I've been training Muay Thai for 3 months now and have just had my first proper sparring session. It was intense, but enjoyable in its own painful way. Now as a noob I know I have a long way to go before I can think about anything beyond the basics, but it has got me really interested in sparring strategy. My coach said at the outset that through trial and painful error we would find what worked for us, and sure enough I did. I'm tall and rangy but not very strong, and my heavier, stronger partner just battered through my guard until I realised the lead hook, jab and teep were my friends where blocking really wasn't. This was really interesting because I couldn't imagine when I would use the teep until I needed it! So I've been reading a bit about different strategies and was looking for recommendations on interesting resources, thoughts on what work for you etc. I've found this article on How to Beat a Shorter Boxer and especially this one on Drowning Style really interesting. Are they directly applicable to thai boxing or is the thai arsenal so different as to negate these tactics? I've had a read through the sticky on different styles too, which was fascinating. It's all for academic interest at this point, but thanks for your thoughts!
When approaching Muay Thai sparring its all about working to the scoring rule set so try to use off balancing techniques(teep a good one) kicks to mid section as they score well and long knee,most camps in Thailand would make a tall fighter into a knee machine,no matter what tactics you fight with always be aware of the scores or you wont win anything in Muay Thai.
I read jeet kune do bruce lees commentaries, a few years back. It reinforced a lot of what I was already taught. It's not really a book on sparring strategy, but the philosiphy might be of some use to you.
Thanks for the interesting replies, I have had a watch of the videos on Simon's thread which were really useful. Fire cobra I am intrigued that you say a thai camp would turn a tall fighter into a knee machine. Is this what you referred to as a Muay Kow and Muay Liam Kow on your stickied thread?
Knee machine? Tall fighter? Teeps? Heres someone to learn from [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dIsPTWyic"]Dieselnoi Thaipads - YouTube[/ame]
Immense, thanks for sharing! I was wondering what that all looked like when put together. So when I think of fighting tall I think of a constant barrage of teeps, jabs and counter punches, going to clinch when the opponent gets inside. That looked like an altogether more aggressive style, but is that because it was on pads? Can you summarise this style of fighting?
Oldi,Muay Kow is a fighter that locks on and knees,Muay Liam Kow is a fighter that clinches looser but turns a lot and throws a lot,there are 2 types of clinch games.Badger Ladders vid shows Diesel Noi who was one of the best ever at kneeing,knees score well plus they wear the body down and they ko well
They are very effective, and yes they score well. I am constantly reminded not to bother with throwing body punches (something I am used to doing from Kickboxing) as knees score higher.
I like right hand to body and left hook to body but get my guys to intergrate with knees so the punches help to wear out the body
Great advice from fire cobra as always Don't skip on learning a solid defence, block with balance and composure ready to return shots If your not being scored upon you can't lose right?!
Right Daggers! balance the number 1 requirement as we are on 1 leg a lot of the time,as you say if you dont block strong then the balance is off and we cant return the score
I think body boxing still helps to open up a lot of things, and the hooks can be absolutely devastating. We have a few fighters that have body shot stoppages, I recall Liam Harrison falling to one at Glory: London as well, so they're definitely effective - don't underestimate them!
They are very effective for sure,we use them to wear out the body as they arent the best scoring shot in Muay Thai but deffo If landed right can get a stoppage
