Mechanism to select muay Thai shorts:

Due to the enormous range of choices for muay Thai shorts available in the market, purchasing one that complements your style is often a matter of thought. Any style or brand of these shorts would work wonders for the sport but the material of the clothing is what matters the most. Amongst the huge variety of materials, the most preferred and advised option is Satin followed by nylon, polyester blend and cotton etc. Satin is known for its lightness and smoothness thereby aiding in combating the sweat that generates during fighting. Wearing these shorts along with muay Thai boxing gloves is considered the best shield to the body from expected injuries.

Mechanism to select muay Thai boxing gloves:

Muay Thai body gear usually includes muay Thai shorts and muay Thai boxing gloves, absence of which may prove injurious to the body. Talking about the boxing gloves, these are further classified in to two unique categories – gloves for competition and sparring. Using these gloves with additional bags or hand wraps is not advisable as it may damage the fighter’s hands with gradual use over time. Competition gloves are usually 10 oz in weight and are known to protect the hands and wrists during fights while the sparring gloves are about 12 to 16 oz in weight and are known to be used in boxing and kick boxing etc. Boxing gloves are advised to be used in combination with head gear always for better and enhanced protection.
Numerous brands of both muay Thai boxing gloves and muay Thai shorts are available in the market which is often confusing for the buyers as to which one is the best amongst them. The very first technique to master such a situation is to narrow down the choice list and then compare their price ranges and material quality. Once done, the mechanism of purchase becomes easier.

The very first type of mma shorts that can be used by an individual during the practice sessions is the Vale Tudo shorts. These are manufactured using Polyamide and are known to be the shortest amongst all. They fit snugly across the body thereby aiding in providing comfort to the body during movements like punch, kick, wrestling shots and knee movements etc. These shorts are so short that they literally make an individual believe as if he’s walking naked. This is the major reason why numerous individuals tend to avoid wearing these.

Next in line are the board mma shorts. These are comparatively longer than the Vale Tudo ones with their ending point just above the knee. Here the question arises, if they are so long how do they aid in comfortable movements? These shorts possess upright slits across the sides which improve body movements significantly. Depending on what actually a fighter’s requirements are, the type of mma shorts chosen may vary.

Purchasing mma shorts

The very first thing that you can do in order to purchase mma shorts is to search the local stores nearby. Enquire whether they possess a section for muay Thai clothing or not. If they do, you can locate other fighting accessories too like mma gloves, shorts or any other related clothing gear needed during fighting.

Clothing for mixed martial art or MMA poses no relation with the regular athletic gear. Their apparel is entirely different from any other martial art form and can easily be located online too. But before locating necessary items online, it is advisable to hit the local stores first. This will allow you to get a slight hint of what prices are actually prevailing in the market which, then, will help you in preparing a considerable budget for you. Although, finding mma shorts online is not a tough issue, but getting one at reasonable price rates requires sufficient time devotion on the fighter’s part.

Certain fighters usually prefer keeping separate gloves for both practice and final matches. But whichever type you chose, make sure they hold your wrist properly and aid in keeping it in place all the time during a fight. You can also use complementary hand wraps along with these gloves in order to attain that extra support.

Muay Thai hand gloves are available in an interesting variety of collections with the most preferred being the leather ones. If possible, avoid the synthetic ones as they wear out quickly. The wearing of a muay Thai glove, however, mostly depends on the frequency of its usage but its construction definitely ensures its longevity.

Unique weights and sizes of muay Thai gloves:

The size of a glove is directly proportional to its weight and usually includes three ranges-small, medium and large. Select one that fits your fist perfectly. Choosing a glove, however, is easy but selecting a particular size is tricky. Opt for such a size that suits your needs, i.e., pick that weight which matches your usage and requirement. Below is mentioned a small list on the weights of gloves available in the market as well as their usage:

8 oz to 10 oz – this weight is usually used by competitive boxers.

12 oz – this weight is optimum for women engaged in boxing training classes.

14 oz to 16 oz – this weight is used for average weight training classes.

18 oz – this weight is used for larger weight training classes.

Choosing an optimum muay Thai gloves for you:

Being a beginner, you must take the help of your instructor in selecting an optimum pair of gloves for you. Else, below mentioned tips will definitely help you in choosing an optimum one:

Muay Thai, as a sport, requires swift punches and sufficient flexibility on the fighter’s part in order to properly grab your opponent by using your hands. Hence, fighting gloves are better for such individuals.

Training classes require a heavy pair of gloves which significantly aid in increasing your strength and padding for additional safety. In such a case, training gloves are preferred.

For hitting bags and mitts, a pair of tough boxing gloves with extra and thick padding in the front is a preferred selection. These are termed bag gloves and are used for increasing the flexibility of fists.

1. Find a gym that teaches Muay Thai: - several unique perceptions of this sport exist, one of which might interest you even. Search for it and investigate about every single piece of information that you get about their trainers’ qualification and experience etc. Besides this, some gyms also offer a free one-day training session in order to demonstrate their quality of service.

2. Learn and know the history of Muay Thai: - search on the internet for documentaries or Muay Thai films in order to get an overview about what actually this sport is. Don’t forget to understand the significance of wearing mma gloves, Muay Thai shorts or mma shorts etc during both training and fighting sessions.

3. Warm up: - this is the smallest but the longest repaying thing that must be done before starting muay Thai. The objective is to produce a minimum sweat level in order to prepare the body for the rigorous exercise that would be following next. A warm approximately 15 to 20 minutes is optimum and may include exercises like shadow boxing, skipping or running etc.

4. Condition yourself: - run only as much as your body can support. Don’t overstrain it. Undergo practicing light weights while at gym while ensuring repetitions. Also, if possible, go for resistance training as it may help in your muay Thai lessons significantly.

5. Have fun: last but not the least, this tip is very important for bringing you to the gym on a regular basis. If you aren’t enjoying what you are doing, you will never be able to understand and implement it. You can incorporate the usage of muay Thai accessories like wearing mma shorts and muay Thai shorts etc for that extra comfort factor or keep a pair of boxing gloves in interesting shades with you during fights so as to make yourself feel more vibrant than before.

Talking about boxing gloves, a huge collection of such accessories is available in the market to choose from. But which one is the best and suits our requirements perfectly is a matter of discussion. Each type of glove has its own unique advantages and benefits, its own brand, weight, fitting, material as well as color too, thereby, allowing you to be present inside the ring in attire entirely chosen and approved by you. This ensures mind satisfaction and leads to more and improved concentration.

Boxing gloves often face difficulty in selection due to the difference that still lies understood between the cheaper gloves and the expensive ones. Be these cheaper or expensive, their sole objective is to defend the boxer himself from the opponent during a fight. These gloves are known to protect your face from attacks on front besides providing a tighter grip too. When teamed with a pair of mma shorts or muay thigh shorts, their benefits are enhanced even further.

Coming to the importance aspect of mma shorts, these fight gears are an almost necessity if you wish to feel calm and cool throughout the fighting timeline. MMA is quite a rough and tough sport which requires enough grappling and striking on the part of the participator. Hence, wearing the correct clothing etc is of utmost importance.

Both men and women have separate attires for them while playing a sport like boxing. Men usually need a pair of muay Thai shorts with upper part left bare-chested while women require a sports bra as well as a pair of shorts to participate. Comfort is the most important concern for boxers as it defines the mental clarity besides affecting your approach towards taking training lessons. Martial art requires two types of mma clothing – the training gear and the fight gear. Difference between them is obvious by their name themselves. Training attires are meant for wear while undertaking training classes while the fight gears are needed during actual demonstration times. These gears are damn flexible in their fitting and hence, allow unobstructed freedom of movement too. Moreover, they are durable enough so as to be able to resist any strains that might develop during the fight.

1. Winning Tip #1: - Know what you’re doing and where you’re going. Avoid letting your guard down during combat readiness. Know your environment and be confident about your next position so as to avoid surprises. Beware of any loud music that might come flowing towards your ears. Wearing muay Thai shorts may aid in providing comfort to the body thereby leading to positive results.

2. Keep yourself fit and ready to fight anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances. This ensures creating a virtual havoc amongst the minds of the rivals which might help in lowering their self esteem a little bit. Make sure you keep up with your assailant on a regular basis besides brushing up your cardio and weight trainings too. If possible, go for endurance training too as it helps in outlasting the fight by leaving your opponent behind.

3. Always carry your weapons with you. But make sure they are those legal ones like pepper spray or tazers etc. because the usage of illegal weapons is governed by legal issues. Also, wearing mma shorts or those muay Thai shorts will significantly loosen up the body thereby enabling you to fight much tougher and harder. An individual who believes himself as your biggest enemy won’t harm you with mere hands only. He would be having those heavy weapons ready for you.

4. Train yourself much like an expert in martial arts. But for effective and visible results, it is always advisable to undergo training and practice sessions in muay thigh shorts or mma shorts only. These attires have significantly been devised in order to enhance the teaching and learning skills further besides acting as a means of comfort and sweat absorption during summers too.

5. The ability to defend your self is the most important in martial training and must be learned with utter concentration. This skill forms the backbone of winning a martial art fight whenever you tend to participate in one. Also, make yourself capable enough to survive an immediate attack which, to a significant extent, is achievable by wearing mma shorts during fights.

We have already discussed Southern styles of Muay Thai. Muay Chaiya and Muay Maa Yang were the two examples of southern styles of Muay Thai. In this article we will discuss the Eastern method of ancient Muay Thai.

3: Muay Korat

Muay Korat is Eastern way of Muay Thai. It is also sometimes called Paak Eesaan. The name Muay Korat is derived from the name of the place it was first developed; Na Khorat Rachasima (situated in the east of Thailand). It is thought that this style of Muay Thai is more than one thousand years old.

The stance and positioning of the body in this style is very unique and different from other styles. In this style both of the feet stay in line and both point forward. As a result the stance is very long and also very narrow. The hands are kept in front of the nose in a line. One hand stays behind the other hand. The front leg is kept in a straight line and the knee is kept locked. Back leg is also kept straight and ready to fly a kick or to adjust the position against the other fighter by using footwork. The heel of the back leg is kept off the ground. The fighter leans forward and positions his head directly above the front foot. Center of gravity of the fighter’s body stays near to the lead leg.

Usually all of the punches and kicks are almost absolutely straight. The kicks move in an upward arc. They are usually aimed at the head or neck of the opponent.

Another important feature of this style is that the fighters are taught to either block and attack at the same time or to escape from the attack by evading out of the range of the attack. They do not learn to first block the attack and then to strike back.

Also Read: Ancient Styles of Muay Thai (Part 1), Ancient Styles of Muay Thai (Part 2)

In the earlier article we discussed Muay Chaiya. Muay Chaiya is form of Southern styles of Muay Thai. We will continue our discussion of southern styles of Muay Thai with Muay Maa Yang.

2: Muay Maa Yang Style

Muay Maa Yang style is a southern type of Muay Thai. It is not a very popular style of this fighting art. Very few people know about it and very few people get training for this style of fighting. The name of this style “Maa Yang” can be translated to mean “The Horse’s Walk”. These are Thai words. The master who developed Muay Maa Yang was known as Kruu Tankee.

Kruu Tankee was infamous for his brutality during fights. Therefore he was not a very well liked instructor of Muay Maa Yang. There is a famous story that Kruu Tankee removed his rival Kruu Noree’s eye in a fight. Kruu Noree was a master of Muay Chaiya Style. Kruu Tankee was furious because Kruu Noree broke his forehead with a hard kick. Even after losing his eye, Kruu Noree kept on fighting but subsequently died of blood clotting in his head due injuries suffered during the fight.

Now we will discuss the stance and positioning of the body in this style. The stance of this style looks very defensive. When you see a person fighting in this style you will get the impression that he is trying to fight in a defensive way instead of attacking.

In this style of Muay Thai, the fighter keeps his one leg always raised up in a guarding position. The fighter keeps his one hand close to his hip and one hand in front of his face to safeguard his face against attacks on the facial area.

Also Read: Ancient Styles of Muay Thai (Part 3)

The ancient styles of Muay Thai are broadly categorized according to the region of their origin. There are Southern styles, Northern Styles, Eastern Styles and some other styles.

Each of these styles might have its subcategories or sub-styles. We will start our discussion with Southern styles of Muay Thai fighting.

1. Muay Chaiya

This style of Muay Thai originated and evolved in the city of Chaiya in the southern Thailand. It is more than 250 years old style of Muay Thai. The founder of this style was a soldier known as Por Tan Mar who was from Bangkok. He subsequently became a monk and spent the remaining part of his life in Chaiya’s temple.

During his monkhood, Pon Tan Mar developed this style of fighting. He taught this fighting art to the governor of his city Chaiya. The governor then taught this style to his son Kiet Sriyaphai. Kiet Sriyaphai learnt many other styles and subsequently became a master of the Muay Chaiya style.

Muay Chaiya stance and position is very compact and low. The body’s center of gravity is kept low and in between the legs in this style. The knees are kept in a bending position and all of the joints are faced forward. The fists face upward and one fist is kept higher than the other. The fighter can use both sides of the body but usually the right side is used more than the left side.

Muay Chaiya fighters specialize in blocking attacks with their knees and elbows. All of the legs and arms are kept in a bending position at all times, even when the fighter is attacking his opponent. The fighters attack in very high speed and the attacks are in series of blows that come from different sides and angles. The footwork is very fast and smooth in this fighting style. The Muay Chaiya fighters wrap only the hands because they want their elbows to be a primary weapon.

Also Read: Ancient Styles of Muay Thai (Part 2), Ancient Styles of Muay Thai (Part 3)

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