What To Expect From Your First Muay Thai Smoker / Interclub

By Rob Morrow

Exhibition fights, or smokers, are a fantastic way to increase your ring experience. Smokers are arguably the best way to get ready for a title fight or simply get that “real fight feeling” embedded deep in your bones.

It’s incredibly valuable to emulate every aspect of fighting versus when the stakes are higher by doing a smoker or two. It’s part of the growth curve for Muay Thai to fight. Other martial arts give colored belts to measure progression through the art and maturation as a student. In Muay Thai,  maturity is universally recognized by actually fighting people. The first level of this progression is smokers.

Expectations for a smoker and for the way they are run should be viewed as distinct from a judged fight or a fight in Thailand for some very good reasons. Having done my last smoker pretty recently and now scheduled for another one in a week, I can offer...