Muay Thai is the basis for much of the modern MMA striking game. It is the national sport of Thailand and for centuries has been an essential training tool for their military. It becomes codified as a sport in the early 1900’s, but wasn’t until the 1980’s when Muay Thai starts to explode worldwide. Western Kickboxers started traveling to Thailand armed with boxing and karate. The Muay Thai we see today at the highest level is a synthesis of many styles.
The influence of the sport has grown by leaps and bounds. It doesn’t matter if it was MMA, Kickboxing or even Muay Thai straight out of Lumpinee stadium that got you curious about learning. Below are some tips to help you improve your Muay Thai game.
1. Drilling
There is a reason the military puts every soldier in through a repetitive series of physical combat drills. There is a reason every champion will stand for hours on end with a heavy bag and run the same combination time and again. There was a reason Bruce Lee was worried about the guy who practiced 1 kick 10,000 times and not the other way around.
Repetition with a focus on economy of motion is the name of the game. That means doing something so many times that it becomes almost impossible to do wrong. To the point where you no longer need to talk through the technique in your head and you can do it without thought.
Put it this way. If your doorbell rings and you have to get off the couch to answer it, you don’t talk yourself through the technique of that. You don’t think “Ok shift my weight forward on to the balls of the feet and then straighten at the knees to stand up…”. You think “oh somebody’s at the door” and the getting up just sort of happens on it’s own. Because you’ve gotten off the couch a million times and no longer have to think about it. After throwing a strike enough times, it becomes as smooth and thoughtless as getting off the couch.
When strikes we throw require absolutely no brain power to throw properly, is when the muscle memory takes over. Muscle memory is faster than your thoughts about it. Our minds will be otherwise preoccupied with spotting openings and planning strategy when sparring. The more a fighter’s strikes are automatic, the clearer a fighters mind and technique. The less thinking you have to do in the moment the better.
Drilling is the key to making the strikes automatic. So with a quality heavy bag and the proper equipment, get those reps in. Start drilling that one kick. Be the guy Bruce Lee worried about.
2. Train how you fight
First of you need to seriously ask yourself why you are doing Muay Thai. If it’s to one day fight in Thailand, your camp will be structured differently than somebody taking it up to use in MMA or for self defense. If you have plans of having a pro fight someday, your camp should be heavily based on the intervals of the round timers.
An MMA guy should be working at intervals of 5, 5 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest in between. A boxer trains 12, 3 minute rounds with a 1 minute rest. Kickboxers and Muay Thai work at 3×5 with a 1 minute rest. The pro game is optimizing the body to get the most possible out of it for that exact interval.
At his absolute peak George St. Pierre never trained or sparred hard for more than 5 5 minute rounds at a time. Some would advocate going for longer than that. Cardio is king but reaches a point of diminishing returns. It’s only as useful as your ability to display it during the actual time of the fight. Nobody cares if you aren’t tired but still lost those 25 minutes.
3. Write it down
This is one of the simplest ways to improve quickly at almost anything. Setting short term goals is a great way to show a direct and tangible improvement. One of the simplest for Muay Thai is reps per round. You can do this with either a single strike or basic combination. See how many technically smooth, powerful body kicks (for instance) you can do in one round. Write this number down. Track your statistics that contribute towards your goal and seek to constantly improve.
Eventually expand your practice to include more complex movements and combinations made up of the core movements you started with. See how many combinations you can throw per round. Guaranteed, your strikes and combos will become more fluid and automatic.
Take notes. Take note on form and theory that your coaches teach. Take notes of your initial mistakes and how to fix them. Take notes what you get hit with in sparring. Take notes on the styles of your sparring partners and how to approach them. WRITE IT DOWN. Take a few minutes to review your notes before classes and you will improve in the areas you care about most.
4. The 3 Sparring Partners
Speaking of sparring, Every gym has it’s own policy on it. It might take months before you are allowed to spar, it might take until just after signing the insurance release. It can be a terrifying and exhilarating adrenaline dump the first time. More often then not, it’ll be a bit painful too. Make sure to get yourself quality Muay Thai gear, especially some great Muay Thai gloves and Muay Thai Shin guards.
The key to getting the most out of sparring is having the right partners. You may have many more than three, but we recommend having at least one of the following personalities below:
The Ass-Kicker. You need somebody to learn from, with enough control to not actually injure you. This partner is that someone you know is going to take you to school. They might be more experienced, better physically, or just have a style that you can’t yet wrap your head around. This is how we learn defense, survival skills and get better.
The Nemesis. The 2nd partner is the person who is on your level. An evenly matched session that could go either way, every time. The Agent Smith to your Neo. This person makes an excellent benchmark to see the growth of your skills over time. A healthy rivalry can help people grow.
The Confidence Booster. Your 3rd partner style is one who is less skilled, but still a challenge. This person is not a punching bag, they are meant to help you work through new ideas, improving weaknesses, and helping your head game, all while keeping you engaged. When you first join a gym this partner will be hard to come by. Most people will be able to beat you with ease but are nice enough not to. Just keep showing up. Keep drilling and getting beat up from time to time.
5. Role Models and Film Study
The final best advice I can give somebody trying to get into Muay Thai or any combat sport, is to watch a lot of fights with an eye for techniques. Acquire a body of knowledge of the fighters and history of your sport. Put yourself in these hypothetical in-ring situations. This requires part visualization, part thought experiment and is the homework portion of your training as a fighter.
Sparring changes the way you watch a fight. It changes your fight perspective. Soon, every fight you watch is a puzzle to be solved and an experience to be learned from. You’ll see moves, combinations and even tweaks of traditional styles. Then you steal them!
Find a fighter who’s style you enjoy and play with emulating them. Either shadowboxing or in sparring. You never know what techniques might have a knack for until you try.
Muay Thai can be a tough and rewarding journey. Take what is useful to you technically and discard what doesn’t work. The only way to get better at Muay Thai is by training. We’ve provided some helpful tips on how you can train efficiently and effectively, but the best thing you can do for yourself as a fighter is just go out there and fight! Whether it’s sparring with other fighters or going up against an instructor in pad work, practicing your technique will help improve your skills exponentially faster than anything else. And of course if you want great looking gear that’ll make people understand what they’re getting into when they come after you, check out the Muay Thai protective gear on Combat Corner!