WHY A GOOD, ACCURATE TEEP IS ALL YOU REALLY NEED...

By Randy Pilares

A true nak muay is a master of the teep.

That's right, I'm saying it: you can’t call yourself a real Muay Thai practitioner if you are not a master of the teep. 

Also known as the push kick, the teep is one of the most basic but also one of the most effective Muay Thai techniques.

Think of a Western boxer’s jab. That’s one of the best analogies for the teep, both in purpose and execution.

Too often, beginners in "the Art of Eight Limbs" tend to ignore it. They usually go for the flashier moves that just seem cooler to execute.

That is a huge mistake. To make any progress in Muay Thai, we need to at least become proficient in this basic strike. This goes for both casual practitioners and aspiring fighters alike. 

So, it is time we shine a spotlight on the power of the teep. Learn of its versatility and the many ways it can be used by nak muays of every level and experience!

Master...

GRAB A WILLING PARTICIPANT FOR THESE AWESOME MUAY THAI DRILLS

By Matt Filart

Most of us miss Muay Thai something fierce right now, and sometimes it’s not even the heavy bag work or the great workout you get from it. For a lot of us, it’s the social interaction that we got from training with partner drills, pad work and sparring. 

If you’re lucky (or unlucky) enough to live with someone else right now, you just might be able to convince them to to train with you and run a few drills.

Having a training partner you can train with right now is a great benefit, especially if you're getting sick of shadowboxing or heavy bag work if you have a bag. 

Partner drills are absolutely essential to Muay Thai and are some of the most fun and challenging drills you can run. So, to help you and your lucky partner get started, we’ve complied a list of some of our best partner drills. 

5 Best Beginner Sparring Drills for MMA, Muay Thai, Boxing

...

LET'S GET INTIMATE WITH THE 'MUAY THAI GUY'

By Evan Lee 

I don’t know if you know him, but there’s this fella called Sean Fagan, (also known as the 'Muay Thai Guy' and he's pretty cool.

He runs a pretty nifty site called The Muay Thai Guy...? Definitely recommend checking that out when you have the time...

 Jokes aside, Sean went from a waiter at Red Lobster to an incredible entrepreneur who’s done it all, from fighting in Madison Square Garden and in Thailand, to building a giant library of online Muay Thai classes, to hosting the most beautiful Muay Thai vacations.

It has surely been an amazing journey with so many lessons learned, but why would you want to hear me talk about it? Why don’t you hear it from the man himself?! 

>>> CLICK HERE for Sean's episode of Niyi Sobo's "Sports Motivation Podcast" on Apple iTunes

or

 CLICK HERE to listen directly <<<

One of the biggest...

SEAN "MUAY THAI GUY" FAGAN - A 'HUMANS OF FIGHTING' DOCUMENTARY

By Evan Lee 

Sean Fagan has been on a journey to be a champion ever since he was a kid. It began with a simple desire to fight yet has become so much more.

This is no doubt an experience that you who are reading this may have experienced yourself. In fact, this is an experience those who pursue any subject will have gone through- be it basketball, photography, filmmaking, etc.

It becomes something more than what it was.

That's why it’s imperative that you listen to these desires and follow them. After all, what have you got to lose by just trying it out for a bit? It’s like asking someone out. What’s the big deal? Yes, you might get rejected and feel a bit embarrassed or you could find the love of your life (and you never know where that may be). 

Sean followed his heart -- and it's made all the difference in his remarkable life:

WHAT FIGHTING TEACHES YOU ABOUT LIFE | Sean "Muay Thai Guy"...

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...

LOOK NO FURTHER FOR HEAVY BAG TIPS & PHILOSOPHY

By Matt Filart

This quarantine sucks for just about everybody, and us nak muays have the struggle of needing to get out training fix on top of that.

We’ve talked a lot recently about buying your heavy bag and on workouts to do once you get one or if you already have one. These are great to tide you over until gyms start to open up, but with every passing day, it seems like we are going to be waiting a while. This means that if you have your heavy bag or are going to get one, you two are going to get pretty acquainted.

But maybe you want to do more than just work out! Maybe you are a newcomer to Muay Thai and don’t know how to train on the heavy bag by yourself.

Well, don’t worry you’ve come to the right article. We’re going to go over some tips and ideas to help you get the most out of your heavy bag workout.

How To Train On A Muay Thai Heavy Bag

#1: Pace Yourself

It’s easy to see a...

3 HEAVY BAG OR SHADOWBOXING DRILLS TO BE MORE BALANCED

By Andrew Bryan

Balance is crucial in any sport. Muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, any sport that requires you to spend a significant amount of time standing on one leg -- these are no exceptions to the rule.

Today we’re going to be looking at how specifically to use the heavy bag to train and improve one's balance, along with modifications for when you don’t have access to your own bag.

Let's dig in. 

DRILL #1: Lomachenko Wide Stance Drill

The first and indeed most simple of these exercises is routinely performed by the greatest living boxer, Vasyl Lomachenko. Rather than hitting the bag in your normal fighting stance, instead stand with your feet an unreasonable distance apart -- at least twice shoulder length.

From this stance, we hit the boxing bag with all our usual arsenal (save for kicks and knees). We jab, hook and pivot around the bag like normal, and we try to use as much footwork as we would...

GUYS - CHEW ON THESE MUAY THAI SPARRING TIPS

By Evan Lee

What’s the quickest way to become the pariah of an entire gym? Being a terrible sparring partner.

If you’re training Muay Thai, you should be in it for the long haul. Every fighter knows that their time in the sport, like with any athlete, can be limited. And the time you spend in Muay Thai or any sport that involves head trauma can be even further limited if you train it poorly. You do not want to be that guy at the gym who everyone hates.

Think about how the Thais spar. There is no possible way Thais could have hundreds of fights if they sparred hard regularly (though there is a place for hard sparring). And if you’re somehow worried that avoiding hard sparring makes you less tough, remember that you’re in a sport where your job is to step into the ring with another person and try to knock each other out. That’s tough enough already.

However, even if you are sensible, it can still be...

SURVIVING & THRIVING IN THE MOTHERLAND

By Evan Lee

Training Muay Thai in Thailand is an experience unlike any other. Most people who train Muay Thai outside of Thailand think that they’re ready for the real deal, don't they? They think that "Muay Thai is Muay Thai" and ultimately, it doesn't matter where you pick up and master the techniques. 

Wrong.

Remember that in Thailand, Muay Thai is their national sport. If you’re not a full-time Muay Thai fighter, odds are that you will not be training at the same intensity and frequency in which your Thai counterparts train, which is to be expected. You wouldn’t expect to keep up with them in any Muay Thai workout anymore than you would expect a casual football fan keep up with an NFL player.

Of course, you want to be prepared when you’re training in Thailand. If you’re not maximizing every second of time you spend training in Thailand, then you’re losing out on training with...

A TRIO OF SHADOW BOXING WORKOUTS TO SWEAT TO

By Matt Filart

Recently, we’ve been talking a lot about getting your heavy bag and working out with them. A heavy bag is a great tool for any nak muay to have at any time, especially in times like now... but they can be expensive and you might not be able to set one up in the place you live.

This leaves those of us without a heavy bag with even fewer options when it comes to our solo Muay Thai training. This means that most of us are going to have to stick to shadow boxing to get our training fix. This sounds straightforward enough, but shadow boxing is, like most things in Muay Thai, a lot harder than it looks.

It takes a lot of focus and intent to shadow box correctly and to get a workout from it. This means it can be hard to start shadow boxing without a coach or someone else guiding you along, especially if you are somewhat new to Muay Thai.

So, to help you out we’ve compiled three of our best shadow boxing...