My Muay Thai Training Diary: Year One

I actually can’t thank you enough because im just thinking about starting to train in some aspect of mma and I was thinking Muay Thai as well!

Listen to these silly nuggets, if you want good quality gear, for gloves/shorts/shinguards get either boons, rajas or King(not top king)
Handwraps really don’t matter, any old cheap brand will work, mouth guard depends on what you’re looking for and for headgear, can’t go wrong with reevo.

Was there any updates or results?

Good luck. I train a bit in Muay Thai myself and the benefits are endless.

I have to agree that training martial arts is incredible for just about all aspects of your life.

In my opinion it’s practically impossible to watch the sport critically without having trained at least one discipline and even then it only gives you a real understanding of part of the game.

Joe Rogan, for example, is clearly a BJJ expert, knows a lot about the stand up game, but isn’t too well versed in his wrestling or Judo. He and Eddie Bravo were talking about it on the podcast (Ronda Rousey episode) and it was fascinating to hear them talk about his shortcomings as a MMA analyst, considering Joe Rogan just might have watched more MMA fights from the cage side than any other human on the planet.

Odd thing to say, but today I’ve been quite usefully educated by coming to this blog, between reading TheHistorian’s fanposts, and reading this piece.

Thanks to all involved.

For gloves get some Fairtex or Windy stuff. Stay away from Everlast gear. Handwraps should be semi elastic 180in long Mexican style. I have had every type of boxing glove from 20oz Everlast to 12oz Ringside to Title Boxing Bag gloves to 16oz Thai style gloves. 16oz is generally what I tell people to get since it offers good weight for a work out but not to much and solid protection when sparring. Don’t forget ‘glove dogs’ to keep your stuff smelly and bacteria free.

If you can try on the shin pads before purchase do it I made that mistake with a really nice pair of pads a few years ago, I only say that because a few years ago no stores sold them locally. I also find if you do not take good care of the style that completely cover the calf they can attract mold quickly. The other style with two straps also offers a much more secure fit IMO.

I always tell people to get the headgear that offers the most protection; ones that cover the chin and offer sufficient padding. Again best to try on in a store.

Cup go with a steel cup with strings to tie down.

I also train Muay Thai and have been for the past 5-6 years. Been training a few friends for a few months now… things are going well with their progress. I would say the most important things are to always have fun with it, keep it positive, and stay fresh so you are always evolving and getting better.

A gym take a 38 year old and let him come and work with people? I want to hurt, and get hurt, really badly. I have so much aggression that I need to work out, and I seriously need an outlet. Any leads on a Muay Thai gym in Chicagoland? Muay Thai is a beautiful and brutal martial art, and I have wanted to learn it since I first fought Sagat on Street Fighter II, but growing up in the sticks there was no where to go. My son would love to learn, as well, and frankly would be a monster. (Yeah, I know, ALL our sons are monsters). But I don’t wanna get ripped off. My email is linked to my profile, so any advice would make my hick ass happy! Have A Nice Day!

I always just used Twins stuff… Or rather I bought a variety of gear and the only shit not falling apart after a few years was Twins stuff.

I don’t train MT anymore, I moved to BJJ when I moved city and I much prefer it. However I did fucking love MT and my one big advantage was my jab, which you mentioned you wanted to improve. I used to paw a lot with my jab too, when my opponent punched I was long and rangy enough to be able to pat it down and counterstrike his face. However the big change in my jab came when I broke a rib doing some heavy sparring. To protect that side while it healed I trained southpaw, and so had my strong arm leading. The jab totally changed, now when I jabbed not only was the arm stronger but I found myself throwing it with the body really torqued behind it. I fought southpaw for around a year after that injury, but from then on even when fighting orthodox the feeling of what my jab could be, made me put a lot more power into it.

From that rib injury my jab went from a range-finding paw/counter punching pat, to a very stiff jab that could stop someones momentum or snap their head back a little.

So give it a shot! Break a rib! (or just try changing stance for a few months).

Make decent kit, and it isn’t quite so outrageously expensive like Fairtex has become. Stay away from Lonsdale/Everlast gear, unless you want to spent a ridonculous amount of cash simply to have gloves that don’t disintergrate after 2 weeks. (Or one day in a friend’s case.)

If you know a guy with a Kwon trade a/c, their gloves are actually pretty good, and work out real cheap. Great for pads. I have seen the two cheaper leather gloves in action and they were very good.

Don’t skimp on handwrap length. I have always preferred to wear some vale tudo shorts over the top of a box – really helps keep things from shifting.

With interesting timing. I got back to training just last night for the first time in about 6 years. I have chronic back problems and arthritis in both hips so I was leery.

Gassed out during the warm up period of jumping rope and pushups/sit ups. Sweated out more toxins than Chernobyl. Got boxed up by a girl half my size. Hurts to type this morning. Good times.

Cheap Cheap Cheap. Ships from thailand and takes about a month to get it.

http://www.muaythaistuff.com/

If you want a good mouth guard, you really need to see if your dentist can take an impression and order you one. If I remember correctly, it cost around $100 range for mine, but it was easily the best money I spent on any of my equipment.