Questions To all thai boxing boxers

[Tarik]

ok well im skinny i weigh about 143 and i dont have ne thickness on my body . is that good or bad for thai boxing . and another question im good with my legs i play soccer , i play DDR , and im in jrotc and we do alot of PT is this good for me .

[Tap4Me]

Muay Thai is good for anyone willing to learn.

[Torque]

I've heard a lot of long-time soccer players say it's actually harder to get into muay thai for them, because apparently playing soccer actually makes you lose the flexibility you need for highish kicks? I've only heard this, never experienced so take this with a grain of salt or what have you.

Anyway, Tap4Me is correct, thai boxing is for anyone willing to learn, so give it a go.

[old skool dude]

"too skinny" for thaiboxing??

dude, have you SEEN the phyiques on those dudes from Thailand? Most of 'em look like 13 year old adolescent boys to me, but they STILL can kick the living daylights out of you!! Your thin physique is definitely not a handicap!

[Tom Yum]

True old skool, some of those fighters are small but can scrap like there's no tomorrow. Don the Dragon Wilson (175 lbs) took up a fight against a Thaiboxer from Thailand (132 lbs) and took quite a beating even though he had a 40+ lb weight advantage.

[Eddy]

Torque: Yeah, spent 10 years playing soccer before starting MA. The teacher smiled every time i attempted kicks and said "...soccer players.." under his breath. took me months of stretching before i was close to where the other beginners were when they started.

Now i'm a decent kicker but damn i wasted a lot of time getting there.. Even now it seems like i have to stretch twice as much as the next guy to get the same increase in flexibility.. funny thing.

If you play soccer and plan to start in MA: stretch thoroughly after each workout. You probably have strong legs, but they're not of much use when they are stiff as boards.

regards

[Combat Cherokee]

Small

Hey man Im not that heavier then yourself(155), but I still Thai Box. A guy I train with is about that size and hes great, dont let size fool you. Its a great MA and out of all the styles of traditional MA Ive studied, nothing compares to its conditioning, not even wrestling. Its simple and easy to learn. As for soccer players, you dont need to kick high to be devastating. I cant kick higher then my waste without losing power, simply cause of injuries from being a stupid kid a few years back. Dont be discouraged if you cant kick high, cause they will never see those desructive low kicks coming(in the street anyway).

-C-

[chalambok]

The biggest problem I have had teaching soccer players is they do not like to pivot, being used to wearing cleated shoes. To overcome this, either place a towel under your pivoting leg so you will spin 360 degrees, or just kick over something about waist-high and continue around to your starting position. Remember the 3 most important parts of a Thai kick are 1: pivot; 2: keep your leg straight; and 3: swing your arm. An interesting aside, when Efren Herrera, a successful soccer-style kicker for the Dallas Cowboys, first started working with Surachai Sirisute he added 10 yards to his field goal average.