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...

 HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CLINCH AS A BEGINNER NAK MUAY

From Muay Thai Guy

Something that sets Muay Thai apart from most other types of striking is the clinch. Unfortunately, the clinch is also something many people (especially beginners) struggle with because of any number of the following problems:

• poor technique
• fear of getting swept
• lack of clinch training at their gym
• some/all of the above

Clinching is one of those things where when you have better technique doing it, it makes you stronger! This is because you know how to use your strength efficiently and know exactly where to position yourself and your limbs. Technique can only come with time and consistent training, but everyone has to start somewhere. Here are some pointers to get you started in improving your clinch game.

#1 – The position of your hips and legs is crucial.

Your hips should be squared, unlike being in fighting stance. Your legs should be open and your knees...

BASICS: SHORT COMBOS ARE DEADLY

By Daniel Nguyen

Long, successful combos can be aesthetically pleasing to watch, whether devastating or defended.

They do indeed show technical prowess, however, long and complex will not always be equivalent to successful.

What makes a combination truly lethal is the ability for it to be practical, effective, and efficient. This is why we see many of the pro fighters opt to use shorter combos to set up the bigger kill shots. Sometimes just keeping it simple is the best way to approach a fight.

Let’s take a look at some of the short combinations that are often emphasized in beginner classes, plus the pros who have utilized them due to their high probability of success.

Jab -> Rear Power Kick

Most fighters have used this basic combination at some point in the ring.

The quick delivery, finish and recovery of the sequence makes this an extremely high-landing combo. The two-hit combination has two distinct functions:

• to ...

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE FIRST GOVERNMENT CERTIFIED FEMALE MUAY THAI TRAINER IN THAILAND

From Muay Thai Guy

Nai Khanom Tom stepped into the ring. The Siamese prisoner knew what was on the line.

The Burmese King Mangra and all his subjects cast their eyes on the man. It had been seven years since the invasion in the Ayutthaya Kingdom and he was seized captive as one of many in the aftermath. There are few, if any, moments in prison for a man to feel honored or make an impact, but for Nai Khanom Tom, his time had come.

As a highly skilled and trained boxer, Nai Khanom Tom was selected to compete against the Burmese boxing champion, in a test to satisfy the king’s curiosity of how Muay Boran would stand against Burmese boxing. The pride of his people, of his master, of Siam, surged through his veins.

Nai Khanom Tom began with the ritual of the Wai Khru pre-fight dance, roughly translated as "war-dance saluting the teacher". Dancing around his opponent, the Burmese thought he...