PREVENTING INJURIES STEMMING FROM BAD FIGHTER POSTURE

By Angela Chang 

Whether it’s a small ache or a full-on broken bone, injuries suck. They’re almost always sure to put you out of action for at least a little bit of time. But did you know a lot of injuries are totally avoidable?

Posture

It’s no shocker that a lot of martial artists have terrible posture. The fighting stance fosters some bad habits such as internally rolled shoulders, tight pec muscles, weak hamstrings and back muscles, and bad neck placement. 

Since we spend so much time in fighting stances while training, it’s easy to receive or develop injuries stemming from bad posture alone. Taking care of your posture can avoid a lot of annoying things like inflexibility and joint pain associated with your neck, shoulders, knees, hips, and ankles – after all, the body loves symmetry.

Luckily, with some strength exercises , we can “fix” this muscular imbalance. Good posture will foster more efficient working muscles, p...

BATTLE-TESTED BRAWLER SET TO DEFEND HIS LETHWEI CROWN

By Pierre Smith

A new king from the cold streets of Gatineau, Quebec has taken the Lethwei crown. He is Dave Leduc, aka. “The Nomad.”

In what is being billed as a battle between Lethwei vs. Muay Thai,  the 25-year-old Canadian will defend his openweight title for the third time. When he looks across the ring on June 16, at Lethwei in Japan 4: FRONTIER, he will see his opponent in Muay Thai champion Nilmungkorn Sudsakorn.

The young champion will have his hands full against the formidable Sudsakorn, but the Nomad is prepared for an all out war. He is confident he will find the KO (though he hopes in an unusual fashion).

“How did you get into Lethwei?”

I went to Thailand on three occasions to sharpen my tools. I loved my time as a Nak Muay [because] it led me ...

3 COMMON FAULTS NOVICES SHOW IN PAD WORK

By Daniel Nguyen

Hitting pads and putting in mitt work is one of the foundations of learning Muay Thai.

There is going to be a lot of both, and it won’t always be easy. It’s simple to see red and lose sight of the big picture when it comes to someone holding up a target (that’s literally red oftentimes).

Everyone can learn how to smash pads and finish up a combo sequence, but it’s smart delivery and good striking habits that separate novice from vet.

Here are the three common pitfalls beginners may be developing as they smash pads:

Fault: Poor Footwork & Crossed Feet

Most novices are all too eager to immediately throw a strike at any opening when an opportunity presents themselves.

Pad work drills can be like a quick game of rapid target acquisition for trigger-happy fighters (think pop-up targets at a shooting range). Unfortunately, this concept becomes the main concentration for many beginners during a session.

Herein lies the p...

THE TOP HABITS OF PROFESSIONAL THAI BOXERS

By James Bee

Good habits are what separate the pro athletes from the amateurs, it’s that simple. They help fighters to train harder, longer, recover faster, feel good, and perform better.

If you have bad habits you will never reach your greatest potential.Not even close. Bad habits such as missing sleep and eating junk food will hold you back in the long run.

How do I know this? Because I work with professional Muay Thai fighters on a daily basis, and trust me, bad habits and greatness just can’t co-exist.

In this post, I’ll teach you 5 of the best habits that separate the champs from the chumps.

Habit #1: Rest

If you want to be any kind of successful athlete, you need focus on rest and recovery plan as much as you’re training.

Professional fighters usually train AM and PM 6 days per week. With that amount of training, missing sleep is going to affect your weight, performance and health. Athletes should shoot to get 7-8 hours’ slee...

THE BEST PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES FOR MUAY THAI STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

By Sean Fagan 

Muay Thai fighters rely on fast, explosive movements like hopping, jumping, kicking, pushing, punching and throwing. Since fighting involves these types of explosive, powerful movements, it’s super important for all a nak muay to incorporate plyometrics into their training routines.

Performing plyometric exercises, like the ones listed below, help build explosive strength using natural dynamic movements from bodyweight training, kettle bell movements and other types of exercises. It’s crucial that a fighter develops these fast twitch muscle fibers to perform the intense energy bursts that are needed throughout a fight.

Needless to say, a Muay Thai fighter who trains with plyometrics will have more explosive, powerful strikes as well as better cardio than their opponent.

Plyometrics is the science examining the explosive movement generated by muscle power, with particular application to sport trainin...

HOW TO DEVELOP ENDURANCE, STAMINA & CONFIDENCE

By Cormac Sheehan

Scenario 1:

You gasp for air, your throat on fire as each breath scorches your chest like napalm. Your hands feel like 10-ton breezeblocks and your shoulders ache like you’ve just done one hundred pull-ups.

You can barely lift your leg to check the kick you see telegraphed a mile away. You see openings – a low guard, an easy sweep – but when you tell your body to move, it ignores you.

“I can’t…I can’t…I can’t…”.

A sense of panic pervades. Your opponent, technically inferior, steps into the clinch and throws you to the ground. The final bell goes and it’s called as a split decision. You think you’ve done enough. But when the referee raises your opponent’s hand, you wish you’d done more.

Earlier: the alarm goes off and you slap it down, turning over and going back to sleep…you tell yourself ”I’ll run another day, I need a rest…”

Scenario 2:

Your opponent stands frozen like a deer in the headlights. He’s...

THE MUAY THAI GUYS: EPISODE #63

By Sean Fagan

Becoming a sponsored fighter to “eat, sleep, breathe Muay Thai,” is a dream of almost any Nak Muay.

The image of sleeping in the gym and grinding away in the heat beside beautiful scenery is a fantasy that brings a special kind of romanticism. Dependent on the gym and its stipulations the journey may or may not be what you have fantasized, however, the character and skill built in this endeavor is an inevitable asset.

As many of you may know Paul has taken close to a year of his life journey in Thailand and dedicating 8 of those months to grinding it out as a sponsored fighter between three Thai gyms. Taking this experience for those who have this fantasy, the Muay Thai Guys bring you the reality of what it is like to live at a Muay Thai camp:

1. The ownership by the gym – representation and your last name, being a model within the gym to new comers
2. Being held to a different standard – an experience that you do not witness as a paid cl
...

NO B.S. REVIEWS ON THE MUAY THAI SUPPLEMENTS I PERSONALLY USE FOR MY TRAINING!

By Sean Fagan

I’m not huge into workout supplements by any means… but there was was a time (prior to my Muay Thai career) where I did my fair share of experimentation just because I wanted to look ripped and jacked as hell.

Needless to say, I made my fair share of mistakes trying some not-so-safe bodybuilding supplements that may have given me short-term results, but did more harm than good in the long term.

Now that I’m not worried about looking like a testosterone junkie, I’ve focused more on living a healthy life and putting natural, healthy things in my body. I’ve learned from my mistakes and made sure to study up and do some research before putting anything into my body. Below are some of the best supplements I found that have noticeably helped with my Muay Thai training, recovery, strength, endurance and overall health.

Note: Supplements should only be used in addition to eating a healthy, balan

...

WHY THE ART OF EIGHT LIMBS IS ONE HELL OF A WORKOUT

By Darren Mitchell

There are few workouts more effective than High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The basic premise of a HIIT workout is this: periods of high intensity work, separated by rest intervals. The work intervals are higher intensity than "traditional" cardio which means they push the body beyond its usual limits. Thanks to the sheer effort required in the work intervals, they’re usually kept pretty short.

Now consider this: five three-minute bursts of incredibly high intensity effort, using all four limbs, directional changes, explosive movements and concentration separated by two minute breaks.

Sound familiar? Like a Muay Thai bout, perhaps?

Muay Thai is an accidental HIIT workout, so whether you’re a Nak Muay or a weekend warrior looking to drop a few pounds, it really could be the perfect workout for you.

The History of HIIT

The success of HIIT was built on the basis of anecdotal research done by the Finn...

FEED THE BEAST: PRE- & POST-WORKOUT NUTRITION

By Andrew Bryan

It’s a simple fact of life but it never gets any less true: food is your body’s fuel. If the fight is won in the gym, then it’s also won in the kitchen. Your athletic performance will never reach its peak if you don’t have a healthy diet to back it up.

When you’re a Muay Thai fighter, or any kind of explosive athlete, your body is constantly working those fast twitch fibers. It’s great fun but it can also be grueling on your body and unfortunately, sports will wreck your joints over time. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you’re eating the right kind of foods to keep your body in top condition.

You need carbohydrates and protein. While they both do different things, you can’t have great fitness without both. Carbohydrates give you the energy to get through hard workouts, to be able to push more and work out harder. The downside is that when you work out you will inevitably cause micro tears on the muscles. This i...