How much time needed to train before first amateur fight?

[MMA_Enthusiast]

Hi, I apologize if this has been discussed or covered before, but I'm new and stumbled upon this forum very recently.

Is there a general rule of thumb for recommended length of time training before having one's first amateur Muay Thai fight in Thailand? 

For background, I am not new to martial arts. I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and trained Choy Li Fut kung-fu for over nine years, combined with six years of Muay Thai/Boxing training here in the US. (Much of that training was done at Steel MMA, home gym of champion Tiffany Van Soest and Selina Flores) I have done multiple 1-on-1 sessions with professional kickboxers, boxing and MMA coaches in San Diego. 

I participated in a "fight night" event at my local gym which was essentially hard sparring with protective gear in front of a crowd. I have never competed in an official sanctioned amateur Muay Thai match though, either here in the US or abroad but have a desire to try. 

The thought of moving to Thailand for six months or a year to train seems appealing to me. However, I'm not sure if I would need that much time to train before competing in a first amateur match?

Given my background, realistically how much time would you guys recommend for me to train at a Thai gym like Sit Thailand, Pinsinchai or Manop before having my first amateur match?  

 

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

On 12/11/2024 at 11:39 PM, MMA_Enthusiast said:

The thought of moving to Thailand for six months or a year to train seems appealing to me. However, I'm not sure if I would need that much time to train before competing in a first amateur match?

Almost all fights in Thailand are technically "pro" under full trad, or entertainment rules. You likely are already skilled enough for your first fight (all things being equal), if your gym is adept at finding matches (it depends on your size too). But, you'd probably want to train a month to acclimate yourself, develop training calluses (not actual calluses, but mental and physical toughness) to make your first fight more digestible. First fights are mental whirlwinds, and the more acclimated your are, the more enjoyable they'll be.

[MMA_Enthusiast]

Hello Kevin, thanks for your response. I appreciate it. I didn't know all fights were considered "pro" in Thailand. I am 6'0" 185lb with athletic build. I'm not sure if the average Thai is that big, so I guess if I were to have any match, it would be against another foreigner? I'm glad to hear that a month would be a suitable period of time. I work full time as a CNA in a hospital, so it's hard to get long stretches of vacation time off. Agree with your advice on developing mental and physical toughness to make the first fight more manageable. So many great gyms in Thailand--hard to pick which one to train at!

[StefanZ]

Im late to the feast, but reading the starting post and the answer, I do agree.  You TS  are probably better trained than most debutants I do see in Thailand form the hundreds of videos from there...  So dont worry too much...

What is the big difference, they dont use protections... And thus, the hits hurts for real...

Make sure your belly muscles are super top trained  - and be prepared it hurts and thus be prepared to endure sharp pain.

Also, to continue to fight althought you got elbow in the head and its bleeding...

Essentially, what Kevin talks when he recommends a months preparation to toughen up, to get used to the atmosphere.

 

I have seen more then once  decently trained debutant fighters, whom immediately break up as soon they notice it hurts for real.

Or they start to bleed...  "ref himself did looked and stopped the match" told the otherwise top trained guy...  My comment:  But the ref didnt stopped the match because it bled, he stopped the match because he saw the foreigner got scared and had enough for today...

 

Ps.   Another note:  they very seldom use the throw in towel.  They KNOW the tradition, but its very seldom used.  Most thais do their best to fight into the end...  Even if they occasionally dive, ie allow themselves to be KOed.

Begging the ref to stop do happens but its most often foreigners whom do so.

[ZombieMonsterElbowChop]

Can someone return to this post for me and answer a quick question? To make it simple, I have idle time at thirty one years old and would love to have a chance to fight some amateur fights. I've seen composed fights on youtube and some extremely stupid and violent fights. It's all cool to me so I'll manage to get through whatever task I'm offered if this is feasible. Like I said, I'm thirty one with no experience. I'm not trying to come off as arrogant over the keyboard or anything but it really would be an honorable feat if ya'll could help point me in the right direction to be able to do this. 

[The Bongo]

On 7/9/2026 at 5:24 PM, ZombieMonsterElbowChop said:

Can someone return to this post for me and answer a quick question? To make it simple, I have idle time at thirty one years old and would love to have a chance to fight some amateur fights. I've seen composed fights on youtube and some extremely stupid and violent fights. It's all cool to me so I'll manage to get through whatever task I'm offered if this is feasible. Like I said, I'm thirty one with no experience. I'm not trying to come off as arrogant over the keyboard or anything but it really would be an honorable feat if ya'll could help point me in the right direction to be able to do this. 

Sorry to reply with a question, but who are you?  One of the best Nak Muay I've met never trained formally.  He described himself as 'a bit of a handful everywhere I go,' and, 'a bit of a scrapper.'  If that's you, just get a few months and wing it...

 

If not, about 18 months if you train hard two plus nights a week, plus train compulsively at home.  Get a heavy bag to develop smoothness and get your training pals to hit you with a bit of meaning once a week.  Reading up on the rules where you mean to compete is good too.  

 

If you join a decent club with good coaches they'll match you up just fine.  

 

You might be better off asking how to find a decent club tbh.  

[ZombieMonsterElbowChop]

Thanks for replying. I left my local exercise gym the other morning and was bored so I started looking for some forums to interact with. I found this and figured it was an open site to join? If I'm like a deer in headlights do let me know, Lol. There is a muay thai gym in a city about an hour from me and their site has all kinds of photos showing that it's a reputable gym. This a personal goal of mine I'd really like to try and accomplish but price wise, it won't be like taking a walk in the park down my street. My name is Clay, by the way. My screen name is ZombieMonsterElbowChop because honestly, it sounds somewhat appropriate for a complete novice of the sport looking to get his hands, "or elbows," dirty, Ha. 

 

[The Bongo]

There's a bloke in our gym that wants to fight.  He's not as good as his friends tell him.  The coach has had a diplomatic word to the effect that he will be even better 'in a few months time.'  I reckon a year.  It's what a good coach does, sets up fights and protects his fighters.

Good luck with your new gym Clay.  Hope it's a good one.  When you make friends with a few of the regulars, they;ll let you know of other decent gyms locally, and their strengths and weaknesses.  You'll soon be set, even if the first one you try is not the one that you find the best.  

Hope you fulfill all your personal goals mate.  Get them elbows dirty dude!