Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

I am now into my 3rd week of training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I have to say it is extremely fun and interesting. I now start training at 5:30 and train Muay Thai until about 7:00, and then from 7:00 until 8:00 I train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I am learning a lot of cool things in Jiu-Jitsu and many useful offensive and defensive maneuvers. One of the reasons I really like Jiu-Jitsu is almost every time I have a training session, I learn something new. It is also really useful and a great thing to know.

Introduction to BJJ

Yesterday was my first day that I began to start training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is another martial art that pairs extremely well with Muay Thai. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that focusing more on ground game and defense, sort of like wrestling. There is a lot of technique behind it and the abilities you learn are amazing. I am extremely excited to see my skills and technique improve and learn a new martial art.

Side Project

This is a book I have just picked up from the library called The Fundamentals of Fashion Design by Richard Sorger and Jenny Udale. This book has nothing to do with my path of Mixed Martial Arts, but it has a lot to do with a side project I have going on with two of my friends. Together us three are planning on starting our own clothing line, and with the help of this book and independent research I believe that I can learn multiple techniques used for fashion design, marketing, production, and more. I am really excited to see where we can take this clothing line and to find out what information this book holds for me.

Achievements and Goals

Up until now my Muay Thai training has been really fun and has taught me some really cool things. Some of my favorite things that i have learned is great fighting technique and stance. This is really important because that will help you in all of your fighting from your stamina to your power. This is also something that you can always improve on so i enjoy constanty training it and getting better. Another thing that I have learned is how to throw kicks with good technique, and this is really useful because kicks are good for power strikes and keeping your range from your opponent. Some goals that I have for the future are to learn inside leg kicks and takedowns, which are extremely useful for taking the fight to the ground or disabling an opponent.

Introduction to Kicking

On Monday we had an excellent training session, and it was one of my favorites. This was the first training session that i began to start practice kicking, which really excites me because that is a big step forward in technique and it adds a lot of things to your fighting style. Once i perfect my technique and gain a lot of experience, i could possibly look into competitions and competing in fights. There is a lot more technique to a kick than most people think, and it is a very useful tactic in a fight because it gives you a lot of range and they are extremely powerful strikes, possibly ending the fight for an unprepared opponent. I am looking forward to future training sessions where i can work more on my technique and form for my kicks, ensuring the most power and best balance for all my strikes. I also look forward to incorporating the kicks i learn into future combinations with punches and blocks. I am having a lot of fun training Muay Thai and look forward to what it has to bring to me in the future, and may even begin training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as well. 

Sparring and Slips

     Hello! On Monday I had a solid training session from 5:30 to 7:30. This training session started out with a simple warm-up, just shadow boxing and jumping rope. Once I had my heart rate up and I was getting more into a rhythm we began doing light sparring with partners, which is just light boxing. We had a long session of pad work which focuses a lot on accuracy and speed, and it helps a lot. After this we proceeded to work on Slips, which are slight movements that take you just out of your opponents punching reach, almost as if you slip right by their punch. After we went through all of these different training methods, we partnered up and sparred to begin implementing them into a real fighting situation. This is my favorite part about training because it is the most realistic and it really shows your true form and technique, letting you know what you need to focus on or change to improve.

Meeting and Training Session

Yesterday I had my SMART Goals meeting with my instructor and we talked about what things I really want to learn through training of Muay Thai. I had decided that the big things that I wanted to learn from Muay Thai were technique, skill, form, but more specifically I want to learn Takedowns, Elbows, Knees and Kicks. After we had our talk about the goals I wanted to reach in the future, we continued on to a vigorous 2  hour training session. In this training session we worked a lot on throwing 8 punch combos, working on  blocks, and perfecting our slips. We also did pad work to improve on our speed and accuracy, and we did sparring sessions of body shots to improve on our stamina and conditioning. Though Muay Thai always ends with tired shoulders, a sore back and a headache, the skills I learn are worth every bit of it.

       - Ryan Schalk

Muay Thai Intentions

The reason why I decided to start taking Muay Thai at Ralph Gracies in Dublin is because I wanted to learn how to defend myself in a situation if I needed to. Well, thats what my intentions were at first, but once I began actually training and getting into it, I was doing it for more of the discipline, the technique, and the skill. I realized that training takes a lot of time, 3 times a week for a couple hours at a time, and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work. It is a big commitment, but I really enjoy it.