In Thailand and many other countries around the world, there are numerous martial art schools dedicated to training people to fight Muay Thai. Of course, lots of the learners are training for Muay Thai to become amateur or professional fighters. So, it does not come as a surprise that you may be getting agitated about how long you should train before finally having your first amateur Muay Thai fight.
There is no specific time for training before having your first amateur Muay Thai fight. However, on average, provided you train 4 to 5 times every week, you should be ready for your first amateur Muay Thai fight after 1 year of intense training. By the end of 12 months of training, you should have everything you need to compete favorably in a Muay Thai ring.
In general, you need to dedicate the first 6 months to master the basics of Muay Thai. Afterward, you have to spar for the next 6 months to be fully prepared for your first Muay Thai fight. Besides, from your sparring and skills, your trainer should be able to tell whether you are ready to fight or not.
Why you should rush to have your first amateur Muay Thai fight?
After sparring and learning Muay Thai for some months, most individuals often feel that they are ready to take part in their first amateur fight. Hence, they may rush into it. However, this is a costly mistake that may lead to serious issues for you.
An amateur Muay Thai fight is not a child’s play. Your power, athleticism, speed, reach, and lots more must be right to compete favorably. If you don’t have the skills required, you could be easily knocked out or injured during the fight. So, unless you are certain that you are ready, you should not rush into your first amateur Muay Thai fight.
What are the requirements for your first amateur Muay Thai fight?
Assuming you have been training Muay Thai for at least 12 months, you should ensure that the following requirements are met:
- Conditioning
In Muay Thai and most other martial arts, conditioning is the kind of exercise you do to build strength, endurance, and power. Conditioning ensures that you can throw many strikes without gassing out quickly or easily. It is designed for helping you to deal with the fatigue that comes with fighting Muay Thai.
Some of the exercises involved in conditioning for Muay Thai include:
- Shadowboxing
- Running
- Push-ups
- Bicycle crunches, sit-ups, leg lifts, etc. for training core strength
- Squats
- Knees on bag
You will have to repeat these exercises several times per week to ensure that you are ready for your first amateur Muay Thai fight. Check out Muay Thai Guy’s post to learn some essential conditioning you must avoid while preparing for your first fight.
- Defense development
Without a doubt, your opponents will try to batter you with elbows, kicks, punches, knees, etc. during your first amateur Muay Thai fight. If you don’t block them effectively, you may leave the ring with bruised ribs, broken bones, damaged jaws, injured arms, etc.
Apart from hurting you physically, these issues can also drain your stamina. Consequently, you are bound to be disgraced if you don’t have a defense strategy. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a defense strategy before going for your first fight.
- Breaking a Thai plum
When combating, your opponent may create exceptional plum that is difficult to deal with. If the plum continues for long, you are bound to lose the fight. To deal with this, you need to learn how to break a Thai plum.
- Retaliations
As expected, your opponent will attack you in the ring. So, you need to be able to retaliate to show that you are in the game. There are various types of counters in Muay Thai. Sometimes, the best retaliation will depend on the attack of your opponent. Whatever the case is, you and your trainer should have a strategy for countering attacks.
- Sparring sessions
Once you have the right skill set, one of the important things you should do is sparring for several weeks. Most trainers will not allow you to spar until you have learned the basics of Muay Thai for at least 6 months. Then, you will start sparring for about 6 months before your first fight.
Factors that can aid your first fight
As you are preparing for your first Muay Thai fight, you should consider taking part in the following:
- Local sparring exhibitions
Many Muay Thai gyms often organize sparring exhibitions for their students. Sparring exhibitions will assist you to improve your skills as well as awareness for the main fight. If you are not training with any gym, you should not hesitate to join one today.
- Smoker fights
Sometimes, students of a martial art school will be pitched against students of another school. Called smoker fights, these fights usually serve as a competition between two schools, but they are not as brutal as amateur Muay Thai fights.
With the help of smoker fights, you will master how to fight in a ring like a professional Muay Thai fighter. Besides, these fights can assist you to fight any loopholes in your fighting strategy; hence, you can correct them before having your first Muay Thai fight. Generally, you should take part in about five smoker fights as a part of your preparation for an amateur Muay Thai fight.
Once you have done everything highlighted above, you are probably set for your first amateur Muay Thai fight. Please, consult with your trainer for the reassessment of your competence to take part in an amateur fight.
In a nutshell, there are lots of things you need to do before taking part in your first amateur Muay Thai fight. However, if you do everything right, you should be ready for it after training for one year.
