Most students get into Muay Thai as a unique way to get fit, as well as for self-defense and competition. Muay Thai training improves cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, as well as mental and emotional fitness.
Historically, access to combat-level instruction was saved for competitive fighters and traditional martial artists. Easton’s Muay Thai curriculum offers students a chance to push their intensity to a competitive level, get in shape and master proper fighting techniques without ever needing to compete.
Muay Thai’s basic movements consist of punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. A typical class will focus on one of the strikes and includes:
- 5 minute dynamic warm up,
- 2-6 minutes shadow boxing,
- 10-20 rounds of practice,
- closing cardio/plyo rounds, close out.
This doesn’t seem too difficult on paper but with Muay Thai the devil is in the details.
One of the most valuable benefits of Muay Thai training is improving cardio and aerobic fitness. If you get gassed chasing the kids, walking up stairs, or tying your shoes, your first challenge might be the warm up. Don’t get discouraged, folks who may be weight lifters or athletes but don’t train in combat sports will likely find themselves in the same predicament.
Easton builds its classes in a way that helps push intensity and consists of sufficient rest as well. You could call these rounds High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Most people have heard the term at some point, but they may not understand the benefits.
HIIT training allows students to get their heart rate into the fat-burning zone at its lower-intensity moments and push up to 90% of their maximum during higher-intensity sparring rounds, maximizing calorie burn and improving overall fitness.
Over time, kickboxing and Muay Thai students will see an increase in VO2 max (blood/oxygen saturation). A higher VO2 max is associated with more endurance as well as a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. It also results in better weight management, reduced anxiety and stress, and improved memory.
[4 Fitness Tips for a Better Muay Thai Experience]
The power of flexibility
Flexibility, or lack thereof, may be one of the biggest challenges for beginners in Muay Thai and Kickboxing. The main kick defense is called the “check.” To perform a check, the fighter lifts his leg using his shin as a vertical shield against an incoming kick.
This doesn’t seem too bad until the block needs to protect against a body kick, in which your knee would need to make it up to about chest level. Now, no need to stress. Your flexibility will improve over time, a byproduct of learning and performing various movements in class.
One of the additional benefits of Muay Thai includes range of motion in the ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and trunk. Eventually, you begin to see combos as dance moves and sparring as dancing with your partner. Once you have a feel for the dance, you will develop your own fighting style that works for your body and fighting strengths.
[The Best Stretches for Muay Thai]
Mental and emotional resilience
Last but possibly longest-lasting, we have mental and emotional fitness. This is next-level tough.
A part of Muay Thai scoring involves the appearance of dominance and control. Even if you don’t plan to compete, you’re still expected to train in line with the demands of the sport.
While training, you will make sounds you didn’t know you could make; you may throw up a time or two. You will have bruises the size of Texas. The mental toughness you develop by pushing through hours of training and gallons of sweat, even when you don’t want to, only strengthens your discipline. It gives you the ability to embrace pain for the sake of a deferred reward.
Regulating your feelings is one of the most difficult skills to hone. Emotionally, you may have never been triggered quite like catching a punch to the face. Sparring after an hour-long class, cardio rounds in your first month of training, holding a plank at the end of class; all of these test your ability to push through pain, toil, and exhaustion. It goes without saying that this ability to regulate emotions extends into our relationships at home and with the public as well.
Muay Thai is one of the most mentally, physically and emotionally taxing sports out there, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. If you want a new way to get in shape or a challenge, you can find it on the mats. Just don’t forget to hydrate and stretch before your first day!
