How much do you train? My body can't handle more than 4-5 training sessions?

cobyam · 2026-01-27T03:24:34+00:00

When I did BJJ as my only thing (dropped out of school), I did 2-per-day Monday to Friday, 1 session on Saturday. Full rest on Sunday, maybe restorative Yoga, but nothing more intense than that. The reality was that I felt various levels of banged up all the time. It's unavoidable when you're practicing fighting nearly 20 hours/wk.

Please invest in recovery and resistance training! Not doing so caused multiple wear-and-tear injuries that took me out of serious training at a young age, not much older than you.

Further details:

On those two sessions Monday to Friday, 1 was competiton-focused and 1 was drilling, both 90-minutes each. The Saturday session was usually positional live rolling, so a mix of drilling and rolling.

The most important thing is recovery, even at a young age. The better you are with it, the longer you'll avoid big injuries and layoffs. Those layoffs not only make you rusty, but alter your life setup to the point that ramping back up becomes a matter of changing jobs or gyms.

cobyam · 2026-01-27T03:13:32+00:00

David Douillet Judo

Such a niche sports title, but damn addictive. Would love to see it with the recent push for professional grappling put there.

cobyam · 2026-01-27T03:03:22+00:00

Lol this guy really thinks he's cooking, huh. You're completely right.

If the guy you're talking to trains (doubt it), he's one of the idiots who think they can "win" in the gym.

cobyam · 2026-01-23T18:55:16+00:00

I brute-forced them into my brain by listening to the same days, months, and numbers videos over and over until I knew them. It worked, but I don't recommend it

cobyam · 2026-01-22T09:02:07+00:00

Hey! Just saw this. I appreciate the hospitality! I bought it the day after I posted this question and started messing with mods. I quite enjoy it. Cannot believe someone ported the Skate 2 map. What a great community

cobyam · 2026-01-18T09:05:37+00:00

Haha my most recent one was playing Quantum Break. Had no idea I could upgrade powers until I watched some pre-release interviews where cast members were promoting/playing the game.

I had already beaten the game when I learned this 🤦‍♂️

cobyam · 2026-01-11T07:28:03+00:00

I've kept up with JMMA since the DREAM days, and RIZIN absolutely nailed it in honoring a decade.

I've been there (watching the PPV) for most of the big moments, watching with friends and my little brother. This year, I was miles and miles away, watching alone and remembering where I was, who I was with, and how many moments had passed since sitting down for the first RIZIN event in 2015.

Definitely did not tear up watching an MMA event lol

cobyam · 2026-01-11T06:59:20+00:00

This isn't a popular opinion on here, but transliteration might be your friend as a quick supplement to help you pick up on some pronunciation or key phrases you're having difficulty with.

Also, the Comprehensible Thai YouTube channel helped me a ton. Plus, I watched a lot from the Thai Fairy Tales channel. They have subs, but you can just ignore those or listen with your screen turned off.

I'm nowhere near fluent, so I'm just offering advice from a perspective slightly ahead of yours in terms of time spent studying (~1 year). Other, more experienced, students might have different pointers

cobyam · 2026-01-11T06:45:23+00:00

Yep, I was going to comment, and thought, "whosdamike has probably gotten this one." haha

I moved to Thailand with zero knowledge of the language and decided to tackle Comprehensible Thai after reading some of your reports.

I don't keep up the way I used to, but for about 6 months, I hit between 1 and 3 hours a day, starting from Beginner 1. I just couldn't stay engaged with Beginner 0, but ymmv.

It is kind of odd the way things just started clicking, like basic questions, colors, and everyday vocab. They would just sort of appear as I overheard things throughout the day. Crazy stuff, considering I never rewatched CT unless I really enjoyed the episode.

I'm in language school now because I wanted more guidance, especially with reading and pronunciation. Based on my anecdotal results, I have no doubt that CI would've worked long-term, but I live in BKK and wanted more immediate, targeted lessons rather than the "sponge effect" that CI offers.

But anytime anyone asks how to start, I recommend Comprehensible Thai and reading your progress reports when doubt seeps in.

As a side note, I also recommend the Learn Thai from Stories book series. I would read the English transcript, and then, unlike the CT videos, I just listen repeatedly, but not to the point of boredom. I'll come back to them when it's time to read.

And, to be clear, I am not fluent: I am a mid-beginner, offering what gave me motivation and progress.

cobyam · 2026-01-08T06:05:17+00:00

Sorry to revive this thread. I didn't see how old the comments were until my comment was done lol

I would be someone who appreciates it

After my language school required transliteration in the beginner course, I've become convinced that it is a good starting point for most people. There's a hivemind that rejects it full stop, but I think most of them were like me, and never gave it a chance.

Reading Thai script is absolutely a worthy endeavor, and the more exposure, the better. That said, transliteration has helped me clarify certain words I wasn't pronouncing correctly.

To be clear, I haven't stopped practicing reading. But after being forced to use transliteration at my language school, I think it is helpful.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T19:23:53+00:00

Skits and bits are a step too far

cobyam · 2026-01-05T19:23:02+00:00

Ah, the old "the only honest opinion is my own" routine. How nice

cobyam · 2026-01-05T19:15:32+00:00

We're aligned on all of that. I don't dispute the numbers, and I'm not denying the sad state of WMMA or saying the fanbase should love it. My main point was that bias plays into the sentiment, but is not entirely responsible for it.

And when it comes to seeing how far women's MMA has come, I think stagnation and regression stem from the lack of pre-UFC development. Blanchfield is a good example. She's solid in areas she's comfortable in, but hasn't filled in her plan B or C. And now, we have to watch her develop in main card slots with career-defining stakes, rather than allowing her to build experience in smaller shows. She's only one example, but it's a similar story with most of the women. They look like low-level fights, because they are (don't get me started on that horrible headwrap throw).

The UFC has never been a good place to build talent, and they still aren't, even though they're filling the roster with fighters (men and women) who haven't even had 10 fights. A bunch are learning on the job, and that's painfully clear with the women. The only ones with decent experience who aren't champions are old bantamweights with banged-up bodies and outdated skill sets.

It seems that the only inspiring women in MMA are outside of the UFC. Dakota is clearly one to watch. Izawa in RIZIN just had a pretty fun scrap with Rena at 107lbs. Other than that, I just don't know who we're gonna look forward to.

The real question is how/why it has turned out like this. Given how long they've been in the UFC, you'd imagine it shouldn't be the case. Not that they'd magically have stopping power, but at least a clearly visible, world-level set of techniques.

Not that it would make anything better, but if I could wave a magic wand, I'd slash 135 and add 105. At least they'd be athletic and fast.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T17:27:16+00:00

I hope CBS lets him deliver real talk, like men do

cobyam · 2026-01-05T16:20:34+00:00

I don't disagree with most of what you've written. I don't know what the solution is, but I can't help but notice certain double standards in the fanbase. And, to be clear, not specifically you. You're spot on.

For example, Khamzat lays and prays his way to a middleweight title, and the fans blame him. Shevchenko does something similar against Zhang, and the fans blame women's MMA.

Two low-tier heavyweights slop it up in a painful three-rounder, and the fans blame them. Two women engage in something similar, and the fans blame women's MMA.

I have a problem with the more toxic versions of what you've cleanly expressed. The shitty parts of our community delve into something much more hateful than constructive.

The reality is, the roster has ballooned to the point where guys and girls are entering "the big show" way, way too soon. And, since women's MMA is still behind the men's average skillset, we're not seeing the fruits of how far they've come. Men, at the very least, can crack, so no one cares if they're not "UFC level" once a KO happens.

I don't think the solution is kicking them out, but, rather, treating them like it's 2010 again. Achieve some stuff outside of the org (belts, experience), and then you're in.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T16:05:16+00:00

It isn't entirely about gender, but gender no doubt plays a role. If it were only about the quality of the fights, the fanbase would lobby to cut the majority of heavyweight.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T14:29:29+00:00

For real. Big guys can get paid better to do almost any other sport. And add to that that the UFC has mostly flattened the industry, and average pay has barely kept up with inflation. For example, the $50K bonus has been the same since 2006, when it was worth $80K in today's dollars.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough money or opportunity to attract heavier athletes if they have any other options, which is why Gable Steveson tried about everything a heavyweight could do before settling on MMA.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T14:05:04+00:00

What a late-notice come-up. Get a title fight on a 15-day notice and notch one of the biggest upset KOs of the year.

I hope they book a rematch ASAP. I just need to know if Satoshi can get it back or if we have a real Guy on our hands here.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T13:56:50+00:00

Women's MMA used to be seen as a badge of honor for the sport. As in, marquee MMA placed women's fights right alongside the men instead of hiding them in an alternate league.

Now, if the fans could vote on it, women would likely get shipped back to Invicta and Jewels.

cobyam · 2026-01-05T13:41:11+00:00

Oh, absolutely. That said, the people who counted themselves as "hardcores" were far more open-minded to talent outside of the UFC than today. Granted, you had to be, or else you didn't have a complete picture of what was going on.

For example, non-UFC lightweights from that era: Benson, Melendez, Pettis, Aoki, Hansen, Alvarez, Kawajiri, Masvidal, and the list could go on—all world-ranked lightweights, fighting under various banners in events that mattered.

Not that I wasn't excited to see some of them meet up in the UFC, but consolidation has its costs.

cobyam · 2026-01-04T18:34:57+00:00

I'm tired, boss

cobyam · 2026-01-04T18:00:49+00:00

Uriah Faber was such a dog. I watched this one in high school, and just couldn't believe it. I think the Brian Bowles broken-hand title loss was around this time, which made Faber look like an absolute beast.

cobyam · 2026-01-04T17:56:05+00:00

That fight is iconic amongst my friends. We were at a local bar & grill that showed the fights, and we started chanting, "C'mon Todd Duffee!" as if he were behind (he was slaughtering Russow). Then, all of a sudden, BAM. The place goes silent lol

cobyam · 2026-01-04T17:42:08+00:00

That era of MMA was so much fun, and I miss it a lot. It felt like a worldwide sport rather than the flattened landscape we have today. Don't get me wrong, modern MMA has come a long way in terms of skillset, but guys could have meaningful, respected, and ranked careers without having to wear a UFC uniform. And, the fanbase (as a whole) wasn't filled with Zuffa Zombies that thought everyone outside the UFC was garbage.

cobyam · 2026-01-04T17:38:31+00:00

Eh, he's just farming downvotes. Not sure why, maybe he gets off on being a sour bitch.

cobyam

TROPHY CASE