'NO YOGA? NO MUAY THAI' - WHY STRETCHING IS ESSENTIAL TO FIGHTING

By Evan Lee

Recovery is one of the most essential factors of fighting and training yet it is also one of the most neglected. Yoga will not only help you to recover faster and prevents injuries, but I will wager to say that it will also make you a faster learner of Muay Thai and any physical activity.

First things first. Let’s talk injury prevention. As you might expect, tight muscles aren’t good.

Just imagine two scenarios. Let’s say you have a rubber band that’s been frozen, if you stretch it… it snaps. However, if you have a rubber band that’s nice and warm and has been tanning in the sun for a while, you can stretch it and it'll do its job without problem.

Yoga is a way to warm up your body so that you are ready for the strenuous exercise that is to come. Remember: don't be a frozen rubber band.

You wouldn’t try to stretch a frozen rubber band, so do not try to...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #128

By Sean Fagan 

We’re all living in tough times right now, but that doesn’t mean we need to be beaten down. It’s an incredibly stressful time for the entire world right now, but I believe that we can come out of this having learned some great lessons and grown tremendously. With that said, let me introduce our guest.

Today, Paul and I are chatting with Chad Mueller! He’s participated in our Thailand training camp once before and is the owner of Maryville Boxing.

Right now is an incredibly difficult time for small business owners and specifically businesses like ours where there is so much physical contact. Our hope today is that not only can we provide you with some sweet entertainment but also some useful tips to keep you moving forward despite everything on your plate right now.

We’re dealing with challenging times, but times like these are opportunities for us to rise to those challenges that await!

...

HOW TO THROW A SWITCH KICK FOR MUAY THAI

By Evan Lee

The switch kick is a fantastic tool to add into your Muay Thai arsenal.

Actually, switch-hitting in general is an amazing weapon. I mean, just look at Andy Ristie.

Andy Ristie managed to knock out Giorgio Petrosyan, the "Floyd Mayweather of kickboxing," just because of how incredibly weird his switch-hitting style was. But today we’re not trying to be Andy Ristie; we’re just trying to build a good switch kick.

Let's talk a bit more about why the switch kick is so useful. If you throw a regular rear-roundhouse in a closed-stance fight (orthodox vs. orthodox or southpaw vs. southpaw), you’re probably going to catch an elbow or kick your opponent’s back.

If you’re in an open-stance fight, however, the rear kick is open because both of your rear sides are open. A switch kick allows you to make use of this opening even if you’re in a closed-stance fight. When Buakaw was young, he landed nasty...

CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO SPICE IT UP ON THE HEAVY BAG

By Matt Filart

With gyms across the world closed due to COVID-19, us nak muays need to be a bit creative and figure out how to make killer heavy bag workouts make sense at home.

A lot of us, including myself, having been looking into purchasing our own heavy bags. If you have or are going to have your own heavy bag, you might not know where to start - do you just hit it, or go a few rounds on it, or can you do more?

If you need some workouts to do own your own heavy bag, don’t worry - we've got you covered with workouts and drills you can get started with.

If you don’t have a bag and are in the market for one, check out reliable heavy bag vendors, especially ones recommended by your favorite Muay Thai Guy!

With that being said, let’s cover 4 different workouts that you can do solo on a heavy bag! These workouts will help you hone your technique, conditioning and mental strength so you can push through 'em!

...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS: EPISODE #130

By Sean Fagan 

In this episode of the Muay Thai Guys podcast, pro MMA fighter Bi Nguyen sits down with the Muay Thai Guys, Paul and I to chat about her fight journey so far! 

What I love most about fighting is all the beautiful people I get to meet along the way. I’ve been able to travel all over the world, visiting countries like Greece, Costa Rica, Spain, and many others, and meeting all types of amazing people who inspire me to keep working harder and doing more and reminding me of what a privilege this is that I get to do this. 

And today we’re getting to know someone who fighters under the ONE FC banner: it's “Killer Bee” Bi Nguyen, my friends! Let’s get into it. 

We talk about: 

• What life was like for Nguyen growing up in the US as a Vietnamese immigrant;
• How "Curly Sue" and "Heartbreak Hotel" taught Nguyen English; 
• The progression of Nguyen’s career and martial arts life;
• ...

USE THE MOTIVATIONAL POWER OF A GREAT MOVIE!

By Evan Lee

Many athletes when they want to get hyped listen to music. Michael Phelps famously listens to some Eminem and specifically “Lose Yourself” before his competitions.

But what about movies? They can definitely provide the same inspirational jolt!

Here's the thing about movies that’s better than music: the effect is far longer-lasting and they can do much more than hype you up. Films can even give you great goals and dreams to strive towards. We’ve no doubt all heard amazing stories of sports icons and been inspired by them. How many people were inspired to do martial arts after seeing Royce Gracie strangle his way to victory?

A film can create the same inspiration. Just look at how many astronauts and space entrepreneurs were inspired to move into those careers because of something like Star Trek. 

That is the power of not just film but storytelling. Now, it is of course vital to...

THE MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED & DEVASTATING MUAY THAI STRIKE

By Evan Lee

If you’ve never seen Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs talk about what it was like to get leg kicked, I highly suggest it. For those of you who don’t know, Shannon Briggs is a former boxing heavyweight champion and holds the record for most 1st-round knockouts.

He competed precisely once in a kickboxing fight in K-1, but never entered the ring for a second try. Why not? Leg kicks (pro tip: check leg kicks). 

If Shannon Briggs is scared of the leg kick, I would be, too. The only people who are not scared of leg kicks are ones who haven’t been leg kicked.

And don’t say, “well, how about Yoel Romero?”

Have you seen him?! That man is not human, so he doesn’t count. But let’s say that you are a Yoel Romero type and just not scared of leg kicks. Let Sean "Muay Thai Guy" Fagan explain, in video format, why you ought to be:

KILL THE LEG: How To Throw A KO...

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUYING A BANANA BAG

By Randy Pilares

Perhaps the only "good thing" to come out of a world pandemic in which masses of people are locked down at home, is that searches for "best Muay Thai banana bags" are WAY UP on Google! 

Remember when you were still training at the gym? It was just a few weeks back but now seems ages go - an obvious effect of the lockdown that took effect everywhere.

At the time, there's a good chance you probably didn’t pay a lot of attention to the heavy back in the gym. Sure, you worked on it now and then, or when your trainer specifically instructed you to work on it. But chances are that you didn’t make it a top priority in training.

That's truly a shame, because the heavy bag offers a ton of benefits and advantages, for fight veterans and beginners to the sport equally. Let's break down everything YOU need to know before investing in a banana bag for home.

Advantages of Training with a Heavy Bag

A...

DELIVER KILLER ELBOW COMBOS WITH FLOWING EASE!

By Evan Lee

The elbow strike, along with clinching, is an art quite unique to Muay Thai. And, as you would expect, the Thais are the masters of it. However, despite it being a unique art, there will be quite a few things about throwing elbows that you will find familiar.

Surprisingly enough, the principles of punching apply very well to throwing elbows, just as the principles of kicking can apply to various knees. If you’re trying to add power into a rear-straight, you’re shifting your body weight from your rear leg to your lead leg. If you watch some knockouts with the horizontal elbow, you’ll notice the exact same thing.

If you’re uncertain about working on something completely new, and uncertain on how to practice your elbows, I recommend taking whatever principles you know of punching and applying them to elbowing.

But, of course, despite the similarities, there are some unique qualities that we...

TIPS ON HOW TO PICK THE BEST HEAVY BAG FOR YOU

By Matt Filart

If you’re being a smart person, you’re probably doing your best to maintain social distancing by spending most of your time inside your home. While this is the smartest and most responsible thing to do, it can suck as a Nak Muay who needs their training fix. This means a ton of us are looking to buy a heavy bag (if you weren’t already) to help give us our fix.

It’s easy to see why, since there are tons of different drills, strategies and tactics that you can practice with a bag of your own.

How To Use The Heavy Bag For Muay Thai (13 Best Tips!)

 TWO STYLES TO CHOOSE FROM

Bags are a great tool to have in a home gym and lucky there are a ton of options for you to choose from. That being said, a lot of options can also make it a bit overwhelming and you might not know where to start when you’re looking for one.

During your heavy bag search as a Muay Thai practitioner, you’re going...