THE BEGINNER'S EXPERIENCE: 3 COMMON DISCOMFORTS

By Sean Fagan

Starting from square one is always a hard thing to do.

It can also become downright discouraging when the first couple of Muay Thai sessions are impeded by physical discomforts that seem to reoccur every time.

Just know that this is a common experience and there are others who have worked through the same thing.

So before we start unflinchingly kicking down banana trees, here are the three common discomforts that beginners experience and how to help reduce the chances of them occurring:

 #1: Muscle Cramps

Muay Thai is extremely dynamic and involves different muscle groups that are not commonly activated during daily routine, especially not for a beginner with a regular nine-to-five.

After all, nobody goes around doing 25-50 left and right leg kicks in public for fun on a daily basis.

Add high intensity training into the mix and the chance of cramps skyrocket.

That sharp pain in the sides…...

 AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPETITION WEIGHT CUTTING

From Muay Thai Guy

Enter: cutting weight. For pretty much as long as fighters have been weighing in, cutting weight has been a practice done by almost everyone.

There are a lot of misconceptions of what cutting weight is, and these misconceptions can prove to be costly, hindering performance during competition or, worse, even causing death.

(Title image courtesy of Andrew Miller, The Star Ledger.)

WHAT WEIGHT CUTTING IS

Cutting weight is a process that involves manipulating hydration levels in the body over the course of just a few days. Fighters will often sweat out as much as they can in order to lose weight temporarily. They will weigh in at the agreed upon weight, then rehydrate and eat to get their weight back up to...