Muay Thai training tips

Posted: 27th May 2009 by admin in Uncategorized
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Motivation Vs Discipline.


So what comes first, the chicken or the egg or in terms of actual training: Motivation or Discipline?
Lets take a closer look:
Motivation:To provide with an incentive; move to action; impel.

Discipline: to bring to a state of order and obedience by training and control

Let’s break it down even further…

Motivation

 Motivation is simply the WHY?? Motivation are all the salient and sometimes silent hidden reasons that get you up in the morning. That have you walk back into the gym, bruised, sore and in pain the day after a punshing training session.
Motivation is what has you work your ass off day after day, week after week, month after month. It’s the thing(s) that get you through the drills, the blood, sweat and the tears.

It’s what has you hold on when every fiber of your being reasonable and sanely want to let go, give in.
Motivation is what drives you.

Lets take a deeper look at discipline.

Discipline

Discipline is the willingness to do the things that you need to do to produce the results that you want to have. Period.
Its about taking the actions that are consistent with your objective. It’s the structures and regiments that you have to put in place in reality (in time and space) and the measures with which you will measure and track your progress.
E.g If your objective is to win a fight in 6 weeks, then the measures that you could put in place would be for example:

  • Setting up a training programme with your coach that would focus on the aspects of your game that you need to improve E.g Weight training, flexibility, combinations, counters, clinch work etc.
  • Scheduling the dates and times for these activities
  • Establishing the benchmarks for tracking your progress…and the most important step….STICKING TO IT! No kidding putting your butt on the line and do the things you set out to do.

So which comes first: Motivation or discipline, you guessed it…Motivation, the reasons WHY you’re committing to something, if you don’t have a strong enough reason, chances are you won’t keep up or follow through on what you set out to do.

However, Motivation without discipline counts for nothing. Just empty hopes, desires and wants that you’ll never achieve because you don’t have the wherewithal to knuckle down and go for broke, consistently and persistently.

Like Bruce Lee said: Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. …

Learning Muay Thai- Ten Top Tips

Posted: 19th March 2009 by admin in Uncategorized
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Learning Muay Thai is an all round thrilling experience whether you’re a beginner looking to get and stay in shape or a more experienced practitioner in the sport. Regardless of your current level of interest the following tips will help you progressively improve your skills and abilities.

1.Find a Muay Thai gym. There are several different perceptions of Muay Thai and you will most likely find that there are several gyms that might interest you. Always do your homework on their Trainers, their experience and qualifications. Most gyms will give you a free complimentary session, this will help you actively evaluate the gym and the quality of service that they offer.

2.Learn the lingo and history behind Muay Thai. There are extensive materials on the web that provide a through and broad look on Muay Thai. Muay Thai movies and documentaries are also an excellent source of training and cultural material.

3.Nutrition: This element cannot be overemphasized. Dietary nutrition is perhaps the most important element in progressive Muay Thai training. Its not about counting calories, sensible eating habits will ensure your continued strength, stamina and recovery after every training session.

4.Warm up: Again, it’s the simplest, smallest things that make a big difference over time. Make you warm up for at least 20 minutes before going into a heavy training routine. The idea is to build up a sweat and prepare your body for the vigorous exercise to follow. Some great warm up exercises include: Running, Skipping, Shadow boxing.

5.Cool Down: It’s recommended that you spend 15-20 minutes after a training session to cool down. This is to prevent injury and keep your joints supple. Stretching routines great for cooling down.

6.Flexibility: While you don’t need to learn to do the splits to be proficient at Muay Thai, some stretching and flexibly training will come in handy; it serves to improve your agility, balance and technique in the ring and outside it.

7.Conditioning: Run as much as you can but don’t overstrain yourself. When going to the gym, practice light weights but many reps. Resistance training is going to be your best friend when it comes to Muay Thai.

8.Spar often. Sparring can be dangerous and sometimes scary but done correctly under supervision can be one of the single greatest elements to improving your fighting technique, style, timing, combinations and strategy. Sparring develops your own style and once you are profound at it, allows you to adapt to situations both in the ring and outside it. Remember, the goal is not to K.O your opponent, your goal is to learn, improve and master your techniques.

9.Rest: Training in Muay Thai is one of the most physically challenging things that you can do. After training hard it’s equally important to give your body time to heal and renew itself. Give yourself at least 1day off per week. For beginners, one day between training sessions is recommended, initially.

10.Have Fun: This may come last on the list but trust me; it’s the only thing that will get your butt in the gym when you don’t particularly feel like it. Discipline is important for sure but sometimes it’s easy to get self-absorbed and too serious. Learn to lighten-up, relax and enjoy yourself. Training in Muay Thai is a roller-coaster experience you will experience everything from Joy, frustration, impatience, and yes a few bruises. Learn to adjust and to take it all in stride and no matter what, keep moving forward.

Yours

Trevor Mimano

Muay Thai Training- Tips for Begginers

Posted: 19th March 2009 by admin in Uncategorized
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These tips to do Muay Thai Training Safely will allow you to start the training right and end it with amazing results:

  1. Professionals: seek the guidance and supervision of professional Muay Thai instructors for all aspects of your training session: warm-up, pad work, heavy bags and cool-downs.
  2. Basics: Start slowly, get a good grasp of the fundamentals and the proper Muay Thai techniques so that you can train intelligently and improve progressively.
  3. Patience: Muay Thai as you may have already realized is intensive and demanding, there will always be something new to learn and mastering this art takes time. Be patient, take it one day at a time and keep moving forward.
  4. Discipline: As obvious as this may sound, a level of discipline is necessary. Results will come through consistency, consistency comes from perseverance and determination, both are a product of your focus. Focus on your goals, start today and do not stop until you have achieved your objective.
  5. Enthusiasm: Another way to say this is lighten up and enjoy it. The process of moving from a newbie to a master is a roller coaster, you will laugh, you might cry. Keep an open mind, give it your best and enjoy the results.
  6. Relax: However, you must allow your body to have at least one day of rest every seven days. If you are brand new to the sport, a recommended initial one day interval between sessions is adequate, as you improve, you will be able to train up to 3-6 days consecutively.

Bearing these tips in mind you will kickstart your  Muay Thai training without a doubt.

Yours

Trevor Mimano

 

The Essential Elements of Muay Thai

Posted: 19th March 2009 by admin in Uncategorized
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Muay Thai training is versatile, engaging and dynamic. Depending on your gym, who your teachers are and what their backgrounds are, training routines will vary from gym to gym. However, there are elements that are and should be consistently incorporated into your training programme. The key elements are:

  • Warm up / Cool down: The idea is to build up a sweat and prepare your body for the vigorous exercise to follow. It is important to run, skip or bounce on old truck tyres (which is helps improve balance) for at least 15 minutes as a warm up to every Muay Thai training session. A suitable routine of around 15 minutes will prepare your muscles for training. Do not forget to do some gentle warm down exercises at the end of each training session. This will help your joints to remain supple and protect you from injury.
  • Running: is essential to develop stamina and toughen the legs. Running is best done in the early morning and should vary in distance day by day. At least one day a week should be a rest day.. Be careful when running on uneven surfaces and wear good shoes. Steadily increase the distance you run each day.
  • Skipping: is an integral part of Muay Thai training, it is an excellent in develop stamina and co-ordination. Skip by rounds, keep your mind relaxed and alert. When skipping hop from one foot to the other – don’t bounce on two feet.
  • Shadow boxing: is essential to learning the proper Muay Thai technique. Shadow boxing in front of a mirror allows you to observe and correct your movements. When shadow boxing remember to use your full range of movement, do not shorten the punch or kick.
  • Free weights: Incorporate the use of dumb-bells into your Muay Thai training routine. It will help to build strength. Lighter weights with many repetitions are best. Free weights work better than fixed weight training machines since they do not limit your range of movement, remember to train carefully to avoid injury. Training with very heavy weights is good for body building competitions, but not usually, the best way to train for a Muay Thai fight
  • Bag Work: Working on the hanging bags builds power and stamina into your kicks and punches. It also serves to toughen your body. Kicking the bags often is the only sensible way to condition (that is de-sensitize) your shins. Aggressive methods of training such as using bottles or other very hard objects to condition the shins are not necessary or recommended and may cause unnecessary injury.
  • Pad Work: Full power striking of the Thai Pads is a tough part of Muay Thai training and an amazing workout. Your Muay Thai trainer wears a set of Thai pads, a stomach pad and shin guards which allows you to attack him as if he were an opponent. Pad work will develop your footwork, co-ordination and spatial awareness.
  • Sparring: Once you have a comprehensive foundation in place you will be ready to participate in controlled sparring. This will form the major part of your Muay Thai training routine.
  • Clinch work: This is a very tough aspect of Muay Thai training. Clinch work involves learning to control your opponent by trying to lock his arms or neck in a clinch. More advanced clinch work will incorporate the execution of knees and throw downs and knocking your opponent to the floor.

Incorporating these elements into you training routine will help develop and improve your strength, techniques, stamina and skill and ultimately a well rounded, balanced practitioner of Muay Thai.