Working with this older trainer at the camp today has me thinking about an underlying concept behind many of the corrections that I've been receiving. After kicking thai pads or a bag, I put my foot down and then keep moving. I've never paid much attention, and I've always felt relatively in control through the kick. On occasion, I might rebound off the pads a little harder than expected, and it throws my body's rotation off on the landing, but its nothing a little footwork couldn't compensate for. Well apparently for the Thais, this occasional off-balancing is unacceptable. Even more so, anything less than being able to return your foot to where it started while being perfectly balanced after every kick is unacceptable. This same thing applies to knees and foot jabs. The thai's have a tremendous emphasis on having good balance at all times, and while throwing a technique, the base leg must be well planted.
Working with the old trainer, it was amazing to watch as his body looked quite frail to the extent that it seemed he was locking his joints just to stay standing. However, his kick technique was so ingrained in his muscle memory that he could gracefully launch a kick at will with a perfect pivot and land it exactly where he starts. He even demonstrated in slow motion stopping at full pivot and slowly moving it back to the ground.
Lesson of the day: Next time you are kicking pads, pay attention to your balance at the end of the kick. If you can't control EXACTLY where you place your foot at the end, then you need to work on your balance. These small details make the difference between an beginner and a world champion.
(I'll keep my camcorder on me to see if I can get some more footage of practices including this older trainer. You can see him in the footage from the gym I posted here. It seems a lot of the bigger experienced fighters are back after their recent bouts including the famous Nopparat Keatkhamtorn. One of his most recent fights can be seen here:
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