Pandemic Talks: Realistic Expectations & Goals for Your Muay Thai Progression

It’s a tough time for damn near everyone. Be it financially, mentally, physically, or all three and then some, most folks are simply trying to survive.

In tough times like these, many of us find solace in the gym—working hard enough that our day-to-day stresses seem insignificant or leaning on our community of teammates to lift our spirits up. During the pandemic, the closure of non-essential businesses, and the ‘stay at home’ orders, that outlet is no more.

I can sense the frustration of many of our students. How can we really get better at Muay Thai with no padwork? No sparring? No clinching? No heavy bag? Very little direct correction or adjustment from our coaches? And to be perfectly honest, you probably cannot.

Muay Thai is a combat sport—it takes two to tango—and without a partner you are unable to actually engage in the sport. Unless you are a beginner, where you are still learning the basic footwork, strikes, and movement, I would go as far as to say that 99% of folks will come out of quarantine without improving their actual Muay Thai skills. However, there is a silver lining to all of this, as many of the supporting attributes and skills can be improved upon. Here are four types of goals to make the best out of quarantine and improve many of the surrounding attributes vitally important to your Muay Thai progression.

Heal Your Body

The adage, ‘No fighter steps into the ring 100% healthy, and if they do, they didn’t train hard enough.’ is true. Muay Thai beats up the body. Use this time to nurse nagging injuries. Whether through yoga, flexibility programs & stretching, massage tools, or simple rest—use this time to rebuild.

Build Your Strength and Conditioning

Almost every gym, Juniper MTG included, is offering their members some sort of online workout program. Many, like us, are offering daily lessons. Couple this with the plethora of free information and videos online, and there is more than enough out there for a unique and challenging home workout every day of quarantine.
We, at Juniper MTG, strongly emphasize body weight workouts and running for our S&C program. Running builds cardio and keeps you lean. Bodyweight workouts build the right type of strength for Muay Thai and very often improve cardio as well. Both of these are well suited for the current normal.

Coming out of quarantine stronger and fitter is not an unrealistic expectation for a motivated Muay Thai practitioner. This will allow you to get back into the ring quickly, when all of this settles down and the world reopens.

Fix Those Nagging Technique Mistakes

The vast majority of fighters have at least one nagging technical flaw. Common examples include kicking up instead of through your target, not bringing your hand straight back to your guard after you punch, looping your straight cross, falling forward on the teep, crossing the feet when advancing, retreating or angling, etc.

If you do not know some of your nagging technique flaws, reach out to your coach, and I’m sure they will be more than happy to tell you! :)

The way that I learned and teach how to fix technique flaws is first through shadow boxing. Isolate the technique and shadowbox it slowly—about 50% speed. Slowly pick up the speed of the isolated technique until you are shadowboxing the technique properly at 100%. Once you do that, mix in additional technique, focusing on good form and speed rather than power. Bonus move: send video to your coach so that they can ensure proper form.

Achieve Your Weight Goals

For 90% of fighters, weight management is a task that cannot be overlooked. For many, weight gets out of control in between fights, leading to an unhealthy binge and purge cycle. Closed gyms, ‘stay at home’ orders, and a lot of free time are not necessarily conducive to staying close to fight weight. However, if you are serious about competing, there is no better time than now to learn how to cook healthily, hit your weight goals, and be at your target weight the day your gym reopens so that you can prepare for a fight focusing on technique and skill acquisition rather than weight loss. Use your teammates as accountability partners, create challenges or competitions, or seek advice from your coach. We have a whole article on it here.

For folks who do not compete, we, at Juniper MTG, recommend that folks focus much more on feeling strong, fit, and happy rather than hitting a certain weight goal. Firstly, weight fluctuates 5-10 lbs due to sodium intake, water and carbohydrate consumption and menstrual cycles (for females). Secondly, people become attached to the number on the scale rather than how they look and feel. Unless you’re fighting, that number does not necessarily mean much. Five pounds of muscle gain and three pounds of fat loss is a big achievement for someone looking to get stronger. However, that would show a 2 lb increase on the scale.

This is a difficult time for all, but setting goals is an effective and concrete way for staying busy, keeping a positive mindset, and maintaining a solid activity level. Use this time to build up the skills and attributes needed to become a better Muay Thai practitioner. So that when we do get back to training, you are fitter, stronger, faster, and more technical.