AVOID TIGHT HIPS IN MUAY THAI WITH THESE BRIGHT TIPS

From Muay Thai Guy

With our culture centered around sitting at work, on the computer, or even during our leisure time, it’s very easy to find yourself having tight hips. When you have tight hips, doing many things feel like a chore – going up stairs, stretching, sometimes even walking. In Muay Thai, having tight hips means you…

1) …are not able turn your hip over properly when kicking.

2) …are not able to push your hips to where you want it to during punching, kneeing, and clinching.

3) …probably have bad balance.

4) …can’t generate enough power with your strikes.

There are many ways to increase hip flexibility, though. All it takes is some work, patience – and time.

IMPROVEMENT #1: Pay attention to your posture

Muay Thai Flying Knee Technique Tutorial and Tips

From Muay Thai Guy

If you were to throw and land an awesome technique like the Muay Thai flying knee, you’ll feel like an official badass.

Although this advanced technique may seem difficult at first, if you break it down into a step-by-step movement, you should be able to throw it comfortably and correctly in just a few training sessions!

Learning how to throw a flying knee is cool and all, but make sure when you are fighting you use it sparingly and cautiously since it does leave you open for counters. Although it’s a great surprise attack that can be used to strike your opponents head or body, it shouldn’t be the only technique you focus on during training and fights. Remember – the basics win fights!

How To Throw a Muay Thai Flying Knee Video Tutorial

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There’s a lot that goes into...

 STRENGTH & WEAKNESS OF THE MUAY FEMUR FIGHTER

From Muay Thai Guy

Asian MMA.

Femur (prounounced “fee-meuu”) fighters are the technical fighters every Muay Thai fan thinks of when they think about “beautiful” Muay Thai. These are the fighters that are exciting to watch and you want to emulate their techniques in your own training. Some well-known femur fighters are Saenchai, Sangmanee, Nong-O, Littewada, and Samart.

Femur fighters are slick and have insanely high fight IQ. They have great eyes and use the first round or two to figure out what their opponent’s weaknesses may be. Femur fighters generally look to score, but will go for the knockout if they see it.

The amazing thing about femur fighters is that they’re generally well-rounded – they can use all of their weapons with ease. Once they’ve figured out how to beat their opponent, they seemingly land everything at will.

The reason femur...

The Muay Thai Guys Podcast – Episode 49

From Muay Thai Guy

What style of training do you prefer?

Are you more about the traditional Muay Thai style where the focus is on pad work and clinching?

Or are you more about the Dutch kickboxing style that revolves around partner and sparring drills for the majority of class?

OR are you a hybrid style that includes Muay Thai, kickboxing, MMA, boxing and other martial arts?

It’s important to know the pros and cons of each style so that you’re able to constantly evolve and improve in all aspects of your fight game. In this weeks podcast episode, Paul and I discuss what our favorite styles of training as well as the benefits of each one.

Here’s a brief rundown of what we talk about in this episode:

Training Style #1 – Muay Thai

This style is obviously the most familiar to the audience.  It’s primarily endurance based that involves the strict, structured day to day program of running,...

 HOW TO THROW LOW KICKS WITH SPEED & BAD INTENTIONS

From Muay Thai Guy

Muay Thai Citizen.

The low kick has been a tried-and-true method for damaging opponents and breaking their will in fights. It stops incoming aggressive fighters in their tracks (literally) and starts chipping away at one of the most vital limbs needed for fighting and even standing.

When done properly, the low kick can do a lot of damage. It can serve as the origin of a spectacular TKO. The low kick is familiar to many but not executed to its fullest potential by most. Just how do the best low kickers do it?

Let’s take a closer look at a couple of Muay Thai’s best low kickers and how they use this tool to their advantage.

(Title image credit to Evolve Vacation.)

I. COMMIT, JUMP, PIVOT

Like almost all kicks in Muay Thai, there needs to be a step of some kind involved to deliver the low kick. This step is much different than a step for a middle kick, though. With a middle...

THE MUAY THAI LEGENDS OF THE GOLDEN ERA

By Anton Kooshnir

Almost every sport has its “historians” that can pull out great moments and personalities concerning their sport (or favorite team) from literally any era out of their mind.

But in most sports, fans and “historians” usually agree on a time period that pretty much serves as the sport’s “business card” from a certain point. Maybe it’s because people like to romanticize about the past so much…

In Muay Thai, that time period is usually believed to be between the mid-late 80’s and the early 90’s of the 20th century.

Most Muay Thai fans (and by fans I mean people that spend at least a little time educating themselves about the basic history of Muay Thai) know of, or at least heard of, legends like Samart, Sakmongkol or Jongsanan. These fighters made the biggest waves in the...

Is It Realistic To Have My First Muay Thai Fight at 45?

From Muay Thai Guy

I’m a firm believer that it’s never too late to start training Muay Thai. When you begin your Muay Thai training not only will you learn a beautiful (and practical) martial art, but you’ll also be improving the entire spectrum of your health, so why not give it a go?

Now training Muay Thai is one thing, but fighting and actually stepping in the ring to willingly get punched in the face is next level shit. That is when age becomes a real factor due to the high risk of being seriously injured.

Is it realistic to have a fight even if you picked up Muay Thai at a later age? What should a typical training regimen look like when preparing for a fight? These are the questions that Nak Muay Nation fan Chris Large asked me for this weeks Muay Thai Monday Q&A… and here are my answers:

Funny enough, this question is by far one of the most common...

The Meaning of the Traditional Pre Fight Muay Thai Dance Ritual

From Muay Thai Guy

Yokkao.

Performing the whole wai kru is tougher than it looks.

Most thai fighters make this traditional Muay Thai dance look easy with their fluent and graceful motions… I on the other hand sucked when I first tried the entire wai kru!

But if you’re serious about Muay Thai and want to compete in it one day or if you would just like to know more about the rich Muay Thai traditions like the wai kru or the ram muay, scroll down and start reading!

What Is The Wai Kru?

Is it the same as the Ram Muay?

The traditional Muay Thai dance ritual is composed of 2 parts. The wai kru and the ram muay. It’s performed before the fight with traditional sarama or muay thai music.

The Wai is a traditional greeting by the thai people where they put their hands together like a prayer. Kru means teacher. As a whole the wai kru is a way to pay respect to your coaches, gym,...

Learning to Deliver the Most Powerful Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick

By Rebecca Dawson

Strikes like the Muay Thai roundhouse kick are the reason this martial art has grown so popular today. As one of the most popularly used Muay Thai techniques, the roundhouse kick, when delivered flawlessly, can topple even the strongest opponent.

This, of course, is no simple task. Fighters must practice this technique “a lot” (indeed, this is a huge understatement) before developing a polished roundhouse kick. It may take months to even years.

Flexibility and power are the two most important factors to learning and executing Muay Thai roundhouse kicks. Many believe frequent stretching to be sufficient for developing flexibility. Wrong. Standard stretching alone won’t make you flexible enough for the Muay Thai roundhouse kick.

So, how do we develop the flexibility needed to deliver fast, powerful Muay Thai roundhouse kicks?

Stretch technically. This technique should extend to three...

A Second Helping From MTG Writer at Large, Angela Chang

By Angela Chang

ORDERING TO DIETARY RESTRICTIONS IN THAILAND

Don’t add/don’t put in _____ = Mai sai _____  ไมใส

I’m allergic to _____ = Chan paa _____ ฉันแพ

Now let’s learn a few new words that have to do with food:

Chilli = prik พริก

milk = nom นม
MSG = pong choo-rot ผงชูรส

Nuts = tua leesong ถัวลิสง
meat = neuha-sat เนือสัตว

egg = kai ไข
seafood = ah-han ta-lay อาหารทะเล
shrimp = goong กุง
fish = bplah ปลา

crab = bpoo ปู

pork = moo หมู
chicken = gai ไก

beef = neuh-wua เนือวัว

duck = bpèt เปด

fish sauce = nam bplah นำปลาgluten = bpaang แปง

NOTE: Thai is a tonal language, and Thais know that most foreigners struggle with the tones and are pretty forgiving if you pronounce something wrong. But try practicing the words on...