Do you remember all your fears about the first day of a new high school or college? Worrying if you could find the right class room, wondering if you were overdressed, under-dressed, or had even picked the right image to present yourself to your new classmates. Always checking your schedule, trying to figure out where to sit, trying to decide if you should raise your hand or not in class. Looking around the room and wondering who would be a good person to talk to and become friends with, wondering if you were cool enough to be their friend. Well thank God that’s over for me, and for most of you, but I like to remember that feeling because it can be a little like the first day of school for people when they walk into a Muay Thai gym for the first time.

If you have been in the fight scene for a while, you forget what it was like when you first started. For a newbie, instructors, fighters, and other students are intimidating. Muay Thai traditions are completely foreign. You don’t know a Thai pad from a kick pad, Thai oil smells funny, three minutes of jump rope feels like an eternity, and you have no idea how to take 180 inches of fabric and somehow with what seems like 37 different twists and turns, wrap it neatly around your hand without either cutting off your circulation or having the whole wrap fall apart after the warm-up.

At my gym, I try to make beginners feel comfortable and explain to them all the things they will need to know before they move on to the mixed level classes, but I will probably always fall short. It’s so hard to remember all the things beginners don’t know because it’s been so long since I was one.

I am always grateful when a student asks me a question that is very obvious to me, but they couldn’t possibly know without being told. It gives me a chance to share with them my experience and pass on knowledge that was passed down to me in a true tradition of martial arts. This blog is for all the teachers like myself that need reminding how little we knew in the beginning and for all the Muay Thai newbies who just started training or are curious about starting. These Tips for Muay Thai Beginners are for those who I assume care about getting better at Muay Thai. if you are training just to get a ripped body you might want to consider other less technical means like those of boot camps or cardio kickboxing. Just my two cents.

1. You don’t need to be in shape to start training Muay Thai. MuayThai is a skill based sport. If you focus on the techniques you are being taught, drill them with focus and patience you will naturally get more conditioned as you practice, being able to do things faster and harder as you get better. If you are gassing out on the first round of pad work try going lighter, it will help you focus on your technique anyway. Sure the warm ups and the conditioning drills will be challenging at first, but you probably signed up to be challenged and improve your fitness. Besides, your instructor and the other students know you are new. No one expects you to be in top shape coming in and no one will make you feel bad if you aren’t. If you feel genuinely uncomfortable in class find a gym that makes you feel welcome. There are many different types of Muay Thai gyms with different vibes and gym cultures. If you are lucky enough to live in a large urban area you should have a variety of gyms to choose from.

2. Expect to Suck at First. Every great fighter sucked at some point. My first coach used to say, “If it was easy everyone would do it.” I tell this to my students all the time. Learning how to use your body as a weapon in a rule-based sport is not an easy task. Instead of getting frustrated by not being able to do a strike or combination perfectly, get FASCINATED by the sport and use that drive and passion to focus your practice. Sure there are always those students who pick it up faster and look like a pro on the pads in a few months, but that is rare and usually that “natural athlete” is just an average person that wanted it more and spent more time working at it. If something was earned through hard effort and rigorous practice it is appreciated much more and that journey from sucky to awesome will stay with you forever.

3. Watch Fights. There is actually science behind this. You will improve at your sport by watching other people play that sport. If you are not an avid fight watcher and don’t know where to start ask your instructor for the names of their favorite fighters past and present.  They will be happy to share them with you and you can get started on your YouTube education right away.

4. Shadow box and mean it. I know shadow boxing sucks in the beginning. It’s one of the things I distinctly remember. I hated it. I felt stupid, didn’t know what combos to do and just wanted to hit something solid. I may not absolutely love shadow boxing even today, but I understand it’s benefit and see it’s results. Shadow boxing gives you the opportunity to practice strikes, footwork and new combos with precision, by slowing it down, checking your work in the mirror, fixing mistakes and then speeding it up. To get better it’s very important that you drill things the right way in shadow boxing and not be sloppy. My pet peeve is bad shadow boxing footwork like crossing your feet or students dropping their hands randomly just because they are bored during shadow boxing. Try working on a combo you did in your last class during shadow boxing or focus on a particular element of your game like keeping your left hand up or extending your hips on the knee. If you don’t know what to work on in shadow boxing, ask your instructor for suggestions.

5. It’s okay to stick to the basics. If your gym has mixed level classes chances are there will be days when the class format calls for some advanced footwork or a long combination.  Don’t get overwhelmed, tell your partner or pad holder you just want to focus on the first strike or two to make things easier since you are new. They will understand. If you are working the bag, take your time and think about your cues and instructor’s suggestions before each strike. Don’t just drill the strikes incorrectly over and over because you are trying to get a workout. Take the complex and break it into small pieces, putting them together one at a time paying particular attention to the transitions. If you stick to the basics in the beginning and refine them, before you know it a 6 strike combo will not be so confusing.

6. Come early, stay late and ask questions.  Remember that kid in school who was always in class before you, they always raised their hand and had something to say and when class was over they stayed late to ask the teacher to elaborate on a particular lecture point.  Yeah that kid was a nerd, but that kid also went on to run a fortune 500 company, discover a new gene or write a best selling novel and probably earns more a year than the kid that showed up late, closed their book as soon as the bell rang and never participated. Want to be good at Muay Thai?  Be a fight nerd. Get fascinated by the sport, do extra work, take advantage of open gym, ask your instructor lots of questions, no one will think it’s weird. Every great Muay Thai fighter had been obsessed with the sport. The only way to get good is to care too much and put in work.