Fight Breakdown: Teeps, Sweeps & Roundhouses (Round 1)

BREAKING DOWN AN AUTHENTIC THAI BOXING FIGHT

By Evan Lee

A fight breakdown of our very own 'Muay Thai Guy' himself, Sean Fagan, against a talented Thai by the name of Phetch Banmai.

If you’ve never witnessed a fight in Thailand or in general know little about how fights are in Thailand, you are in for a real treat.

What’s so wild about fighting in Thailand? Well, one of the biggest surprises about fighting in Thailand is that sometimes you will be unable to get film on any opponent or, even better, you may get a completely different opponent the day of the fight. Thailand, baby!

Another wild fact is the frequency with which Thais fight. It's not uncommon to see fighters end their careers with hundreds of fights. Namsaknoi had 300 fights; Sagat had 317 fights; Saenchai has 345 fights, and the list goes on.

Because they fight with such a frequency, Thais train and fight differently than anywhere else. And you’re going to get a nice peek into what that fighting looks like today:

Fight Breakdown: Teeps, Sweeps & Roundhouses (Round 1)

GETTING SELF-CRITICAL ABOUT YOUR MUAY THAI

One of the best things you can do for yourself to improve your Muay Thai skills is to break down your own fights.

Fighting is obviously a physical sport, but it is the mind that informs what your body does. Yes, it is the job of your coaches to give you a proper game plan as well as build you up throughout your career, but at the end of the day, it is your career. Studying not only your fights but the fight game as a whole will give you a very strong understanding of how to choose a proper Muay Thai coach and team as well.

So, where do you start if you’re trying to break down your own fights? (By the way: you don’t even have to just study your fights, you can study your sparring as well.)

What you should be looking for specifically are the moments of success or failure. Your goal is to look at that moment and reverse-engineer how it happened as Sean does in the video above.

Let’s say that you got hit with a body kick like Sean did. The first question you must ask is whether you saw the strike coming and were unable to defend it or if you didn’t see the strike coming at all. After that comes the breakdown of why.

When you break down the “why,” you will find that usually one specific technique caused it.

In this case, Sean’s opponent Phetch stuck his glove in Sean’s face with a right straight. But even more important than the technique itself is the broader principle: the right straight blinded Sean to it.

If you only know the techniques, you will only use the techniques that you know. If you understand the broader principle, you will be able to find new techniques or even create your own to add to your arsenal. Blinding with a punch? Maybe you could even do the same thing with your head when clinching.

The more you understand of yourself and the fight game in general, the better you will be. And if you would like more homework besides studying your own fights, it is this: understand styles.

Muay Thai Experience at Thailand Training Camp