Is it Possible to Learn MMA or Muay Thai With the Boxing Stance?

[SteadyEddy]

Hey Guys,

I just had a quick question. I come from a boxing background so all my habits are pretty ingrained in the boxing sense. I just wanted to know if its possible to have successful transition to MMA or Muay Thai using the boxing stance?

Is it possible to learn to kick and check kicks from the boxing stance? Can you level change effectively and go to the ground from a boxing stance? Are there any fighters that you can recommend to watch that use a boxing stance in MMA/Muay Thai, and are using it successfully?

Edit: Just to give a visual my stance is very similar to Jermall Charlo

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Others have done it successfully. I don't know about that specific long one with the legs nearly locked out, don't know if that one can work without some modification, but I'm sure you can just modify it as needed and it will work pretty good once you've done that. You don't have to completely rework it, maybe just bring it in a bit and bend the knees somewhat, nothing crazy.

I see that particular stance getting taken down and kicked easier than normal (it doesn't look very mobile) but if you really know what's going on, you may be able to work around it. Another thought is that charlo doesn't use that stance the whole time he boxes. No one does.

Also, you might as well try it in sparring. This will let you know if, how and when it works, and what possible things might need modifying (and for what reasons/when). No one can teach you everything, you'll have to experiment with it-- experimenting is fun.

 

[fluffball]

Boxing stance in kicking arts is totally fine and very common. I would square it up to like a 45ish degree angle instead of like 80 degrees if you can, but bladed is 100% legit and IMO far superior to a square stance.

I am not a grappling expert, or even like... proficient by a grappler's standards, but a lot of UFC fighters use a side stance and do fine. Aldo seems to be the poster child for TDD that isn't a wrestling sprawl.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Boxing stance in kicking arts is totally fine and very common. I would square it up to like a 45ish degree angle instead of like 80 degrees if you can, but bladed is 100% legit and IMO far superior to a square stance.

I am not a grappling expert, or even like... proficient by a grappler's standards, but a lot of UFC fighters use a side stance and do fine. Aldo seems to be the poster child for TDD that isn't a wrestling sprawl.

The old Aldo trick, make them bite on the single and then circle our and make them look dumb.

Also, I've never adhered to the idea of a boxing stance or a muay thai stance, I have only one stance, which is my fighting stance. I stand a little bit squarer than most boxers and a little bit more bladed than most Thai boxers. There's absolutely a middle ground.

My fiance (inb4 j123) trains boxing and muay thai too and uses a similar middle ground.

You just have to be more like Miguel Cotto (left) than Sergio Martinez. You can still throw and check kicks. You have good power in the elbows and can still move just as fluently as you can in either stance. And this isn't a "dutch" stance either.

Compare Miguel Cotto's stance to Singdams.



I took the image from a muaythaipros article, which was decent but also hugely overexaggerates things:

There aren't as a big a differences between the stances in these pictures as the author of the article would have you believe. For example Overeem isn't super bladed, he's in the middle of taking a step.


Truth is you can be effective in any stance. My general rule is, if kicks are allowed, the more side on you stand the more efficient you should be with a lead leg side teep.

I swear by this technique and gif for the perfect way to behave if your a side on fighter. It's also worth noting that Samart's opponent is quite bladed in his stance as well.


In short OP, don't worry too much about having the "right" stance, you'll figure out what works for you in muay thai/mma. Don't even panic too much about adjusting your stance, so long as your legs aren't more than a shoulder width apart you should be fine, if you're too bladed you'll eventually adjust naturally with more training.

 

[shincheckin]

for muay thai, your going to have to change your stand to much more square. in order from most square to least it would go muay thai, mma, boxing. So I would say the mma stance is somewhere in between the two. You should be able to transition easily, boxing is a huge part of mma and muay thai. Samart payakaroon is a muay thai fighter that also boxed and was very successful because of carrying his boxing over into mma.

 

[j123]

My fiance (inb4 j123) trains boxing and muay thai too and uses a similar middle ground.

Didn't read the post, came here for pics.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Didn't read the post, came here for pics.

See how I didn't even have to tag you in it? I just knew you'd find it.

 

[StopDucking]

Dude, it doesn't matter what your background is. Don't worry about this stuff. If you want to learn muay thai, just learn muay thai. No excuses. If it takes some time for you to adapt, then take the time. Learning new things will never hurt you no matter what.

Not one fighter stands the same way all the time. Once you're familiar with both arts, your body will know when to stand this way or that way. The only obstacle here is your mindset.

 

[Tayski]

Samart payakaroon is a muay thai fighter that also boxed and was very successful because of carrying his boxing over into mma.

He didn't do MMA. You mean using his boxing skills in Muay Thai right?

 

[Mr Mojo Lane]

Eating leg kicks would be the biggest weakness? I would think. I use mostly boxing stance and I can check kicks but it is really slow or half assed. I have to use footwork most of the time which takes away most of the power and but it is pretty ugly

 

[wilddeuces]

Wow, Charlo just plods forward following Lara and letting Lara figure out the range. He was always reacting and not often taking the lead.

 

[Fire of Youth]

Check out Somluck Kamsing

 

[shincheckin]

He didn't do MMA. You mean using his boxing skills in Muay Thai right?

yeah bro... typo, good eye

 

[SteadyEddy]

The old Aldo trick, make them bite on the single and then circle our and make them look dumb.

Also, I've never adhered to the idea of a boxing stance or a muay thai stance, I have only one stance, which is my fighting stance. I stand a little bit squarer than most boxers and a little bit more bladed than most Thai boxers. There's absolutely a middle ground.

My fiance (inb4 j123) trains boxing and muay thai too and uses a similar middle ground.

You just have to be more like Miguel Cotto (left) than Sergio Martinez. You can still throw and check kicks. You have good power in the elbows and can still move just as fluently as you can in either stance. And this isn't a "dutch" stance either.

Compare Miguel Cotto's stance to Singdams.



I took the image from a muaythaipros article, which was decent but also hugely overexaggerates things:

There aren't as a big a differences between the stances in these pictures as the author of the article would have you believe. For example Overeem isn't super bladed, he's in the middle of taking a step.


Truth is you can be effective in any stance. My general rule is, if kicks are allowed, the more side on you stand the more efficient you should be with a lead leg side teep.

I swear by this technique and gif for the perfect way to behave if your a side on fighter. It's also worth noting that Samart's opponent is quite bladed in his stance as well.


In short OP, don't worry too much about having the "right" stance, you'll figure out what works for you in muay thai/mma. Don't even panic too much about adjusting your stance, so long as your legs aren't more than a shoulder width apart you should be fine, if you're too bladed you'll eventually adjust naturally with more training.

Hey bro,

Thanks for the awesome reply! Really appreciate you going into so much depth, and giving me a really well detailed response. I wish I could have replied sooner, I'm just in the middle of move so I'm pretty preoccupied at the moment.

And yeah, my stance I would say is probably the most closest to Samart's oppenent from above, followed by Miguel Cotto, and not like Sergio. My feet are pointed more 1 or 2 o'clock vs completely at 3. I have no idea how people Jab using a 3 o'clock stance, I suppose side kicks are useful in that stance.

Anyhow, your timing couldn't have been more perfect because I looked up that side teep kick a while back. I started watching Wonderboy (huge fan), and I really wanted to incorporate that side kick(not a teep, but slightly similar) he uses to keep wrestlers at bay or from shooting in. Somehow he manages to keep people away using that kick, and I really want to be able to incorporate that into my game. Another reason for wanting to learn that kick is because I come from the boxing philosophy "to be able to hit, without getting hit". For some reason I believe that side teep will help me control the distance.

Anyhow, I'll post back once I have a handle on things(I have no kick game) and let you know how things go. Thanks once again.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Hey bro,

Thanks for the awesome reply! Really appreciate you going into so much depth, and giving me a really well detailed response. I wish I could have replied sooner, I'm just in the middle of move so I'm pretty preoccupied at the moment.

And yeah, my stance I would say is probably the most closest to Samart's oppenent from above, followed by Miguel Cotto, and not like Sergio. My feet are pointed more 1 or 2 o'clock vs completely at 3. I have no idea how people Jab using a 3 o'clock stance, I suppose side kicks are useful in that stance.

Anyhow, your timing couldn't have been more perfect because I looked up that side teep kick a while back. I started watching Wonderboy (huge fan), and I really wanted to incorporate that side kick(not a teep, but slightly similar) he uses to keep wrestlers at bay or from shooting in. Somehow he manages to keep people away using that kick, and I really want to be able to incorporate that into my game. Another reason for wanting to learn that kick is because I come from the boxing philosophy "to be able to hit, without getting hit". For some reason I believe that side teep will help me control the distance.

Anyhow, I'll post back once I have a handle on things(I have no kick game) and let you know how things go. Thanks once again.

From how you've described it to me, your stance sounds fine for muay thai. People can be a little dogmatic with muay thai thinking that things should be done a certain way and that muay thai looks a certain way. It's not uncommon to hear things like "muay thai boxers stand tall and very square, spam leg kicks and never throw spinning kicks" - none of which is true, and even if it was it sholdn't be relevant to your style.

Keep your stance how it is because to me it sounds about right, the only thing I could recommend is keeping your lead foot pointing at 12 rather than 1 with your rear foot off to the side a bit more. If it does need adjusting your body will adjust naturally after you've been caught with a few leg kicks that you don't like.

Remember to keep your hips dropped a little bit if you don't already so that you can relax and move about more freely and get some more pop in your punches, admittedly you're a boxer so you already know this, but its important to carry those details over.

That side teep will be very useful for controlling the distance, so will a regular teep. I'd recommend using the jab and teep in conjunction with each other to attack your opponents centre-line. So jab a bit to bring the guard up, then while the guards up go for the teep, if the teep is side on then even if they catch the foot it will be easy to pull it out because they don't have anything to grab like they would if you threw a traditional teep.

 

[freaky]

I've seen successful boxers in MT. Old school legit MTers will say your lead leg will get chewed up. It will be harder to check but if you have good reflex, you can always "long guard" or move your lead leg back.

I'd maybe adapt a more TKD stance/footwork. Your MT coach will definitely not be happy about your boxing stance. He will tell you to adapt the more traditional MT stance. Everytime you stand in your boxing stance, he will chew your lead leg up. So be prepared for that. Maybe even use that as bait for a counter set up.

 

[sourdiesel209]

Of course its possible, just modified a bit: