November 2024 Update
It’s probably pretty presumptuous to assume anyone wants or needs an update on what’s in the works at The Clinic just one month after a blog post already stating what was in the works at The Clinic, but here I am writing one anyway. Besides, in that month we knocked some things out and have some new things to think and talk about.
In the last post, I said the number one priority was to get a day class going. Well that box can be checked. We now offer a day class on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8am-9am with an open gym from 9am-10am. It’s currently pretty small but will grow. I fully believe having more options is better for everyone, so I’m excited we now have it (even if it means I have to wake up earlier).
We also started a YouTube channel. There are a few videos up already with a few more on the way. Now I’ll be honest. The content in the videos is solid. But that’s about it. I’m not trying to get 1 million views nor am I trying to be Scorsese. The video production is low. I generally do things in one take, so I apologize for the stutters, awkward jokes, and rambling. I’m just trying to get solid info out there on one channel for the students of The Clinic Muay Thai Gym to quickly and easily access. Over time there will be enough content on there that you’ll never have to think about what you should do during an open gym period if you don’t want to. You can just pick a random video and work on that.
The next goal education wise will be to start having an advanced class. I don’t plan on starting that until January, so, in the meantime, I will try to figure out which fundamentals classes to remove to add these classes. My intention is to replace two of the weekly fundamentals classes with an advanced class. Just two classes, not two full days.
I just want to remind everyone who read the class description post (or if you didn’t read it just tell you for the first time here) that the advanced class will still be open to all. That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone should attend it, but it will not require any sort of invitation or approval to attend like a future fighter’s class will. The advanced class won’t even necessarily require advanced skills to attend. It is more about having the ability to understand the fundamental techniques enough where you don’t have to think too much about them. I’ll use the fundamental drill of blocking the jab and countering with the 2-3-2 as an example. If that drill comes easy to you from an understanding level, you’ll be fine attending an advanced class. If you have to constantly stop during the round to think your way through that then I’d maybe stick with just fundamentals for a bit longer before attending the advanced class. This applies to both performing drills and pad holding.
The elephant in the room is merch. I promise you we’re making progress on that. The artwork is almost done—there are just some finishing touches that need to be done. Good chance it will be done by the time this blog is actually published. Then we’ll get that artwork to the apparel company for quotes and get some orders put in. I know I’ve been talking about getting it done for over a month now, but some things just take time. Plus try to imagine how hard it is for an artist to listen to my crazy ideas and then try to decipher them and design something that looks good from that.
The last thing we’re excited about is that we have a date for the Ugly Sweater class. We will be doing it Saturday, December 14th during our normal Saturday hours. We selected a Saturday as we want everyone to have the chance to bring any family members or loved ones along (that includes friends) if they chose. There will be a small potluck in the reception area for them to chow down on food while watching you get punched in the face while wearing an ugly sweater. The class won’t even be much like a class. There will be a warm up and then free reign to spar or hit pads with your friends, and I’ll jump in where I’m needed. When you get too hot or tired you can leave the mat, grab some water and/or a cookie with your family/friends and just have a good time. We did the Halloween class, which was a ton of fun but was more like a standard class. This will just be a fun get together with Muay Thai that I hope we get a big turnout for. Most of the time this is just a gym where we each come to get to a workout and hit stuff. This is an opportunity to build the gym into a second family, so I’m excited for it and really hope you can make it.
Those are the only updates for now. It will most likely be 2025 or close to it until I write another blog like this one. As always, I’m just excited for the direction things are going here at The Clinic, and it wouldn’t be going this way without its “patients” (the members). I do nothing but coach them hard and belittle them, but I’m using this moment to express my gratitude to every single one of them. I should say it in person but I’m not emotionally mature enough for that. 😂
