5 Shadow Boxing Tips To QUICKLY Improve Your Muay Thai Technique

Why You Shadowboxing is an Absolute MUST!

By Sean Fagan

If you half ass or skip shadow boxing you probably don’t understand how much it negatively effects your Muay Thai technique (and overall work ethic).

Most people think it is boring and only a warm up to the actual Muay Thai training session… but it’s not.

Shadow boxing the best place to take your Muay Thai technique to the next level. If you take the time to flow with your techniques, be creative with your combinations and feel how your muscles, joints and limbs move, you will become more self-aware which is key to being your own teacher.

Top 5 Shadowboxing Tips For Muay Thai

How to get the most out of your shadowboxing 

1) Set time aside to focus and just shadow box.

If you just go through the motions and do a round or two of shadow boxing without putting your mind into it, you’re missing the point. Having intention and focus behind everything you do will dramatically improve your learning curve so techniques become more fluid and ingrained in your muscle memory.

2) Use it as a warm up 

Start nice and easy and then gradually elevate it into a full blown workout.

First loosening up your shoulders, then open up your hips and then start focusing on being light on the balls of your feet. Once you begin to get warm then begin to really start adding more zip to your strikes. Snap your jab, throw your hips into your roundhouse, pivot on your left hook, etc.

3) Implement defensive maneuvers. 

Chances are you won’t be in a fight where your opponent is a scared little bitch and won’t throw any strikes at you. Do yourself a favor while your shadow boxing and check a few kicks, have some head movement and use your footwork to get in and out of striking distance

4) Time it. 

I base my shadow boxing on what kind of fight I have coming up (so 3 or 5 rounds of 2 minutes with a 1 minute break), this way my body and mind get used to the time. You can also do a straight 10 or 20 minute shadowboxing workout without a break if you'd like ;)

Check out the video at the bottom of the page for a 10-Minute Shadowboxing Workout For Muay Thai to follow along with.

5) Shadow box like you’re FIGHTING. 

In the warm up phase you don’t have to go all out, but as you start to really get into it then really start thinking of the game plan you want to implement and try to do that against your fake opponent. Work on counters, feints and setting up certain strikes.

Important Shadow Boxing Tip For Muay Thai

I also love to visualize the entire fight event.

I picture myself walking to the ring, sealing the corners, taking my mongkol off, hearing my name announced, starring my opponent down and then getting ready for the fight. I’ve found this has really helped calm my nerves when the fight actually happens because I’ve already practiced it and done it multiple times in my head.

If you’re smart and really want to improve your mentality, conditioning, muay thai technique and overall muay thai training, then you know why you should implement these shadow boxing tips to your workout routines.

Try This 10-Minute Shadowboxing Workout For Muay Thai