The Muay Thai fitness benefits can not be praised enough! Many people have complaints about their workout methods (running, swimming, cycling) saying that it is boring or repetitive, but with Muay Thai, rarely do people say they they are “bored” during training sessions. Not only is Muay Thai a skill that gives you the tools to defend yourself, in and outside of the ring, but it also is a fantastic way of dropping some unwanted weight, and getting your fitness levels up for other sports.
The nature of the sport requires the competitor to have the best possible fitness. Many team sports allow the players to have a rest when they are tired, either coming off the field/court or slowing the pace for a period allowing the other team members to pick up the slack. In a ring, there is nowhere to hide, therefore if a fighter’s fitness is lacking you can be sure their opponent will find out about it during the fight.
Not only is it beneficial due to the results given by the training, but it is beneficial because a person practising is having fun! We all know the feeling of having to drag our selves out of the house to go and exercise, or making little deals with ourself about training twice tomorrow in order to avoid our session today, but learning Muay Thai is so much fun that it’s often a case of counting down the hours until work finishes to go to class, especially in the early stages of learning. This reason alone may be the most important/useful one because consistency is the key to getting better, as it is with all sports.
World Champion Jiujitsu practitioner, Robert Drysdale, stresses the importance of consistency in training, sometimes saying to his students:
“if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse”.
Although this may be more directed at the elite grapplers in his classes, it can also be applied to Muay Thai practitioners of all levels. All you have to do to get better is show up, listen, and let the coach take care of the rest!
Starting Muay Thai classes will do many things for you, but arguably the three most important things are:
1) You will get fit – No one can argue the benefits to your body and mental health from exercise.
2) You will burn calories – If you are watching what you eat, and you are consistently training, you are sure to see the result. Burn more calories than you put in your body, and you will lose weight.
3) You will learn to defend yourself – Although we may not have any desire to go out and start a fight, knowing how to defend ourselves is a huge confidence boost, especially for teenagers.
Get in contact with your local martial arts gym and try out a class! If you are in the Logan or Brisbane area, come down and try out a class at The Fight Centre – Brisbane for free! Click HERE to see our timetable.