Choppy focused on bid for redemption
A LOUD “thud” echoes throughout a sweltering Manoora gym, followed by four “taps” as beads of sweat roll off a fighter’s forehead and on to the gym floor.
In the corner, a bag swings like a pendulum after copping a powerful left-leg strike from Matt Smith.
The Cairns Muay Thai fighter waits for the bag to steady itself before he cracks it again – only this time, he hits it harder.
Smith, better known as “Choppy” around Nukzu Muay Thai – the gym where he trains, is in the final stages of his latest fight camp.
He will take on Phisit Suksawang in a five-round bout at the Powerhouse 2 fight night in Mackay tomorrow night.
“The body’s feeling really good for this one,” Smith said.
“I’m really keen – I actually can’t wait.”
His enthusiasm isn’t surprising – you could say he’s DURING a fight camp, the body is pushed to its limits in a number of different areas, but perhaps the most taxing on the fighter is the weight cut. Cairns Muay Thai fighter Matt Smith has just finished a “gruelling” three-day weight cut ahead of Saturday’s night in Mackay, which will be contested at 68.5kg. “I usually walk around at about 74-75kgs, so that’s about seven been waiting for this moment for some time.
“He beat me on points last time we fought. It really wasn’t my best fight. I told (my trainer) Boy (Pramaree) that I want to rematch him,” he said.
Smith said he was “grateful” to get a second chance at Suksawang – a Muay Thai champion with 200-plus career fights under this belt, compared to Smith’s 35, although both (kg) I’ve had to lose,” he said. “I lost a bit just by lifting the intensity in training, but on Monday I was walking around at about 73.5kg, so we started a heavy cut that afternoon. ”This involves cutting back on water consumption, watching what I eat very closely and also wearing a sauna suit while training. “By the last day or the last two days, I’m pretty much fasting to would be considered veterans.
While he “never really stops training”, Smith said he makes sure to gradually increase the frequency and intensity of his workouts in a fight’s lead-up.
“From the moment the fight’s confirmed we’ll start to step things up, then by a week before the fight, you should be hitting the pads really hard – well, I like to be anyway.”
He said training in the stifling get there.” Following this afternoon’s weigh-in in Mackay, Smith will focus on “relaxing, rejuvenating and getting my energy back”. But not after a well-earned feast. “Because we have a Thai trainer, the tradition is to find the nearest Thai restaurant and have a big feed after weigh-ins. “Your first meal after a weigh-in is one of the best meals you will ever have.” Far North heat is an excruciating experience at times, but it also has its benefits.
“You feel like you’re dying in the gym because its just stinking hot, then its so much hotter because of all the body heat, all you want to do is give up, stop and go outside for some fresh air, but you just keep kicking and kicking.”
While some fighters like to work on specific game plans during camps, Smith likes to take a more self-focused approach.
“Something clicks in my brain and I just go into my fight mode,” Smith said.
“All of a sudden I’m jogging that much faster, hitting the bag that much harder and just really focusing on my own skills and fitness.
“In this case, I’ve already fought (Suksawang) before so I have a fair idea of what he likes to do, and hopefully I can use that to my advantage.
“But, in saying that, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket in this game, because he might change things up as well.”
Local fight fans wanting to catch the action can tune into the live-stream on the Nukzu Muay Thai Facebook page.
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METICULOUS planning is needed when preparing for an upcoming fight, whether it be MMA, Muay Thai, boxing or any type of martial arts.
Before any type of physical or physiological preparation can be undertaken, many hours of technical training is needed. But if you are entered into competition you have obviously undertaken years of training to get to that point.
Even the drunken competitors who jump into the ring at a Toughman Competition or Boxing Tent have done plenty of training prior.
To be able to compete to the best of one’s ability and put all that technical training into use when under the pump will take plenty of the right conditioning and preparation.
Being able to combat your opponent with required speed throughout the fight will have taken countless hours training at that speed.
Being able to compete for five three-minute rounds will require the athlete to train for up to 10 three-minute rounds.
These athletes who once avoided weight training as it “made them slow” now lift weights to increasing punching strength and power.
Where they only ever completed long slow road runs, they now undertake sprint training.
During a fight, high intensity exchanges will include rapid strikes, take-downs and punches or kicks thrown at max strength or power. These high intensity movements will last between 1-10 seconds. Controlling position, grappling exchanges and combination strikes are slightly less explosive but still highly taxing on the body. These will last for between 30-90 seconds.
While no less important but slightly less taxing on the body, we have the rest between exchanges and the battle of the latter stages of the rounds. This sees the competitor gathering or saving the necessary energy required to stop their opponent or resist being beaten.
So while watching your next bout, take into consideration the preparation that has gone into it. Scott Callaghan is the Northern Pride strength and conditioning coach