Are you thinking of starting martial arts training and are unsure if Muay Thai is right for you or if it will be too difficult for you to learn?
This is a legitimate fear, and the best way to address it is to break down exactly what it takes to learn Muay Thai.
Muay Thai is a powerful striking martial art that may get rather complicated at the top levels. Muay Thai is a sport that takes years to master.
We explore what Muay Thai is all about in this beginner’s guide.
Muay Thai Basics
Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is a Thai martial art. It is mostly an aggressive martial art in which you kick, punch, and strike your foe with your elbows and knees.
Many people regard it as the ultimate striking art, which is why MMA competitors frequently choose it as one of their fundamental martial arts.
Muay Thai, unlike most other martial arts, does not use a belt-grading system; instead, rankings are determined on an individual’s performance in competitive fights.
In this way, Muay Thai is akin to Western boxing, yet it is a very distinct sport/discipline.
Muay Thai is an excellent alternative for anyone who wants to learn the art form for physical conditioning or other health reasons, such as weight loss.
It’s a high-energy sport with a rigorous and strenuous training regimen. It’s worth emphasising, though, that no one practices Muay Thai to build muscle; in fact, adding muscle mass can be a handicap in Muay Thai.
Muay Thai’s diversified striking style, that allows the fighter to attack with all eight areas of their body, is considered the strongest accessible in a commonly practised martial art for individuals who wish to fight.
A highly proficient Muay Thai fighter would undoubtedly destroy a boxing pro or kickboxer with comparable talent.
Furthermore, the Muay Thai hold effectively adds groundwork to the standing fight, something which almost all other martial arts lack.
How Do You Locate A Muay Thai Coach?
There are no legal requirements for those who may or may not train a particular martial art, and the popularity of Muay Thai has recently outpaced the series of successful Muay Thai instructors.
A little online research is required to discover a good Muay Thai instructor. You should look into the clubs in your area, as well as the instructor’s background and any fighters who have come out of their classes.
The greatest trainers are generally attracted to the smaller, less impressive-looking gyms; the big-name businesses are less picky about who they hire to teach Muay Thai.
If you can locate one, a Muay Thai coach who has studied and battled in Thailand is ideal. There is no alternative for firsthand experience, which is extremely difficult to obtain without spending time in Thailand.
You should also seek a pure Muay Thai instructor instead of an MMA instructor, as there are some significant distinctions between MMA and Muay Thai that can lead to negative habits in your Muay Thai.
Muay Thai’s Absolute Fundamental
The front kick, or “teep,” is an absolute core of Muay Thai combat and can be surprisingly tough to learn if you have previously observed different striking martial arts like Karate or Taekwondo since you will have acquired a front kick that will not work well in this martial art form.
Otherwise, this would most likely be the first skill you need to know in Muay Thai, as well as the most crucial.
If you’re still undecided about studying Muay Thai after reading this article, try mastering the teep. If you can, you’ll understand if you want to continue.
Muay Thai For Beginners
What else should a newbie concentrate on learning? Essentially, there are three primary areas that will demand your focus before you can move on to something really advanced: guard, posture, and the fundamental Muay Thai techniques.
Guard
This is a combat sport. Fighters don’t spend much time defending themselves (unlike in boxing, where defence is a key element of the fight), they deflect or block punches, but they also absorb a lot of harm while fighting, with the hope that their opponent will be able to take less damage than they can.
A blow to the head is a guaranteed method to finish a Muay Thai battle. So, keeping your guard up is crucial; you put your hands up and spaced apart in the hopes of avoiding getting knocked out.
Learning the proper guard is an important part of going into Muay Thai.
Stance
Muay Thai fighters prefer to travel straight instead of bouncing around the ring, but that doesn’t mean learning the proper stance or developing the proper fighting rhythm is simple.
This is one of the earliest skills you learn, yet mastering it is difficult. Your stance is designed to put you in the best possible position to strike or defend at any time.
Technique
In Muay Thai, there are a plethora of methods to attack; in fact, there are nearly an infinite amount of ways to do so. To get started, concentrate on jabs, crosses, hooks, frontal kicks (the teep again), and body kicks (Check out How To Get Started With Muay Thai ).
The body kick is perhaps the most powerful of these methods. It serves to keep your foe at bay while inflicting reasonable damage and giving you time to consider your next move.
Of course, you’ll need to learn a lot more approaches in the long term, but these five strike options should keep you occupied for the first few months.
Conclusion
Anyone who is healthy, has a basic degree of fitness, and has no physical disabilities ought to be able to acquire the fundamentals of Muay Thai. All it requires is some practise and training.
But what if you really want to attain mastery of Muay Thai? This can take a long time. As it is with other martial arts, Muay Thai can get quite intricate at its most advanced levels. So learning Muay Thai becomes much more difficult.
Is it difficult to learn Muay Thai? Yes and no. It all depends as to where you choose to go on your Muay Thai adventure.
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