay Thai is a martial art with its own traditions, but you can still be a Muay Thai competitor without following any of the traditions. You can claim to be whatever you want with minimal challenge in combat sports, because it is sport. What you know and don’t know is pretty clear come competition time. With the rise of social media, the savvy marketer can turn a loss into a victory, a poor performance into good propaganda with the right pic… it is the nature of the digital world.
Most people don’t know what quality is when it comes to training in Combat Sports. This is why somebody can go to a cardio kickboxing class and say they are doing Kickboxing. Just because you are throwing your legs at a bag and whacking it with your hands, you are not doing kickboxing. Just because you have the shorts, you use armbands, and hold thai pds does not make you a credible Muay Thai person. Lastly, just because somebody has fought, they are not guaranteed to be a good or even competent teacher.
Instagram video and Youtube really let us see the truth but only those that know what to look for really get whats going on. The loud smack, the sweat, the shorts, the pads, the coach smacking punches… it looks credible? But the lack of footwork, the lack of practicality in the combos, the lack of weight shifting, no defense…. I can go on and on. Do some homework before you fall in love with what you are seeing.
My last cranky thought on this for today; the idea that technique doesn’t matter when you just want a good workout, or that fighters gym is not safe… both are utter garbage. Technique is what saves you from a broken hand, hyper-extended elbow, subluxed shoulder, back issues, knee issues…. Your cardio class is going to hurt you. Fighters are like surgeons. If they hurt the tools they make their living in the ring with, they can’t make a living. Sure, fighters go hard but they also have to train smart because they have to preserve themselves in order to do what they need to do come fight time.
Broscience is the bane of my existence. I hate anecdotal garbage that most trainers push to create a marketing plan that justifies their low level of knowledge and fortifies all the reasons why doing it their way is good. Good athletes figure things out. Bad coaches ride this as long and as far as they can. Cardio people lie to you and hurt you. Marketers ruin everything and bad coaches will get you hurt.
OK, I feel better.
Brian Wright