TRAINING
Training methods will vary depending on where you train and who your trainer is. But we'll start with a typical daily training session for fighters in line with the style of Muang Chaiya.
This will give you an idea of the training you'll be doing and a reason to get as fit as you can before you go to Thailand, giving you the best chance to succeed.
After the training regime we will go into more depth on individual exercises and tips on how to get the most out of training, after all, you’re preparing for a fight.
Warm Up
Running - 30 minutes.
Skipping - 30 minutes.
Warm-up exercises.
Stretches, shadow.
Catch your breath and put on your hand wraps.
Est - 1 Hour
The Hard Work - 4 Minute Rounds, 1 Minute Break.
Bag work - 5 to 10 rounds, 25 - 50 minutes.
Pads - Up to 5 rounds, 25 minutes.
Sparring - 30 minutes.
Grappling - 30 minutes.
Est - 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Exercises & Body Conditioning
Sit-ups.
Chin-ups.
Push-ups
More leg and knee exercises.
Neck weights.
Bag Kicks.
Elbow technique skills.
There will be so many different exercises that can be used here; it depends on the camp you're training at.
Est - 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Warm Down
Stretch muscles.
Apply boxing linament/oil.
Est - 20 Minutes
Total time for the training regime is around 5 hours, plus 1 hour of running during the day, bringing it to around 6 hours a day.
This can be split into 2 sessions.
This is something you will build up to over time, but you do need to complete this every day to prepare for fighting.
Our recommendation is to train 6 days a week and have one day of total rest for your body to recover.
Technique - This needs to be mastered.
ALL EXAMPLES OF TECHNIQUE ON THIS WEBSITE WILL BE FOR RIGHT HANDED PEOPLE, IF YOU'RE LEFT JUST SWAP IT AROUND.
This is the most important part to get correct, right from the start. You need to train your body and muscles in a way to achieve maximum power in all of your motions.
All moves are ATTACH & DEFEND at the same time. Very important, this is critical for survival if you want to last 5 rounds.
Muscle memory - this is why you will be punching, kicking, kneeing, and elbowing the bag hundreds of times every day. Your trainer will instruct you on correct technique, but you need to concentrate and get this right. As you progress, your muscles will remember all these motions to the point where the day will come, and you won't have to think about it at all. It will be permanently embedded in you, which is a part of being ready for a fight.
When first learning a technique, don't worry about power, that comes later without ever thinking about it. You will want to be hitting the bag and pads as hard as you can to show your trainer and peers how strong you are, and I understand this. But once you master a bad habit, it can be hard to lose, that's why this is so important to get right from the start.
The power will come in time without you noticing it. Practice out of training, keep your guards up as often as you can, visualise and shadow, concentrating on combinations that work and feel comfortable for you. Don't sit idle, shadow your moves to perfect them.
PUNCHING
If you can get lessons for boxing and learn this before you start in Thailand, it will give you a great advantage. If not, they will teach you there when you first start. This needs to be taught before moving on to kicks.
The technique used with boxing and Thai boxing is basically identical except for the position you hold your gloves. Boxers keep their gloves on their face for protection. The gloves are large and soft, which makes it very hard for their opponent to knock them out when both are protecting their face. One glove always remains on the face. If you jab then cross, the jab will go out, and come back in on the face before the cross goes out, which will come straight back in as well. That's what boxers focus on, they wait for the exact moment their opponents' gloves aren't in place to get a clean shot.
The problem with holding the gloves on your face in Thai boxing is your vision. Boxers are only punching above the waist and are able to see this with the position of their gloves, but for Thai boxing, you won't be able to see below the waist. This means you need to change the position of your gloves. Luckily, it's not much. From the position of having your gloves on your face, move them out a few inches with your elbows straight up and down for body protection. A small gap between your gloves will give you full visuals. When you can clearly see all of your opponent your in the sweet spot.
Punches aren't used as much in Thai boxing compared to normal boxing, most of it is kicks and grappling. But even so, keep them up at all times for the unexpected.
KICKING
From the conversion of Muay Boran (Ancient Boxing) into Muay Thai in the 1920s, a new style completely emerged. Mauy Boran was more of a martial art with a different style from what is used today, and is now only for exhibitions. The new ring sport of Muay Thai became a power sport, all of it. There are only two kicks used. The reason for this - most of the other kicks you see in martial arts are too weak for Muay Thai.
The Muay Thai roundhouse is the hardest of them all. When these come in, you need to be able to defend yourself, as does your opponent, defending against you.
This is why you need hard shins. The main power from this kick comes from the hips, twisting your body to get maximum power. The kick itself needs to come in sideways, not on an angle, straight in to deliver maximum power. The foot that stays on the ground is twisted on the ball with your knee locked straight. Lift your heel off the ground, and you will spin with it. Your kicking leg should be locked straight when you make contact, not bent.
With this kick, if you miss the mark, you can overspin if the technique is incorrect. You may have seen kickboxers spin around 360 degrees if their kick misses. This problem won't happen if the technique is correct. If you kick with your right foot, you need to pull back as hard as possible with your right arm, and I mean hard. If you do miss, you may slightly overturn, but it shouldn't be a problem, you can compose yourself fairly easily from this. When you're starting out, remember right kick, right arm back & left kick, left arm back.
This now leaves us with one arm for defense. As I said earlier, all attacks have a defense mechanism. When you kick with your right leg your left glove will come to your face and sit exactly in the same position as if you were boxing. This is for protecting yourself against a hard punch or kick coming in from your opponent. The hands move together, but in opposite directions. With practice, you will master this.
So they're the four parts to a roundhouse. It can be hard at first, getting all 4 limbs in the correct spot, it's quite difficult. If you're not getting this right when training, slow down, go back through the motion of it. When you get back on track, slowly power up with it until you're back full speed.
When it comes to shin-on-shin contact, it hurts. Hardening your shins is pivotal for this. We do have a page covering this topic - SHINS AND PAIN FOR FIRST TIMERS found further down this page.
The second kick is the push kick. This is great for pushing an opponent back when they're too close. That's what it's designed for, not a strike, a massive push and hard. This is done by lifting your knee up as high as you can get it to your chest, then focus all your power into the push. At the same time you need to swing your body and head right back to help avoid an incoming punch or kick. This kick can be hard to defend against due to the speed at which they come in.
There are two ways to do this kick regardless of what side your stance is. If you're right-sided, then obviously the big hard push will come from your right leg, with extra power coming from the twist of the hips. You also need to be able to do this with your front foot as well. It won't be as hard, but it’s still effective. This kick is a good one to practice at training on the bag, push to get the bag swinging, then continually push with your front foot.
Defence against a push kick is very hard to do. As the kick comes in, swing one of your forearms downwards and attempt to push the kick off line by twisting your opponent's stance, followed by an attacking kick from you. This one is very hard to master, if you don't get it right, it just means you will have to wear the kick, which is why you will need to be doing hundreds of sit-ups every day.
To sum it up, the push kick is easy to learn and very effective if used correctly. If you're getting close to a corner and want to get out, that's what this is for. Best use both sides, push then land with that foot in front, now use your other foot and land on the front of that, go side to side and move them back.
KNEES
When any untrained person knees the bag for the first time, their foot will always be pulled up and sticking out. There is a reason for this. When a person knees, they automatically pull their foot up to brace for the impact without even realising what they are doing, this is natural for everyone, but for Muay Thai, it's a big mistake for various reasons.
Broken toes - Your toes will be poking out without protection. If your toes get broken, you're out of the fight.
Reduced power - You need to pull your foot back to align everything from your knee to your toes in a straight line for maximum power. Get your foot behind it for extra weight advantage.
Restricted movement - With the foot up, the Achilles tendon is pulled up tight, restricting movement when kneeing high. When you master this technique, you will feel how much better it is and how much higher it goes with flexibility when there is no tension on the tendon.
Looks ridiculous - Yes, I am going to add this. When an undertrained fighter knees in a fight and has their foot sticking up, it looks stupid to those who are trained fighters.
How to master this. Start with your normal boxing stance and prepare to knee. As you lift your foot off the ground, you need to start by lifting your heel up first and keeping the weight on the ball of your foot. It's a smooth motion that becomes easier as you master this. As you lift the heel, keep the weight on the ball of your foot, which will then follow up behind the heel and be all aligned for maximum power and flexibility. Pull your toes in nice and tight. Your knees will become higher and harder with this action than those of untrained fighters.
There are basically two types of knees, the first one is where a fighter will have a grasp on their opponent through grappling. Most fighters have strong stomach muscles, and the truth is they can withstand this the whole fight without any problem. The way to put them down is to aim for the sternum. Hit this in the right spot, and you will knock the wind out of them. You have to get your knee up higher, but if you want to end the fight, this is where you aim. Once you hit the sweet spot, they will go down with the wind knocked out of them, and the result will be a TKO. If you're able to pull them down for a headshot, take it. It's part of the sport, and it's in the rules. On the flipside, if it's you going down, do whatever it takes to prevent this. Get your arms in there, make sure this never happens.
The second type of knee is where you don't have a grasp on them. If you're close enough and can get a shot, this method works also if done correct. As the knee goes out, move your fist on the same side out towards their face. The fist is there for a slight distraction. This isn't used as much as the first way, but it can be used on occasion. When you get more experienced with this, you can then move on to jumping knees. Basically, what you do here is launch in the air towards them, then twist your hips mid-flight, timing it accurately to make contact. This is best left for the more experienced fighters. If you do go on to have a lengthy career in Muay Thai, one day you will be doing this, but just be patient.
ELBOWS
The crowd loves seeing blood and elbows are effective for this purpose. Very simple, very basic moves that must be precisely timed and accurate. Nothing fancy, aim for the area between the eye and eyebrow to split the skin where it sits on the bone. Doesn't need to be hard, just fast. Best time is when they come in to grapple, which is something they do all the time. The easiest combination is basically the best for this: up with your left elbow, over with your right. If you time it right, it will connect. Remember they are coming in to grapple, so you will need to elbow and grab them in one motion fast.
For effective technique, elbows are performed with open hands; this is to take the tension off the tendon going through your wrist into your hand, which will make it more flexible, just like when you knee with your foot down. When fighting, your hands will be wrapped and movement restricted by the gloves; just let your hands go loose. They won't open, but it's enough to let the tension off.
Shadow is the best practice for this. You can elbow the bag with your forearm pushing into it, but don't brush your elbow tip up or across the bag, it will take the skin off after a few times. Our advice is to keep this simple, there's no need to wind them up. It's speed that does the damage here, and from your normal stance, elbows should go straight forward from there without winding them up. Over time you can work more of them into your combinations.
Be careful when close to your opponent; elbows can move noses and do a lot of damage. If you do get hit and need stitches, it's ok, as all fights have a doctor there specifically for this.
GRAPPLING
With the upper part of your body, you start by trying to get a dominant grip around the back of the head, with your arms on the inside. That's when you use your knees, but this can be hard to do as your opponent is also doing the same. You may have noticed watching fights when fighters are trying to get their arms under and on the inside; it's a struggle. They're both trying to maintain control, and this is a lot harder to do in a fight than when training.
You will be practising this every night at training; it's easy to learn and a good way to show your peers how strong you are. You can pull them down, twisting with your hips, followed by a fake knee. Remember these are your friends, so the kneeing part is only a soft tap. Half of a fight will usually be grappling, so you need to be good at this. Study this, watch fights closely, and do sit-ups every day.
TRAINING TIPS
Training is very punishing to all parts of the body in this sport, and everything possible must be done to prevent and avoid injury, this is the last thing you want to be carrying into a fight. These tips will help you avoid injury and be better prepared for fighting.
WRAP YOUR HANDS FROM DAY 1
This is something you will need to do every day from the start. Wrap your hands. Punching the bag will be ok at first, but slowly your hands will become sore as time goes by if you don't do this. They will sprain in the same way as your feet do by kicking the bag with them every day (more on that later).
This is something worthwhile learning before you start training. You can learn this from videos on YouTube, there's a lot of clips where boxers demonstrate how to do this. It doesn't need to be learned specifically from a Thai boxer, as it is basically the same with all styles of boxing. There will always be different variations on how to do this by different fighters, but the principle is all the same. It braces your fist together, making it solid and able to withstand punishment without injury or sprain.
When you wrap your hands, make sure they're loose. They're not supposed to be tight when your hands are open; they pull tight as you clinch your fist. Overtighten them, and you will have to take your gloves off after a few minutes - they will be too tight. This isn't a huge drama, but it's a good lesson that a lot of boxers have been through.
Practice this as many times as needed until you can do it without looking. Get a good amount of wraps over the knuckles. What you can do is fold it so there are six layers to start with on top of your knuckles, then wrap it around three times. It will give you nine layers on top of your knuckles and three around your palm to hold it, instead of wrapping it around six times, giving you only six layers over the knuckles and six layers in your palm. There are always tricks to improve things, but you'll work that out yourself.
You can buy gloves that perform in the same way, they're fast and easy, but wrapping your hands is a skill that all boxers should know. Just remember if you are buying gloves to allow for the extra size to fit into it. Go for larger and heavier gloves for training, usually 12 or 14 oz are a good size for this. They give you good knuckle protection, and the extra weight on them makes the fighting gloves feel lighter.
SHINS AND PAIN FOR FIRST TIMERS
Have you ever tried to kick the Thai kick pads with your shin, and it hurts like hell? If you haven't tried this, you might be wondering what this is about, but those who have gone through this do know.
Part of the body conditioning for a fighter is to be able to kick and block with their shins; this is part of the attack and defence technique. If you do not use your shins to block in a fight, you will lose points as correct technique is incorporated into the scoring. You may need to block a kick 30 or 40 times in a fight, directly with your shins, you need to be conditioned for this.
Your shin is a large bone perfect for blocking kicks, but it needs to be toughened first. This takes time. Your foot is made of small bones and muscles holding it together. Kicking with this will be ok at first, but remember you'll be kicking the bag hundreds of times every day of the week. This will gradually lead to sprain, sore feet, and you will feel it when you walk. Do not kick with your feet.
You MUST use your shin to condition it over time, as you progress into a fighter. This will hurt at first for most, particularly with the Thai kick pads; they are very hard and solid, and you will feel the pain of it every time you kick them, making you want to kick with your feet as there is less pain. Big mistake. You need to push through this, and it will take time, possibly 4 - 6 weeks. Just remember, if you can't kick the pads with everything you've got and not feel it, then you are not ready to fight.
SUGGESTION - Buy elastic foot supports, as these will help prevent sprain & injury, and give you a small amount of coverage for protection. You can also wear these in a fight.
If you persist at this, the day will come when you won't feel anything; it will be a surprise as you kick the crap out of the pads without any pain or feeling. This is a major milestone and after all that pain you will remember the day this happens for a long time. It's part of becoming a fighter, part of the conditioning needed to fight.
RUNNING
The best and most sensible way to do this is to get up early around 6 am and run, or do it on a treadmill throughout the day in an air-conditioned room IF you have access to one.
Thailand is very hot almost all year round. Morning is when most of the Thais will do this, remember they also have to work full-time jobs or go to school on top of all their training, so they don't get the choice of what time to do this. One thing to note here, depending on your location, is to be careful with the roads and traffic in Thailand, it's dangerous. Always be aware of what is going on around you and try to run where it is safe.
If you're not a morning person and have the luxury of a treadmill, great. The best thing about treadmills is that they set the pace, not you. You have to run at the exact speed the whole time, which is almost impossible to do when running on the road. Work your way up to 10 kms. There's no reason to take a water break, set it to 10kms, run for 1 hour, and don't stop, simple.
This is what will bring the real power into your kicks, and this is when your trainer will be able to feel it. Your endurance level will be through the roof, you'll achieve more every training session, and this will put you on par with strong fighters. That's why I said it's not negotiable, you will never be successful without running.
TRAINING EXHAUSTION
You would think that over time, training all these hours, 6 days a week, that things will get easier over time, right? Wrong. This is the method Thais use to build fighters up, and why Thais are so fit and strong.
The reason it never gets easy is that a good trainer will always push you a little bit harder every session. They will see you getting used to it. As soon as they see you adjusting to the training, it goes up. This at times, can push a person to near breaking point, even the strong fighters, but this is how it's done. If you don't get pushed this far, you won’t be a great fighter.
These are the pivotal moments when you will need to GET BACK UP no matter how many times you get put down, and NEVER QUIT. You have to keep getting back up over and over - IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BECOME A FIGHTER.