How to be as good as the thais??

Nobody is sold to any muay thai camp. The camp offers
an opportunity to a child from a poverty stricken
family who probably cant afford to feed them. The
child is given food, clothes, room and board in an
exchange that calls for a 50/50 split between the camp
and the fighter for the duration of his career. Thus
the camp is much like an orphanage with the Ajarn the
head master and father figure and the fellow boxers
like brothers. What doug evans says is true, the keep
the boys training in split sessions to keep them
focused but also occupied. The young boys and fighters
often go home to visit their families and i have
accompanied them on more than one ocassion. Its true that alot of fighters cant wait to free themselves from the constrictions of the camp and one way is to win alot which offers you alot more opportunities and a little more earned time to do things outside of the camp.

It is a hard, spartan life but I have seen fighters
from my camp create a life not only for themselves but
also for their parents by becoming very successful.
Others didnt having to return home to eke out a living
any way they can.

Have your parents sell you to a MT camp when you are 8 years old, where you live and train full time and turn pro at 15.

maybe thats why pro Thai fighters hate their jobs (according to an earlier thread) cuz they were forced into it from a very young age.

I have trained and fought in thailand and i agree with most of what has been posted...however, I don't think that training like a thai is necessarily conducive to the western way of life....if you are a beginner and train with the thais you will absorb info like a sponge because ALL of the fighters in the camps will want to give you some instruction...if you are already pretty good, i think that you'll find that the 3hr classes will leave you bored...even though the training is difficult the pace is kinda slow...i much prefer the Dutch methods (and style) of training Muay Thai...they cram about 3hrs into 1hr...which is very intense...scripted rest periods and full speed all the time...this is my personal choice...i'd rather get in, get out, go home (or into the hot tub, sauna...sleep)than spend all that time at the gym.

I did ask one trainer why they trained so long and he said alot of it is so they can keep 'the boys' out of trouble by limiting the amount of free time they had...


doug evans

Lautaro is 100% correct.

To be as good as a Thai, you have to train like a Thai.

But actually, you can be as good as a Thai by training more efficiently than a Thai.

Though Thai's train very, very hard, I have come to understand that the training isn't always the most efficient, and therefore by training smarter, we can cover a lot of ground. Essentially by using more modern training methods.

For instance, the Thai's train twice every single day for a few hours each session. The body doesn't necessarily ever get an opportunity to recuperate.

One thing that is hard to make up is the body's toughness. Thais begin training very young, and their bodies are super super tough. Especially their shins.

Khun Kao

Train like them then you can be as good.

Hi all,

I was reading one of the threads and I think it was Khun Kao?? that mentioned
that people came back from Thailand humbled from the experience of training
with the world's best. This led me to think about what makes the Thais so good,
and whether or not we (us mere mortals) can even get close when we train at
our respective gyms.

I guess the list that I came up with are (in no particular order)

(a) conditioning
If I had the opportunity to train 2 lots of 3 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, I would
be physically and mentally hardened......plus super tired.

(b) body mechanics
I guess this explains why they can hit so hard for their weight and stature

(c) mental attitude
A 'I don't give a fuck' attitude or a 'I don't care' attitude. If you hit me with your best
round kick, I am going to give you 2 of mine plus 2 free elbows for your troubles.

(d) easy going?? attitude
Its just a game...don't take it so seriously, relax, relax, relax

I would like to hear what you guys think

thanks

I recently returned from having trained in Thailand. I went to Thailand specifically to learn from the thais and find out the very "secrets" you ask about. This is what I learned in a nutshell: there are no "secrets" or "tricks" to their training, there's no magic involved. They start very young, say 5 or 6, and train very, very hard 5-6 days a week, a few hours a day. Watching the children in action was mindblowing for me. I was watching 7-year olds fighting with the skill, tenacity and conditioning usually only seen adults. It was crazy! Of course, by the time they're around 20, they're absolutely phenomenal. My first day there I managed to train for 5 hours. The next day I could barely move. For them, it's just another day. The other elements you mentioned are also right on the money. They were constantly urging you to keep fighting despite being on the verge of dropping dead. At this point, you have no strength in your body and are forced to rely on sheer determination. If you beat them to a bloody pulp, they will get up and keep fighting. At the same time, they also stress proper mechanics. They will continue to pick at your technique until you are performing it with power AND proper technique. And finally, they do have fun while training. I remember watching them work on clinching where they were blasting each other with knees to the body while smiling and laughing! There's a serious undertone to the training but they make the most of their time by having fun while training hard. For the thais I trained with, fighting wasn't a hobby or something they did to keep in shape, it was essentially their job, their livelihood. They couldn't afford to slack off in training because they would only be cheating themselves. The training in Thailand is very, very tough, but the results speak for themselves. Anyone serious about MT should check it out.

Lautaro

I guess if it were a MMA fight, you would only win by grappling them. If it were a kickboxing match you'd be screwed. Just like the Brazillians where you have to beat them standing up.

or you could train as hard and have a chance to win standing. Training hard makes you damn good, but anyone can. No training can make you invincible though.

dear mindset 450,

if you can create:

-discipline
-optimum effective training hours
-respect,trust to the trainers and students
-sincerity, seriousness, flexibility among problems in the game you may create champs in muay thai who can also beat the thais (who has some disadvantages ,as well...)

this has been proven several times by the dutch and japanese (like names brillemann,carbin,ballantino dekers,fujiwara,shima,yamalý, çolak etc.ý am not talking about heavy weights..)who just trained and fought in serious way...

however,since muay thai game is nowadays not so strong in financial terms like k-1, vale tudo, nhb games, the interest of the europeans has lost to some extent and gone some into these directions...

(ý don't want to touch ,since you should be aware about the difference,spoiled things in the usa scene better than me...)