6 Types Of Muay Thai Mind Tricks

Muay Thai Guys Podcast – Episode 15

If you compete in a combat sport like Muay Thai, chances are you’ll run into your fair share of fighters who try to mess with your mind leading up to fight night.

Your future opponent might tease you, talk trash, and even get personal with his attacks. Or, maybe he’ll be the friendliest person you’ve ever met and you’ll have to learn how to fight someone who is nice and respectful. Whichever the case, you’ll need to be mentally prepared to deal with a range of personalities and characters if you plan on being successful in this sport.

In this episode of The Muay Thai Guys Podcast, Sean and Paul (www.muaythaiathlete.com) discuss the types of mind games and various types of fighters they’ve had to deal with leading up to a fight. Here’s a brief rundown of their chat:

6 Types Of Fighters Who Play Muay Thai Mind Tricks

1. The Intimidator – Think Mike Tyson or Ronda Rousey. Both of these fighters are known for their scowls and intimidating demeanor. Fighting someone who has an aura of invincibility can be a bit quite frightening if you’re not prepared mentally. So, how do you deal with fighters like this? Remember that they are NOT immortal.
2. The Seed Planter – These passive aggressive fighters will say seemingly harmless comments that start off as small seeds, but once these thoughts are planted in your mind it’s easy to start second guessing yourself. They might say something to you like, “You look a little tired” or, “Looks like you had a rough training camp”, and although these comments aren’t direct attacks, they might be enough to plant a seed of doubt in the back of your mind.
3. The Trash Talker – We all know these types of fighters, don’t we? They are the Conor McGregor’s and Muhammad ALi’s of the fight world who are artists when it comes to playing mind games. They’re talk doesn’t only rile up and distract their opponent, but it also plays a second role in hyping themselves up.
4. The Quiet Assassin – These types of fighters are the ones with an extreme poker face. They’re silent during weigh-ins, silent during the rules meetings and chances are you never see their facial expression change at any point leading up to the fight. Fighting an opponent like this can get in some peoples heads because they seem more robot than human.
5. The Goof Ball – Ever fight someone who’s laughing and super friendly throughout weigh-ins? What about the guy who smiles during weigh-ins and is always clowning around with his teammates before fight night? There’s a variety of goof balls that you might encounter and knowing how to deal with their antics will be key to entering the ring with a clear, focused mind.
6. The Adaptive Chameleon – This fighter can adapt to any opponent that they face. Whether they’re fighting a trash talker or a quiet assassin, they are able to adapt based on the situation so they are 100% mentally ready to go into battle.

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