I want to start Muay Thai but...

[DJmma]

well so far almost all of what we do is spar, and try it out. he shows us a basic move, and we try it out with our partner, again again and again. Im usualy paired up with someone who is more experienced than me, so i learn quickly. in muay thai, so far i learned basic kicks, and punches, and some combos. And yes, we do fight in the ring. our place has its own octagon. We frequently go in and spar, and try out our techniques on eachother. It's hands on. We never punch air, its always with pads. From my experience this is the most realistic way of training, compaired to other MAs ive taken. so to answer your question, yes we do learn the self-defense aspect of muay thai from what ive seen.

[Sohan]

But do you actually learn the self-defense aspect of Muay Thai, as in anything useful in a fight if you don't actually fight in the ring? I always thought the only way to know how to fight was to actually fight, no learnt set of actions will work unless you know what it's like to be punched in the head and you don't panic...

If you are taught Muay Thai by a competent instructor you will learn to defend yourself in a fight. Very important to know how to protect yourself and counterattack. No sense in learning to punch, elbow, knee and kick if every time you try to strike you get whacked in the head. Fights end very quickly this way.

But I don't think it's quite accurate to say that one has to experience a fight to be a good fighter. I've been punched in the head before and it didn't seem to improve my fighting prowess. One does, however, need to be comfortable with distancing and physical contact and practice learned skills repeatedly so that they become a natural response to a threat without thinking. Contact, yes. A full-out brawl, probably not necessary.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[ebff]

well so far almost all of what we do is spar, and try it out. he shows us a basic move, and we try it out with our partner, again again and again. Im usualy paired up with someone who is more experienced than me, so i learn quickly. in muay thai, so far i learned basic kicks, and punches, and some combos. And yes, we do fight in the ring. our place has its own octagon. We frequently go in and spar, and try out our techniques on eachother. It's hands on. We never punch air, its always with pads. From my experience this is the most realistic way of training, compaired to other MAs ive taken. so to answer your question, yes we do learn the self-defense aspect of muay thai from what ive seen.

Awesome, thanks for your reply! When training wing chun we used no protection whatsoever and it was quite painful at times but Sohan I have to say once you get punched and it hurts you'll pay more attention to your guard, that's what I mean

Right enough thread highjacking I'll let the thread go on now

[elbows_and_knees]

well so far almost all of what we do is spar, and try it out. he shows us a basic move, and we try it out with our partner, again again and again. Im usualy paired up with someone who is more experienced than me, so i learn quickly. in muay thai, so far i learned basic kicks, and punches, and some combos. And yes, we do fight in the ring. our place has its own octagon. We frequently go in and spar, and try out our techniques on eachother. It's hands on. We never punch air, its always with pads. From my experience this is the most realistic way of training, compaired to other MAs ive taken. so to answer your question, yes we do learn the self-defense aspect of muay thai from what ive seen.

Sounds like a good gym so far. However, IMO you shouldn't be sparring this early, only doing a lot of drilling. I've noticed that hard contact sparring so early can ingrain bad habits into a noob.

The self-defense aspect of muay thai is a little different. Yes, you can use the sportive muay thai very effectively - most prefer it - but there are traditional techniques that some schools drill also. included are elbows to the base of the neck, knees to the spine, etc. I think this is more the SD aspect of muay thai - the traditional techniques.

[elbows_and_knees]

But do you actually learn the self-defense aspect of Muay Thai, as in anything useful in a fight if you don't actually fight in the ring? I always thought the only way to know how to fight was to actually fight, no learnt set of actions will work unless you know what it's like to be punched in the head and you don't panic...

If you are taught Muay Thai by a competent instructor you will learn to defend yourself in a fight. Very important to know how to protect yourself and counterattack. No sense in learning to punch, elbow, knee and kick if every time you try to strike you get whacked in the head. Fights end very quickly this way.

But I don't think it's quite accurate to say that one has to experience a fight to be a good fighter. I've been punched in the head before and it didn't seem to improve my fighting prowess. One does, however, need to be comfortable with distancing and physical contact and practice learned skills repeatedly so that they become a natural response to a threat without thinking. Contact, yes. A full-out brawl, probably not necessary.

Respectfully,

Sohan

why would it not be accurate? If you have no experience, you have nothing to judge by, so you are merely guessing where your skills are. being in a ring or street fight are drastically different from sparring at the gym. I personally would never train muay thai under a coach who had never been in the ring. there are things about being in the ring - more than just fighting - that can't always be accurately taught by someone with no experience. same thing with a street fight. I've seen several black belts in various systems who did plenty of sparring get massacred in street fights - they didn't have the experience and happened to fight people more experienced than them. Naturally, I don't advocate going out and getting into streetfights, but I am a big advocate of ring fighting. I think that EVERY MA should step into the ring at least once.

as a bouncer, I've seen a few green bouncers get beaten and I've seen some freeze and panic instead of breaking up a fight. it's an experience thing.

[Sohan]

But do you actually learn the self-defense aspect of Muay Thai, as in anything useful in a fight if you don't actually fight in the ring? I always thought the only way to know how to fight was to actually fight, no learnt set of actions will work unless you know what it's like to be punched in the head and you don't panic...

If you are taught Muay Thai by a competent instructor you will learn to defend yourself in a fight. Very important to know how to protect yourself and counterattack. No sense in learning to punch, elbow, knee and kick if every time you try to strike you get whacked in the head. Fights end very quickly this way.

But I don't think it's quite accurate to say that one has to experience a fight to be a good fighter. I've been punched in the head before and it didn't seem to improve my fighting prowess. One does, however, need to be comfortable with distancing and physical contact and practice learned skills repeatedly so that they become a natural response to a threat without thinking. Contact, yes. A full-out brawl, probably not necessary.

Respectfully,

Sohan

why would it not be accurate? If you have no experience, you have nothing to judge by, so you are merely guessing where your skills are. being in a ring or street fight are drastically different from sparring at the gym. I personally would never train muay thai under a coach who had never been in the ring. there are things about being in the ring - more than just fighting - that can't always be accurately taught by someone with no experience. same thing with a street fight. I've seen several black belts in various systems who did plenty of sparring get massacred in street fights - they didn't have the experience and happened to fight people more experienced than them. Naturally, I don't advocate going out and getting into streetfights, but I am a big advocate of ring fighting. I think that EVERY MA should step into the ring at least once.

as a bouncer, I've seen a few green bouncers get beaten and I've seen some freeze and panic instead of breaking up a fight. it's an experience thing.

Sure, ring time is fine. But I don't think they need to street fight to be prepared to fight.

We're not entirely in disagreement, elbows and knees. I didn't say someone can enter a fight unprepared and expect to win, nor did I say that a Muay Thai instructor should have no real ring time. In fact, I've made the point elsewhere on this site that I would not consider working with a Thai boxing trainer who lacks ring experience.

However, in a real fight, there is no guesswork. You either come to the table with the right skills ready to go or you end up on the floor, regardless from where you've acquired those skills. As a former bouncer myself, I have seen MA practitioners who were unable to apply those skills in a real situation. Many martial arts schools underprepare students for the reality of conflict, or spar to such an extent that students never truly develop the good habits necessary to win in battle, teaching them unrealistic techniques that the student is unable or too unskilled to apply.

My point is that full-out fighting does not necessarily make a good fighter. Not all fights with martial artists end up like Fred Ettish's did. I have had some of the opposite experiences from yours. I watched a mild mannered karate friend of mine who had no street fighting experience completely dismantle a seasoned streetfighter many years back that I thought would destroy him. In fact, one of our blackbelts has NEVER been in a fistfight, yet I wouldn't cross him on his worst day. Is a fighter better with real life fighting experience? Of course. Is it ALWAYS necessary in order to win a street fight? I don't believe so.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[elbows_and_knees]

I've seen opposite experiences also. anything can happen on any given day. you can't discount the value of experience though, and until you have experience, you are really only guessing... Like I said, I don't advocate everyone getting into a streetfight. I'm merely saying that you don't know what you can/will do until you are in one.

[EarthElement]

I've seen opposite experiences also. anything can happen on any given day. you can't discount the value of experience though, and until you have experience, you are really only guessing... Like I said, I don't advocate everyone getting into a streetfight. I'm merely saying that you don't know what you can/will do until you are in one.

Sorry to butt in but when you say experience, what kind of experience are you talking about? Like ring time, hours spent practicing techniques, previous streetfights, etc.

[elbows_and_knees]

from the context of streetfighting, streetfights. from the context of ring fighting, ring fights.

[skuyen]

Helloo,

I`m new member here.Nice to meet u all.

hmm,i think i not have a good english but i wanna know tips of muay thai.i now still find a couch to train me about muay thai, but in malaysia so hard to find.So,can i train self with ur tips and can u all give me a starting skill.