I've been training for about a year and have had one pkb muay thai fight (essentially light-contact K-1). I recently got approached by a local fight promoter after he watched me spar on an open sparring day. I told him to talk to my coach and subsequently got offered a fight.

The promoter said it would be against a 19 year old (I'm 23) with one year of experience and no record at 165 on December 5th. Both my coaches and I thought it would be a good match-up for me. So, I signed the contract and started fight camp.

Yesterday, I came to find out through my coaches that the promoter had either been unaware of or lied about my opponents experience. He has been training since he was a kid and has had around 35 of those pkb fights I mentioned earlier. He had also trained at the gym im at now, and one of my coaches had trained with him. I was discussing the fight with that coach today, and while he expressed confidence in me being game to take the fight, he also told me to remember why we have amateur fights while I decide if I want to take it or not. I took that to mean he was worried about what would happen to me in this fight.

I already told my coach last night that I wanted to still fight, but after hearing from the one that had trained with him, I'm having a lot of doubts. Is there any advice on how I should approach this?

Edit: The fight isn't another pkb. It's a full contact amateur fight.

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downtown area if possible. complete beginner, want to get good.

Ever since a few months ago I felt my hip was just weak. It would hurt a little to through the rear kick and I just could not get half as much power into the kick.

Went to the physio, they diagnosed it as my hip flexor being too tight I think they said, anyway the hip flexor basically shut down a little and stopped doing its job, so apparently my quad muscles were doing most of the work to lift my leg up which is why I was kicking like a bitch. My hip flexor was tight, causing the pain, which made my quad do the work my hip flexor should’ve been doing, causing my kicks to be weak. The physios done an amazing job loosening it right up on the first visit.

Problem is, it sort of came back again, which they fixed again, and now it’s came back. I don’t know if this is a case of it just needing a few sessions to probably ease it off because we do basically abuse our hips. But I don’t know if it’s a deeper issue causing it to continue to happen. Has anyone had this issue?

Beginner here. When kicking the bag, should whip or retract your kicks like punches? or do you follow through with them like you're going through the bag?

I have a glaring weakness in my game, and that is tall guys who like to clinch.

I come from a kickboxing heavy background with some time in boxing, so I am very comfortable in the mid and long range. I’m somewhat okay in the clinch, I have experience in wrestling and judo, so I find off balances somewhat often.

But tall guys who have good leverage, break my posture, or force me to fight in the clinch makes it hell for me. I try to move around, teep, and use the ring, but they eat it all, march me down, and impose hell onto me.

I try to control the arms and get the inside grip, but I find that the good ones are incredibly sticky and I cannot reliably disengage and have to fight hard in the clinch for space, just for them to march me down again.

TLDR; please give me tips on fighting tall pressure heavy Muay khao fighters or people to study or videos to watch regarding this. Thank you in advance :)

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I have my first fight this weekend, but i got sick last week and could'nt train until today, i feel better now, but my stamina is much worse than before. Maybe it can still recover a little over the next two days but i don't believe it will make much of a difference. Do you have any tips or strageties how i can still survive 3 rounds?

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some community perspectives and experiences from anyone who has faced a similar crossroads with knee stability, contact sports, and the choice between surgery and conservative management.

Here is my background:
Right Knee History: Tore my right ACL 8 years ago and got a reconstruction pretty quickly. It was always a bit achy post-surgery, but felt stable and held up fine until two months ago. While training Muay Thai, it slipped out of place. An MRI confirmed a torn ACL and some meniscus tears.
Left Knee History: Four years ago, I tore my left ACL (no major meniscus damage). I decided not to operate, focused heavily on physical therapy, and kept training, running, and biking. I’ve had zero issues since. When a sports doc checked it later, they were surprised—it’s possible it scarred down or somehow adapted well, but either way, I spar and train Muay Thai 3x a week on that unoperated knee with zero problems.

Current Situation: I have an appointment with a sports doc tomorrow for the right knee, and I’m bracing for a recommendation to operate. Honestly, I’m really not a fan of going under the knife again. The thought of a revision surgery doesn't feel sustainable long-term, and the main driving factor to do it would be getting back to Muay Thai, which is my absolute favorite sport. Given how well my unoperated left knee has held up to high-intensity training, I’m leaning strongly toward skipping surgery and managing this conservatively with heavy rehab.

My questions for you guys:
1. Has anyone successfully managed a combined ACL + meniscus tear conservatively while returning to pivoting/combat sports like Muay Thai?
2. For those who opted out of revision ACL surgery, how did you structure your rehab to protect the meniscus and maintain knee stability without a graft?
3. How do you weigh the risk of further joint damage down the road against the desire to slowly get back to training right now?
Appreciate any advice, cautionary tales, or success stories you can share!

Hello,

I’m 16 years old and I just joined a Muay Thai club in France. Last week, my coach hit several students as punishment. Seven or eight of us were late for an exercise because we’d gone to get some water in the locker room—we were only a few seconds late.
So the coach told us to line up, choose a leg, and then he delivered a huge low kick with his shin to our thighs. Almost everyone there was 16 or 17 years old, including several girls. Several of us fell from the impact of the kick, which was really very hard. Some were on the verge of tears.

I wanted to know if this is a common practice in Western Muay Thai clubs or not at all? Because I have to admit I’m very shocked by what happened.

Thank you for your feedback.

Best regards.

Curious on how other people think of the way they fight. I'm not talking about the archetypes like Muay Khao and stuff I mean how do you specifically like to Fight (if you have) and/or Spar.

What is your best/favourite weapon?

What combinations do you find the most success with?

What styles do you struggle with?

Do you prefer to counter, march forward, manage distance, set traps?

Which of your weapons are stronger which are weaker?

What traits define you as a fighter? Good and bad things coaches, sparring partners, commentators and opponents describe you as?

Good and bad things you think about your style?

And finally how you would summarise your style?

Feel free to overexplain/write bibles lol.

I’m a male getting closer to 40, pretty active, but with zero martial arts experience. I want to start Muay Thai as a hobby, not to become a fighter, but I’d like to actually learn some skills. I’ve tried two gyms so far, and I’m not sure which one to choose.

Gym #1:

• A franchise gym with multiple locations in the area.
• Around 10–12 people in class, mostly teenagers and guys in their early 20s. There were 2–3 female, too.
• About 4–5 guys looked pretty experienced, like they could compete (at least to my untrained eyes).
• The warm-up was intense.
• The coach briefly taught me some fundamentals, like hand positioning and how to kick. Then we paired up for combos and pad work.
• I liked the coach’s teaching style. The explanations were easy to understand, and the combos were easy to remember. I actually remembered them well enough to show off to my wife when I got home 😂
• It was nice to have experienced guys to train with and learn from.
• No sparring during the trial.
• Everyone seemed nice, but people didn’t talk much. Not sure if it’s just the gym culture or if I’m already the old guy in the room lol.
• The downside: about 3x the price of Gym #2, plus a 12-month contract.

Gym #2:

• A local gym that’s a little farther from home.
• Around 6–7 people wearing regular gym clothes, with ages ranging from about 12 to people around my age.
• Most seemed like beginners, with 2 guys who looked pretty skilled, though not quite at the level of the experienced guys at Gym #1.
• The warm-up was short and easy.
• The coach seemed nice and gave me some feedback on my guard and punches.
• We did pad work and combos, but the explanations and demonstrations were pretty brief. I had trouble figuring out exactly what I was supposed to do.
• I felt like I got a workout, but by the end, I could barely remember what I’d actually learned.
• We did about 10 minutes of light sparring at the end, which was fun!
• People were friendly, and we had a little small talk during and after class.
• About 1/3 the price of Gym #1, with no contract.

Honestly, I think I had more fun at Gym #1, mainly because I felt like I was actually learning something. But paying 3x as much and committing for 12 months seems like a lot for a hobby.

Should I give Gym #2 another shot, or keep trying other gyms before making a decision?

Would love to hear your experiences!

Hey everyone,
I recently started training at 35, and am having a hell of a time making it through a class without heaving my guts out halfway through.
I’m not a super fit person and am doing cardio outside of classes. But I start throwing kicks/punches and I’m gassed within 3-5 mins (guessing I’m not breathing well/ if at all).
Any advice on how to figure out how to remedy this?
I’ve been lurking for a bit, and this sub has always been super supportive of others. So I figured why not ask. Thanks in advance!

Ts has been tossing in my mind for a while now, for context I was doing muay thai for like 6 months ish and I was crazily shit at it but coach was supportive cuz like that's how they are and someone said that my kicks are really good (I think I have steep foot bridges which helps with that ig) but I quit due to money and mental health issues idk why I'm giving this irrelevant ass context but like how do you

I have 12oz , and at my gym they say I need 16oz, but 14oz are ok too.

I bought 12oz cause my friends who does boxing told me they will be fine for beginners for both practice basics and then first light sparings and that they will be accepted ...

I guess not ...

I was doing light sparrings with my 12oz, cause I don't have any money for new ones now and I don't want to use the ones gym provides, probably for beginners nobody will notice any difference anyway

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Now can I kick high, definitely if it's a teep or just a straight line high kick, but a roundhouse eludes me, especially a proper one.

I have a good/decent calf/thigh kick courtesy of everyone's favorite baldy Bas Rutten and constant drilling with the coaches but I can't throw a kick to the body that doesn't look like I'm kicking straight up and hitting the bag or sparring partners with the side of the shin bone.

Part of it is definitely pivoting on the non-kicking foot, considering I used to box prior to training Muay Thai. I have tried several drills like the one where you raise one leg on a chair and rotate with the other but doing so hasn't gotten me much results for months, even tried talking to some coaches and members haven't gotten me much.

I know it reads like I'm rambling but I was hoping that if someone was in the same spot I am and managed to get over this hump would share their experience.

I have my first muay thai smoker/competitive sparring match on saturday. Im absolutely terrified of embarrassing myself. I've trained for months and my coaches have hyped me up a lot. They seem to be under the impression that I will do really well. This makes me even more scared as I don't want to go out there and absolutely suck. I don't know how I could even face them or myself in that case. Honestly I have never done a sport seriously before so I have very little experience in competing. I did a jiu jitsu tournament recently and even though my coaches had high expectations I lost both of my matches. That time I had the excuse that I was moved up 30 pounds but there won't be an excuse now. Do any of you guys have advice?