YouTuber Brandon William has taken on several 30-day fitness challenges, including mastering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In his most recent video, William sets himself the goal of learning as much as possible about the martial art of Muay Thai in just one month.
After being repeatedly and easily crushed by his trainer, Jessie Magusen, on the first day, it becomes clear that William’s only recourse in terms of his skills is on the way, so he commits to a month of Magusen’s training sessions , exercise twice a day. every day in addition to taking regular Muay Thai classes.
In his first session, William learns the basics of blocking, countering and catching kicks. “It might sound simple, but I actually had a hard time with it,” he says. “Finding out which side my opponent was going to kick from, as well as keeping my balance when blocking the kick, was a struggle… I knew I would have to work on my technique before actually attempting it, as one bad move and my ribs will be done.”
By the end of the first week, he begins to notice that he is making some progress, and can more easily maintain his balance while sparring. “The technique feels more natural,” he says. “Fortunately, the martial arts training I did in the past carried over quite a bit to Muay Thai. The one thing that hasn’t translated though is a high pain tolerance.”
To get the absolute most out of his month-long training, William visits the Muay Thai Academy to pick up some tips from its founder, Muay Thai champion Kru Puk, then invites calisthenics athlete Chris Heria to spar with him .
Finally, on the 30th day, it’s time for William to put everything he’s learned into practice in a sparring session with a seasoned fighter. “I’m not going to lie, I was pretty scared to do the first lap,” he says. “I obviously have a long way to go if I ever want to step into an official fight, but one thing’s for sure: I’ve come a long way since day one.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
