How do you become a Muay Thai instructor?

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

Since there are no belts with lineages attached to them, is there a regulating body? Do you need a competition history? How do you become a Muay Thai instructor?

Can someone please shed some light?

Thanks.

 

[CharmingCritic]

I think having at least some fights is an important thing for a trainer, although I like my trainer with only 20 fights better than trainers I've had with 250 fights, so obviously that's not the be all end all piece of the equation. I think above all else the trainer needs to have several years of training with good people under his belt and have an undying passion for MT.

 

[CharmingCritic]

For a true beginner though, its hard to determine if your coach is legit or not. I'm sure there are plenty of phonies out there who claim to have been studying MT since they were 10 and have 100 fights, yet can't do anything technically sound. I was lucky that I started learning in Thailand b/c it gave me a good idea of what quality training looked like when I came back home. My BS meter went off pretty quickly at a lot of places before I settled on my current gym.

 

[thirteen]

Muay Thai home course DVD + Print off a certificate you made on Publisher...
Bingo you're a MT coach hahaha.

 

[Pearse Shields]

I'm sure that organisations like the WMC would have some sort of licensing available. However, there'd really not be very much to it. How do you test people with Muay Thai to see whether they're instructor material or not?

 

[Ryukyu Damashi]

I'm sure that organisations like the WMC would have some sort of licensing available. However, there'd really not be very much to it. How do you test people with Muay Thai to see whether they're instructor material or not?

Actually the WMC came out with a directive stating that all instructor or Kru/Ajarn certifications are fraudulent not matter who issues them.

 

[Ryukyu Damashi]

Becoming a trainer often just happens by chance. I kinda just fell into it. I just moved back from Japan and was training under a Thai who was chronically late and unprepared for the class, so out of necessity I took it upon myself to start holding pads for people until the Thai trainer showed up. The BJJ coach was in the process of opening a new gym on his own and asked me to teach Muay Thai there. A bunch of the more serious students followed me over and I became their trainer.

Once I started coaching, I found it hard to attact new students, being a white guy with 3 fights couldn't compete with a Thai with 200 fights, no matter how bad his coaching is. It didn't matter that I lived, trained, and fought in Japan. So I started going to Thailand once or twice a year to learn new skills and learn how to train fighters. Now my gym has the most authentic Muay Thai program in the area.

 

[Keej613]

Muay Thai home course DVD + Print off a certificate you made on Publisher...
Bingo you're a MT coach hahaha.

You forgot two things:

-Get shorts with Thai writing on them

-Implement a belt system

 

[NightmareWolf]

In England there is an optional grading system, I believe there is a Kru rank.

 

[CharmingCritic]

Once I started coaching, I found it hard to attact new students, being a white guy with 3 fights couldn't compete with a Thai with 200 fights, no matter how bad his coaching is. It didn't matter that I lived, trained, and fought in Japan. So I started going to Thailand once or twice a year to learn new skills and learn how to train fighters. Now my gym has the most authentic Muay Thai program in the area.

I don't think fighting experience is a must for a trainer. Above all else, he needs to be able to explain WHY techniques work/don't work, when to use them, etc. He needs to be passionate as well, which was something I found lacking in a lot of Thai trainers (probably b/c some only become trainers to get out of the rice fields, not b/c they love it). Also, he needs to throw offense at you on the pads instead of just "1-2! ok, 1-2 knee!. ok, low kick!" That's almost a complete waste of time imo. Doesn't teach you anything except how to hit a stationary, non-resisting opponent.

But yeah, to summarize, I have a lot of respect for a guy that goes to Thailand every year to expand his knowledge. Kudos.

 

[PeterPain]

You fight in lumpiny for years, get scars and hold pads for people when you can t toutch your own toes.

 

[thirteen]

You forgot two things:

-Get shorts with Thai writing on them

-Implement a belt system

So true, so very true lol.

 

[Paradigm]

thats easy:

1) find a Thai trainer who has plenty of pro fights under his belt, since you arent Thai and havent actually had any professional Muay Thai fights

2) steadily undermine the reputation of the gym you are currently at with false reports (staph infections and fake calls to 911 about mass injuries in the gym are a good start)

3) covertly recruit students from the gym you are leaving, so you have an established income base from the beginning when you open your gym. helps pay the bills in the initial months.

4) open up your own gym and add one extra letter to it to play off the name of the older, established gym while pulling as many students you can when you leave. for example, if the original gym was XPQ, name your gym XPQY.

5) ???

6) profit

7) karma is a bitch

Disclaimer: this is a hypothetical situation and does not apply to any gym(s) in the Los Angeles area. any resemblance to real life gyms/Muay Thai schools is purely coincidental.

 

[Payak]

fight, then when you are known and respected becoming a teacher will not be a problem.
no ranks,just experience and knowledge.

 

[CharmingCritic]

what about great trainers that never fought (e.g. Cus D'Amato), payak?

 

[pash123]

The things I would look for in a muay thai trainer, BJJ trainer, boxing trainer, etc.

1) How many years he has been training
2) How many fights/competitions they have been involved in
3) How many of those they have won

The more of the above the better.

 

[DeadlyArt]

Fighting exp is def a must for me or guys who are interested in fighting.
One of my favorite trainers ever are: Rigel Balsamico(Head Instructor at Cool Hearts Muay Thai and Rami Ibrahim from Sitan Gym, also trained under Aziz from Sitan Gym NYC.
also i prefer Dutch Style slightly more.

 

[rms13]

thats easy:

1) find a Thai trainer who has plenty of pro fights under his belt, since you arent Thai and havent actually had any professional Muay Thai fights

2) steadily undermine the reputation of the gym you are currently at with false reports (staph infections and fake calls to 911 about mass injuries in the gym are a good start)

3) covertly recruit students from the gym you are leaving, so you have an established income base from the beginning when you open your gym. helps pay the bills in the initial months.

4) open up your own gym and add one extra letter to it to play off the name of the older, established gym while pulling as many students you can when you leave. for example, if the original gym was XPQ, name your gym XPQY.

5) ???

6) profit

7) karma is a bitch

Disclaimer: this is a hypothetical situation and does not apply to any gym(s) in the Los Angeles area. any resemblance to real life gyms/Muay Thai schools is purely coincidental.

There are at least 7 gyms int he LA area that were started by guys that left "XPQ" gym. When trainers leave a gym and start their own gym some students are loyal to the trainer and some are loyal to the school, that's how it goes. The more MT gyms there are in LA and in the U.S. , the better it is for American Muay Thai. It is a community where every gym should be supportive of each other. Friendly competition is healthy but hate is not. I also know that everyone that used to train at XPQ gym that now train at XPQY gym want to be friends with people at XPQ gym but they get the cold shoulder and they don't understand why. Of course, this is all purely hypothetical.

On another note, I trained for nearly a year with Ryukyu. Even though he is a white guy with a handful of fights, non of which were full MT rules, he is the best trainer I've had. He is the most passionate about the sport of any of the trainers I have trained with including in Thailand. As others pointed out , a lot of Thais are lazy and apathetic about training and do it mainly for the money not because they love the sport. MT is a way out of a bad situation for young kids in Thailand and most of them get exploited along the way so obviously most of them don't train and don't later become trainers out of a pure love of the sport. There is also something to be said for having a trainer whose native language is the same as yours. I have trained with Thais in Thailand in the U.S. who are very good trainers and have great knowledge but they can't give you a deep explanation of technique. Ryukyu has a lot of knowledge from the several months a year he spends in Thailand training to impart to his students and he can also articulate the philosophies behind why you would want to use a certain technique. So fight experience and being Thai shouldn't be the most important thing you look for in a trainer

 

[Paradigm]

There are at least 7 gyms int he LA area that were started by guys that left "XPQ" gym. When trainers leave a gym and start their own gym some students are loyal to the trainer and some are loyal to the school, that's how it goes. The more MT gyms there are in LA and in the U.S. , the better it is for American Muay Thai. It is a community where every gym should be supportive of each other. Friendly competition is healthy but hate is not. I also know that everyone that used to train at XPQ gym that now train at XPQY gym want to be friends with people at XPQ gym but they get the cold shoulder and they don't understand why. Of course, this is all purely hypothetical.

speaking of hypothetical cold shoulders, i noticed a certain instructor of XPQY try to greet the owner of XPQ tonight at the MPL event. i wasnt that close but i could see that the warmth didnt seem to be returned.

having said that, it is a good lesson in business...illustrates the point that when you delegate too much to your subordinates, you run the risk of losing touch with your clients, sales reps, etc. its not necessarily the issue of someone deciding to start their own gym...this is America, after all. whats important (and what people remember) is the manner in which a split happens. Muay Thai, like many other sports, seems to have a bit of politics in it and the Thais seem to be a close knit community.

obviously, im only hearing one side of this fictional situation...whats important is that people are receiving quality training and are in a gym where the feel comfortable.

i hear you on the thing about learning with a trainer that speaks your native language...my thing is that id feel better about learning an art from people that originated the artform itself. American Muay Thai is weak in comparison to other established MT nations such as Australia, the UK, etc. why not learn MT from Thais or BJJ from Brazilians? while what you are saying about Thais and how they grow up in the sport are negative points and probably true for many fighters, the Thais have a level of immersion in their sport that very few Westerners can claim to have (if any). there are also the cultural aspects of the art that id like to learn and who could teach you about that better than the Thais themselves???

 

[Ryukyu Damashi]

Thanks rms13, I love Muay Thai and try my best. Honestly, if there was quality Muay Thai program in this area run by a Thai, I would become his student in a heartbeat.

I have built a solid bond with my trainer Pot at Sinbi over the last five years. He has really helped me grow into the roll as a trainer.