# How often do MT guys spar?



## Zujitsuka (Oct 13, 2002)

Sparring in Western Boxing is hard enough, so due to the brutal nature of the allowed techniques, I was wondering how often do Muay Thai fighters spar?

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I'm not talking about world class athletes, but rather a person that wants to train for self defense or for minor competitions.
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Thank you in advance folks.


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## muayThaiPerson (Oct 13, 2002)

i spar everyday in training. its not an art where u do forms one day and spar 3 days later. i dont think it has form. not sure.


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## Damian Mavis (Oct 15, 2002)

Sure it has a form, it's the traditional dance you're supposed to do before you fight.  Nothing scarier than a MT fighter dancing before a match!

About sparring it depends the intensity, I use to spar all the time because it was light, but now that I'm sparring with the big boys (more experienced - one of thems a pro that fought in Thailand) I find I often have to heal for a week before another night of sparring.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## MartialArtist (Oct 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Damian Mavis _
> 
> *Sure it has a form, it's the traditional dance you're supposed to do before you fight.  Nothing scarier than a MT fighter dancing before a match!
> 
> ...


Haha, I remember having to drag myself off.  And since it was a thing where you had to do this everyday, almost like a boarding school, you really can't get out of it and they do incorporate corporal punishment.

Anyway, do you get taped?  Taping the ankles and wrists do a lot!


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## Damian Mavis (Oct 19, 2002)

The injuries are usually charlie horses and tender bruised shins from shielding with the shin and getting kicked in the legs.  When they happen they hurt but you keep going, it's not until later that you realise you can't walk for a couple of days....

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## ALPHA MUAY THAI BOY (Nov 19, 2002)

WELL YEAH ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT IT GETS REALLY HARD IM ONLY 14 AND I TRAIN 2 HOURS 4 DAYS A WEEK BUT LATELY IVE BEEN DOING MORE FIGHT TRAINING FOR THE NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL CHAMPS IN THREE WEEKS BUT ANY WAY ITS VERY TOUGH AND ME AND MY FATHER HAVE ENDED UP THROWING UP AFTER OVER WORKING 

MY FAVOURITE PART WOULD HAVE TO BE THE 5 Km RUN JUST TO WARM UP IT USSUALLY TAKES ME JUST OVER TEN MINUTES.


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## Damian Mavis (Nov 19, 2002)

Capital letters are not your friend.


Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## arnisador (Nov 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by ALPHA MUAY THAI BOY _
> 
> *IM ONLY 14 AND I TRAIN 2 HOURS 4 DAYS A WEEK BUT LATELY IVE BEEN DOING MORE FIGHT TRAINING FOR THE NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL CHAMPS *



What's the minimum age for this?


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## Damian Mavis (Nov 20, 2002)

We have a 14 year old at our club but he doesnt talk like that....my Kru refuses to teach children because he can't in good conscience teach a child to cut someone open with an elbow to the face and other techniques eqally as brutal.  However in Thailand..... they start as early as 5 or 6 and are fighting full contact in the ring by like 8 or 9.  By the time they are 14 or 15 they are champions with like 50 fights under their belt.  Pretty crazy!

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## A Kenpo Student (Nov 28, 2002)

I wish there were Muay Thai schools near me. Tonight before Kenpo sparring I was kicking the bag in the traditional Muay Thai kickboxing stance and one instructor asked me "Shouldn't you bring your hands back to a block?", and I said "Oh, I'm just doing a kickboxer's stance, sorry, sir."

I want to stand in the kickboxer stance during sparring as well but I adopted my typical american karate left handed stance. I'd love to do some Muay Thai sparring though.


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## TkdWarrior (Nov 28, 2002)

i hav done 2.5 yrs MT n seriously no dance involved with me 
totally beating up crap ... sparring is MAJOR thing with MT...
frankly i wont' be the one who'll like to take on MT guy...
those guy hav best conditioning 
-TkdWarrior-


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## Damian Mavis (Nov 28, 2002)

"i hav done 2.5 yrs MT n seriously no dance involved with me"

You mean you guys don't do the traditional dance before fighting full contact in the ring?  That's too bad... it sounds like your Kru is not teaching you the full Muay Thai curriculum.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## TkdWarrior (Nov 29, 2002)

"You mean you guys don't do the traditional dance before fighting full contact in the ring? That's too bad... it sounds like your Kru is not teaching you the full Muay Thai curriculum."
actually it was my unc who was teaching me, n i wasn't pretty much intrested with dance. all i want some bad kicking things..
then he moved n i end up with TKD now from 3.5 - 4yrs.
-TkdWarrior-


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## Damian Mavis (Nov 29, 2002)

Oh.  So it was just you and your uncle training together?

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD


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## Infight (Feb 25, 2003)

In Brazil, guys on MT dont do the traditional dance before fights, its something Thailand guys do, its more than a simple dance, its a religious to them. But since we dunno follow their religion, we dont do that, we just fight. I dont know around the world, but we spar everyday here.


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## Infight (Feb 25, 2003)

Forgot to say.In Brazil, elbows and knees are just allowed to boys over 16


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## thaiboxer (Mar 4, 2003)

Hello All

Been a while since ive been on this forum. Just thought i'd throw in my two bits worth.

I am involved in a club in australia. We train twice a week (this is for people just wanting to learn self defence) basically a training session here consists of a warm up in the form of a minute of unders and then a minute of straight punches (nonstop so two minutes total). then we do 5-6 sets of combinations 5-6 minutes each and switch to our partners. then we do at least three sparring rounds of 3 minute length, incorporatig all we know, experienced guys go reasonably hard on each other, but the general rule inhouse is, you only go as hard as your partner does.

Bad injuries (which have sidelined me for upto a month from training) include very bad bruising (haematoma) beside the shinbone (due to not quite checking perpendicular shin to shin) also if out of range can accidently kick with foot. Also we are taught to keep our elbows protecting ribs, so a guy I was sparring rib kicked my elbow and hurt his shin (as it is a tougher bone). Also an incorrect or late check can lead to getting kicked in the side of the knee cap. Apart from the obvious, blood nose, black eye etc from the boxing component. All during sparring of course.

The only formality we have is bowing at start and end of lesson to kru, and our sparring partners before and after a round. No traditional dancing is done.

Wai kru is basically only done in thailand or by very diehard western fighters who totally embrace the thais total culture, not just the lethal techniques to use as they please.


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