OVERTRAINING & TRAINING SMARTER TO AVOID FATIGUE

By Angela Chang

Every athlete and fitness enthusiast has heard of the term “overtraining.”

People often confuse this term with feeling fatigued, but take note: overtraining is not as simple as that. Its consequences are quite sobering, especially for those who are serious about their progress.

Let’s take a closer look at overtraining and how you can best avoid its worst effects.

What Isn’t Overtraining?

It is not soreness. It is not being out of breath. It is not getting tired as you train.

These things are all normal and are signs of you stressing your body… which is a good thing! Stress is the only way your body can learn how to adapt and get better at whatever you’re doing. “Without struggle, there is no progress” – this rings just as true when it comes to training.

Overtraining is also not a bad session...

10 TYPES OF MUAY THAI SPARRING PARTNERS YOU WILL ENCOUNTER

By Sean Fagan

Chances are you’ll run into a variety of sparring partners throughout your Muay Thai journey.

Some partners will be absolutely wonderful to work with because you’ll be able to sharpen your striking skills and not have to worry about being injured or knocked out. On the other hand, you’ll also run into a variety of sparring partners who will ENRAGE you to the point where your blood starts to boil and you have sick thoughts of knocking them unconscious… it happens!

In the most recent The Muay Thai Guys Podcast, Sean and Paul discuss 10 types of sparring partners that you will most likely run into if you are in the sport long enough. The original post the guys got this idea from comes from their friend Steven Kong of MuayThaiPros.com – you can check out the entire article here – here’s a brief rundown of what they discuss:

Click here or the...

PASCAL SCHROTH’S CAREER HANGS IN THE BALANCE AFTER SHADY FIGHT IN CHINA

By Pierre Smith | Images courtesy of Pascal Schroth

On October 20th, Muay Thai champion Pascal Schroth stepped into a ring in China to defend his K1 title under what he believed to be regular kickboxing rules. For the 25 year-old veteran, this bout was just another day at the office. 

His opponent, Quinghao Meng from Taicang China, was just another body in front of Pascal’s ascent to superstardom. As a matter of fact, Schroth’s confidence was pretty high because he had already beaten Meng the year before. But on that Saturday night in China, shady promoters, the language barrier, and a general atmosphere of confusion colluded to ensure that Scroth never made it out of that ring on his own two feet.

First, let’s look at a timeline of the events that led up to the October 20th rematch:

• October 2017 – GLORY 46 – Schroth defeats Meng.
• ...

QUESTION: HOW DO I GET READY FOR MY FIRST SMOKER?

By Daniel Nguyen

Smokers, interclubs, or exhibitions (whatever your preferred nomenclature) are friendly fights set up between gyms. Usually there will not be any judging involved nor will the results be on an official record. Fighters are encouraged to use clean technique and contact is limited to “just shy” of full strength.

You might feel that smokers are trivial and inconsequential considering the factors above.

Quite the opposite, a smoker is a huge milestone for fighters who are ready to take their training to the next level. It is the opportunity to utilize all the tools learned during the long hours in the gym and apply them under pressure.

There is never a set blueprint for someone entering their first fight, but fear not – we’ll go over some of the important steps that should be taken prior to your very first smoker.

STEP #1: Build Endurance

Stamina should be the essential concern...

THIS LEGENDARY MASTER INTRODUCED MUAY THAI TO AMERICA

By Kyle Gilmore | All images courtesy of Ajarn Chai

Muay Thai as a physical craft is an amazing exploration into the things of which your body is capable. No one embodies that exploration better than the living legend that is Ajarn Chai.

Ajarn Chai brought Muay Thai to the United States in 1968, spreading his knowledge of “the Art of Eight Limbs” by developing the Thai Boxing Association. This year marks fifty years that he has been teaching his craft.

If you have practiced the art of Muay Thai in the United States, you undoubtedly know Ajarn Chai. If you don’t or haven’t, you should.

The master himself sat down with Muay Thai Guy for a chat about his life, his style and his vision for the future of Muay Thai on a global scale.

(Co-written by Monica Gilmore. Special thanks for Rachel Ramirez.)

HUMBLE ORIGINS

Born Surachai Sirisute on...

BREAKING DOWN THE DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS OF MUAY THAI

By Sean Fagan

We all know the basic levels of Muay Thai. You start as a beginner, work your way to a more intermediate skill level, and then progress to the advanced stages.

Once you solidify your skills and have the urge to test what you’ve been learning in the ring, the next step is competing as an amateur. After dozens of amateur fights, the next still is becoming a professional fighter.

And the “last” level? That’s when you become a professional champion. But are there levels even above pro champion? You bet your ass there is.

In this weeks podcast, Paul and I discuss the different number of levels there are in Muay Thai, including topics like:

• How Saenchai has reached the highest level in the sport today.
• How fighters like Saenchai can make other champion fighters look like complete amateurs.
• Why we feel timing and distancing is what separates the good fighters from the great...

OLE LAURSEN & THE ENDLESS PURSUIT OF PERSEVERANCE

By Kyle Gilmore | All images courtesy of Ole Laursen

The building blocks of a world-class fighter are numerous and depending on who you ask, quite varied. Some may focus on the tangibles, the math — "What’s their record?" Some might look closer at technique and coachibility, while still others believe it’s all about natural skills and ability.

If you ask me, it’s the fighter’s heart and determination to keep going that count the most — what I call the "endless pursuit of perseverance." A paradigm of this approach to the game is International fighter Ole Laursen.

Born in the Philippines and raised in Denmark, Laursen took up Thai boxing at a young age. He burst onto the fight scene by capturing wins and becoming the champ in both the International Kickboxing Federation and International Muay Thai Championships, as well as snagging the prestigious King’s Cup in Thailand in 2002....

FIVE SIGNS OF A HIGH-QUALITY MUAY THAI TRAINER

By Angela Chang

With more and more gyms popping up everywhere, especially the ones that call themselves “Muay Thai trainers,” it can be difficult to tell who’s legit and who’s not.

By “legit,” I mean who actually qualifies to be a trainer. A number of things will qualify you to do anything at a particularly high level: your experience, your skills, your resume (i.e. what you’ve accomplished).

“You haven’t fought professionally? You’ve only been doing this a couple of years? You trained under your hairdresser??” These aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but they are big red flags.

Are you unsure about your coach or trainer? Here are some signs of a high-quality Muay Thai coach. If you can’t think of your trainer and confidently check off the following five signs of a good trainer, then you may need to switch gyms – pronto!

YOUR...

PUNCH COMBINATIONS WITH LOW KICK PAD WORK

By Sean Fagan

One of my favorite types of Muay Thai pad work to do is this Muay Thai low kick drill! This is a great kicking drill especially if you have my style of fighting which is very similar to the Dutch style of kick boxing – hard hand combinations finished with brutal leg kicks.

This Muay Thai low kick technique drill is great because unlike heavy bag training or light sparring, you can work on everything that makes a low roundhouse kick so devastating. It will help you find your distancing, flow with your hand combinations, work on reaction speed and throw 100% power into each and every low roundhouse kick.

Click here or on the technique video below to check out my trainer, John Nuculovic and I doing a round of low kick pad work!

can add opposite side low kicks as...

HOW TO TRAIN MUAY THAI WHILE HOLDING DOWN A FULL-TIME JOB

By Lindsay Bohonik

Individuals who train fall into three main categories: hobbyists, infrequent fliers, and fighters. But somewhere in there is a thin slice representing a less well known type: the 9-5er, who at 5 PM walks out the door, transitioning promptly from battling traffic to engaging in hand-to-hand combat inside a gym somewhere.

These folks are an anomaly when it comes to fighting and training; they’re the people with careers who take their evening activities to the next level. There’s a reason why you don’t meet a lot of these people: it’s incredibly demanding. A rigid schedule with limited time to train whenever you want makes it difficult to stay competitive.

Difficult, but not impossible. If you feel like you’re burning the wick at both ends between your professional and fighting careers, I have my experience to demonstrate for you just how it can be...