If you are interested in Muay Thai fighting you can get started no matter your background or vision for the future. Simply put, you don’t have to be anybody special to get started with Muay Thai fighting. That being said, you need to be devoted to the craft and have an idea of what you want to accomplish in the future.
You can be a Muay Thai amateur or become a professional. Either way, the good thing is that you are practicing your craft and doing something that you love. Many people stick to amateur status because this gives them the chance to fight on an on-again off-again basis. In other words, amateurs do not have to be as serious as professionals fighters; even though they often times are.
If you are interested in Muay Thai fighting because you want to become a professional you are not alone. More and more professional fighters are incorporating Muay Thai into their technique. While most of them are not using “straight Muay Thai fighting” they are falling back on some traditional techniques as a way of bettering their odds in the ring. This is also known as mixed martial arts or MMA, where the fighter incorporates more than one fighting discipline.
Just because you are practicing Muay Thai does not mean that you ever have to get into the ring and use it in a real match. This is up to you, and you need to make up your mind on how far you want to take your love of this Thai national sport.
You can get involved with Muay Thai fighting as a hobby, as an amateur, or to eventually become a professional. No matter what you decide on you are sure to have a good time.
Thank you to those of you that asked a question in the Saenchai interview questions post! Most of them have been answered, although I had to paraphrase quite a bit and some questions were totally omitted as we believe that Saenchai didn’t answer them with much interest or we kind of veered off somewhere else. So my apologies if your questions didn’t get in, or they were asked in a completely different way.
The clips of the training are shot in HD and the video of the epic fight at Lumpini are all exclusive and belong solely to TalkMuayThai.com. They are a mix between the fight of Saenchai vs. Petchboonchu and his training before the fight. As you may already know, he had to drop 10kgs to be in the same weight-class as Petchboonchu.
Once again, the questions were not mine, they were from the people that have taken the time to post their queries in an earlier post.
Saenchai Sor Kingstar Q&A Note: Apologies for a slight misspelling of his name. Was noticed post-editing.
Hope you liked it! Stay tuned for the next world-class fighter we’ll showcase. For those that missed asking a question this time, make sure you get them in for next time!
Wow. What an amazing fight! I was lucky enough to get to be in Saenchai’s corner and catch it all on video, although being in the corner doesn’t really help once they get into a position where I can’t film. But it’s the best I could do!
Lumpini stadium was on fire tonight! It’s awesome to be able to watch a fight live and it’s also amazing to be part of the entourage! Hopefully there’s more to come!
The main talking point about tonight’s fight was that Saenchai (arguably the best pound for pound Muay Thai fighter in the world) had to shed off 10kg’s to fight Petchboonchu. At the weigh-in, he was initially 2kg’s overweight, but managed it and got fighting.
Were any of you reading this there? Do share!
Anyway, I’ve talked too much, here’s the video! Saenchai vs. Petchboonchu Part 1
Saenchai vs. Petchboonchu Part 2
Bonus: Here’s a pic I took in the gentlemen’s restroom area (where the nak muays change and prepare). It reads “No punishing Nak Muays”. Gulp I guess back in the day, losing was a crappy deal. Lose on stage, then get physical harm backstage as well!
When it comes to Muay Thai training, sparring is an essential element. This may be the most important part of your training because it is when you get to put all of your practice and techniques to good use. Most people love the sparring process because it actually allows them to get into the ring with somebody else. It is fun to train, but it does not get much better than sparring.
Through sparring you can decide what is working for you, which techniques need more polishing, and much more. You never really know what type of fighter you are going to be and what will work best until you step into the ring and try out your techniques on a sparring partner.
As a fighter, it is important to use all of the moves you practice when sparring. Remember, this is not a real right. You are more or less practicing with somebody who is trying to help you become a better fighter. For this reason, you should feel comfortable using all of your moves so you can determine where you are excelling and what needs more work when you get back to training.
Of course, Muay Thai sparring can also help you build confidence. By sparring on a regular basis you will feel much more confident and comfortable with yourself when you finally step into the ring with a true competitor.
Finally, Muay Thai sparring is a controlled activity in which you are not trying to hurt your partner. Instead, you should be using light contact to ensure your sparring partner’s safety. Your goal is to learn more about yourself as a fighter so you can develop your Muay Thai skills in the best way possible.
As one of the most important aspects of Muay Thai training, you should not take sparring lightly.
Muay Thai kick boxing is a form of martial arts that is practiced in many parts of the world. Although Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand, there are many other countries that practice this activity including several in Southeast Asia as well as the United States.
Muay Thai is often times confused with other sports including Lao Boxing, tomoi, pradal serey, and lethwei. It is important to note that while these sports are similar to Muay Thai that there are also many differences to be aware of.
When practicing Muay Thai you will need to become familiar with different techniques that use many parts of the body including fists, elbows, knees and feet. As you begin to learn more and more about Muay Thai kick boxing, you will realize that this variation of the sport uses the feet for both striking and defense purposes. For instance, there are five types of kicks categorized as: Tae Tad, Tae Pub Nai, Tae Pub Nok, Tae Chiang, and Tae Kod
The development of kickboxing in many countries, including the United States and Japan, was influenced greatly by Muay Thai. There are many different types of kickboxing, and the rules are based mainly on the country in which the competition is taking place. For example, kickboxing in the United States does not allow elbow strikes. Additionally, the American version strictly prohibits kicks below the waist.
Over the past few years, Muay Thai kick boxing has become more and more common all over the world thanks to mixed martial arts fighters using these techniques. Many of the most popular mixed martial artists use some form of Muay Thai. They include: Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, and Mauricio Shogun Rua among others.
As you can see, Muay Thai kick boxing has a rich history and has influenced many other sports as well as thousands of participants. Even though Muay Thai will always be most popular in Thailand, it has spread throughout the world and will continue to do so.
Understanding the basic techniques of Muay Thai is not as hard as many beginners believe. This does not mean that you will become a Muay Thai expert overnight, but the basic techniques can be learned and implemented with the proper practice and devotion.
Some of the most common Muay Thai techniques are listed and detailed below:
1. Punches. Once you learn the many Muay Thai punch techniques you will know how to effectively use your fists for both strikes and defense. There are five types of punches that fit this technique. They include: hook, jab, straight punch, swing, and uppercut.
2. Elbows. Using the elbows to defend and beat opponents is an important part of Muay Thai. There are eight types of elbow techniques including: Sok Ku, Sok Klab, Sok Sab, Sok Tong, Sok Hud, Sok Chieng, Sok Tad, and Sok Ti.
3. Knees. Just as the elbows are an important part of Muay Thai, the same holds true for the knees. The seven categories of Muay Thai knee techniques include: Kao Tone, Kao Loi, Kao Dode, Kao Lod, Kao Nui, Kao La, and Kao Kratai.
4. Kicks. There are five types of Muay Thai kicks categorized as: Tae Tad, Tae Pub Nai, Tae Pub Nok, Tae Chiang, and Tae Kod.
As you can see, there is a lot to learn if you are interested in Muay Thai. These Muay Thai techniques may appear difficult to learn on the surface, but once you are devoted to the craft you will find yourself catching on at an astonishing pace. When you have mastered these basics you can move onto move advanced movements which put together several techniques to make you a more skilled fighter.
I guess back in the day, losing was a crappy deal. Lose on stage, then get physical harm backstage as well!
