TURNING A HEIGHT & SIZE DIS-ADVANTAGE INTO AN OPPORTUNITY

By Evan Lee

One of the most common reasons people get into martial arts is because they watched UFC 1, in which a skinny Brazilian guy in pajamas dominated people much bigger, taller, and stronger than him.

What an inspiration!

Another is because they watched a movie where the little guy kicked the bigger guy’s ass. Bottom line is that we love watching the underdogs beat the giants. 

Royce Gracie (the aforementioned "skinny guy") did it through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and, more specifically, grappling, which allows you to more easily shut down and overpower a bigger man.

Can the same be done in a striking art like Muay Thai? 

It ain’t easy...

Range Finding: A Case Study

As Sean and Paul covered above, an important key to beating an opponent bigger, taller and stronger than you is to be extremely disciplined and diligent when exiting combinations.

One of the clearest examples of...

GETTING READY FOR THE BIGGEST MOMENT OF YOUR FIGHTING LIFE

By Matt Filart

Preparing for your first fight can be pretty stressful, as your head is constantly spinning just thinking about what to expect.

It’s really hard, as you probably haven’t done anything similar to it before. Consciously accepting and then taking to months prepare for a fist fight -- who does that??

It can be hard to know exactly how to prepare for your first fight: should you focus on cardio, technique, strength...?

Well, the answer to that question is usually to just listen to what your coach tells you, as you probably aren’t the only fighter they’ve brought to their first fight. But even if you’re doing everything your coach tells you to do, you’re probably still thinking about even more things to do so you can guarantee that win. The struggle never ends.

That being said, let’s talk about some things you should do in preparation for your first Muay Thai...

WHY YOUR BOXING NEEDS TO BE TIGHT IN A NON-BOXING SPORT

By Randy Pilares

Muay Thai newbies probably think that boxing is one of the major components of the sport. (After all, Muay Thai translates to “Thai boxing,” right?)

Well... not exactly.

The truth of the matter though is that boxing is one of the more underutilized aspects of Muay Thai. 

That’s especially true in Thailand, where the use of hands isn't given as much weight in terms of points on a Muay Thai judge's scorecard. The reason behind it is the way fights are scored in Thailand, where kicks and knees are granted premium rewards.

Outside of Thailand, it is a totally different story. In North America, Europe, and the rest of the world, there is more emphasis on boxing. Even though a Muay Thai match by name, observers will notice that more boxing combinations are used - not at all the norm in Thailand.

But regardless of where you are fighting, it is important to be good with your hands....

ANALYZING THE FINAL ROUND'S HEAD KICK KO FINISH

By Evan Lee

It has been three tough rounds now. Round 1: we covered the importance of breaking down your sparring and fight footage. Round 2: why the teep is the "god weapon". And in Round 3: the importance of the clinch and why it is almost a god weapon.

Time to break down the fourth and final round. 

To recap very quickly, Sean had a tough first three rounds. His opponent’s teep is laser sharp, and he has very strong punching combinations.

Sean knows that he’s down on the scorecards. He has to go out on his shield or else he’ll likely lose the decision.

For the epic conclusion to this fight, check it out:

Fight Breakdown: Head Kick TKO Technique (Round 4)

Head Kick KO Loss: Analysis

As you saw, unfortunately, this did not go Sean’s way. His opponent, Phetch, was able to rock Sean with punches and eventually land a brutal head kick.

Even though both knockdowns...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS PODCAST: EPISODE #122 

By Sean Fagan

There is already so much to learn in Muay Thai. Just learning how to box is tough enough, and now I have to master six other limbs, too??? C'mon!

Seriously, even after 10+ years and 30+ fights, I'm still picking up completely new-to-me tactics and techniques here in Thailand. It can get overwhelming very easily, but one of the main principles Paul "Reaper" Banasiak and I will be talking about today is how that variety and doing so much can help you. 

As you can guess, in today’s episode, we’re talking all about the supplemental training you need to do in order to maximize your Muay Thai training and turn you into the best nak muay that you can be!

It might seem counter-intuitive to spend all of your effort on so many other things that aren’t Muay Thai itself, but it absolutely helps. 

Think about it this way. Why is Muay Thai such an effective martial art, and why...

COMBINING FOOTWORK & MUAY THAI = THE NEXT LEVEL

By Randy Pilares

Muay Thai and footwork are not exactly synonymous. You don't really think of one and instantly think of the other. No, it just does not work that way for Muay Thai and footwork.

The classic image that most casual observers have of Muay Thai is two combatants standing right in front of the other and trading power shots.

Footwork is more associated with Western boxing than it is with Muay Thai. That is a misconception that needs to be corrected.

Those in the know understand what footwork means to "the Art of Eight Limbs." Make no mistake about it, footwork is just as essential in Muay Thai. 

Footwork for Offense & Defense

The right footwork is useful in both offense and defense. To be a real and effective nak muay, you need to be able to do both effectively.

It gets you to the right spot so you can throw your strikes effectively by using angles that...

ADDING UNCONVENTIONAL TOOLS TO YOUR HOME GYM

By Matt Filart

We’ve been talking all about different pieces of equipment that you can add to your home gym. We’ve talked about heavy bags, free standing bags and more specialized bags that any nak muay can get a ton of training out of from the comfort of their own home. 

But sometimes these pieces of equipment can be expensive, and you might not be able to set them up where you live for various reasons. You might already have some of the equipment we’ve talked about and want to spice up your training a bit. For whatever reason you might be in the market for some new training equipment for your home gym.

So, we went ahead and made a list of a few pieces of training equipment that any nak muay could use to add to their at home training. Check it out!

#1: Agility Ladder

This is a piece of training equipment that you've seen a lot of soccer players, football players and Western...

DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM & GET YOUR TECHNIQUE CORRECT

By Andrew Bryan

Often when trying to learn a new technique, a martial artist or coach will be too bogged down in what the correct technique is for a fighter rather than how to diagnose where the problem is occurring in a given technique, and how to fix it. 

It can be very frustrating if you can’t get a technique right but also can’t identify where it is going wrong. Today we will be examining the most common problems with punches and low kicks, as well as exercises to correct the form on each.

I’ve seen people trying to demonstrate the low kick for others with something along these lines:

"No, no. Watch. You're doing it like this. Try it like this!"

While I am all for people trying to teach and help one another, we also have to realize that sometimes a person knows what they should be doing but can’t co-ordinate themselves to be able to do it. That is where these exercises come...

FIGHT ANALYSIS: "IT'S HEATIN' UP!!!"

By Evan Lee

Round 1 and Round 2 were good and all, but this is where the fight starts getting juicy.

In Thailand, Muay Thai scoring is weird. The first two rounds don't really count for much (very weird, indeed), so the third round is when things begin to pick up.

The fight is moving faster in round three, more combinations are being thrown, and there’s just a great flurry of techniques to deal with, usually on and from both sides.

In the last breakdown, I focused primarily on the teep, which I called "the ultimate nullifier." Today, we will be focusing on another nullifier, though not as effective: the clinch.

First, though, let's catch up on the fight!

Fight Breakdown: Clinch Tactics, Punch Combos & MORE Teeps (Round 3)

The Smothering Power Of The Clinch

The reason why the teep is so effective as a defensive tool is because it creates distance. It doesn’t matter what strike is being thrown at you - if you can create...

DING, DING! ROUND 2 ANALYSIS- BEGIN!

By Evan Lee

Last week, we talked about Round 1 of Sean's fight - now we're moving to Round 2. 

Today, we’re going to focus on key techniques. Specifically, we’re talking about the teep, aka. the push kick.

This breakdown will focus on the teep because it was a technique that defined the course of fight. It's also one of the most important techniques in Muay Thai in general.

Watch as Sean gets self-critical and breaks down round 2 of this excellent Muay Thai fight:

Fight Breakdown: Shovel Uppercut & Accurate Teeps (Round 2)

The Versatility Of The Muay Thai Teep

The teep is to Muay Thai what the jab is to boxing. It is, along with the jab, the most important technique of your Muay Thai arsenal. 

To take in a masterclass on combining the two, I highly recommend watching Buakaw’s two fights with Nieky Holzken.

To sum it up for you, Buakaw was able to shut Nieky’s combination punching down...