Thai boxing, Muay Thai or “eight-handed fighting” is one of the well-known martial arts. Fans consider it the most perfect style of wrestling. It’s not without reason: despite the fact that the art was formed in Thailand more than two thousand years ago, it has survived to this day almost in its original form. Modern Muay Thai organically intertwines the national, spiritual and religious values of the country. It became widespread in the middle of the twentieth century after the numerous victories of Thai fighters over representatives of other kickboxing martial arts.
It is interesting that in this discipline there are no special combinations of blocks and blows that are relevant to most martial arts.
Main techniques of Muay Thai
In Thailand, it is customary to distinguish two main styles:
- Muay kiu – the fighter’s movements are fast, he performs various deceptive distracting maneuvers, feints, escapes;
- Muay like – movements are slowed down, the fighter tries to choose and maintain the most stable position of the body. This style is used much less often.
The basic principle of this martial art sounds like this: the knee is stronger than the leg, and the elbow always wins over the fist. The work of the hands is generally similar to that in European classical boxing. But there is a fundamental difference in footwork: in Muay Thai, most of the blows are preferably made with the knee, and not with the foot lift. Athletes perform special exercises to strengthen this joint, thanks to which they can break a baseball bat with it.
How to start workouts at home?
What if you want to master Muay Thai, but there is no way to attend training lessons with a coach? It’s possible to learn Thai boxing at home! Let’s talk about the advantages of home training:
- Saving money. You can train for free or take video lessons with a trainer online.
- Saving time. No need to regularly go to and from the training hall, wasting precious hours on the road from home.
- An independent schedule. The ability to independently compose a training regimen, do a comfortable amount of exercises and not depend on anyone.
- If you still think on not visiting the gym and starting training at home, then we have prepared for you some tips that will make your classes the most effective:
- Do training online with a coach at least for the first time. Let an experienced mentor show you the correct execution of the exercises and select the optimal training regimen. Try to maintain regularity.
- Buy a minimum set of sports equipment. Light dumbbells, a punching bag and bands for wrapping around your hands are the “minimum program” for independent Muay Thai lessons. Master the cycles of endurance and strengths exercises. Prepare a training scheme that you will repeat every time.