How To Muay Thai Article
In Thailand Muay Thai Fighter's Don't Spar Very Often But For A Western Fighter It's A Good Idea
There is a good reason why muay thai fighter's from Thailand don't spar that often...they don't need too. From an early age they fight every month so they get enough experience in the ring.
A muay thai fighter from a western country can't get this much experience and fights are harder to come by. Because of this we have to spar. But not the way other martial arts do.
In martial arts like karate or judo there are very strict rules on contact and techniques you can not do. In these arts you can go as hard as you would in competition and feel pretty safe that you are not going to hurt yourself. Not so in muay thai.
Because of the techniques that are allowed and the fact that it is full contact makes it hard to spar in muay thai without hurting each other. Even if you pad up really well you will probably get injuries if you and your partner get into it.
That's why pad training is so important because you can go all out on the pads without hurting anyone. Your pad holder can also make it as real as a fight by getting the right reactions and moving like an opponent.
Even still, you should get padded up with shin guards, big gloves, and a mouth guard and every now and then go hard against someone who is the same standard as you. This will give you a more realistic fighting experience as far as getting hit and hitting back, but without the injuries you get in competition (even if you win you still get hurt a bit).
If you do this occasionally you will be able to recover properly and still conitnue to train. Make sure you have your trainer there at all times to supervise and stop things getting out of control. This will prevent injuries too.
There's not much else to say about muay thai sparring except that you should always be working on defense right from the start and even when you get more experienced. Like I said, even when you win a muay thai fight you will get hurt at least a little bit so quite often it's the guy who sustains less injuries will win in the end. Try not to get hit much at all.
