MTG: Can You Learn Muay Thai From Youtube?

[dtrick924]

MTG: Can You Learn Muay Thai From Youtube?

 

There has always some running jokes in the Muay Thai Community (AKA The Nak Muay Nation) about people learning their muay thai from Youtube.

Seeing some of the information out there such as the infamous “Master Ted” leads many to think that only fake people put out Muay Thai videos on Youtube. By the way, Master Ted did not understand how strong and crazy the Nak Muay Nation is as he was ousted and mocked by the entire Muay Thai Community world wide.  When Liam Harrison called him out, he took his Youtube page down!

Putting Master Ted aside, that still doesnt mean you can not get great information from Youtube. There are several useful sights and with learning anything its all about having alegitimate expert show you the ropes.

There is a ton of information on Youtube for muay thai, fights, video blogs, highlights, technique tutorials, training ideas, training footage… lets face it, Youtube has it all.

Now that being said, there are still some very reputable sites to use. I say they are reputable because they are people I have either met or know that are legit. Here is a short list of channels you should be subscribed to if you are really into muay thai.

 

Nice shout out to Sylvie's youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MasterKMuayThai

[Finn Cartlidge]

You can't learn it by scratch on YouTube. Though you can add to your game through YouTube, watching something then trying it out, and if it has worked - learnt from YouTube.

I think if you learn from YouTube you can't learn solely by YouTube, you'd need sparring partners to test it out on, and sparring partners that know what they're doing too or else it's useless. Though one way to learn from YouTube is if you see something you like show your trainer and he/she can help you do it, so that you're doing it correctly.

For me there's too much of a risk of a beginner going on YouTube searching 'Muay thai kick' watching some (wo)man on YouTube who has no clue themselves and copying it, search Muay Thai kick on YouTube and you'll see some right sh*t come up. 

If you go regularly to a gym then you can use it to help you for sure, but I wouldn't ever encourage someone to self-train, so that's my view.

[bbf3]

I've picked up a lot of techniques from YouTube that I hadn't come across before in training, but that said, I also think it would be difficult to start from scratch using YouTube. You may learn how to punch and kick, but how do you know that you're doing it properly when there isn't anyone there to critique you? Hell, I've been training muay thai 3-5 times a week at a gym for almost a year now and I'm only just starting to understand how to use my body efficiently to throw a proper jab, cross. If all I was doing was watching videos and then training in my garage with a bag, I probably wouldn't have realised I was doing anything wrong.

I see YouTube as more of a complimentary resource, e.g I might see a combination I haven't done before, and I'll try to incorporate it the next time I spar in training. I think you can get a lot out of online videos if you have a solid foundation and available sparring partners/trainers. 

[Gavin]

Jon Jones started out learning techniques on youtube. I think for visual learners it can be helpful. For people who are more kinesthetic, it's not a great tool.

[lawrencekenshin]

I might be a little biased here  :wink: 

But put it this way. Can you learn from watching sparring in a gym or at a fight? Yes, says the great Kenny Weldon. 

Essentially, what coaches and athletes do is watch footage and learn from the footage and then absorb in what they like. 

So if the internet is showcasing these, why not? What differentiates say, Saenchai's seminar from you attending the seminar? That you don't actually do it and don't actually get feedback. 

So, then it's up to you to actually do it and find a way to get feedback. 

My favorite aspect to what I do is how many people have found the breakdowns to be helpful, or how it complimented their training. 

Not everyone can be "self-learners" though, but if someone has the will, it can be done. 

Like Gavin said, Jon Jones learned MT first from Duke Roufus DVD. 

[Gaby Thorausch]

I was just wondering if someone could recommend me good videos to watch for clinching :) thank you

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

I might be a little biased here  :wink: 

 

But put it this way. Can you learn from watching sparring in a gym or at a fight? Yes, says the great Kenny Weldon. 

 

Essentially, what coaches and athletes do is watch footage and learn from the footage and then absorb in what they like. 

 

So if the internet is showcasing these, why not? What differentiates say, Saenchai's seminar from you attending the seminar? That you don't actually do it and don't actually get feedback. 

 

So, then it's up to you to actually do it and find a way to get feedback. 

 

My favorite aspect to what I do is how many people have found the breakdowns to be helpful, or how it complimented their training. 

Not everyone can be "self-learners" though, but if someone has the will, it can be done. 

 

Like Gavin said, Jon Jones learned MT first from Duke Roufus DVD. 

Well put, Lawrence. For me, it comes down to knowing what you're looking at and then acknowledging the limitations in what you can take from that. If you can discern good teaching from bad teaching, useful technique from stunts, etc, then by all means learn from the best. But also understand that watching 10 hours of Buakaw highlights is not how Buakaw became those highlights.

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

I think one of the more interesting aspects of Sylvie's early videos with Master K was that these videos did not just have a "perfect technique" examples in the "teacher", but they also showed a student struggling with and being corrected in the techniques. There was a dimension of learning which sometimes helps a viewer digest and grow towards a perfect example.

Maybe one of the hardest things from learning from a video example is finding the bridge towards the technique.

[WaffleNinja]

Not Muay Thai, but relevant: 

 

http://www.jiujitsutimes.com/the-living-proof-that-onlinevideo-based-learning-can-be-done/

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

I was just wondering if someone could recommend me good videos to watch for clinching :) thank you

Hi Gaby,

I have some clinch footage with Sakmonkol teaching me, way before I knew how to clinch at all. There are several "parts" but here is the first installment. You can also search around my blog and on Youtube.

[515]

I was just wondering if someone could recommend me good videos to watch for clinching :) thank you

 

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