YouTuber Brandon William has taken on several fitness challenges over the past 30 days, including trying to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In his latest video, William sets himself the goal of learning everything he can about the martial art of Muay Thai in one month.
When his coach, Jessie Magusen got repeated and fast on the first day, it became clear that in terms of his skills, only William’s way is high, so he does a month of Magusen’s exercises, training twice a day. every day in addition to taking regular Muay Thai classes.
In his first session, William learned the basics of blocking, deflecting, and catching kicks. “It might sound easy, but it’s really hard for me,” he says. “Determining which side of my opponent to shoot from, and keeping my balance while blocking the kick was a struggle… I knew I had to work on my technique before trying this for real, since one bad move in my ribs will do for him.”
By the end of the first week, he begins to notice that he is making progress, and is able to keep his balance with ease when he is careful. “The process feels more natural,” he says. “Fortunately, the martial arts training I did in the past has translated a little into Muay Thai. However, one thing that hasn’t translated is a lot of pain.”
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To get the most out of his months-long training, William visits the Muay Thai Academy to take some cues from its founder, Muay Thai champion Kru Puk, and invites calisthenics athlete Chris Heria to he joined her in some sparring.
Finally, on the 30th day, it was time for William to put everything he had learned into practice in a heated session with an experienced soldier. “I’m not going to lie, I was scared to do a lot in the first round,” he says. “Obviously, I have a long way to go if I want to enter the official fight, but one thing is clear: I have 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. Her work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
