Muay Thai Stuff’s Blog

The expectation for Muay Thai learners, in fact, is very. This is really depends on the objective of learning. I believe that not every learners want to become a real Muay Thai professional boxer but some of them rather want to learn the art of defense and this what makes the expectation of the learner different. One of my close friend who came from the United States and join with very little camp in Bangkok. This camp is not very famous but somehow provides very intensive lessons in my opinion. I used to talk with him once long time ago about why he just came across the ocean to join such a very small camp, even though he has some money to afford bigger and better camp for training. The replied was really surprised me at that time. He said “doest not have to be a big camp, the size of the camp does not really matter and it is only about what you willing to learn and between you and your teacher”. The words from him just made me realised that it is absolutely true. No matter how big or expensive of the training courses are but the only one focal point is the relationship between the learner and the teacher. You just can not be good at anything if you do not have good teacher. You do not have to travel thousand miles if you can fin the best “Kru” near you and enjoy learning with him. The camp does not matter but “Kru” is really matter and my friend just find the one that he highly respect, even though his “Kru” just stay at the very small and easy camp.

What we can see in many of Muay Thai lesson books or manuals is that there is a complete step by step on how to approach on Muay Thai stance. It is quite easy for students to learn by just follow the instructions and keep practicing. However, from my experience, particularly for professional competitions here in Thailand, sometime I can see the approach of the boxers’ Muay Thai stance were completely different from what I have read in a book or any other kind of lesson. The reason is very simple, it was just the application of the Muay Thai stance, only boxers will know that how they can adjust the stance according to their style and more importantly, if they know the boxing style of the opponent, they will know the approach of Muay Thai stance that should enable them to get advantage.

We may find different approach of Muay Thai stances but the key determination it is basically the mix and match between foot work and stance. Sometimes boxers have to try very difficult to find the correct approach that match to the boxing style, but I have to say that it should take time until you learn and get some experience by having number of fights. The more important thing is you have to remember that the perfect stance can not be achieved without have firm background of basic Muay Thai stance, which means you just can not ignore the basic lesson of Muay Thai stance in order to have your own effective approaches.

Anyone with any real understanding of MuayThai should realize that full sparring is not only unnecessary, but is often detrimental to the development of students and fighters. In Thailand, the name of the game is to protect your fighters! Thai gyms, more often than not have the finest training equipment that money can buy. A fighter’s safety is of key concern because gyms want to protect their investments. Sparring in Thailand, while fast, is typically a very light-contact affair. The only times the Thais will fight each other with heavy contact is when they “gear up” and use Boxing only. They also typically separate the various phases of combat into separate sparring drills, such as Boxing only, kicking only, and clinching only.

Outside of Thailand, though, we frequently encounter gyms where students and fighters will spare full contact at all ranges. Their sparring sessions are essentially fights! Many seem to feel that this helps develop the fighters faster, toughening them up. But in reality it slows down their progress. They become brawlers with little understanding of the subtleties of the game. Unfortunately, this also leads to injuries. More often than not, these injuries are superficial: a bloody nose here, a black eye there, bruises, scrapes, and sore legs. Occasionally, however, some of the serious injury, such as the two examples provided above.

Trainers have a responsibility to their students and fighters. It is a job to protect them as they learn their craft. A trainer must remain ever alert, carefully monitoring what is happening during training sessions. A momentary lapse of attention may be all that’s needed for a student or fighter to lose control during a drill or exercise.

This is a topic that pops up quite frequently. There are a large number of people who have had the honor and privilege of training, and even fighting, in Thailand. They return to their nation of origin and are disappointed in the MuayThai training that they see. The training is nowhere near as intense, nor as “professional”. They complain that MuayThai has been “turned down”.

Yes, they are right! MuayThai has been turned down. What they fail to see, though, is that this is a necessary ‘evil’ in bringing MuayThai to the masses. For a foreigner to travel, train, and fight in Thailand indicates a level of dedication to the sport that very few people are willing to impart. For most of the world’s population, MuayThai is merely a hobby. The masses love the exercise. They love the feelings of confidence and accomplishment they acquire through training. Very few, however, desire to test these skills in the ring.

In international gyms, MuayThai is marketed as a means of physical fitness and self defense. Rather than earning their income through sharing their fighter’s purses, they earn their income through gym memberships. Considering that most international practitioners of this sport are not fighting to support their families, it therefore becomes necessary for the training to be “turned down”. This has broadened MuayThai’s appeal, and has created an environment where these gyms can survive.

So, while it is true that MuayThai outside of Thailand has become “turned down”, it is important for one to understand the contrast between the environment in Thailand and Internationally before judging. Enjoy each training experience for not only what it is, but “why” it is.

Is there any job in the world that is as gratifying and frustrating as that of a fight events matchmaker? Yes, it is. Being a fight matchmaker (or many times called promoter) is the toughest job for Muay Thai. Sometimes you just don’t know how to ensure whether you have a perfect match to make fans enjoy and gain benefit of experience and this is also very desperate in most case.

There is nothing quite as gratifying (outside of the ring, that is) as putting together a fight card that is filled evenly matched, quality fights. While there is no way to be completely sure that both fighters will perform to the best of their abilities, you can be reasonably assured that you have matched the participants up as closely as possible in both size and experience, and that at least on paper the matches look to be solid.

As the matchmaker, however, you would be advised to account for the fact that no matter how many “sure-fire” matches you have arranged for, the final week leading up to the event will be jam-packed with emails and voice messages from fighters and teams that must, regretfully, withdraw from your coming event. In many cases, the reasons are actually legitimate. In other instances, the reasons range from irresponsibility to apathy. No matter the reason, it is enough to drive you to tear your hair out by the roots.

In most cases, if you have given the task your best effort, at the end of the night you find yourself walking away with a sense of pride and satisfaction in a job well done! So that it seems there are both good side and non-motivated side of being matchmaker, but you have to believe that it will become joyful when you see all of those boxers and fans cheer up even though it was not a really good fight.

While the United States of America is a global leader in many professional, social, educational, and athletic fields, it has unfortunately suffered a reputation of fielding weak MuayThai teams. Deservedly so, as the U.S. has been slow to develop its gyms and fighters to the level of international competition. The reasons for this are many. For instance, it has only been over the last ten to fifteen years that MuayThai has begun to become popularized through mainstream media outlets. Prior to the Jean Claude Van Damme movie, “Kickboxer”, very few Americans were even aware of Kickboxing’s Southeast Asian origins. Since that time, many high quality Thai trainers have relocated throughout the States, and programs across the nation are beginning to develop skilled fighters.

However, the United States in many ways still trails the international community in it’s acceptance and development of sport MuayThai. Often, local ordinances place severe restrictions on athletic competition, especially combat sports such as Thai boxing. Now, though, with the continued popularity of Mixed Martial Arts fighting events such as UFC and Pride, politicians are now beginning to ease these limitations, opening up opportunities for fighters and their teams to test themselves and hone their craft.

Such is the case in the state of Virginia, located on the east coast of the United States. Promoter Brooks Miller will be holding the first ever full rules MuayThai event ever held in the state. While the competition will be for amateur fighters only, they will finally be given the opportunity to employ the full MuayThai arsenal in the ring, including elbow strikes and knees to the head, which are banned in most amateur competitions throughout the country.

All this is being made possible due to Brooks’ involvement with the Global Combat Alliance (GCA) and United States Muay Thai Association (USMTA) sanctioning bodies. Brooks serves on the GCA’s Board of MuayThai Advisors and is the Director of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC for the USMTA. He has been promoting MuayThai events in the DC Metropolitan area for over a year now, and has made great leaps and strides in educating coaches, fighters, officials, and the public on how real MuayThai is fought and scored.

One of the most challenging tasks a promoter will face leading up to an event is the matchmaking process. This process requires hours upon hours of travel time, meetings, phone calls, and email messages. The promoter needs to round up a large pool of available fighters, and hope that there are enough suitably matched individuals to put together a fight card that is both entertaining for the crowds and challenging to the participants.

Often, even after acquiring a lengthy list of names, suitable matchups are hard to find. Mismatches in weight, height, and experience are the norm. You may have two fighters perfectly sized for one another, but their experience may differ greatly. Perhaps you have fighters with similar experience, but their weights are just a little too far apart.

Other considerations are location, location, and location. For an event to be successful, a promoter must rely on local talent to fill his fight card. Outside of the major sports that have a truly dedicated fan base, most sporting events are driven by the family and friends of the participants themselves. You may have a perfect selection of fighters from a gym that is a few hours away, but you cannot count on very much of a crowd traveling with them to support your show.

In some respects, professional fighting is an easier process because the participants are, well….. professionals! Pro fighters typically will sign a contract to fight, which penalizes them for not meeting the terms of the agreement. Amateur fighters, however, are under no real obligations. Amongst the amateur ranks, most view competition as a hobby, and it is of little consequence to them whether they participate or not.

Matchmakers must be diligent. One must remain in constant contact with the participants, ensuring that everyone is on the same page, all questions are answered, and all concerns addressed. Quite often, even the simplest misunderstanding can lead to a coach withdrawing his entire team from an event on a moments notice! It’s a difficult task keeping everyone happy, but in the end the rewards are worth all the extra effort!