QUESTION: HOW DO I GET READY FOR MY FIRST SMOKER?

By Daniel Nguyen

Smokers, interclubs, or exhibitions (whatever your preferred nomenclature) are friendly fights set up between gyms. Usually there will not be any judging involved nor will the results be on an official record. Fighters are encouraged to use clean technique and contact is limited to “just shy” of full strength.

You might feel that smokers are trivial and inconsequential considering the factors above.

Quite the opposite, a smoker is a huge milestone for fighters who are ready to take their training to the next level. It is the opportunity to utilize all the tools learned during the long hours in the gym and apply them under pressure.

There is never a set blueprint for someone entering their first fight, but fear not – we’ll go over some of the important steps that should be taken prior to your very first smoker.

STEP #1: Build Endurance

Stamina should be the essential concern...

THIS LEGENDARY MASTER INTRODUCED MUAY THAI TO AMERICA

By Kyle Gilmore

Ajarn Chai brought Muay Thai to the United States in 1968, spreading his knowledge of “the Art of Eight Limbs” by developing the Thai Boxing Association. This year marks fifty years that he has been teaching his craft.

If you have practiced the art of Muay Thai in the United States, you undoubtedly know Ajarn Chai. If you don’t or haven’t, you should.

The master himself sat down with Muay Thai Guy for a chat about his life, his style and his vision for the future of Muay Thai on a global scale.

(Co-written by Monica Gilmore. Special thanks for Rachel Ramirez.)

HUMBLE ORIGINS

Born Surachai Sirisute on October 16, 1948 in Bangkok,...

BREAKING DOWN THE DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS OF MUAY THAI

By Sean Fagan

We all know the basic levels of Muay Thai. You start as a beginner, work your way to a more intermediate skill level, and then progress to the advanced stages.

Once you solidify your skills and have the urge to test what you’ve been learning in the ring, the next step is competing as an amateur. After dozens of amateur fights, the next still is becoming a professional fighter.

And the “last” level? That’s when you become a professional champion. But are there levels even above pro champion? You bet your ass there is.

In this weeks podcast, Paul and I discuss the different number of levels there are in Muay Thai, including topics like:

• How Saenchai has reached the highest level in the sport today.
• How fighters like Saenchai can make other champion fighters look like complete amateurs.
• Why we feel timing and distancing is what separates the good fighters from the great...

OLE LAURSEN & THE ENDLESS PURSUIT OF PERSEVERANCE

By Kyle Gilmore

The building blocks of a world-class fighter are numerous and depending on who you ask, quite varied. Some may focus on the tangibles, the math — "What’s their record?" Some might look closer at technique and coachibility, while still others believe it’s all about natural skills and ability.

If you ask me, it’s the fighter’s heart and determination to keep going that count the most — what I call the "endless pursuit of perseverance." A paradigm of this approach to the game is International fighter Ole Laursen.

Born in the Philippines and raised in Denmark, Laursen took up Thai boxing at a young age. He burst onto the fight scene by capturing wins and becoming the champ in both the International Kickboxing Federation and International Muay Thai Championships, as well as snagging the prestigious King’s Cup in Thailand in 2002. Laursen later fought in Superleague and...

FIVE SIGNS OF A HIGH-QUALITY MUAY THAI TRAINER

By Angela Chang

With more and more gyms popping up everywhere, especially the ones that call themselves “Muay Thai trainers,” it can be difficult to tell who’s legit and who’s not.

By “legit,” I mean who actually qualifies to be a trainer. A number of things will qualify you to do anything at a particularly high level: your experience, your skills, your resume (i.e. what you’ve accomplished).

“You haven’t fought professionally? You’ve only been doing this a couple of years? You trained under your hairdresser??” These aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but they are big red flags.

Are you unsure about your coach or trainer? Here are some signs of a high-quality Muay Thai coach. If you can’t think of your trainer and confidently check off the following five signs of a good trainer, then you may need to switch gyms – pronto!

YOUR...

PUNCH COMBINATIONS WITH LOW KICK PAD WORK

By Sean Fagan

One of my favorite types of Muay Thai pad work to do is this Muay Thai low kick drill! This is a great kicking drill especially if you have my style of fighting which is very similar to the Dutch style of kick boxing – hard hand combinations finished with brutal leg kicks.

This Muay Thai low kick technique drill is great because unlike heavy bag training or light sparring, you can work on everything that makes a low roundhouse kick so devastating. It will help you find your distancing, flow with your hand combinations, work on reaction speed and throw 100% power into each and every low roundhouse kick.

Click here or on the technique video below to check out my trainer, John Nuculovic and I doing a round of low kick pad work!

can add opposite side low kicks as well (as...

HOW TO TRAIN MUAY THAI WHILE HOLDING DOWN A FULL-TIME JOB

By Lindsay Bohonik

Individuals who train fall into three main categories: hobbyists, infrequent fliers, and fighters. But somewhere in there is a thin slice representing a less well known type: the 9-5er, who at 5 PM walks out the door, transitioning promptly from battling traffic to engaging in hand-to-hand combat inside a gym somewhere.

These folks are an anomaly when it comes to fighting and training; they’re the people with careers who take their evening activities to the next level. There’s a reason why you don’t meet a lot of these people: it’s incredibly demanding. A rigid schedule with limited time to train whenever you want makes it difficult to stay competitive.

Difficult, but not impossible. If you feel like you’re burning the wick at both ends between your professional and fighting careers, I have my experience to demonstrate for you just how it can be...

COMMON MISTAKES IN MUAY THAI STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

By Sean Fagan

The combination of Muay Thai and strength and conditioning is now not only accepted, but actively sought by many competitive fighters and recreational Thai boxers alike.

This is great news. When I first started my website over five years ago, my emphasis was on why Thai boxers should be using strength and conditioning.

Now I enjoy explaining how you do this rather than justifying why – and that’s where things get exciting.

The enthusiasm the Muay Thai community now has for supplemental training has also led to some misconceptions. And in this article, I’ll highlight some of these so you can either steer-clear, or confirm you’re on the right track!

Making resistance sessions look like Thai boxing sessions

I get it. You love Muay Thai – I do too. But that doesn’t mean that allyour training sessions need to look like Muay Thai. In fact, you’ll run...

AVOID THESE TRAPS WHEN TRAINING IN THAILAND

By Sean Fagan

Are you thinking about training Muay Thai in Thailand?

Do yourself this one favor. Before you head over to train at a Muay Thai training camp in Thailand, get an of idea of what to expect for the training and living conditions.

Training in Thailand is no joke and you have to do your research and be prepared!

Muay Thai training camps in Thailand provide Nak Muay (muay thai students) like yourself with the perfect venue to take your skills to the next level. By traveling to the home of this awesome martial art you will have access to the best teachers, great training partners and the most effective training routines.

Chances are it will mean training at an intensity that your mind and body are not used to. The initial adjustment period can be a bit of a challenge, but the potential payoff makes the hardships along the way worthwhile.

If you want to make training Muay Thai in Thailand a positive life changing...

 BUILDING A HOME GYM? DON’T FORGET THESE ESSENTIALS

From Muay Thai Guy

You don’t have to be a workout junkie to understand the benefits of a home gym. Having a dedicated fitness regimen has a huge positive effect on mental and physical health, so it’s no wonder that more and more people are building a home gym for their daily workouts or as a complement to their standard gym membership.

If you’re thinking about taking the leap and carving out a fitness-specific space in your home, here are some recommendations for essential items that you’ll need:

ESSENTIAL #1: Kettlebells

The kettlebell is a unique piece of workout equipment that allows you to build incredible strength and cardiovascular endurance. You can do any exercise that calls for a dumbbell with a kettlebell and more effectively develop stabilizer muscles and core strength. Plus, there are many dynamic, total body exercises perfectly designed for the...