Muay Thai is a journey filled with ups and downs – some days you’ll feel on top of the world, landing perfect strikes and executing techniques flawlessly. Other days, you’ll feel defeated, frustrated and like you’re not making progress at all. But the key to success in Muay Thai, no matter what your goals are, is to trust the process and allow things fall into place.
You show up to training – you’re physically there. But are you also mentally there? Training with intention is one of the most important aspects of Muay Thai, and can have a significant impact on your progress.
If you’re thinking of fighting one day, it’s natural to wonder how long it will take to get good enough to step into the ring. It’s a question that’s often asked, but the answer isn’t as straightforward as one might think. It’s not just a matter of putting in a certain number of hours or years of training. There are many factors to consider, and each person’s journey is unique.
Muay Thai is a vigorous activity. But for some, it can be even more tasking during their menstrual cycle. Some effects of the processes within the cycle may hinder athletic performance. It’s also quite possible that there are many that cope with the symptoms much better than their counterparts.
There are many aspects to becoming more serious about Muay Thai that are non-negotiable to most coaches. The one that has been talked about by all, dreaded by many, yet tried-and-true, is running. At the top of the Muay Thai pyramid, professional fighters in Thailand do long runs every morning, and have been for decades. It seems like anyone who is to be taken seriously in the sport needs to run a lot, or, at the very least, is expected to at some point.
However, what if there could be a median between the light, playful technique-based Thai style of sparring, and the powerful, fast-paced Dutch style of sparring? Some say that there’s a time a place for hard sparring and that it can be worked into any regimen. However, it can also be argued that it’s more about the people you choose to do this with (and less about a forced environment). Controlled hard sparring and hard clinching with the right people can bring you the best of both worlds – the impeccable timing of the Thais and fearsome shots of the Dutch.
