Tag Archives: Muay Thai training
Muay Thai Competitive Training
In all of Thailand, Phuket has become a popular tourist destination for two reasons – the long stretch of beaches and the Muay Thai training camps.
Countless foreign visitors travel to Thailand to take the opportunity to first have a glimpse of how Muay Thai training is conducted. The reason is because there are various Muay Thai gyms all over Thailand that offers supreme training program, making it hard for those interested in learning the art of eight limbs to choose which gym to conduct their training at.
Muay Thai has gained international recognition, in fact, several training camps have been set up in the different parts of the world, nevertheless, the best place to learn the combat sport will still remain on the country where it originated, and that is Thailand, wherein unrivalled Muay Thai trainings and individual programs are being regulated for each of their fighters.
All those who are interested in learning Muay Thai who doesn’t have any basic training or knowledge of the said combat sport will be given a beginner’s program. Through the course of time, these trainee’s will learn that discipline, hard work and dedication is what it takes to become good in the art of eight limbs, its either they will enlist for the Muay Thai competitive training investing their time and life honing the skills to become one of the best competitive Muay Thai fighters or just continue with the basic program as part of their fitness regimen as well as gaining and learning a challenging skill.
With the rigid and intensive training program designed solely for each individual, it wouldn’t be surprising that a trainee could progress from a complete novice to a moderately-skilled Muay Thai fighter in just a couple of weeks.
Muay Thai training camps can easily prepare the fighter or trainee for participation in an organized fight for amateur Muay Thai boxers. These amateur fights will test the effectiveness of the training program undertaken by the training camp in preparing the fighter for his ring battle.
Training and Conditioning for Competitive Muay Thai Fight
All Muay Thai training camps administer a designed training program for each fighter that will prepare them to have the level of fitness and toughness required for ring competition. During this stage, the fighter has undergone intense training program that consists of daily running, shadow boxing, pushups and sit-ups plus clinching and sparring.
In addition to the daily regimen of strenuous workouts and activities, those training for competitive fights will have additional staples of conditioning that includes body weight resistance exercises, abdominal exercise, weight training, rope jumping, bag and pad work, medicine ball exercises and sparring.
It is Important for fighters preparing for a competition that their Muay Thai conditioning regimen will include practice punches, kicks, knee techniques and elbow strikes. The fighter trains with a trainer wearing thick pads that cover the forearms and hands intended for the fighter to learn to react to the attacks of the pad holder in real fighting scenarios. Straight kicks or knees to the body are practiced by having the trainer wear belly pad around the abdominal area.
To practice hand speed, timing, punching, punch combinations, counter-punching techniques, defense and power, focus mitts are used for training. The fighter also endures heavy bag training meant to condition his body and reinforce the techniques practiced on the pads. To test the fighter’s technique, skills, range and strategy, sparring is also included, though not often so as not to risk injury before the fight.
Muay Thai Advanced Training
Gaining popularity worldwide, Muay Thai is a combat sport and a martial art like no other. It originated from Thailand using stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It has been a popular sport for many young Thai and foreigners who take pains in learning and mastering the furious punches, lethal kicks, crushing elbow strikes, artful feints and powerful grappling. Muay Thai is a proud heritage of the kingdom of Thailand.
Muay Thai training camps in Thailand are spread over Phuket, Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai. These Muay Thai training camps offer training programs for beginners, intermediate and advanced training. Famed and well-known champion fighters normally supervise the training programs in Muay Thai training camps they have affiliations with. From beginner’s training, one can move up to the intermediate level where more complex techniques using all eight weapons (elbows, knees, shins and legs) are learned. The more complex techniques are incorporated to improve cardio/endurance, strength, speed and masterful ability to execute Muay Thai strikes and blocks properly.
From intermediate, the trainee will move to advanced training wherein more diverse striking Muay Thai techniques are taught. Some of the advanced Muay Thai techniques learned in advanced level include:
- Superman Punch. This punch is executed after throwing some low leg kicks to the opponent, intended to knock him out. It is used to surprise an opponent and get them worried about what strike is coming next.
- Spinning Back Fist. The spin is performed by putting one foot crossed behind the other, then pivoting the hip and having the elbow follow through. It is a sneaky technique that can catch the opponent by surprise. It can cause a lot of damage to the opponent if executed properly.
- Spinning Back Elbow. Very similar to a spinning back fist, a spinning back elbow can knock out the opponent with a powerful elbow strike.
- Flying Knee. This is done by jumping straight upwards horizontally aiming to strike the opponent’s chin, similar to an uppercut punch. It is used when close to the opponent and during a clinch, when the opponent is against the rope or wall.
- Switch Cross/Hook/Uppercut. When the opponent sees a quick switch in stance, it means a switch round-house kick or knee is coming. But with this technique, a switch cross, hook or uppercut is not seen coming.
- Muay Thai Sweeps. When standing, sweep is used to take an opponent to the ground by knocking their legs out from under them. The force of the sweep runs perpendicular to the opponent’s leg or rises as it strikes the leg, lifting the foot from the ground. It can also disrupt the opponent’s balance long enough to make an opening for a punch or kick.