Muay Thai is known for its training procedure. It is an ancient style of martial arts that have originated in Thailand. It is an awesome training that is gaining popularity a lot nowadays.
If you do not know about it then no worries we have dedicated this entire article to Muay Thai Training. So without any further ado let’s get right into it.
What is Muay Thai or Thai Boxing?
This is a martial art style of Thailand and it is also their National sport. It was developed hundreds of years ago. It uses the entire body as a weapon and is a close combat martial art.
The history of Muay Thai Training is a fascinating one. We decided that if you want something to know then you have to know about it from its roots.
Even though there is a lot of debate about its origin, it still remains a part of Thailand and its history.
So to know about Muay Thai Training and what it is today, you need to know about the history and origin of Muay Thai training.
History of Muay Thai & Origin
It is also referred to as ‘The Art of The Eight Limbs’. The body mimics the weapons of war. The hand becomes the sword. The shins and forearms are hardened in training to act as a kind of armour.
The elbow acts like a heavy hammer. The legs and knees become the axe and staff respectively. The entire body is operated as one single unit.
The knees and elbows are continuously searching for a weak point in the opponent so as to topple them and pin them to the ground.
Then go for the final kill of the opponent. The king of Thailand is a huge fan of Muay Thai training. Since his crowning the popularity of Muay Thai training has grown even more.
What are the Benefits of Muay Thai?
We will be talking about the benefits of Muay Thai training. Yes there are benefits of this training and we are going to tell you what they are. So let us begin with the first benefit.
1. Improves Fitness
This is the first and obvious benefit that you will get while training in Muay Thai. It is a martial art training that is very demanding.
It can be a bit difficult in the beginning but as you train you will see that your stamina is getting more and more stronger and your body will get fitter and stronger too.
This can be useful in your daily life too. You will have more energy to carry yourself throughout the day.
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2. Fills Me Up With Joy
Many people has said that Muay Thai training has helped them a lot in their life and in up lifting their mood. The methods and the instructions are soothing for a lot of people.
If someone who does Muay Thai Training and if they feel down then they go to the training for making themselves Happy. We have seen this in person and it is a fact.
This can be because of the Endorphins that your body releases after a thorough work out. It is important to know that a tough workout can be straining on your body so be a bit careful.
3. Builds Mental Strength
It is a very demanding training regime that needs your 100%. It can get a bit difficult at times and you would want to give up. It pushes you up to your limits.
It can get very challenging but you need to push through it. You can easily give up and leave the training half way but it is important to push through the feeling. This helps you in building your mental strength.
Every day and every training, you will keep raising the bar for yourself and that will help you get more productive. We are not asking you to go over board but you need to try at least.
This training procedure therefore needs a trainer and mates who can encourage you in the tough times and help you not give up. The mental strength that you get out of this training is as good as the physical strength.
Modern Muay Thai
It has developed over hundreds of years. It started to get international attention and became to be recognized even more.
It was formerly known as ‘Siam Boxing’ right after the World War 2 when people came to know about it.
The French called it ‘Le Sport Orient’. The foreigners were so impressed by the fighting style that they asked the Thai people to teach them. Soon after in 1920 the sport was made into an international sport.
We see the first formal rules set after the second world war. Fights were divided into 5 rounds and each round had a limit.
This became so popular a sport that major buildings were built all over the world to hold Muay Thai competition.
Later on the rules and system become more integrated and thought after. The organization of the sport got better and better to reach what we have today.
Sadly Muay Thai fighters do not earn much from their fights. They have to train every day and training starts from as early as the age of 8.
They never have long careers because this sport is very physically demanding. They are known for their hard work and dedication.
They have tough skin and can endure a lot of pain. They have to deal with cuts, broken bones and injuries throughout their career.
Early Muay Thai Style Training Methods
Before we had all the equipment that we have today for our training, Muay Thai trainers had to rely on whatever they could get to do their training with.
Thailand had a lot of natural stuff that helped the Muay Thai trainers to train. They took objects from the lap of nature.
One of the popular training techniques is the ‘old style’. They used to kick banana tress to practice their leg and knee strikes. They slowly wore the tree down until it fell over.
The banana tree was preferred due to its soft nature. They would toughen their skin by striking it with sand bags. The Muay Thai fighter must have a tough skin in order to survive.
They also climbed trees to strengthen their legs and thighs. They would hang a coconut and then knock kick or punch them in order to train. This was useful for practicing against moving targets.
They also broke coconuts with their bare hands. That was also a part of training. There are a lot of training methods that they used.
FAQs
Here are a few frequently asked questions about Muay Thai training that has been asked by several people over the years. So we have answered these for you before you even have the chance to ask.
Yes, we know that you can have some additional or other questions too, you should try asking them in the comment section. However let us focus on these frequently asked questions about now.
1. Is Muay Thai training for Everyone?
Long before the only people who trained in Muay Thai were the ones who were good in competition or they were solely practicing for the competition.
This meant that all of them were looking mean and intimidating and had tattoos over their body. This is a stereotype that most people associated Muay Thai fighters with.
This was the image that was created in their name.However, with the passage of time things started to change. Well, change is the only constant in our life.
So this means that everything changes after some point of time and that is what happened with Muay Thai training too. Muay Thai gyms are now built all over the place.
People are slowly starting to understand the fun that is included in the training along with the benefits. It is becoming more and more popular.
It doesn’t matter if you are 13 or 30. If you are willing to do this training and if you have all your limbs and can move around then this is good for you.
Black, white, child, adult, everyone can participate. So yes we can say that Muay Thai Training is for everyone.
2. Is Muay Thai Dangerous?
This question is asked a lot because this is a full body contact fight which means that there is a chance that the fight gets pretty violent.
Sometimes or rather most of the competitive times it tends to get so. Broken bones, blood and bloodshed is a part of the package into which the fighter steps in.
Black eyes and broken noses are common in this line of competition.However, there is a controlled environment with referees who manage the fight and prevent it from getting too out of hand.
They enforce the rules and even stop the fight if necessary. The sport has certain health warming associated with it but none of them are life-threatening.
Presently not every Muay Thai practicer does it for the fighting. Several people do it just for health and fitness or some times even recreation.
This is what many people go after nowadays. Not everyone wants to compete. It’s okay if you are either one of them. However, injuries do happen at certain times no matter what you do. This is a part of the training.
But then again, no pain no gain right? However such injuries are not life-threatening and they are mild and can recover pretty quickly too.
So to answer the question, yes it is a little bit dangerous but that’s just a part of the package.
3. Can I train Muay Thai at Home?
If you are starting out on Muay Thai then it is best to not try this at home. It is possible to train alone but not in the first stages of your training.
It can be difficult and you can pick up bad moves and bad posture. You need proper guidance for this kind of training.
You need someone to correct your form while training. Don’t forget that even Bruce Lee started training under Kung Fu masters.
There are special gyms for Muay Thai that have special instructors to guide you through the training. You also need the correct equipment that you won’t find at home.
The social factor also plays an important role. The community can motivate you and push you harder for completing this training. Seeing others train can also make you want to train more.
If you have already trained for one year then you can consider training at home. You just need to buy some equipment and with the correct motivation, you can train at home.
However, we do not recommend training at home for beginners. If you can not find any gym close by you then you should take online Muay Thai Training classes.
In times of the pandemic, many gyms will be closed so you can go for the online classes as an alternate option. Although we still recommend going to the gym if possible.
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Conclusion
We hope that this article has been useful for you. It is a great thing to get into Muay Thai but we recommend that you should get into it with full conviction and try not to leave this halfway. See that you have the conviction to see this whole deal through.
This is a very popular training option nowadays that many people are opting for. If you are interested in to it then we do highly recommend this Muay Thai Training.
We hope that you have got to know everything about Muay Thai training from this article. We did our best to ensure that we give you all the information that we could.
Thank you so much for reading this article. Take care and Happy training!