WITNESS A MUAY THAI BATTLE FOR THE AGES!

By Evan Lee

Getting the chance to watch a legend do what they do best is really quite something.

Now imagine getting to spar with such a legend.

Then imagine getting kicked in the face with that man’s signature techniques.

Embarrassed by a smaller man! Humiliated with technique and tactics Sean's seen a million times before!

But you know what the best part is? I think Sean absolutely fucking loved it.

3 Southpaw KO Combinations for Muay Thai

THE BRILLIANT 'SAMENESS' OF SAENCHAI

Saenchai is one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters of all time, and he is widely considered to be the greatest Muay Thai fighter of today. And it’s easy to see why.

If you’ve seen highlights of the man, you’ll notice that he’s an extremely defensively sound fighter. He is, after all, undefeated since 2014, riding a 53-fight winning streak, and has not been knocked out or even seriously hurt since he was 15 and fighting against ...

EVEN IN THE WEIRDEST OF TIMES, MUAY THAI WILL BE THERE FOR YOU

By Sean Fagan

We’re living in some crazy times right now. What sucks the most in my opinion is having your passions stolen from you. There are so many things that you can't do right now, particularly if you're an athlete.

Fortunately for us nak muays, this does not have to be the case. Training right now is a very difficult thing to do. However, you can still improve your skills and be an even better nak muay than ever!

I'm not being delusional either. Think about it. Doing things like padwork and sparring are all very important, but they're not the only ways to improve your Muay Thai skills.

One of the best ways to get better at Muay Thai, and one of the things that I’ve really enjoyed doing is breaking down fights. Everyone knows that “knowledge is power,” right? We have to live those words now!

We are living in unprecedented times but remember that we’re also living in a...

A TRIO OF KNOCKOUT-WORTHY COMBOS FOR THE 'DEVIL-FISTED'

By Evan Lee

Most of the people in the world are right-handed. If you're a southpaw Muay Thai fighter, things can get kind of lonely.

Most people you fight will be fighting out of the orthodox stance. Same goes for your sparring partners. Odds are, too, that your coaches are orthodox fighters, as well as the most popular fighters at any given time.

So what’s a southpaw to do when there are so few teachers out there from which to learn? 

Fighting southpaws and specifically fighting in the open stance (orthodox vs southpaw) is significantly different to fighting in the closed stance (orthodox vs orthodox or southpaw vs southpaw). The openings that are available are completely different, so you need the proper techniques, tactics, and strategies to cope with that difference.

Here are 3 southpaw KO combos to aid you in the gym and in a fight: 

3 Southpaw KO Combinations for Muay Thai

BECOMING A...

EXPLORING THE ROOTS OF A WIDELY MISUNDERSTOOD MARTIAL ART

By Andrew Bryan

Dutch Kickboxing is a martial art with a complicated history. It’s an approach to kickboxing firmly rooted in stereotyping the style of an entire nation of kickboxers, and as a result, we have access to a lot of misinformation on the fighting style.

Today, we will be looking into the history and formation of the Dutch style of kickboxing, and examining kickboxing's relationship with not only Muay Thai but also Japanese kickboxing and the style of karate which influenced it.

1 THE 1960s: STYLE VS. STYLE FIGHTING

To start this journey of re-education, we actually have to look to Japan and the horrifically misrepresentative cross-style competitions held in 1964 between Mas Oyama’s Kyokushin karatekas and three Muay Thai fighters, under a modified rule set that permitted karate throws that were otherwise banned in Muay Thai competition. The bout was encouraged by Osamu Noguchi, a former...

AN UNCOMMON END TO A FOUR-ROUND SHORT-NOTICE FIGHT!

By Evan Lee

Fresh from the end of round 3, our biggest take away from this fight so far is… leg kicks.

One leg kick is rarely ever going to be enough to end a fight. However, leg kicks do pay great dividends as the fight goes on! And if enough leg kicks are banked, your opponent is going down.

But let’s say you’re somehow still not a believer in the leg kick. Well, if you kick your opponent hard enough, they’ll believe in them enough for the two of you! That is what matters.

Today we’re talking about how leg kicks and punches work together. But before that, here’s the rest of the fight:

Fight Breakdown: Superman Punch & Leg Kick KO (Round 4)

LEG KICKS WIN FIGHTS

In the opening combination, Sean immediately starts blasting his opponent (whom we’ll call “Bob” for the sake of brevity).  In the previous three rounds, Sean had tremendous success with the low...

INJURIES ARE INESCAPABLE IN THIS SPORT

By Randy Pilares

Injuries are common in most contact sports, and even more so in combat sports.

So you can just imagine how it is in Muay Thai. It's as common as being on the receiving end of an elbow or roundhouse strike. Virtually any strike or sequence can do it, too, serving up the terror of earning a random injury to the menu.

Are you thinking about taking up Muay Thai? Have you been to an open session at your local Muay Thai gym? Have you watched a lot of Muay Thai fights?

Are you truly mentally (not to mention physically) prepared for this? 

Today, we're talking the ugly side of Muay Thai: injuries - black, blue and otherwise.

TWO SIDES TO THE 'ART OF 8 LIMBS'

Muay Thai is a beautiful martial art which many even recognize as an art form. When its combatants or even sparring partners are in sync, the exchanges are spectacles to behold.

Practicing Muay Thai can mesmerize and inspire. There is a...

THE VALUE OF ACCURATE, PERFECTLY TIMED LEG KICKS

By Evan Lee

If you've ever watched Muay Thai fights, you’ll notice that the first round or two often starts rather slow, with neither fighter committing to that many attacks. Usually the action gets picked up in the 3rd round, and that is exactly what happens here in round 3 of Sean's short-notice fight in Thailand.

In most fights, from boxing to MMA, and wrestling to Muay Thai, the opening rounds or minutes of the bout are spent trying to get a read on what your opponent is trying to do or how they react. However, if you have a two-month training camp to get ready for a single opponent, you can already know a lot about them and not even have to spent that opening round or few minutes feeling them out.

In the world of Muay Thai, and specifically Thailand, where the nak muays are fighting almost weekly, there is not enough time to prepare for your opponent. There may not even be footage of them fighting. There are even...

WHY ADDING WEIGHTLIFTING TO YOUR WORKOUTS IS A MUST FOR MUAY THAI

By Matt Filart

There’s been a fairly long-running debate between marital artists on whether lifting weights is a good or bad thing for us to do. Many nak muays wonder whether weightlifting is beneficial to their Muay Thai at all.

Well, the sports science is in, and lifting weights (in the right way) is definitely going to benefit your performance in Muay Thai.

When I say "the right way," I mean not lifting like a bodybuilder, which is what most people think of when they think of weightlifting. So, we aren’t going to be talking about bicep curls or tricep pushdowns, as those exercises aren’t the best for increasing overall sports performance.

This means that you are going to need to:

• ...have the right exercise selection at the right time, and

• ...use the right reps & sets for each exercise, depending on the stage of training in which you currently reside

For this list, we are...

WHY MUAY THAI FIGHTERS MUST TREAT THEIR DIETS LIKE A SCIENCE

By Andrew Bryan

Nutrition is one of the most overlooked aspects of being a fighter, yet it's also something every serious hobbyist or competitor needs to be serious about - not only for performance in the ring but to keep healthy in general.

Unfortunately, the world of nutrition is the "Wild West," and much of what you will read is misinformation, or something positioned as "science" but with little substantive research.

Today, we will be talking about common fad diets, bad eating habits and, most importantly, having a healthy relationship with food, in order to be the best fighters we can.  

1 SMOOTHIES & PROTEIN SHAKES

I have seen, more and more often, potential athletes turning their attention away from proper eating and on to vegetable/fruit smoothies and protein shakes.

The idea behind these fruity fads is that you are "detoxing" your body and getting your nutrition in an easy way,...

A TRIO OF STRENGTH-BOOSTING KETTLEBELL EXERCISES FOR FIGHTERS

By Matt Filart

In recent years, kettlebells have come into style, and it’s easy to see why. They are a pretty solid alternative to traditional dumbbells and barbells. Plus, if you are on the whole "functional fitness" train, they are a great tool.

Many people in combat sports (most notably, Joe Rogan) have been promoting the benefits of kettlebells for fighters for years at this point and it isn’t without merit.

Kettlebells provide the user with tons of options for different workouts and a unique challenge that you can’t get from other weights. The extra nice thing about them is that if you are in the market for getting your own weights, you only need one, maybe two kettlebells. Fifteen to thirty-five pounds is usually enough for anyone depending on your weight.

While one or two kettlebells probably isn’t going to replace an entire weight set like some people would claim, there are some...