WHY ADDING WEIGHTLIFTING TO YOUR WORKOUTS IS A MUST FOR MUAY THAI

By Matt Filart

There’s been a fairly long-running debate between marital artists on whether lifting weights is a good or bad thing for us to do. Many nak muays wonder whether weightlifting is beneficial to their Muay Thai at all.

Well, the sports science is in, and lifting weights (in the right way) is definitely going to benefit your performance in Muay Thai.

When I say "the right way," I mean not lifting like a bodybuilder, which is what most people think of when they think of weightlifting. So, we aren’t going to be talking about bicep curls or tricep pushdowns, as those exercises aren’t the best for increasing overall sports performance.

This means that you are going to need to:

• ...have the right exercise selection at the right time, and

• ...use the right reps & sets for each exercise, depending on the stage of training in which you currently reside

For this list, we are...

WHY MUAY THAI FIGHTERS MUST TREAT THEIR DIETS LIKE A SCIENCE

By Andrew Bryan

Nutrition is one of the most overlooked aspects of being a fighter, yet it's also something every serious hobbyist or competitor needs to be serious about - not only for performance in the ring but to keep healthy in general.

Unfortunately, the world of nutrition is the "Wild West," and much of what you will read is misinformation, or something positioned as "science" but with little substantive research.

Today, we will be talking about common fad diets, bad eating habits and, most importantly, having a healthy relationship with food, in order to be the best fighters we can.  

1 SMOOTHIES & PROTEIN SHAKES

I have seen, more and more often, potential athletes turning their attention away from proper eating and on to vegetable/fruit smoothies and protein shakes.

The idea behind these fruity fads is that you are "detoxing" your body and getting your nutrition in an easy way,...

A TRIO OF STRENGTH-BOOSTING KETTLEBELL EXERCISES FOR FIGHTERS

By Matt Filart

In recent years, kettlebells have come into style, and it’s easy to see why. They are a pretty solid alternative to traditional dumbbells and barbells. Plus, if you are on the whole "functional fitness" train, they are a great tool.

Many people in combat sports (most notably, Joe Rogan) have been promoting the benefits of kettlebells for fighters for years at this point and it isn’t without merit.

Kettlebells provide the user with tons of options for different workouts and a unique challenge that you can’t get from other weights. The extra nice thing about them is that if you are in the market for getting your own weights, you only need one, maybe two kettlebells. Fifteen to thirty-five pounds is usually enough for anyone depending on your weight.

While one or two kettlebells probably isn’t going to replace an entire weight set like some people would claim, there are some...

WHY LEG KICKS ARE THE MOST UNDERRATED MUAY THAI STRIKE

By Evan Lee

The leg kick, at first glance, does not appear to be a particularly devastating strike.

After all, what damage could the largest and most powerful limbs in the human body possibly do? Turns out... it's a lot.

Our legs are strong because they are the tools on which we rely to keep our body up. However, someone else can use their legs to hurt our legs, which disrupts our rhythm and ability to fight.

Today, we will be talking all about the leg kick, and by the end of this, you should have quite a few tips that will allow you to slice 'n dice your opponent’s legs.

First, we must understand how to throw the low kick. Before we get into that, understand this: as Sean shows in this video, there are many different types of low kicks. Understand that there are many ways to throw all kinds of techniques, be they kicks, punches, knees, or elbows.

The type of technique you throw will depend on the...

USING AN OPPONENT'S WEAKNESSES AGAINST HIM

By Evan Lee

In most combat sports, fighters have time to prepare for their opponents. They can watch videos of their opponents' past fights or maybe even train with their former partners.

In Thailand, nak muays don't often have that luxury. Short-notice fights are real and very commonplace.

We've been breaking down Sean "Muay Thai Guy" Fagan's short-notice fight round-by round. 

In round one, Sean landed a beautiful sweep off a caught kick.

However, rather than making his opponent thing twice about kicking, he actually adapted and used that weakness as an opening.

Let's see how it goes for our man, the Muay Thai Guy in ROUND 2:

Fight Breakdown: Kick Counters, Hand Trapping & Low Kicks (Round 2)

FINDING 'GREAT OPENINGS' THROUGH FEINTING

Sean’s opponent throws another kick to the body, and Sean once again catches it. This time, the Thai has figured out how to counter Sean’s catch and sweep. He immediately...

TAKING A MUAY THAI FIGHT ON SHORT NOTICE IN THAILAND

By Evan Lee

Thailand -- the birthplace of Muay Thai, and as such, there are many wild things that can happen in Thailand that would rarely if ever happen in any other place.

"Such as, Evan???"

Whoa, whoa! Hold your horses! I was just about to tell you!

Wild and crazy things SUCH AS... taking a fight on 10-hours notice.

That is precisely what our boy Sean "Muay Thai Guy" Fagan did (the wild and crazy man that he is!)

How did it play out? See for yourself.

Fight Breakdown: My One BIG Mistake, Leg Kicks & Sweep Technique (Round 1)

STANCE-SWITCHING & SWITCH-HITTING

As Sean stated in the beginning of the video, he is a big fan of switching from stance to stance to throw off his opponent. Muay Thai stance-switching and switch-hitting can be incredibly effective ways to confuse your opponent and will allow you to find a hole even in the best defenses in the world. 

Let’s look at Andy Ristie vs. Giorgio...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #121

By Sean Fagan

One of the most difficult things any fighter will have to deal with in their career is facing defeat. It’s a scenario no one wants to be in, but it’s something that seems almost inevitable.

Even the greatest Muay Thai fighters of all time like Samart Payakaroon, Saenchai, Dieselnoi, and countless others all have defeats on their record. Sometimes they even have brutal defeats.

That's why today’s topic is all about overcoming defeat.

The last fight I had sucked and I ended up losing by head kick KO. Not a good way to go out. But, hey, as Rocky said:

“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

Overcoming defeat is how you ultimately find success. If you can’t handle defeats, then you’re going to have a very tough time in this sport where even...

HEAVY BAG WORKOUT FOR POWER & COORDINATION 

By Andrew Bryan

< Note: We have previously discussed heavy bag drills that will build up your balance. This is an expansion of what we talked about last time, so I strongly recommend you read it here before going forward. >

Today we’re going to be looking at heavy bag drills for techniques that will not only improve your balance but also improve your co-ordination on unorthodox combinations.

We’re going to be specifically looking at building punches off of kicks. Conventional wisdom is to lead with a punch (the easier technique to see coming) in order to set up a kick. This is a completely valid way to fight, and it’s not wrong at all to emphasize this in your training. What is often overlooked, however, is doing the inverse.

Throwing a kick, at half power, to follow through with a powerful punch is an underutilized and formidable approach to fighting that has given some of the best kickboxers in...

OVERCOMING DEFEAT IN 'THE MOST BRUTAL SPORT IN THE WORLD'

By Matt Filart

“Muay Thai is one of the most brutal sports in the world” is probably something that you’ve heard countless times before.

When people say this, they are usually referring to the physical aspects of the sport, particularly all that damage nak muays take in fights and training.

What is talked about far less often is how brutal this sport can be mentally and emotionally,and at no point is the sport more mentally damaging than after a loss.

Training for months for one fight only to come up short is one of the most devastating feelings that you could ever have, especially if you lose by a stoppage. A loss can haunt you and steal your confidence right out from under you.

The question is: how do we confront this very real (and, for a long time, unacknowledged) phenomenon? 

How do we begin to dig ourselves out of these holes? Like this:

1|Treat Yourself

This is something to...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #123

By Sean Fagan

Today we’re getting deep!

The fight game is a crazy, crazy experience. Sometimes you might be on top of the world and next thing you know you’re a nobody that no one even cares about. You might be unbeatable one year, then go on a massive losing streak the next. 

Fighting is tough. So that’s why today Paul and I are talking all about the lessons in mindset that we’ve learned from all the years of training, fighting and studying we’ve put into Muay Thai!

Everyone talks about how sports are more mental than physical, but how often do you actually hear people talking about the psychological aspects of training? We all know exactly how to throw a teep, but how many people know how to focus their mind and get it ready for a fight? Not many. 

But today we’re not just talking about things like how to keep your mind sharp. We’re also talking about all the obstacles that Paul and...