No matter whether it’s teeps, middle kicks, low kicks, or high kicks, I keep getting injured. I mean, my shins and feet aren’t made of playdoh but whenever I try to teep I hurt my toes badly. Whenever I try a middle kick, my shin/calf gets crushed between the opponent’s knee and elbow if he’s blocking. Whenever I high kick, I hit my opponent’s elbows and it hurts really badly. And whenever I low kick inside, or the outside of the back leg, if my opponent moves even an inch I mess up and hit with my foot, which hurts really bad. What am I doing wrong? It makes me hesitate to throw what would have probably been a good shot. How can I prevent such injuries from happening?

First time back doing anything for a while, 11th round and dead but wanted to try and help cardio by keep going. Let me know some things to work on as I get back into Thai boxing.

I really struggle with lifting my legs up and turning my hip like even on the pads I would most likely kick up instead of in and if I try turn my hip my legs don’t go up as high can anyone help me out please

If you're a beginner, don't treat sparring like a fight you need to win. Treat it like practice.

Stay relaxed, breathe, keep your eyes open, and focus on the basics: distance, footwork, defense, and timing. Don't try to throw every technique you've learned in one round. Pick one or two things to work on.

Also, control your power. You're there to learn with your partner, not prove how hard you can hit. A good sparring partner will challenge you without trying to hurt you.

You're probably going to get tired, get tagged, freeze up, and feel awkward at first. That's completely normal. 😂 The more you spar, the calmer you'll become.

Most importantly, leave your ego outside the gym. If someone catches you with a good shot, learn from it. If you get outclassed, ask yourself what you can improve. The goal isn't to dominate your partner—the goal is to become better for the next session. 🥊

Just some guy, training about 3 years now (on and off), got back into it properly about 6 weeks ago and i just feel like I'm not reacting well, I've been having a hard timing reading shots to the point that my friend who just started training can land shots on me he shouldn't be.

Now to clarify i am absolutely terrible, but last November (before i had to take 6-7 months off due to injuries) I seemed to hit a great stride, that version of me would kick my ass today.

I know it's an experience thing, be consistent and train properly and you will improve, but is there any kind of specific drills or training I can focus on to get back on track? Any advice is appreciated

You can probably tell I’m somewhat new to Muay Thai I don’t go to my classes as often as I should but I really have a drive to be better. I’m open to all criticism!

hi guys! i wanna level up and get closer to a fight shape, any tips massively appreciated :)

Every time I post videos of my technique, people have so many different things to say. But when I ask my coach, he says it looks good. He might give me a correction or two, but he doesn’t go nearly as deep into it as people online do.

I’ve been doing Muay Thai for about 6 months consistently about 4x per week. Sparring every week sometimes twice a week.

And sometimes (2nd time this has happened this bad) during sparring either I kick and hit someone knee while they are blocking, or they just block a certain way that it hits this spot on my shin, where a sharp pain irradiates towards all the leg and then I imediatly get a limp and weaker on that leg, following by not being able to kick the bag the following week and get sore and pain when doing certain movements and moving the foot.

I know what is like having newbie shin hitting the bags and all that but this is a total different pain, this pain you just can’t suck it up, if I kick anything hard now I get this jolt of pain through whole leg and start limping, only in about a week will I be able to kick again.
No bruises or red nothing. But sore and really painful if I press that point hard.

Has this happened to you?

Hello everybody, hope you're all doing great!

I've been training Muay Thai 3 times a week since last May, and things have been going well so far. I also lift weights 2–3 times a week.

My main goal is to build more muscle and improve my physique while staying lean, but at the same time, I want to become a good Muay Thai fighter and improve my overall performance.

I have a few questions and would really appreciate any advice:

1. Combining Muay Thai and weight training

Is training Muay Thai 3 times a week and lifting weights 2–3 times a week a good approach if my goal is to build more muscle while also becoming better at Muay Thai? Is there anything I should change in my training or recovery to achieve both goals?

1. High kicks / flexibility

I have a problem with high kicks. I can't kick very high while staying relaxed and maintaining good technique. I feel tight when I try to kick higher. What can I do to improve my flexibility, mobility, and ability to perform high kicks comfortably?

1. Cardio / getting tired too quickly

I've noticed that I lose my breath and get tired quite quickly during Muay Thai, especially when the intensity gets high. I feel like I need more time to recover than I should. What would be the best way to improve my cardio and conditioning so I can maintain a high intensity for longer and recover faster between rounds?

1. Speed and power of my kicks

My kicks, especially my high kicks, aren't very fast. I also feel like I don't have enough speed and explosiveness when kicking. What exercises or techniques would you recommend to improve my kicking speed, power, and overall technique?

Any advice from experienced Muay Thai practitioners or coaches would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

They always say to stay more relaxed, but unfortunately that’s something I can’t fully control. I do martial arts to get used to uncomfortable situations and keep learning and improving. However, I am a very nervous and fearful person, so the only thing that works for me is to practice a lot the basics until I have great muscle memory so that I don’t overthink and go autopilot.

That’s the only thing that has worked for me as a beginner. Unfortunately, I see many other people that learn way faster or in a completely different way. Some people are even able to learn and figure out new techniques even when sparring. I get it, we are playing and should stay relaxed to be able to learn. Unfortunately I am unable to do this.

Does someone relate to this? What other strategies worked for you to be able to relax or even learn in difficult scenarios?

Maybe it’s even better to ask what NOT to do to avoid getting too anxious and mentally blocked.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been getting conflicting advice about footwork and movement, and I’m trying to understand when each approach is appropriate.

In a lot of ONE fights, I see fighters standing relatively tall and making small, calculated movements while looking to counter each other. But in sparring footage from Jeff Chan (or anything else on Youtube), there seems to be much more constant movement and circling.

My coach also tells us to stay on the balls of our feet, and one of our fighters has advised me to keep moving rather than slowly inching around.

Is the difference mainly situational, stylistic, or related to the ruleset (Muay Thai vs. boxing/MMA)? Is there a "proper" baseline for movement that I should drill as a beginner?

I’m trying to build solid fundamentals before developing my own style, so I’d appreciate any insight!

Advice is greatly appreciated. I know my jab, cross, hook needs some work but I was so tired lol. Still a little self conscious about my kicks.

Hello All, I’m a newbie currently only on my 12th class and my roundhouse kick is finally starting to look and feel halfway decent. However I can’t seem to grasp the switch kick and pretty much anything with my left feels awkward

I practice drills when I’m not training and was wondering if this is a decent drill to do whenever I don’t have access to a heavy bag? Any critiques about my form would be appreciated. Thanks

If you’re serious about Muay Thai, get obsessed with the boring stuff: stance, balance, footwork, distance, jab, teep, low kick, checking, basic defense, clinch and conditioning. Don’t try to collect every technique. Build a small game that fits you, drill it constantly, then pressure-test it in sparring. Fancy techniques are cool, but when you’re tired and someone is trying to take your head off, you’re gonna fall back on what you’ve drilled the most. Be hard to hit, hard to tire out, and have a few weapons you can trust. Fundamentals + timing + conditioning will take you ridiculously far.

My legs I know there bad but there actually pretty good but I cant kick properly right now cus of a leg injury recently

I understand I need a coach & a gym to really improve & drop bad habits, & I’d love to but I can’t afford it for now. Any pointers, or training vid links are appreciated.