Muay Thai vs. Taekwondo, part 1

So I'm going to start up a little continuing series of Muay Thai vs. Taekwondo on this blog, because I honestly could not find a single unbiased comparison of the two.

If I had, I'd slap a link to it so quickly it'd make your head spin, and have done with it. Alas, people are rude.

Aside from my hesitation at MMA due to the UFC and all their madness (not to take away from the fighters, they are legitimately talented), I have always resented MT fighters boasting about how much more "real" MT was than TKD. It just gets under my skin in a way no other insult about my martial art ever has. There is no single martial art, not a single one, that isn't "real". There may be instructors, or heck, even whole fleets of schools, where the discipline and technique is lacking, but that doesn't reflect the entire art. Screw you if you think differently, I don't care about your opinion anyways.

That being said, the egos always intrigued me. What were they doing in those schools that made members who'd been training for six months want to go around bragging that they could take down someone who'd been training in taekwondo for years? Were they really that good, and I just didn't want to admit it? I was intrigued, and more than a little anxious to get my hands on some of this Muay Thai magic if it was as good as its very vocal practitioners proclaimed.

I walked into the school nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to be participating in the upcoming MT class (my goal), or told to sit in a corner and watch. If it had been the latter, I can assure you this post would have a different tone. I abhor waiting around watching martial arts. Makes me want to kick someone.

Luckily for me, after a few quick questions and a waiver, I was being set up in a separate room with the head instructor for a quick intro. I dodged the "have you done martial arts before" question pretty easily by quickly saying I had no experience in Muay Thai or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/Judo (haven't decided which of the two I'll be taking). To be honest, I hate that question. I understand its necessary and all, but I didn't want to be treated differently from any other beginner. I wanted the basics. And did I ever get them.

He started off by teaching me the mechanics of punching, which was intriguing, In my head I was silently running a tab of the differences, and it was good for me. I immediately picked up the three he wanted to teach me, jab, cross, hook. The footwork was a bit trickier. There's a lot of weight shifting in Muay Thai that isn't present in taekwondo. The hip movement is also different, and I haven't decided how I feel on it yet. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to finally be learning something new in martial arts instead of perfecting upon years of technique. After a few minutes of solitary teaching, a few more new students joined us. He told me to practice, and set about teaching them. I slowly went over the routine again and waited patiently. After a few minutes, he returned and told me to show him again. I quickly did so, and was sent off with praise to the real class.

From there I was partnered off with two other girls to perform drills. I immediately hit a wall with them. Both were sweet, about 6 inches shorter and much smaller than me, both obviously not martial artists. That's fine, they were at the same class I was at, training. But our motivations were different. I was there to even out already extensive training and gain new perspective on old moves. They were there to learn basics and burn some calories. Both noble intentions, but I don't do well around true beginners unless I'm teaching them. There was just two much of a power and size difference for me to feel comfortable training around them. So I bid them adieu and took up a place at one of the heavy bags.

Feeling at home, I began practicing my punches again. The (very cute) assistant instructor came up to me and told me I was doing really well, but one of my foot placements was wrong. Confused, I asked him which was I was flubbing, as I'd been pretty sure I'd gotten them down with the main instructor. He told me I was moving my back leg in as I hook punched. Frowning, I told him the main instructor had told me to. In a more-than-condescending tone, he told that I must have "misunderstood" him. I told him fine, but doing it that way hurt my rotator cuff. He told me to do what felt comfortable. For now, I'm moving my foot back in. I'll ask the main instructor about it tomorrow.

After that he told us to add a kick drill to the mix. Finally! Just because I'd decided not to say directly that I was pretty darn practiced didn't mean I was going to hold back. Snapping out a clean roundhouse with a very resounding thud, I was reminded that I pull my best moves around others. I guess, in a way, I'm a bit of showboat. Honestly, I know I am. I like to be the best in the room at any time, and it drives me to train harder. I don't really question it, whatever motivates me, motivates me.

After that, however, my dear friend Andrew, the assistant instructor, came over and eyed me warily. I eyed him warily back. After a stalemate staring contest, he opened his mouth.

"You did taekwondo, didn't you?" ....Aw, crap.
".....A bit." A slight nod and he motioned for me to move away from the bag.
"Your kicks are...very good. But in Muay Thai we kick with our toes flexed, striking with the inside of our shin." Nodding and absorbing, I quickly spun off a kick in imitation of what he had shown me. He gave me a slightly warmer grin and told me I'd gotten it. Too focused to pay attention to the cute boy next to me, I launched back into my attacks on the poor bag that hadn't done a thing to me, and waited for him to move to the opposite side the expansive room before quitting to address my issue with the kicking style.

Muay Thai kicks hurt. Not the receiver even, the kicker. My shins were bright red, and are still aching hours later. I was practically whimpering, but there were a butt load of guys there. Even if I was in some serious pain, I wasn't going to be the wimpy girl in the corner whining about shin pain.

Then I realized that every single guy in the joint was wearing shin guards. The wimps! The jerks! All I'd heard about Muay Thai was how strong their limbs were from kicking trees bare shinned, and the lame-o's couldn't be bothered to kick a pad unguarded. Not to mention every single practitioner was wearing boxing gloves, which is just stupid. Who wears boxing gloves in a real fight? Where's that "practicality" now, ya bunch of softies?!

...I get a little rude when I do martial arts.

Undeterred, and spurred on by the fact that I'm man enough to kick with my shins unguarded, thank you very much, I returned to the assigned drill despite the discomfort. The head instructor came up to me a few minutes later, while I was punching and seemed really pleased with me. Apparently, I'm a fast learner. Which is exactly what my tai chi and and kung fu instructor said of me, so apparently taekwondo is good for something (another...HA!).

Asking if I had any questions, I immediately asked to see a kick. He told me to focus on punches. I frowned at him. He sighed and demonstrated the same basic roundhouse variance cutey/annoying Andrew had shown me. I copied the motion again and waited for approval. He gave it, seeming surprised, and then, before I could think, my mouth betrayed me.

"It hurts. A lot." Laughing, he told me to slow it down a bit to adjust. Since "slowing down" isn't part of my vocabulary when it comes to kicking, I resigned to the pain, and pushed on. Before I knew it, class was over. I hadn't really broken a sweat, but if given another hour, I'd be taxed.

Packing up, Andrew asked me, pointing to my shirt, when I graduated from UT. I told him I was still in school. He told me he'd just graduated. Crap. I couldn't hate on another Longhorn. The jerk.

I can't wait to do it all again.

I realize there wasn't much of a comparison yet, but I promise I'll get plenty technical later. For now, I'm just going to enjoy it.