Roscoe

I'm an old, chubby guy who is about to start training in Muay Thai and Boxing with my wife. We are both trying to get back into shape, and I want to learn some self defense. I've taken Kenpo and some Aikido and Wing Chun in the past, but I'm really not good at any of them! It will be nice to have a training partner, hopefully she won't hurt me too bad! From the posts I've read here, Muay Thai is very applicable for self-defense. I'm a firm believer in 'Run Away!' but there may be a time when that's not possible.

Are there any Thai Boxing magazines? Something comparable to 'Black Belt' or 'Inside KungFu'? Also, are there any good books that show Muay Thai techniques and stratagies?

Thanks in advance, Roscoe

Tom Yum

Roscoe,

There aren't any magazines that focus on muay thai as far as I know. There are boxing magazines, but these cover the sport from a spectators point of view and do not cover training issues, conditioning or sparring.

Buying a book on muay thai (and there are quite a few out there!) wouldn't do much justice in the way of teaching or demonstrating, because muay thai is not an impressive looking martial art and it is taught differently than the arts you have previously studied.

In karate for example, a typical workout is like this:

Come in. Bow.

you warm up, stretch get into your horse stance and practice reverse punches, spear hands and palm strikes, then switch over to your fighting stance and practice your front snap kick, round house kick, side kick.

Next you do kata for 15 minutes on your own or in unison with the class.

The last 20 minutes you spend doing self-defense; your training partner grabs your wrist, gets you in a bear hug or tries to punch you and you execute a choreographed set of techniques that you will do 1,000 of times until you develop speed & fluidity.

Finish with a cermonialized bow to instructor, then shake hands.

I am certainly no karate expert, but have spent 5 years in the traditional martial arts and still talk to my friends who practice.

In muay thai your typical workout is like this:

stretch/warm-up

The instructor sets the ring timer for 2-3 minute rounds.
You go through circuits. During your first 2 weeks, the coach might pull you aside to teach you the basics. Once you get those, you learn alot on your own by working with other fighters and trial/error.

shadow boxing/kicking 2 rounds
Punching/Kicking heavy pads held by partners 2 rounds
Light sparring/sparring drills 2 rounds
Jump rope 2 rounds
Punchout/Pyramid Kicking drills 2 rounds - By this time you'll have lost 2 pounds of sweat.

2-3 rounds of either pad work with the coach, light continuous sparring with the coach or experienced classmate or quick- contact sparring (depending on your experience)

Your coach will stop the class to do some group work, which is motivating, involves team work but also challenging. You might do calisthenics or partner excercises like the fire man's drill, situps with your legs pushed etc.

Class ends. You shake hands with your training partners/coach and wipe off your sweat.

Did I forget to mention sweat ?

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Roscoe

Thanks T.Y.! You're 100% on the money describing what I've done over the last 3 years in Kenpo & Wing Chun, Aikido was a bit different, no kicks or punches but self-defense/pairing up, same same. I really liked Aikido, but the pivoting was tough on my knee. I've had no knee pain with M.T. thus far, after a month of inital training. Now the wife is interested, so off we go!
I'll never knock anysystem/style; What I've studied of each has been interesting and I've learned from each. I'm not really proficient, but I intend to become proficient at Muay Thai and Boxing one day. I'm not talking about going into the ring-I'm too darn old! But to become as proficient as I can be. I've always admired the way a good boxer 'flows', completely reactionary to his opponent.(I was/am a huge Marvin Hagler fan). IMHO, the best way to learn how to 'flow' is doing just the type of work you've described in a typical M.T. training session. -Thanks for your response.

Who are the 'Top-Ranked' Muay Thai boxers? I'm new to M.T., I enjoy watching great bouts. Any suggestions? -Thanks again, -Roscoe.

Tom Yum

I don't keep up with the latest.

If you want a good sampling of muay thai fights, I'd recommend watching fight vids from Rajdamnern or Lumphini stadium. I've been told that alot of the fights there are the cream of the crop in terms of skill, athleticism and toughness and believe it.

On top of that, I would watch K-1 fight vids as well. The rules are different in K-1; they emphasize boxing a little more than clinch work and have different round times, but the action is still hot.

The Thais are still the dominant force in Muay Thai for obvious reasons, but I would pay attention to fighters from Japan and Holland. They are probably the only other countries that can give the Thais a really good run for their money. You might hear of an occasional French, German, South African or American fight in K-1, but I don't know if they can compete with the Thais, Japanese or Dutch in Thailand.

Here are a few of my favorite fighters to watch:

Mirko Fillipovic - Croatia
Micheal McDonald - Canada
Alex Gong - US
Micheal Bernardo - South Africa
Sokmongol - Thailand
Kiatsongrit - Thailand
Too many Thai fighters to list...

Ernesto Hoost - Holland
Ramon Dekkers - Holland
Albert Kraus - Holland

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