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I'll have my first (real) Muay Thai fight soon and I was wondering about Mike Tyson's famous quote: "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

Actually, I find this quote very realistic. Of course that, when training, I already have been punched in the face and have felt all the effects of it. But, when training, you can stop and breathe. But there's no time to breathe in a real fight.

I believe that everything you should do in a real competition must be the result of a lot of practice.

So, are there any viable (healthy) ways to simulate the body reactions to a punch landed to the face, intending to practice defense in such semiconscious state?

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But, when training, you can stop and breathe. But there's no time to breathe in a real fight.

This difference does not have to exist. A coach should occasionally put students through sparring of some kind that the student should not take breaks in. That can take many forms, including hard rounds with someone else from the gym, or a smoker match-up with another gym's prospective fighters.

Are there any viable (healthy) ways to simulate the body reactions to a punch landed to the face

Cardio, cardio, cardio, and experience getting hit but not concussed is the answer I see most frequently.

...practice defense in such semiconscious state?

NOOOOOPE not a good idea. If you're semiconscious then you've taken a permanently damaging blow. These can happen in the course of training or competition, but seeking them out with any frequency over a long period of time is a recipe for slurring your words for the rest of your life.

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  • As I understand it, when unconscious but still standing, you tend to fall back on reflexes, so I'd thinking that the key would be to train combinations in reaction to attacks over and over again until it's automatic.
    – Macaco Branco
    Jan 6 '16 at 23:37
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    I would use bold, emphasis, and large font on that last paragraph...
    – Sardathrion - against SE abuse
    Jan 7 '16 at 8:53
  • Thanks for the answer Dave! I just didn't get the second part. How could cardio simulate the situation of being puched? I don't know if I understood correctly what you said. Thanks!
    – El M
    Jan 7 '16 at 10:57
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    @ElMynx One of the biggest effects of taking hits, whether to the body or head, is exhaustion. Having a big gas tank and experience fighting through fatigue is critical.
    – Dave Liepmann
    Jan 7 '16 at 10:59
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So, are there any viable (healthy) ways to simulate the body reactions to a punch landed to the face, intending to practice defense in such semiconscious state?

I had heard a story that at least some Cuban amateur boxers will do somersaults as part of their pad workouts. The idea is that this will help you improve punch accuracy/precision when you are a bit disoriented. On the surface this seems to be a relatively safe way to simulate a "semiconscious" state, but I have not idea how effective it might be.

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  • Hi, Doug! VERY interesting idea. I'll search for more information about this. Actually, the first step for me is to learn how to do a somersault lol. But, the idea is what I'm looking for. Thank you!
    – El M
    Jan 7 '16 at 17:38
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    If you try it let us know how well it works.
    – Doug B
    Jan 7 '16 at 17:41
  • Somersaults..!? Wow. Intriguing. A more achievable alternative might be simple forward roles along the matt.
    – Grimm The Opiner
    Jul 19 '18 at 12:46
  • Hey @DougB, just to let you know, I tried somersaults, but they were a bit hard to do while training. But I followed Grimm's idea and started to do forward and backward roles while training, and it really works. you feel a little disoriented and have to deal with this condition. But it works for some time, until the body gets used to the roles. When this happens, I stop doing it for some weeks and start again after it.
    – El M
    Nov 14 '19 at 13:27

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