It is often very evident that people forget that the meaning of the word “martial” is military or combative.  This Means that many martial arts were taught for the purpose of allowing practitioners to excel and succeed in combative endeavors (though not all “martial arts” that exist today were in fact historically “martial” in nature).  It is understood that some people, in joining a martial arts school/gym, are just looking for something to do; a potential belt to gain; or a club; gym or group to belong to; or they have some other non-combative purpose for enrolling in and participating in martial arts programs. 

However, the vast majority of the people, looking to enroll, in any true Muay Thai class are more likely to be interested in acquiring true combative skills for self-protection, and competition/fighting, and it would be a disservice to them to merely learn traditional techniques, that have no modern-day efficacy (especially in today’s landscape of MMA gym’s and in some cases “traditional” martial arts school’s now cross-training in other complimentary styles), that won’t lead them to being successful in competition, or especially on the street. 

The other thing to remember, especially when talking about Muay Thai is that it’s not an art based on showy techniques, or belt promotion.  Muay Thai is, historically, primarily a combative art; where your progress, skills, and success are solely measured by your ability to fight.  Success in Muay Thai is based on learning to have an aggressive, dominant, destructive, fighting mentality; and the willingness to damage and dominate/“destroy” another living being. 

 In Thailand, traditional Muay Thai stylists began training anywhere from ages 7-10, and spend years banging and beating on each other for no other purpose than conditioning their bodies to withstand the pain and punishment that can potentially be dished out by another human being.  That’s the mentality of Muay Thai, not just sport, but combat; destructive painful combat. 

I have therefore set about to create a Muay Thai system non-traditional in nature but still able to impart all the necessary skills and mentality to be combat successful.  In America, it would be nearly impossible to teach “traditional” Muay Thai, because we all know that Americans don’t want to learn (or voluntarily agree to subject their children to the kind of long-term abuse described above) this way, and don’t have the mentality to allow this much punishment to be inflicted upon them. 

They’d never again show up to train if this was the manner in which they were being instructed.  And, because the vast majority of the beginning Muay Thai students I’ve encountered don’t have much, if any combat or martial arts experience at all, they’re really not ready to have their bodies “conditioned” in this manner.  So how do you get around this “traditional” Muay Thai teaching mentality, without cheating my students out of body conditioning, and technique training?  And how do we bring our students to proficiency in the techniques we teach, and get the light to go on for our students so that they will understand when and where to apply these techniques.  That’s where good curriculum modification comes in.  Here are some key areas where Combat Muay Thai differs from traditional Muay Thai.

 1. STANCE – Blended Stance which is mostly traditional Muay Thai, but the body is more bladed than squared – head, hands, and shoulders squared/semi-squared to opponent, and standing on the balls of the feet, lead hand a little further away from the body, than the rear hand – this stance has a lower/more squat center of gravity (which will help in takedown defense…i.e. the Muay Boran Stance), and footwork borrowed from western boxing to allow for more mobility.  The toes are turned 45 degrees, instead of facing the opponent (compared to traditional Muay Thai).  The turned in toes allows for easier and faster defense of leg (inner and outer) kicks, and for better takedown defense.

 2. FOOTWORK – A) “Step and Glide” (front and back, side to side, and diagonal).  B) Circular stepping; both types of footwork are borrowed from Western boxing.  C) Pivot stepping.  D) “V” stepping.  E) Pendulum Stepping.  F) “Switch” stepping.  Constant, consistent footwork drilling is an absolute necessity.  Consider that in “traditional Muay Thai there is not a lot of footwork or movement.  Fighters, due to their supreme body conditioning and hardening, often stand directly in front of one another, and strike (mostly the more devastating techniques of roundhouse kicks, knees and elbows) until one fighter is unconscious or otherwise unable to continue fighting. 

Thai fighters train for this type of conditioning for decades, but the downside is that they are forced to retire, nearly crippled and have a very poor quality of life (often by around age 35), due to this extreme body conditioning.  In recent years, some of the more progressive Muay Thai schools in Thailand have been brining in western boxing coaches to teach their fighters better footwork, to improve movement in the ring, to cut down the beatings their fighters take over the course of their training and fighting careers, and thereby hopefully improve their quality of life after fighting.

 3. PUNCHING – Jab (quick, and lead straight/power jab), Cross, Lead Hook, Rear Hook, uppercut, overhand, and shovel punch.  Students learn strikes in singles, and in combinations (traditional and random/non-traditional combinations).  This sounds more like western boxing techniques, but not only have many traditional karate schools started incorporating these techniques(and been doing so for many years), but also the most highly rated Muay Thai school in Thailand and most highly regarded around the world has been bringing western boxing coaches for past few years. 

This is the Fairtex Academy, and they as well as most good Thai schools realized years ago, that Thai Boxers would lose to western boxers, because the other primary weakness of “traditional” Thai boxing has always been the arts hand skills, or lack thereof.  Despite Muay Thai being the art of the eight limbs/appendages, the hands are weak in the traditional art.  Therefore most good schools have brought in the hands of western boxing, and modified the skill-set as necessary for their combative sport.  This is also what I’ve done in Combat Muay Thai.  Punching with precision, speed, and power will be emphasized as well as fighting “in the pocket”, and throwing multi-punch, multi-level combinations.

4. DEFENSE – A) Blocking/covering (both traditional boxing covers, and a modified Thai covering which allows the defensive cover to be used very effectively as an offensive maneuver).  B) Parrying/“hand-tapping” C) Slipping/“head movement” D) Ducking E) Bobbing and Weaving F) Static “Thai”/Shin-check G) Moving/Dynamic “Thai”/Shin-check H) Knee destruction (“Thai” Leg-Shielding, but instead of using the shin to block and parry, the knee is used to destroy the incoming attack/kick, and to totally shut down your opponent.

 5. CLINCH– Traditional “Thai/Plum clinch”, and a modified “Dirty Thai clinch” to deal with wrestlers and other grapplers, and to not only defend and take away their preferred methods of generating offense and getting takedowns, but to use their methods against them and capitalize on their attacks which will open up lines of attack and striking for the modified (prepared) Muay Thai fighter. 

Proper clinching techniques, when and where to clinch, using the clinch to throw and lock, and takedown, and striking from within the clinch will be taught.  Further, students will learn to strike when entering and exiting the clinch, a crucial and often overlooked skill in both Thai boxing and MMA.  Students will also learn kick catching, which is not an accident as many people assume, but an actual skill, with technique and proper applications. 

This will be taught as part of the basic curriculum clinching skill-set.  As with the traditional Thai clinch, kick catching is a traditional Thai technique based on good, explosive footwork and timing, which can be used to set up nasty and devastating strikes and takedowns (and takedowns into strikes/ground and pound; this will be taught in advanced classes)

 These are the basic techniques for Combat Muay Thai.  In the basic instruction, students will build the foundation for becoming high level strikers/fighters.  They are also going to be taught how to control the distance and spacing in any fight, depending on their individual range, ability, likes, and dislikes.  Muay Thai is a nearly complete fighting system which encompasses striking, clinching/grappling, and throwing/takedown skills, and with proper modification, ground fighting/striking skills can just as easily be added in. 

Therefore if students already have a proficiency/background in another art, they don’t have to lose, forget, or ignore that skill set to ingrain this  Muay Thai skill-set (the way we teach it) into their fighting style.  What they learn in this system will allow all of their skills and abilities to compliment and improve upon each other.  So, even if students like to grapple or have some sort of grappling background, or whatever background they may already have coming in to their training they can use their newly acquired Thai boxing skills to enhance and supplement their original skill set. 

Our combative philosophy is to only learn, and then teach skills that are functional for any and all combative encounters, and to impart an aggressive mentality that will allow those skills to be utilized as effectively and efficiently as possible.  Our students will gain skills, attitude, and confidence to be able to survive, thrive, and succeed in any combative encounter (street or ring) in which they may find themselves.

 At the advanced level, students will learn to seamlessly blend in and flow through all the techniques of all fighting ranges (kicking, punching, grappling, and ground-fighting) in their arsenal; they will move from one technique to the next without any “hitches” or “hick-ups”.  The advanced training program involves further reinforcing the basic level curriculum lessons. 

Further the advanced level techniques are taught, and worked in with the previously acquired techniques, to enhance fighters various combat attributes (speed, power, accuracy/precision, balance, timing, etc.), and give them a more diversified and unorthodox array of attacking techniques. 

Fighters will be taught advanced fight strategy, how to launch unorthodox attacks and counter-attacks, and how to deal with and re-direct unorthodox attacks and counter-attacks.  Students in this program will never remain on the defensive.  An aggressive attacking mentality is taught, and students will learn that remaining defensive will get you beaten and potentially hurt in any combative encounter, but attacking without strategy or intelligence (just brawling) will also get you beaten and potentially hurt. 

Students will learn to be aggressive, but simultaneously controlled, and focused with pinpoint accuracy on what they need to do in any combative encounter to turn the tide of battle in their favor, and end the fight as quickly (and potentially as brutally) as possible (I call this “Controlled Focused Fury”).  Further, students involved in an actual fight training program (Muay Thai, Boxing, and MMA), will learn how to absorb and re-direct attacks within the confines of the ring/cage. 

Fighters will be taught how to use the ropes/cage as an obstacle that can be used to trap opponents, and set up devastating fight ending techniques and combinations, and how to avoid and get off of the cage/ropes so that they are not in turn set up for such techniques.  Advanced, and blended clinch work and strategy will also be taught, as well as nuances of clinch fighting that basic/beginner level students simply won’t be able to understand until they reach a more advanced level. 

At the advanced level fighters should have most of the techniques not necessarily mastered, but be very comfortable using their techniques without having to think very much; the techniques should be ingrained and instinctual.  Therefore, instead of focusing on techniques and proper technique application, advanced level students can now focus on actual fight strategy, and setting up techniques and their opponents.  Good, high level, striking instructors will tell you that a fight involving high level strikers, is just as technique oriented, and just as  much of a “chess match” as any BJJ/Jiu-Jitsu fight. 

Stand-up fighting is just as beautiful and artistic as ground fighting has come to be recognized. Throughout their training under students will learn this fact, and emphasis will be made that good striking is nothing at all like the brawling, simplistic, all-out mere kicking and punching (without much strategy) evidenced in most matches seen on television today.