THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO "SISTER SPORTS"

By Angela Chang

With both kickboxing (K1 rules) and Muay Thai growing simultaneously around the world, fans of one sport are often fans of the other.

With many Muay Thai fighters successfully making the transition over to kickboxing (such as Sitthichai, Petchpanomrung, Tiffany van Soest, and many more), it’s easy to think they are the same.

While there are many similarities between the two, there are a few things that set Muay Thai apart from kickboxing.

1. Kicks to Punches Ratio

When you watch a professional Muay Thai fight, punches are usually only used to set up kicks and knees. Less commonly, some Muay Thai fighters will have the Muay Maat style and attempt to knock out their opponents with punches instead fighting to win on points.

However, you will see much much more punches being thrown in a kickboxing fight, often in long combinations or with the “haymaker” style of...

HOW TO SPAR: A CHECKLIST FOR BEGINNERS

By Sean Fagan

These are the best beginner Muay Thai sparring tips that will help you avoid getting your nose broken and spirits demoralized the first time you decide to step into the ring.

Since I’m the guy who had his nose broken and spirits demoralized his first sparring session, I want to help you avoid that at all costs because it SUCKS!

Check out this 10 step beginner checklist on how to spar during your first session(s):

My Top 10 Beginners Muay Thai Sparring Tips

#1. Make Sure Your Kru/Instructor Approves

Don’t be that asshole who steps into a first sparring session without permission. Chances are you haven’t sparred yet because your instructor feels like you are not ready. And guess what? If your instructor thinks you are not ready, you are NOT ready.

Not only is this for your safety but it’s for your training partners safety too. There has been way too many times I’ve...

MY #1 WAY TO KEEP WARMUPS FUN, ENGAGING & EFFECTIVE

By Sean Fagan

Before each and every training session, I do almost the same exact pre-workout routine. It involves foam rolling, skipping rope, dynamic movements, and some light static stretches.

I find that performing this dynamic warm-up routine before banging the heavy bag or doing any other type of Muay Thai training helps me get prepared in more ways than one.

Probably the most obvious benefit of having this pre-workout warmup is that it gets my body prepared for a hard training session. My muscles loosen up, the blood starts flowing through my veins, and the important areas of my body are ready to put in some work.

Besides being physically prepared to train, having my pre-workout routine gets me mentally focused and in the zone. This short 15-minute session gives me the right amount of time I need in order to get my mind zoned in on what I want to accomplish during my Muay Thai...

"NO DEFENSE, NO MUAY THAI!"

Having a solid defense is super important as a Muay Thai fighter, but, you already knew that...

Right?

Learning defensive techniques for Muay Thai like how to check a kick, parry punches or counter your opponent's kicks, are essential skills to have in order to be a dominate force in the ring.

If you are unable to defend yourself chances are you'll end up with more bumps, bruises and injuries than the intelligent, technical fighters who focus more on being elusive and having unbreakable defense.

To be honest, if I were to start my Muay Thai journey over again, DEFENSE would be the main thing I would focus on. When the first half of my career, my defense was mostly just blocking punches with my face... and it’s not as fun as it sounds.

The defensive Muay Thai technique videos below demonstrate some of the basic moves and techniques that are CRUCIAL to any fighters repertoire. Perfecting fundamental techniques like...

AVOID GETTING SMASHED IN YOUR FIRST FIGHT WITH THESE POINTERS!

By Sean Fagan

You’re nervous as hell.

You feel like throwing up.

You start doubting why you decided to step into the ring against someone who is trying to kill you.

You can’t get your mind off the fight.

I get it. I’ve been there. We all have! Every Muay Thai fighter goes through relatively the same process when they first step into the ring.

Doubt. Fear. Anxiety. Excitement. Adrenaline.

It’s all a part of the process. Learning how to control these emotions is key to winning your first Muay Thai fight. The first step is knowing what to expect and how to deal with the inevitable emotions and situations that are going to pop up. Follow these tips for your first  fight to be as prepared as possible once you step into that ring!

Best 5 Tips For Your First Muay Thai Fight

#1. Understand Your Opponent Is Human Too

Very rarely during my first few fights did I ever consider how my opponent was...

TOP 5 KETTLEBELL EXERCISES FOR EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

By Sean Fagan

Perform the best kettlebell exercises like the kettlebell clean and press, kettlebell snatch and kettlebell swing to drastically increase your power, stamina and explosive strength in your Muay Thai or MMA training!

I’ve been doing kettlebell training and exercises for years now and have noticed major changes in the power of my punches, kicks, knees and elbows. My core and overall strength is the best it’s been largely because I do the best kettlebell exercises and workouts for explosive strength and conditioning.

Whether your into Muay Thai, MMA, boxing, or wrestling, you will take your fight game to the next level by implementing explosive kettle bell exercises to your workout routine!

Top 5 Best Kettlebell Exercises

#1. Kettlebell high pull

Can you really improve your overall strength and conditioning by doing an intense bodyweight workout routine?

I can remember when I started to train for my Muay Thai fight in Thailand back in 2010.  Before I stared I was 195lbs and training with weights, kettlebells, sandbags, etc. But when my Kru told me I was going to fight at 175lbs and that I had to stop using weights, I was a bit reluctant and scared at first but I had a task and goal set so it was time to adjust my training.

I sculpted my body using mostly weight prior to this and I felt that strictly using bodyweight exercises over the next 8 months was going to kill everything I had worked hard for… or so I thought!

I started implementing the best bodyweight exercises to create intense bodyweight workouts and circuits to help with endurance, explosiveness, cardio, strength and fat burn while keeping my...

MY PERSONAL STRENGTH & CONDITIONING ROUTINE FOR MUAY THAI TRAINING

By Sean Fagan

Strength and conditioning for Muay Thai can be a tricky bitch sometimes.

I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed with the amount of choices I have when it comes to strength and conditioning.

Should I use kettlebells? 

Or should I focus more on Olympic lifts? What about body weight circuits? 

Should I be doing interval sprints or are long distance runs better? 

Is Crossfit a good form of strength and conditioning?

What if I did plyometrics?

See what I mean? My brain hurts just thinking about the different forms of exercises and the various ways of structuring a proper strength and conditioning routine for Muay Thai.

Fortunately, there are guys like Don Heatrick who geek-out about this kind of stuff. All of Don’s posts on strength and conditioning for Muay Thai are top quality and always provide me with useful, practical information and exercises to...

INTENSE, HARD, TRADITIONAL MUAY THAI WORKOUT PLAN

By Sean Fagan

Almost all Muay Thai gyms in Thailand run basically the same type of workout routines because it’s intense, hard and focuses on the all the important aspects of Muay Thai that you should be working on day in and day out!

This type of training routine together with quality Muay Thai gears and equipment is used by some of the best fighters in Thailand and all around the world!

When I was in Thailand, it was pretty set in stone what my Muay Thai training routine would consist of:

• Skipping Rope
• Running
• Shadowboxing
• Thai Pad Work
• Heavy Bag Training
• Clinch Work
• Sparring
• Ab Work
• Stretching
• Meditation

Scroll down for a breakdown and descriptions of the best traditional Muay Thai workout routine!

Traditional Muay Thai Workout Routine:

Everyday in Thailand, my training program is basically this type of workout:

• Group run – 2-4 miles
• Skip Rope – 3 rounds
• Shadow Box –...

GREAT PARTNERS BUILD BETTER FIGHTERS

By Emily Moore

No fighter, nak muay or otherwise stands alone against his or her opponent. An army waits at the ready behind them.

It takes a team of coaches, trainers, and (especially) training partners to successfully prepare for a fight.

My coach often repeats this idea before training sessions: “The most important person in this gym today is not you, it’s your partner.”

“Always take care of your partner.”

Let’s take a look at 7 ways to be a great Muay Thai training partner:

Train, don’t coach

At my last gym, there was this guy with whom I avoided sparring at all costs. He would interrupt and stop me after every single strike, trying to educate me on what I could do to improve.

In a three-minute round, I would end up spending 0:30 sparring and 2:30 trying to get him to shut up and work.

You and your partners are in the gym to learn from professionals. You don’t need to...