HOW TO THROW LOW KICKS WITH SPEED & BAD INTENTIONS

From Muay Thai Guy

Muay Thai Citizen.

The low kick has been a tried-and-true method for damaging opponents and breaking their will in fights. It stops incoming aggressive fighters in their tracks (literally) and starts chipping away at one of the most vital limbs needed for fighting and even standing.

When done properly, the low kick can do a lot of damage. It can serve as the origin of a spectacular TKO. The low kick is familiar to many but not executed to its fullest potential by most. Just how do the best low kickers do it?

Let’s take a closer look at a couple of Muay Thai’s best low kickers and how they use this tool to their advantage.

(Title image credit to Evolve Vacation.)

I. COMMIT, JUMP, PIVOT

Like almost all kicks in Muay Thai, there needs to be a step of some kind involved to deliver the low kick. This step is much different than a step for a middle kick, though. With a middle...

THE MUAY THAI LEGENDS OF THE GOLDEN ERA

By Anton Kooshnir

Almost every sport has its “historians” that can pull out great moments and personalities concerning their sport (or favorite team) from literally any era out of their mind.

But in most sports, fans and “historians” usually agree on a time period that pretty much serves as the sport’s “business card” from a certain point. Maybe it’s because people like to romanticize about the past so much…

In Muay Thai, that time period is usually believed to be between the mid-late 80’s and the early 90’s of the 20th century.

Most Muay Thai fans (and by fans I mean people that spend at least a little time educating themselves about the basic history of Muay Thai) know of, or at least heard of, legends like Samart, Sakmongkol or Jongsanan. These fighters made the biggest waves in the...

Is It Realistic To Have My First Muay Thai Fight at 45?

From Muay Thai Guy

I’m a firm believer that it’s never too late to start training Muay Thai. When you begin your Muay Thai training not only will you learn a beautiful (and practical) martial art, but you’ll also be improving the entire spectrum of your health, so why not give it a go?

Now training Muay Thai is one thing, but fighting and actually stepping in the ring to willingly get punched in the face is next level shit. That is when age becomes a real factor due to the high risk of being seriously injured.

Is it realistic to have a fight even if you picked up Muay Thai at a later age? What should a typical training regimen look like when preparing for a fight? These are the questions that Nak Muay Nation fan Chris Large asked me for this weeks Muay Thai Monday Q&A… and here are my answers:

Funny enough, this question is by far one of the most common...

The Meaning of the Traditional Pre Fight Muay Thai Dance Ritual

From Muay Thai Guy

Yokkao.

Performing the whole wai kru is tougher than it looks.

Most thai fighters make this traditional Muay Thai dance look easy with their fluent and graceful motions… I on the other hand sucked when I first tried the entire wai kru!

But if you’re serious about Muay Thai and want to compete in it one day or if you would just like to know more about the rich Muay Thai traditions like the wai kru or the ram muay, scroll down and start reading!

What Is The Wai Kru?

Is it the same as the Ram Muay?

The traditional Muay Thai dance ritual is composed of 2 parts. The wai kru and the ram muay. It’s performed before the fight with traditional sarama or muay thai music.

The Wai is a traditional greeting by the thai people where they put their hands together like a prayer. Kru means teacher. As a whole the wai kru is a way to pay respect to your coaches, gym,...

Learning to Deliver the Most Powerful Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick

By Rebecca Dawson

Strikes like the Muay Thai roundhouse kick are the reason this martial art has grown so popular today. As one of the most popularly used Muay Thai techniques, the roundhouse kick, when delivered flawlessly, can topple even the strongest opponent.

This, of course, is no simple task. Fighters must practice this technique “a lot” (indeed, this is a huge understatement) before developing a polished roundhouse kick. It may take months to even years.

Flexibility and power are the two most important factors to learning and executing Muay Thai roundhouse kicks. Many believe frequent stretching to be sufficient for developing flexibility. Wrong. Standard stretching alone won’t make you flexible enough for the Muay Thai roundhouse kick.

So, how do we develop the flexibility needed to deliver fast, powerful Muay Thai roundhouse kicks?

Stretch technically. This technique should extend to three...

A Second Helping From MTG Writer at Large, Angela Chang

By Angela Chang

ORDERING TO DIETARY RESTRICTIONS IN THAILAND

Don’t add/don’t put in _____ = Mai sai _____  ไมใส

I’m allergic to _____ = Chan paa _____ ฉันแพ

Now let’s learn a few new words that have to do with food:

Chilli = prik พริก

milk = nom นม
MSG = pong choo-rot ผงชูรส

Nuts = tua leesong ถัวลิสง
meat = neuha-sat เนือสัตว

egg = kai ไข
seafood = ah-han ta-lay อาหารทะเล
shrimp = goong กุง
fish = bplah ปลา

crab = bpoo ปู

pork = moo หมู
chicken = gai ไก

beef = neuh-wua เนือวัว

duck = bpèt เปด

fish sauce = nam bplah นำปลาgluten = bpaang แปง

NOTE: Thai is a tonal language, and Thais know that most foreigners struggle with the tones and are pretty forgiving if you pronounce something wrong. But try practicing the words on...

 BREAKING DOWN THE BENEFITS OF HARD SPARRING

From Muay Thai Guy

Sparring should always be a technical, learning experience. It should not be a bi-weekly event where you have a 90% chance of getting a concussion for no good reason. That being said, there are benefits to hard sparring, but only when it is controlled.

There’s a lot of resistance to hard sparring in combat sports, but this might equate to confusing controlled hard sparring with it.

What does “controlled” hard sparring mean? Controlled hard sparring is sparring with more power – enough to make your sparring partner move a bit and make them think twice before eating another shot. What makes this different than just regular hard sparring is the control part, meaning you’re not aiming to knock them out or break their ribs. You are constantly gauging the situation to prevent any disasters from happening.

For instance, say you and...

No Running, No Muay Thai?

By DJ Miller

Muay Thai and combat sports are known for their three to five minute rounds of fighting, with one minute’s worth of rest in between each round.

During these rounds several things can happen to you. One major thing: fatigue, obviously. A few more things: your body can give out, your mind can be ravaged from the pressure or fear. And you can even die.

So how can you prevent these dreadful things from happening in the ring?

The answer is simple, commitment to your training. The best form of training for a fight is to try and simulate the fight the best way you can, in my opinion. What I mean by that is maybe you can do pad work in the ring for whatever the time frame your fight is based on (2 minutes or 3 minute rounds) and rest in the corner in between rounds and maybe have a teammate give you water and coach you a bit.

That form of fight camp training is the most traditional. Other forms of...

Watch and Learn Saenchai’s Best Muay Thai Techniques and Tricks

Observing Saenchai’s skills in person is mentally exhausting.

His raw talent is just mind-blowing and it’s nearly impossible to figure out how he fights so perfectly. I was blessed to watch him teach a session at Phoenix MMA (Bournemouth, UK) and managed to film a lot of the techniques and drills he was demonstrating.

Saenchai has been my idol since I started Muay Thai, so it’s my absolute privilege to share his favourite techniques with you. Whilst they are mechanically quite simple, the timing and precision he performs them with is what makes them so effective:

#1. Saenchai’s Kicks

His unique flexibility allows him to bring his chamber up high with amazing speed and control. When he raises his thigh for a round kick, you have NO idea whether you’re about to get booted in the leg...

MASTERING THE QUESTION MARK KICK

From Muay Thai Guy

Evolve.

Popularized by especially bendy fighters like Saenchai, the question mark kick is one of the most deceptive kicks in fighting

Its deception comes from its potential to be set up by the low kick and the teep – the two most common kicks you’ll ever see in fighting. It can use the exact same chamber as both.

This means that every single low kick or teep that comes could end up being turned into a knockout blow.

That’s a scary thought.

Here’s more detail on how to execute the technique, presented by Evolve MMA:

DECEIVING YOUR OPPONENT WITH THE TEEP

If you notice in the video above, there’s a slight difference in the low kick’s chamber and the question mark kick’s. The knee from the kicking leg is clearly moving in a different direction. Your opponent may not catch onto this and may be reacting to the low kick as soon as they see your foot and...