Kickboxing

     Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as “Thai boxing”, is a combat sport of Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the “art of eight limbs” as it is characterized by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins.

      Generally, it is a good idea to show up around 10 minuets early, so you can introduce yourself to the instructor and familiarize yourself with the gym. It is not a bad idea to stretch a little bit before the class, but it is not a necessity as classes will have an official warm up/ stretching routine.

     Feel free to introduce yourself to people who are already there, most will be welcoming to new people. Don’t be intimidated by the more experienced people at the gym, it will be easy to think that they were always better than you are now, this is NOT TRUE. Everyone remembers their first day and no one was good day one. 

   Standard workout clothes, sweat pants, or compression gear will be just fine. Make sure to avoid clothing with extra pockets, zippers, or other things that would cut someone or catch fingers.

     To ensure that you can have a long, injury free grappling journey it is recommended that you invest in some protective gear such as a mouth guard, athletic cup, and or finger compression selves. however, this stuff is not necessary to train, but it is nice to have.

     The most important thing is to make sure all of your nails are trimmed ahead of time. This is important because they can get caught on things and break, also don’t be the person who scratches training partners on accident. Another thing to be aware of is that your training outfit/gear should be washed after each use. Beyond that, make sure to use common sense (if you need to do a smell check, you should probably shower first)

     Every practice will start with a warm up. Some will be a mild and slow warm up, followed by stretching, others will be a physical conditioning and movement drills. Don’t be discouraged if you feel less graceful than the people who have been doing these movements for a long time. It feels unnatural and clunky to everyone on their first time.

     A common mistake people make is trying to keep pace with upper belts that have lots of practice and therefore are able to do impressive movements that seem exhausting, but are actually efficient. As long as you try your best at each of the warm up motions without burning yourself out, you should be okay. The warm up is for you to get ready to train, there is no competition.

     Depending the class schedule there may be an open mat after class. If you have even the smallest desire to train more, DON’T WASTE this time. Most people will be sparring and trying to work on moves they learned in classes prior. Feel free to ask anyone to spar/ roll or you can simply drill a technique if you don’t feel ready for sparring just yet.

     Note: it is never a bad thing to ask someone to spar light or take it easy. You have EVERY RIGHT to stop sparring if things start getting carried away. Simply tap in any position and explain that you would rather not spar at that pace (especially effective if you asked them to go light before you started).