Is My Muay Thai Class Like Yours?

[UKMuayThaiMan]

Hi!

I started Muay Thai about 9 months ago at a small local club in a sports centre that was run by a good instructor that had experience in the ring with muay thai & western boxing. The class was 1 hour twice a week with 5/10 minutes skipping, quick stretch, then a range of pad work/clinching and every couple of weeks full contact sparring. To start off with he got people into sparring slowley with body sparring only etc then after a couple of months would ease people into boxing sparring, then depending on the student including kicks etc. The classes were great and the sparring made me love the class and we got a lot of attention as there were between 2-15 people at classes.

He left to go traveling and suggested to some member they join the local kickboxing/self defence class and other keener member to a dojo where he trains, to a class run by his friend (its a 45 min drive away).

Me and some other members joined the new muay thai class he suggested and have been for a month now. The warm up is a hard 1/2 hour of an aerobics with squats, pressups etc and by the time we get the pads on I am knackered! There are about 40 people in class so its a lot of people for the instructor to get round but he has yet to correct any of us on our technique. I asked about sparring and he said ok but we had to go to another class at a different location (on a day I cant make!). Is this typical of your Muay Thai class?

I have just taken up MMA classes too, so I am hoping they are going to turn out as good as they started and I am also going to do some full out sparring in garden with friends from old class when weather gets better.

Is your Muay Thai class like mine and I am just being a grumpy unfit dick and should stick with it. Or am I not going to learn much and should seek another class? (this would mean changing from muay thai as this is only in area).

[Bran Lydster]

A one and a half hour class.

Wai
20 ish minutes warm up including shadow boxing.
12 minutes recap/pad drills of last weeks techniques.
20 ish minutes of technique explanation and pads usually from a problem observed during last weeks sparring.
Sparring till times up sometimes focussed on one area/range
Cool down/stretch
Wai

Activities (except warm up/cool down) timed to the 3 minute round clock.

[Khun Kao]

Your first MT class description sounds like how I try to approach my classes when I coach. I have my guys start off with a 3-5 round warmup, then about 3 rounds of shadowboxing. I will then usually have them do some kind of intense cardio or plyometric drills, then we'll partner up for some partner & pad drills, focusing on technique and strategy. We don't always get to spar, though I try to include a little sparring on a regular basis. If there's time, I'll try to include a "burnout" drill at the end.

(My class is a entry level sparring class for people who are considering trying out for the fight team. Some of the other coaches and fighters participate in my class if they have the time to do so, though)

The 2nd class you describe sounds like the beginner group classes we hold at the gym where I coach. The size of the class really prevents a lot of real instruction. The idea in these classes is more about getting the students in shape and used to doing Muay Thai moves and used to the Muay Thai way of fighting. If you want to get advanced training and do some sparring, you need to enroll for a more advanced class.

[WingChun Lawyer]

For what it´s worth, here is how my former coach used to run his classes.

- About 30 minutes of aerobics and stretching.

- About one hour of padwork, bagwork, and specific techniques training (bobbing and weaving, partner drills, so on).

About once a week or once every two weeks we had a sparring night. This consisted of about twenty minutes of warm up and stretching, followed by everybody taking turns in the ring: usually the less experienced students (less than a year) fought two or three three-minute rounds, while the more experienced guys fought between five or six rounds.

Of course, the intensity of the sparring varied between students, but usually it was enough to go home with a bledding nose or a black eye if you weren´t careful (excep for true beginners with less than six months of training, of course).

[UKMuayThaiMan]

Thanks for replies guys!

Think Im going to stick with class for now, do some out of class sparring with friends and speak to instructor about more advance classes once my fitness is up.