Learning to Deliver the Most Powerful Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick

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 most important...

A Second Helping From MTG Writer at Large 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 your own a few...

Without hard sparring, is a fighter truly ready for the ring?

BREAKING DOWN THE BENEFITS OF HARD SPARRING

Sparring should always be a technical, learning experience. It should not be a bi-weekly event where you have a 90% chance of getting a concussion for no good reason. That being said, there are benefits to hard sparring, but only when it is controlled.

There’s a lot of resistance to hard sparring in combat sports, but this might equate to confusing controlled hard sparring with it.

What does “controlled” hard sparring mean? Controlled hard sparring is sparring with more power – enough to make your sparring partner move a bit and make them think twice before eating another shot. What makes this different than just regular hard sparring is the control part, meaning you’re not aiming to knock them out or break their ribs. You are constantly gauging the situation to prevent any disasters from...

No Running, No Muay Thai?

Muay Thai and combat sports are known for their three to five minute rounds of fighting, with one minute’s worth of rest in between each round.

During these rounds several things can happen to you. One major thing: fatigue, obviously. A few more things: your body can give out, your mind can be ravaged from the pressure or fear. And you can even die.

So how can you prevent these dreadful things from happening in the ring?

The answer is simple, commitment to your training. The best form of training for a fight is to try and simulate the fight the best way you can, in my opinion. What I mean by that is maybe you can do pad work in the ring for whatever the time frame your fight is based on (2 minutes or 3 minute rounds) and rest in the corner in between rounds and maybe have a teammate give you water and coach you a bit.

That form of fight camp training is the most traditional. Other forms of training: ...

Watch and Learn Saenchai’s Best Muay Thai Techniques and Tricks

Observing Saenchai’s skills in person is mentally exhausting.

His raw talent is just mind-blowing and it’s nearly impossible to figure out how he fights so perfectly. I was blessed to watch him teach a session at Phoenix MMA (Bournemouth, UK) and managed to film a lot of the techniques and drills he was demonstrating.

Saenchai has been my idol since I started Muay Thai, so it’s my absolute privilege to share his favourite techniques with you. Whilst they are mechanically quite simple, the timing and precision he performs them with is what makes them so effective:

#1. Saenchai’s Kicks

His unique flexibility allows him to bring his chamber up high with amazing speed and control. When he raises his thigh for a round kick, you have NO idea whether you’re about to get booted in the leg...

Protein over-supplementing is a thing, guys. Here are three cases where you’d definitely need that extra protein. . . 

DO YOU NEED TO SUPPLEMENT PROTEIN?

Everyone is obsessed with protein and getting enough of it. Almost any person who is health or fitness -oriented has a tub of protein powder in their house. We are often told by our friends and training partners that we need to take protein powder if we are active, especially in an intense sport like Muay Thai. Protein, protein, protein!

Setting all the hype aside, guess what? Generally speaking, if you are:

1) eating enough calories, and;

2) eating a balanced diet

…then you do not need protein powder! A balanced diet that takes into account your Muay Thai sessions will provide you with the protein you need to recover and grow your muscles. Having too much protein will put stress on your kidneys. Similar to how extra carbs turn to fat, it’s the same with protein.

Moreover, if...

IF SET UP PROPERLY, THE QUESTION MARK KICK, ALSO KNOWN AS THE BRAZILIAN KICK OR DOWNWARD ROUNDHOUSE, IS ALMOST ALWAYS GUARANTEED TO LAND.

MASTERING THE QUESTION MARK KICK

Popularized by especially bendy fighters like Saenchai, the question mark kick is one of the most deceptive kicks in fighting

Its deception comes from its potential to be set up by the low kick and the teep – the two most common kicks you’ll ever see in fighting. It can use the exact same chamber as both.

This means that every single low kick or teep that comes could end up being turned into a knockout blow.

That’s a scary thought.

Here’s more detail on how to execute the technique, presented by Evolve MMA:

DECEIVING YOUR OPPONENT WITH THE TEEP

If you notice in the video above, there’s a slight difference in the low kick’s chamber and the question mark kick’s. The knee from the kicking leg is clearly moving in a different...

18-Minute Muay Thai Body Weight Workout You Can Do At Home

Perform this workout anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home. However, let’s be honest, it’s not going to be very comfortable.

But it can be fun! This is a workout that maximizes effectiveness and efficiency. High-intensity maximizes the amount of calories burned, and the exercises build and improve your fighting repertoire.

This is an 18-minute workout consisting of 3 sets of a circuit of 6 exercises. You will rest 1-2 minutes between circuits, and each exercise is a 45-second sprint followed by a 15-second rest before moving on to the next exercise. The whole workout looks like this:

1. 1-2, 1-2 sprawl for 45 seconds
2. Lunge-knee for 45 seconds
3. High plank walk-out for 45 seconds
4. Push-up knee (not to be confused with the spiderman push-up) for 45 seconds
5. Dead-bug for 45 seconds
6. Squat-knee for 45 seconds
7. Rest for 1-2 minutes
8. Repeat

Try and follow along with this bodyweight workout led...

Why Dating A Nak Muay Is (Or Isn’t) For You

The joy of dating, it’s a pleasure. One the lonely me has yet to experience, well shucks friends…then who am I to provide advice?

Ahoy, let’s not be negative! Allow me a moment to put my Cap of Positivity on, let us instead turn our vision towards the brighter side. See this post as the dating resume (sounds sexy, I know) of a Nak Muay. With all that said, let’s jump into the nitty gritty.

It ain’t as nitty gritty as all that but needs to be addressed, so let’s get the obv (pronounced: ob-V) out of the way first. Those who train are fit and thus have nicer bodies and more endurance (ahem, yes, probably that kind too). Done.

Okay, nowww let’s take a deep dive into the nitty gritty…

#1. Unpredictability

No, this does not mean that we’re emotional wildcards.

A skill the Nak Muay needs to master is broken rhythm, this sense of unpredictability that leaves the opponent in...

The Best Methods For Recovering Quickly For Your Next Training Session

Recovery is by FAR one of the most overlooked aspects of Muay Thai training.

Do you understand the importance of treating your body right after intense training sessions?

Whether you actually take the time to recover after workouts or you want to find out better ways to feel less sore/beat up, this guest post by Jerry from PNP Supplements will shine some light on areas that will help you with your post workout recovery.

Top 5 Tips to Improve Your Recovery

By Jerry Teixeira of PNP Supplements

One the most important aspect of training is your recovery. Although training is where stimulation for development and growth accurse, it is during your recovery where actual progress is made. Needless to say, the better you take care of your body during recovery, the more you will benefit from your training sessions.

With a good recovery regimen in place you can cut down on the time need for recovery, see better...