My first inter club muay thai fight - Please let me know your thoughts

[mattandbenny]

So i had my first inter club muay thai fight yesterday. Was at 70kg and was 3 x 1min 30 sec rounds. There was no decisions (all fights techinically a draw), but my coaches told me i would have won the first 2 rounds and lost the 3rd. I gassed out badly after the 2nd round (think from the nerves leading up to the fight, as i can do 3 x 90 second rounds easily in training) and had a pretty poor showing the 3rd round.

I'm always looking to improve so please let me know your thoughts on how i did - things i did good and bad, and what i need to improve on etc.

I am the guy with the beard in the black shorts & white gloves.

Round 1:


Round 2 & 3:

 

[Supayai]

Not too bad - Slow down, stop jumping around , tighten up your guard and your stance.
Your left body kick is good if you settled a bit you could do some real damage with it !!

 

[j123]

I like how you interrupt everything your opponent threw. Not giving him a chance to finish his combinations is good.
I also like how you circle out quickly, never staying in the corner long

My only issue, would be you step back a bit too much. Try to work on pressing forward a bit more. Especially against a taller fighter, you're stepping out and giving them their range. A more experienced opponent will work with that opportunity.

Its okay to drop your hands, but be sure you're out of range of your opponent when doing so. When I mean out of range, I mean completely, if you're in kicking range thats no good. Head kick, and quick step in strikes will be bad when those land.

On your opponent, seems like bit of a douche, touching gloves, then jumping in with his attacks as you're retracting your arm. Thats just my take, I know "protect yourself at all times", is part of the sport, its just something I don't like.

Either way, it looks like it was a good event for you.

Also, was there a reason why they were eager to break the clinch up quickly? There were some instances where you two initiated, and the ref broke it instantly.

 

[mattandbenny]

Cheers for the replies, i agree with all the comments tbh!

Not too bad - Slow down, stop jumping around , tighten up your guard and your stance

I always use a lot of movement, but i think i was probably bouncing around more than normal because i was nervous. Definitely need to tighten up though.

My only issue, would be you step back a bit too much. Try to work on pressing forward a bit more. Especially against a taller fighter, you're stepping out and giving them their range. A more experienced opponent will work with that opportunity

Yes i agree with you. I love to counter punch, but i know in Muay Thai moving backwards the whole fight doesn't look good with the judges. It happened more so in the 3rd round cause my gas tank was running on empty.

Also, was there a reason why they were eager to break the clinch up quickly? There were some instances where you two initiated, and the ref broke it instantly

And yea i wasn't too sure about the clinch either, they didn't really mention it in the morning instructions meeting. One minute it seemed to be K1 rules with one knee and separate etc, then we would be allowed longer in the clinch.

 

[Kanka]

I would use more low kicks in first round to slow him down a bit, and teeps to disrupt his rhythm, and so that you dont have to move backwards all the time. When you get him reacting to your teeps possibilities are endless. You can feint a teep to set up knees, head kicks, punches etc

 

[Travs]

Hello Matt

I would say it was very promising for a first inter club. Your general striking, reflexes and techniques were fine, especially considering the nerves on a first fight.

However the major, major thing is keep your hands up. Even in at the start of the first round they were way down. It may well be the stance you are taught at your gym, I don't know, but for me they were way too low, and if your opponent hadn't been equally tired he would surely have taken advantage.

Also don't be afraid to stand your ground in the centre of the ring, even when under attack. Not only does it show good control to judges, but you seem quite happy in the clinch and it is a good way to engage the clinch. I also had a similar style of fighting on the counter, but if you are going to back up and make that space between you, then be immediately ready to throw a kick or a teep as he advances. Otherwise he immediately closes the gap again and looks like he is controlling the fight.

Overall it was pretty good for a UK interclub, with the emphasis on technique from both of you. They are usually like World War 3.

 

[mattandbenny]

Lots of good pointers there, cheers guys. Main 2 things to concentrate on for next one are:

1) Stand my ground more, less moving backwards
2) Keep my hands up more

 

[Which Doctor]

the only thing you need to work on is being my bf pls

 

[Which Doctor]

I would hold back on your intensity early on. You're countering/and interruption was good, but you were always returning fire with more intensity than him (as if to prove a point). This became a concern after 40 seconds into the video.

If I was in his position and felt it was worth it I would have "pushed" you even harder and tried to make you gas out sooner by initiating pit-pat combos knowing you are going to answer with authority as long as you have the energy to.

Pacing. In the ring, it's your job, your work. First day on the job jitters, no problems.

It was decent showing for debut.

 

[pridefc33]

Good for you

 

[AIRTIGHT]

You got that Dutch, Taekwondo, quick-foot style. I thought it was very good. You got people coming at you from different angles telling you to stand your ground, throw low kicks... What people aren't realizing is that some of those instructions are counterintuitive to the positives your idiosyncrasy brings. You're more along the ilk of a Stephen Thompson, Manny Pacqiao, Frankie Edgar: a blitzer-mover-counter fighter. If anything you probably should be moving more! Your movement, esp. in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, appeared more reactive rather than proactive.

I do however have doubts Muay Thai is the judging system suited for you. Just about every alternative should work well though.

 

[shunK-1fan]

Don't refuse the clinch. In the first round you had him in the clinch one knee, and pushed him like you hate the clinch game. I say work a lot on the clinch. You have good hands and good kicks from what i'm seeing.

 

[MuayThaiSalford]

hey mate! Iv had my first interclub on the 11th of September 2016 n I'm having one tho Sunday coming up. I learnt a new trick when he catches a a body kick from you n you clinch, best thing to do is aim ur knee on ur body n the back leg that he will try n sweep you with, put the top of ur foot on this leg n push the leg away from you so he has no chance of sweeping you so Ull win that round for keeping good balance !
You've got a good sense of balance, that counter kick was a good shot if u keep ur momentum going cud b Risky, when u catch his body with the kick n he backs off n moves around you you've got an opportunity ere, when he runs of it signifys that the shot had done some damage you've got some good defence u blocked a decent amount of head shots, keep doing wot ur doing but becareful with ur stamina n energy you take care of that n Ull b on the news being a champion!

 

[UWanaPlayDaGame]

you did good. I think you can improve that beard though.

 

[ArmpitConnoisseur]

Learn more kicks and throw more high kicks, he was open a lot of the time for a wheel kick or high round kick straight to the neck, temple, or behind the ear.