Had an excellent Muay Thai session on Wednesday. There were only four other people plus myself, so while they partnered up I got to work 1-on-1 with the coach. The combos today were extremely short and simple compared to the long strings I've struggled to get right in the heat of throwing hands; he later revealed to us that this was deliberate and that he's trying to go that route more which is something I've wished for awhile now.

I got my stance corrected and was reminded to not stand so square as well as to keep my palms facing in instead of out. With him holding the mitts we did various combinations of 1-3 punches followed by a single kick. What's more, I was allowed to select what to throw. Something so simple really let me learn a lot more than striking poorly because I'm struggling to remember what comes next.

Before arriving I'd gotten myself psyched up watching compilations of Saenchai on YouTube. Something I learned watching him was how he seems to let the thrown kick lead his rear foot into a pivot. Instead, I've kinda been rearing up on the ball of my foot as the initial movement. It's been making my feet tired and my kicks weaker.

Whether that analysis is correct or not, it's been making my kicks pop much more and I feel loser and more fluid. The coach commented on how much energy I have and had to tell me not to jump when I knee since he's right in front of me.

At one point, I overextended my right arm and felt my elbow twinge in pain. I shook it off and took it easy after that. It was a little worrisome but I deduced that it wasn't anything deleterious to my recovering injury like the tendon failing or something.

Rest of the session was light sparring using just a punch and a kick combo. I felt tired. While everyone else switched between mitt-holding and striking in the prior exercises, I was striking the whole time. The last guy I went up against was the only person taller than me and his reach threw me off. I have to stay alert for that variable since I'm usually up against smaller dudes. I kept falling short and missing.

At the end we all stretched together and the coach gave us a pep talk before inviting us to a Saturday barbecue at the studio. He asked us what we learned today and I spoke up the most which he complimented. It was cool to get a vibe of camaraderie from here.

Last night I woke up from sleep in pain from my elbow, but it's weird. I can't replicate it at will even if I stretch out, although this wasn't the case a few days ago. Seems like it's improving. I'll be back on Monday so it gets a chance to heal. Also gotta be careful today while benching - we'll see!