A Great Sport That You Can Do To Work Out and Get Ripped - Muay Thai Kickboxing

If you’re thinking about going to the gym and start working out to get a great looking body, you might want to consider taking Muay Thai kickboxing classes. Why? For starters, even though Muay Thai is a contact sport, the workouts here are so intense that you will be able to get the body you want to have in just a short amount of time. In fact, even if you are just in beginner classes, you will be able to find the training to be extremely intense that your sweat will pour out like a hot summer rain.

At the start of your training, you will need to line up along with the other students in the gym. You will be facing your Kru or teacher. He or she will bow to you and in turn, the students, including yourself, will bow to him or her.

The start of the training will begin with a skipping rope. Although this may sound really silly or even childish, you will find that working out with the jumping rope is very challenging.

In fact, there is a big chance that you wouldn’t be able to keep up with the advanced students working out with the jump ropes. You can go 15 to 20 jumps in a row but you should expect that the rope will hit your toes or head after. In about a month, you will be able to get the hang of it and you will be able to jump rope continuously for maybe about 4 or even 6 minutes.

After this intense cardiovascular conditioning, the next step would be doing burpees, hillclimbers, plenty of squats, pushups, jumping squats and other workout routines.

Although the training will vary from class to class, you will usually have 20 to 25 minutes for training the technique. There are times you will work your kicks onto the pads that your partner will hold for you and sometimes it would be doing punching combinations. You will do combinations, such as front kick, 3 punch combos and then a right thigh kick. There are different combinations that you can experiment on and you will find that the variety of styles is quite enjoyable to do. The great thing about variety is that it helps keep the training exciting and prevent it from getting stale.

You should expect to finish the session with abdominal workout routines. This can really get intense because abdominal muscles are important for fighters. Even if you are just doing this for the workout, you still need to strengthen your abdominal muscles in order for you to really learn the essence of Muay Thai kickboxing.

It’s guaranteed that after a few weeks, you will start to see a big difference on your body. With Muay Thai workout routines, you can be sure that you will get a great looking and lean body and also lose a lot of weight. After a few months, you may even get that six pack abs that you always wanted to have. And, the best part of it all is that you will learn how to defend yourself in hand to hand combat.

The Rules That You Have To Know As a Muay Thai Fighter

Muay Thai boxing is one of the most physical types of martial arts there is. It emphasizes a lot on both offense and defense as well as on stamina. It is also a type of martial art that anyone can learn and it is also one that can be applicable in real fights.

Basically, Muay Thai can be learned by men, women, children, and even old people. And, because there is a growing interest in Muay Thai boxing, you will find that martial arts school from different parts of the country or even the world is now putting up gyms dedicated to teach Muay Thai boxing.

Now, in order for you to learn Muay Thai and be good at it, you have to know the basics of the martial art.

So, here are the rules that you have to remember in Muay Thai fights.

First of all, Muay Thai is fought in five rounds with each round lasting three minutes. In between the rounds, the fighters will be allowed to have two minute breaks. Before the fight, the fighters will perform the Wai Khru dance. This dance is to pay homage to his or her teachers and it is also a great warm up exercise that can get the fighter’s muscles stretched and be ready for the fight.

You will also notice that the fighters wear a headband and armbands. The headband is basically called the mongkhol and because it has been blessed by a monk or the boxer’s teacher, it is believed that this provides luck to the fighter. And, because the headband symbolizes luck and as a spiritual object, it is removed after the Wai Khru dance and it is only removed by the boxer’s trainer.

The armbands are believed to offer protection to the boxer, which is why they are only removed after the fight.

The match is decided by points and by a knockout. There will be 3 judges who decide which fighter carries the round and who wins the most round and who eventually wins the fight. There will also be a referee present inside the ring and they are very important because the boxer’s safety will depend on his decision.

In one side of the ring, you will find the band section. The band will be comprised of a Javanese clarinet, cymbals, and drums. They play traditional music from the homage dance to the conclusion of the fight. You will find that the tempo of the music goes up as the action inside the ring intensifies.

Of course, the boxers should wear boxing gloves and head butting is not allowed, despite the fact that Muay Thai teacher this kind of technique before.

These are some of the rules that you need to know about Muay Thai. By knowing about the basic rules, you will be able to fully understand what Muay Thai boxing is all about and you will also be able to get ready to learn the art of Muay Thai boxing.

Improving Your Muay Thai Technique: What Not To Do When Clinching

As you may already know, Muay Thai is one of the most intense combat sports in the world. Here, almost every strike is legal. In Muay Thai, you have to learn different techniques in order for you to become efficient in the ring and win more matches.

Even if you are not a professional Muay Thai fighter, you need to remember that there are certain things that you shouldn’t do when you get caught in a clinch. These things are basically the common mistakes that Muay Thai fighters do and in most cases, they pay dearly for the mistakes they make.

By following these tips, you will be able to keep yourself out of danger and increase your chances in converting your seemingly disadvantageous position in to an advantageous position.

The first thing that you should never do when you get caught in a clinch is to try moving away. Doing so will extend the distance between the two of you, which will provide your opponent with enough distance to deliver powerful knee strikes with full range of motion. When you get caught in a clinch, you want to minimize the space between you and your opponent as much as possible in order to make it difficult to deliver knee strikes.

The second thing that most people do is grab their opponent’s hand to break the grip. This is a big mistake as it will open up your midsection and your weak ribs to knee strikes. Knee strikes in this part can be very serious and painful that it can knock you out of the fight prematurely.

The third mistake is to turn your back to your opponent. If your opponent has a solid grip of the back of your head, never attempt to turn away. This will twist your neck, which can potentially injure you and it can also leave you in a perfect position to receive powerful knee strikes from your opponent.

The fourth mistake is swinging your head under your opponent’s elbow. If you make this mistake, then your opponent will get the jackpot by delivering a knee strike upwards, which will eventually hit you solidly on the face. In most cases, this is considered to be a knockout blow.

Another mistake is striking your opponent’s midsection with punches during a clinch. This may work against beginners but if you are fighting an advanced Muay Thai fighter, you need to remember that they trained long enough and got their midsections conditioned that they will be able to take blows here without flinching. All this will do is annoy your opponent and will also make them more eager to finish the fight early by knocking you out.

Lastly, many Muay Thai fighters especially beginners panic when they get caught in a clinch. Relax, take your time, and concentrate. Panicking will tense you up and use up valuable energy. By relaxing and concentrating, you will be able to work better to escape the predicament you are in.

Remember these tips and you can be sure that you will be able to handle the pressure of getting caught in a clinch and convert to a more advantageous position.

The Different Hitting Techniques Used In Muay Thai Boxing

If you want to learn Muay Thai boxing, then you need to remember that the training here will be quite intensive. In fact, some people even say that it’s a lot more intensive than boxing or any other martial arts.

Also known as the art of eight limbs, you will learn how to use the eight natural weapons to fight with, which are the fists, feet, elbows, and knees. Muay Thai is extremely efficient when it comes to destroying the opponent. Besides, it was developed in Thailand as a self defense martial art and it is designed to kill or incapacitate the opponent.

Today, Muay Thai boxing is no longer mainly used as a weapon but it is now a sporting event where willing fighters test their Muay Thai boxing skills and see who the stronger and better fighter is.

In fact, Muay Thai techniques are so efficient when it comes to knocking down the opponent that MMA or mixed martial arts fighters are now incorporating Muay Thai techniques as part of their training and specialization.

So, here are the different hitting techniques that you will learn in Muay Thai.

The first is the kicking technique. In Muay Thai, you will find that there are 3 levels of kicks. The low level targets the calf, back of the knee, and thigh; the medium level will target the ribs and torso; and the high level targets the temple, neck, and chin.

The basic kicking techniques are the sweeping kick, front kick, pecking kick, kick outside the knee joint, and the reverse back kick. Unlike in other contact sport where kicks are allowed, Muay Thai emphasizes a lot on power rather than speed. This is why the kicks in Muay Thai are delivered with a full swing of the trunk and hips. Doing so will maximize the power of the kick and eventually maximize the damage.

Also, the shin is the one that hits the target instead of the foot. For the untrained individual, this can be quite painful but if you are already an advanced Muay Thai fighter, you will be able to strengthen your shin and pain will no longer be felt.

The elbows are also used in Muay Thai. The elbow is basically meant to cut the opponent skin much like using a sharp razor. You will learn 8 different elbow strikes in Muay Thai, which are the striking elbow, the levering elbow, the cutting elbow, the diagonal elbow, the chopping elbow, the pull down elbow, the double elbow, and the reverse elbow.

You will also learn how to punch in Muay Thai. It’s really no different from boxing except the punching technique called Nak Muay where you will learn to twist the wrist a moment before the impact.

Knee strikes will also be taught in Muay Thai. This is considered to be the most important weapon in Muay Thai and is used often by fighters. Together with the elbow strikes, knee strikes are lethal weapons where it can really demolish your opponent inside the ring.

You will also learn the Nep, which is basically a nasty push kick used for defense, attack or to keep the opponent at distance. The targets for this technique are the sternum and the abdomen. This kick is also used to disturb the opponent’s concentration but it doesn’t really do a lot of damage.

These are just some of the techniques that you will learn in Muay Thai. Even if you are not planning on becoming a professional Muay Thai or MMA fighter, you will find that the training for this martial art is not something that you should take lightly. The training will be intense whether or not you plan on becoming a professional fighter. And, it will really serve as a good workout and also teach you how to defend yourself in the real world.

The Basic Muay Thai Kickboxing Techniques

Unlike boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing uses eight points of contact, which is mainly the hands, elbows, knees and feet. These eight points of contact is used to deliver powerful blows to the opponents and it is also used for defense. In the past, Muay Thai kickboxing was only popular in Thailand as well as other Southeast Asian countries.

Research suggests that the Muay Thai fighting style originated in Chinese and Indian martial arts. Because this contact sport uses eight points of contact, it is also referred to as the Art of Eight Limbs. In the past, the head was allowed in Muay Thai fights. It’s only recently when Muay Thai became an international sport that the head is no longer allowed in the fights.

In Muay Thai, you will see small amount of grappling or clinching between fighters. This technique can serve as a way to defend or attack. Basically, the techniques that you need to learn are divided in to two groups, which are the Mae Mai or the major techniques and the Luk Mai or minor techniques.

You also have to remember that all the techniques used in Muay Thai uses the entire body movement and rotating the hip partially or fully with every kick, punch, and block. This is basically the reason why Muay Thai sets itself apart from other fighting styles or martial arts.

In Muay Thai, you will develop several punching techniques, such as the straight punch, swing, hook, spinning back fist, upper cut, over head punch, and cobra punch.

In Muay Thai, the judges score fewer points to fighters using the punching technique. This is mainly because they are less effective than powerful kicks and knee strikes. You will also find that body punching is used less in this contact sport as it exposes the head of the fighter to the knee or elbow of their opponents.

You also need to develop your elbow techniques, such as the elbow slash, upper cut elbow, horizontal elbow, forward elbow thrust, reverse horizontal elbow, elbow chop, spinning elbow, mid air elbow, and the double elbow chop.

The elbow does a lot of damage to the opponent. Mainly used as a finishing move or in order to cut the opponent’s eyebrow to affect his or her vision, the elbow is a very effective weapon when you are a Muay Thai fighter.

Kicking techniques are also important. In fact, most Muay Thai fighters use kicks a lot and you will need to develop several kicking techniques, such as the straight kick, nutcracker kick, roundhouse kick, half spin, half knee kick, diagonal kick, spinning hill kick, down round house kick, jump kick, axe hill kick, and step up kick.

When using the kicking technique, Muay Thai fighters are often taught to hit with his or her shin. Although the shin is very sensitive for the untrained person, you will find that after developing your shin strength, it will be a powerful and devastating weapon that you can use against your opponent.

You also have to learn Knee techniques, such as the straight knee strike, diagonal knee strike, curving knee strike, horizontal knee strike, knee bomb, knee slap, flying knee strike, and the step up knee strike.

The knees are very effective especially when you clinch your opponent. If used properly, knee strikes can finish the fight early with a KO.

There are a lot of techniques that you have to learn in Muay Thai. These are just some of the basic offensive techniques that you can use when you are a Muay Thai fighter. By developing and perfecting these techniques, you can be sure that you will be able to increase your chances of winning whenever you are inside the ring.