Jump to content

Regular classes vs Sparring


Recommended Posts

It feels like after 10 months of doing Muay Thai, these regular classes aren't really doing much help for me. We are doing 5 punch, 3 kick combos, that they are hard to apply in real sparring. Or we are hitting bags.

It feels like Sparring with mouthguard has dramatically improved my ability by 10x fold. I literally get 10 practices in 1. It forces me to jab correctly, slip, kick with good rotation. Does anyone feel the same way? I still go to practice, but sparring is much more powerful in technique improvement.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I think there is way too much emphasis on technique in most commercial gyms. You just don't see that in trad Muay Thai gyms. Most of it is: here are the basics, work on getting comfortable, be aware of defense, relaxation. Spar and clinch.

Technique focus can do the opposite. Make you really tense, overly critical. Combos encourage you to use your eyes much less, and just bite down on offense.

Just some thoughts.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Most Recent Topics

  • Latest Comments

    • Hi. Sorry about your situation. Rest assured that everyone (me too) unearths a revelation about a bad habit or poor technique once in a while. Main thing is you've found out and want to fix it. IMO and experience (25 years including teaching), it's an issue because it's every single kick as you said and this detracts from good technique and power and balance etc and longer-term development. It also stifles ability such as kicking and then following immediately with a Thai leg block or follow up weapon e.g. another kick (but I gather you are aware of this though from your post). My advice would be to spend a lot of time on the bag and drill the kick lots in a conscious state of mind so you're aware of how your standing foot behaves on each kick and force the ball of the foot to stay in contact with the floor. Set targets of getting 5, then 10 in a row without jumping. The mind and body will adapt over time. With pad work you'll loose the discipline and repetitions need to correct this - plus a lot of pad holder partners just won't see or bother to correct you. So try and cut that down for a while. Good luck.    
    • Hi. You can't go wrong with Twins or any good, reputable Thai brand like Fairtex. They will last you years if you air and dry that out after every session. I bought a Fairtex pair in 2017 in Thailand and they are still in great shape (I train 2/3 times a week). Before that I had a pair of Windy Sport I bought from the shop near Raja Stadium in BKK, that again lasted me years. For your size and stature, 16oz are perfect, and good all round - so you can spar/play and hit pads and bag comfortably. Don't cut corners with price or quality. If you've got good gear the experience will be more enjoyable. For the record I've been involved in Muay Thai since 2000, lived in Thailand and taught in London. Enjoy the MT journey 🙂
  • The Latest From Open Topics Forum

    • I can only comment on Perth. There's a very active Muay Thai scene here - regular shows. Plenty of gyms across the city with Thai trainers. All gyms offer trial classes so you can try a few out before committing . Direct flights to Bangkok and Phuket as well. Would you be coming over on a working holiday visa? Loads of work around Western Australia at the moment. 
    • Hi, I'm considering moving to Australia from the UK and I'm curious what is the scene like? Is it easy to fight frequently (proam/pro level), especially as a female? How does it compare to the UK? Any gym recommendations? I'll be grateful for any insights.
    • You won't find thai style camps in Europe, because very few people can actually fight full time, especially in muay thai. As a pro you just train at a regular gym, mornings and evenings, sometimes daytime if you don't have a job or one that allows it. Best you can hope for is a gym with pro fighters in it and maybe some structured invite-only fighters classes. Even that is a big ask, most of Europe is gonna be k1 rather than muay thai. A lot of gyms claim to offer muay thai, but in reality only teach kickboxing. I think Sweden has some muay thai gyms and shows, but it seems to be an exception. I'm interested in finding a high-level muay thai gym in Europe myself, I want to go back, but it seems to me that for as long as I want to fight I'm stuck in the UK, unless I switch to k1 or MMA which I don't want to do.
    • Hi all, Does anyone know of any suppliers for blanks (Plain items to design and print a logo on) that are a good quality? Or put me in the right direction? thanks all  
    • The first fight between Poot Lorlek and Posai Sittiboonlert was recently uploaded to youtube. Posai is one of the earliest great Muay Khao fighters and influential to Dieselnoi, but there's very little footage of him. Poot is one of the GOATs and one of Posai's best wins, it's really cool to see how Posai's style looked against another elite fighter.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      1.4k
    • Total Posts
      11.5k
×
×
  • Create New...