Hi guys hope you can give me some advices regarding sparring in muay thai Im a counter striker (like to fight from distance, rarely initiate) Due to the space in our gym quite small, in less crowded day I do quite ok ( being able to circle around) On the crowded day however, I get myself into a lot of trouble with two good puncher pressure guy because circling is limited. We spar without knee or elbow so essentially it is kickboxing. So Countering with elbow and knee is impossible. Any help dealing with good puncher swarming and trapping? Thanks
The days that it's crowded work on your Thai clinch. At least u'll be working on your weaknesses rather then training your strengths all the time
Try not to back up in a straight line, stand your ground (its a good habit to practice since alot of times ring control is a factor in judging). When they're close, clinch up and work on turns, push off after wards if you prefer fighting on the outside. If your sparring partners are swarming looping punches, thats a good chance to close in and tie up.
We spar thai clinch seperately after striking sparring. But its a good idea, maybe i can lock the guys up upon the swarming. What should I train for fighting in the clinch without knee and elbow? Body punching with one hand?
It's about the timing and the angles of getting the clinch though...not the actual work inside of it. Footwork, ect..
Sadly most people won't want to do that. Cool idea nonetheless I think j123 is on the right track. You just have to lump it and get on with it. Pretty much been how my sparring has been unless it's quiet or there's a ring available. Treasure those sessions lol
Yeah standing my ground doesnt work so well since they are good punchers (one of the two have quite a few exp in boxing). I As I said when I can circle i got no problem, its not that i dont know how to circle. Regarding clinching up, should i train short uppercut/ hook to the body and face? You guys have some video teaching that? I think it is called infighting? Push clearly works but i think being able to punch back is better. Spinning shit is prohibited because of quite a few kos Thanks
Again, circle and get off their centre line. If they're hand-heavy start replying with teeps and kicks moving off their centre line. If you're not confident with body kicks do low kicks. If you're taking glancing blows and hitting their body, making them wobble or breaking their rhythm well, you're scoring. Work on trapping or parrying their punches at the same time. If you want to counter that's some good stuff. You should be able to do so when smothered. Wrapping up in the clinch can be hard if they're good and tight with their hands and guard. If they're sloppy and throw looping punches, as j123 says, that's a good time. It's difficult to clinch people that don't want to. They'll just shrug you off and keep throwing bombs a lot of the time if you're struggling to get a firm hold
Is the majority your weight on your back leg when this happens? If it is, try standing 50-50 with the heel on the rear leg raised. Do you mean use this as way to close the distance, or afterwards? I'm guessing this part you mean after clinching. In this distance you're quite close (hip to hip), punching from here wouldn't have much power. I usually push to make space, usually a leg chop or headkick follows nicely. I think when the other poster said "spinning shit" meant turns and spins in the clinch, not strikes. I could be wrong though.
I think OP might want to try this to work on what seems to be a weak point. I've tried something similar and it's pretty effective at teaching you how to deal with being in the pocket: One foot in the tire sparring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b21wZw2h2eI
why dont you try learning how to initiate. it is better to be a balanced fighter than one that relies only on countering. waiting to counter is not a good strategy cause you will have problems against someone with good feints and aggression.
I think this is part of the problem. I fought quite heavy on the back leg due to the love of the liver kick so .. Jab and teep only works with circling, in closed area since we arent throwing shit 100% they can just eat them up into the boxing range. So I guess fighting more in the boxing stance when there is nowhere to go, clinching up then push, mixing up with teep should be ok. I used to teep a lot but got timed then leg kicked hard. Thanks for all the advices guys
Shit i should have thought of clinching up earlier, watching quite a few fights yet didnt think of it just because we spar striking and clinching seperately, feel pretty dumb Then again clinching up just for the sake of clinching with no knee and elbow is quite sad, just like guys in boxing clinching up to escape .. Any of you spar with knees and elbows in the gym? Elbows pads?
We use knees while sparring and clinching all the time, as long as we don't throw them 100% and not to the head. I don't really see the point of clinching with no knees at all. We do elbows lightly with headgear on. Just aim for the forehead, which is padded with headgear, and it's pretty safe.
CK's gym spars with knees. No elbows unless with consent from trainer. Fighter also has to put on elbow pads. Clinching isn't sad. Clinching is very important in Thai Boxing. Don't worry about not throwing knees or elbows. Learn clinching techniques, apply them and put yourself in an advantageous position.
