You can absolutely use boxing footwork in Muay Thai to dodge punches or corner your opponent in the ring. Muay Thai doesn’t have much footwork, but boxing does. Muay Thai fighters can adopt the light and bouncy footwork of boxing or at least aim to use a less heavy-footed stance.
Muay Thai fighters have flat-footed stances, that is clearly beneficial for creating torque under kicks, but it appears to limit their ability to manage the ring and move quickly, as boxers do.
Muay Thai is known as the “Art of the Eight Limbs,” yet you can’t utilize any of them successfully until you have superb Muay Thai footwork. The most crucial aspect of the sport is undoubtedly motion.
Your strikes will fail if you are not in the correct spot to utilize them, and moving out of the way is an important component of defense. As a result, beginners must master the foundations of Muay Thai footwork soon in their training.
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Can You Combine Boxing with Muay Thai?
By so many different techniques you can combine boxing with Muay Thai
You can absolutely combine boxing with Muay Thai. Following drills and techniques can lay amazing groundwork for Muay Thai footwork:
Drill No 1: Straight Line Movement
To build effective Muay Thai footwork, you must first understand how to go forward, backward, left, and right. It’s critical to move in sync and in a way that enables you to maintain your base. That implies you’ll be grounded and balanced, allowing you to strike, resist, and change the direction with no effort.
Whenever you take a stride, make absolutely sure your posture is firm, your knee is bent back, and your weight is evenly distributed as you travel on the heels of your feet.
Proceed by stepping forward with your left foot first. When it makes contact with the ground, lift your right foot the very same length. Your foot must be the same length away as they were when you began.
- Back away with your back foot initially, then with your left foot behind this one.
- Shift to the right by putting your foot first. Your left foot should now follow.
- Move left the same manner, this time with the left foot first and the right following.
Drill No 2: Make an Angle
Now we need to figure out how to get into an offensive posture. Moving outside the centerline allows you to generate angles and attack your opponents in a way that makes them susceptible.
- To go to the left: On your left foot, take a 45 ° angle step forward and out. Hinge on your front foot and pivot to the right by clockwise sliding your right foot under you. In an orthodox posture, fall with your right foot back.
- To go to the right: With your right foot, take a step forward as well as out. This step should be somewhat longer than the previous one, but not so far that you lose your equilibrium. Turn to the left by pivoting on your right foot and extending your left leg counterclockwise. In a southpaw posture, fall with your left foot rearward.
Drill No 3: Away in a Circle
It’s time to change things up and do some attacking play. If you don’t fight against an active opponent, your best hope is to step away and reset your strategy.
You can take a step back, but avoid going back in a straight line since you’ll quickly run out of ring and wind up in a horrible position, against the ropes. There are two methods to circle away, and the one you choose may be determined by your adversary. To circle to the left, first take a step back.
The key suggestion can be given to you that at CLOSE range is to drop your pelvis to the ground, which will give you more strength for your blows. Simply dropping your hips on each blow, you deliver will make them more forceful.
From the inside, you can try less common boxing combos like 1 2 5 2 (jab right cross left uppercut right cross) and invest more time moving to the outside and throwing a punch at an inclination if your attacker is trying to cover up and can’t see you via the guard.
Muay Thai stance enables more forceful kick strikes as well as efficient kick defense. You can, though, switch to a defensive posture at close distance in the corners if you like.
Ramon Dekkers is one of the finest punchers and Muay Thai fighters I’ve ever seen. He has successfully combined efficient boxing blows with Muay Thai combat. Just look at him for an example.
Also Read: Age Limit For Boxing Muay Thai: What Age Is Too Late?
What Martial Arts Go Good to Mix with Muay Thai?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai are a great mix as Muay Thai can develop great striking and stand-up skills, whereas the Jiu Jitsu will help develop grappling skills. No doubt it is the best combination to fight in both styles. at the same time when starting, you can do both Muay Thai and BJJ. Other than BJJ, Muay Thai can be mixed with Judo and Greco Roman Wrestling.
Boxing may appear to be a limiting sport since its combatants utilize “just” their hands to accomplish damage. However, no one art can give you stronger strikes, motion, or footwork.
If you practice Muay Thai, you usually stay flat-footed and accept punches on the guard. Boxing, on the other hand, teaches you proper footwork and how to keep your head off the midline at all times. And, of obviously, quick and forceful striking combinations.
The combination of boxing and Muay Thai gives you a versatile combatant. But, like a cherry on top of a cake, we would also include few karate abilities. Karate will educate you how to come in quickly to land a punch and move away even quicker without causing injury. And, while Muay Thai offers kicks, the ones taught in karate are distinct, particularly the sidekicks.
How Do You Get Better Footwork in Muay Thai?
Fighters are known by their good footwork skills
Follow these drills to improve your footwork in Muay Thai.
Drill No 1: Ladder Footwork 90 Degree Hip Rotation
Kicking is a significant feature of Muay Thai; thus, you must condition your hips to large motions. The 90-degree hip rotational practice simulates the movement of your hips as you kick or drag your leg back.
Drill No 2: Icky Shuffle Ladder Footwork
The icky shuffle is a Muay Thai footwork technique that is often employed by players in other sports. This practice is great for improving synchronization and practicing rapid lateral displacement, which may come in handy during a match.
Drill No 3: Ali Shuffle Ladder Footwork
The Ali Shuffle is one of Muhammad Ali’s most famous boxing moves. He shifted his feet back and forth from side to side with agility and rapidity that would perplex his attackers.
Learning this footwork will improve your disingenuousness and fluidity in the ring. It will allow you to easily dance round your attacker. It’s not a conventional Muay Thai approach, but it can help you play a more complex game.
Can You Mix Karate and Muay Thai?
Karate is one of the martial arts Muay Thai mix well with. Modern Muay Thai training and Traditional Karate Training incorporate a range of workouts as well as the acquisition of numerous techniques and combinations, making it both exciting and effective.
Karate was created as a peaceful way of living and self-defense. They both have a number of methods for disarming an assault, including as the elbow strike, knee strike, and pushing kick. It is a wonderful self-defense technique that anybody, particularly children and women, may learn.
By challenging one’s physical and mental boundaries, Muay Thai and Karate training serve to develop mental toughness. Perseverance is also required. Muay Thai and Karate, as a consequence, not only build the body but also the mind. When things become difficult, they become even more difficult. A individual’s psychological toughness enables them to thrive in the face of hardship and ambiguity.
Muay Thai training will help individuals shed pounds and get in shape, while Karate can also aid with weight reduction. And the more confident a person is in his or her looks, the more confident they seem. Likewise, if anybody makes a consistent effort to train, he or she will develop, and witnessing that progress over time has a direct influence on self-confidence growth.
Also Read: Is Karate Effective In Real Fights: Vs Taekwondo Boxing
FAQs
Q: Can You Use Boxing Footwork in MMA?
You can definitely use boxing footwork in MMA. Boxing is excellent preparation for MMA, but it is important to recognize and respect the significant distinctions between the two disciplines. If you can change your fighting style to one that is more conducive to mixed martial arts you may find success in training and in competition.
Q: Does Muay Thai Use Head Movement?
Head movement is not often emphasized in Muay Thai. It is not as regularly drilled in boxing. This is related to the variety of punching assaults. When your competitor blends in strikes to the body and leg, protecting the head becomes less important.
Q: How Do You Cut Angles in Muay Thai?
You can cut angles in Muay Thai by doing the following:
- Trying to trick your opponent into making an error in order to transfer his body into a weaker posture, either indirectly or directly
- Using feints, erratic motion, and tips to throw him off balance
- Using bypasses, switches, and pullbacks to disrupt an opponent’s pace
- Giving the appearance of becoming closer to his launch site
- Using the tight to move him into striking position
