Kickboxing/Muaythai Movement

[Winebrandt]

I have noticed how mma fighters like Tj, Dom Cruz, McGregor and many more are bouncing around alot in and out of the pocket whilst kickboxers usually just stay within striking range relying more on counters

This is a legit question for all of you with some experience in kickboxing/muay thai..

How "should" you move when fighting Muay thai/kickboxing.. I understand this is individual but please give me some tips

 

[Snubnoze707]

You should do what MuayThai/Kickboxers do when fighting MuayThai/Kickboxing, not what MMA fighters do...

 

[HighestHand]

I personally move around a lot too, much to the chagrin of many, but one reason why fighters move like that is because they have to be in rhythm and to counter take downs. Being light on your feet makes sprawls somewhat easier.

Fight how you want to fight, as long as it works or doesn't put you in potential danger of a follow up strike. You can either crush their attacks with superb stability, or you can evade it.

 

[HighestHand]

I was told in practice to stop moving around cause it was hard for my partner to spar, It felt wierd to me since that would be a good thing in a fight.. But i guess in training, sparring should benefit both fighters

That sounds stupid without context, but how are you moving around? Like you doing a marathon or what? If you are just utilizing foot work and angles to make your opponent miss, that should be fine.

That should benefit him because what if he had to fight someone like that. It's kind of monotonous to keep fighting the same styles over and over again.

And who told you?

 

[n.diazismylife1999]

Yes, that's an idiotic reason if you're just told to spar (as opposed to being told to try specific things). If your movement makes it harder for your partner, then that benefits your partner. He gets experience against someone moving in an unorthodox way.

But kickboxing is kickboxing, MT is MT, and MMA is MMA. What are you ultimately training for? The standard MT movement is not good for MMA: from the McGregor vs Faber TUF season, a perfect example is Julian Erosa vs Mehdi Baghdad. Erosa wins against an extremely accomplished Muay Thai fighter ONLY because of his weird movement -- Mehdi is utterly confused by this and keeps moving around in his Muay Thai stance, expecting his dance partner to stop and trade blows. That never happened, Erosa zooms in and out throwing strikes from weird angles, and Mehdi loses a fight that should have been easy for him.