(above) video of padwork round 2 of 4



Round 3 of 4 (above)



Round 4 of 4 (above)

I like to put up my padwork every so often because I want to show and keep track of where I’m at and what I’m working on. Nothing special, just plain, regular old padwork. This morning Kevin came with me and started filming from the 2nd round. I also like putting padwork up because one day it will be great to look at it again and have the experiences all come back to life. Of course, I see a lot of mistakes and things I need to be working on, but when you tape something it benchmarks it. I should probably be doing this more often. I’ve written before about my morning sessions with Pi Nu, they are special times when I often have the gym to myself. Lately a few more westerners have been coming in the mornings, but they still are great sessions of slow cook evolution, something Pi Nu is a master of.

I’ve mentioned before that Pi Nu is probably the best padholder I have ever had, though no padholder is right for everyone and vice versa. To take full advantage of what he is doing you need time, and lots of it. In the beginning it will just feel fatiguing; well, it’s always fatiguing, even now, but you start to forget about that. What we’ve been working on a lot lately is just staying close, using the four block (long guard) in variation, not backing up when possible and responding to attacks with quick returns. Pi Nu is pretty big for a Thai and I’m only 48 kg (5’2″), so much of the time I’m just training how to respond when being overwhelmed.

Also, in this padwork, I’m not throwing my right hand. It was maybe broken two fights ago, and I’ve been working around it in everything that I do. My right elbow has become more snappy and it’s been the stand-in for my right cross, which I actually like. It keeps me closer. The hand is healing pretty well and in a few weeks I should probably be able to punch with it in fights. My right hand is probably my most comfortable strike, so it’s been a great period of adjustment.