One year ago my sister and I signed up together at a new boxing gym in town. We had tried a kickboxing class the previous fall and really enjoyed the release we felt from punching a bag. We each got a punching bag for Christmas but found it difficult to use regularly without a teacher. So we were really excited to try the Muay Thai class at this new gym.
Muay Thai is also called Thai Boxing, and it makes use of the whole body as a weapon. Knees, shins, elbows, go for it.
Of course, the class we took was pretty basic. We focused on combinations and how to block and escape, and not so much about perfect form or intense sparring. This was great because we had never tried partner boxing before.
We had a great time! The first couple classes were difficult because we were still learning how to execute each punch and the proper order. Occasionally a punch landed where it shouldn’t, and I can’t tell you how many times she accidentally kicked my elbow and bruised her foot. Then we’d wake up the next morning and immediately text each other about which muscles were the most sore. (Spoiler alert: it was most of them!)
But we got strong and fast! When we started we couldn’t even finish a 3-minute round of combinations, but soon we started complaining when the teacher accidentally ended a round early! We wanted more time to punch!
We used those two hours each week to catch up on what had been happening in our lives, like what her kids were up to, new restaurants we had tried, or jobs we were applying for. It was therapeutic to exercise, but also to spend time together.
My sister and I are four years apart. Now that we’re both in our 30s it doesn’t really matter, but growing up it was super difficult to relate to each other! I was just a 12 year old kid desperate to hang out with my 16 year old sister and her friends, and she was desperate not to be associated with me! Looking back I really can’t blame her. Most teenage girls don’t want their clingy little sister tagging along. When she left for college I was only 14 so we never really got to know each other beyond our childhood rivalry. When I graduated from high school, she was finishing college, getting married and moving across the country to Arizona. When I graduated from college, I moved to China and lived there for five years. By the time I moved back to the US (to Arizona, actually!) at age 27, she and I had a pretty distant relationship mostly based on childhood memories. Taking a boxing class together, and intentionally making time to be together, has been the best relationship builder I could have suggested!
We cheer each other on in class, tease each other about problems in our lives, and literally give our own bodies (through gloves and pads, of course!) to each other to punch out stress and aggression! I highly recommend boxing, and in particular the very aggressive Muay Thai style, for working through old childhood resentment and building a stronger relationship.
If you want to try any type of boxing out, I have a couple quick tips:
- Make sure you pick a gym or find a friend who can give you a lesson on how to punch and kick correctly. You want to make sure you’re landing your punch with the knuckles on your hand, not the ones on your fingers. Kick so that the flat top of your foot hits the pad. Otherwise you might break a toe!
- Learn how to wrap your hands and wrists accordingly. My sister and I both have very weak wrists so having the proper wrapping was very important.
- There are now gloves available that have a strong mesh on the palm which allow your sweaty hands to breath better. Those are really nice!
- If you feel intimidated by burly men, some gyms have women-only classes which can be a safe place to start.
- Be brave! Boxing can be a great way to get out of the house, put in a fun workout, and even rebuild two sisters’ relationship!
I hope you go out and get it!
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