Travel to Thailand or Holland for striking?

[Evan_The_Kid_1]

Which one would you choose and why? Which style fits you better?

 

[EJRMAN513]

It depends on what you're style is really. If you're an outside fighter that specializes at using kicks and long strikes to keep your opponent at bay then Thailand but if you're more of an in your face, close range or clinch type of fighter then I'd say Holland. I'm pretty sure both countries teach both styles as Matt Brown and TJ Grant came out of Thailand with a better clinch and overall striking game than before they went but from what I've seen a lot of Thailand guys tend to have a lot of emphasis on their work outside and guys like Overeem who come out of Holland really emphasize a lot on their inside game.

 

[rudolf]

Thailand is way cheaper in everyway. Go there you will be able to stay for longer and train way more. When in Thailand try and get some instruction off non Thais aswell, the Thais are great but the language barrier can prevent them perfecting your techniques.

 

[yookfarb]

Holland

I love to throw combinations, especially on the inside with my hands and get in peoples faces. I don't really go for knees/elbows or the thai clinch. I also move my feet and my head a lot.

 

[GOATMOON]

It depends on what you're style is really. If you're an outside fighter that specializes at using kicks and long strikes to keep your opponent at bay then Thailand but if you're more of an in your face, close range or clinch type of fighter then I'd say Holland. I'm pretty sure both countries teach both styles as Matt Brown and TJ Grant came out of Thailand with a better clinch and overall striking game than before they went but from what I've seen a lot of Thailand guys tend to have a lot of emphasis on their work outside and guys like Overeem who come out of Holland really emphasize a lot on their inside game.

Thais are known to put a huge emphasis on clinching as hard knees and dumps from the clinch are probably the best way to score under their criteria. Meanwhile, everything I've heard and seen about Holland indicates that they focus more on punch/low kick combinations. And I'd attribute Overeem's success in the clinch mainly to being roided to the fucking gills and having a huge size and strength advantage.

I think a big factor in choosing where to train would be your size. The average Thai is really small, so if you're a heavyweight, you might get more out of your training partners in Holland. On the other side, if you're 5'5 and 125 lbs, you'll fit right in with the Thais while most Dutch guys would be too big to spar hard with.

 

[mysticdragonbjj]

Thai chicks are hotter IMO.

 

[Paradigm]

Thailand if smaller and Holland if bigger. not hard and fast rules by any means.

I'd say Thailand is better suited for me but I might be biased because I went to Thailand to train. also went to Holland but that was just Amsterdam really...

 

[sourdiesel209]

Thailand if smaller and Holland if bigger. not hard and fast rules by any means.

I'd say Thailand is better suited for me but I might be biased because I went to Thailand to train. also went to Holland but that was just Amsterdam really...

Isnt Amsterdam one of the best places to train? I know theres alot of famous gyms there.

To the OP, Id love to go train at both countries tbh, but in Holland you could "relax" more after training

 

[Yodsanan]

clinch type of fighter then I'd say Holland.

wut? Has there ever been a fighter in holland that can remotely keep up with any thai when it comes to clinching?

 

[Higus]

I like the Dutch style emphasis on combination attacks better and it seems to be better suited for MMA, but at the same time I think that MMA fighters are only beginning to scratch the surface of what the thai clinch can offer. Tough choice.

 

[Chungungo]

I like the Dutch style emphasis on combination attacks better and it seems to be better suited for MMA, but at the same time I think that MMA fighters are only beginning to scratch the surface of what the thai clinch can offer. Tough choice.

I have the luck of having a coach that has travelled to many places so we train mostly with combos like I have heard the dutch do , we are a very poor academy so we don

 

[Paradigm]

Isnt Amsterdam one of the best places to train? I know theres alot of famous gyms there.

To the OP, Id love to go train at both countries tbh, but in Holland you could "relax" more after training

I'm sure it is but i went there in 2005...before I started training anything.

I have the luck of having a coach that has travelled to many places so we train mostly with combos like I have heard the dutch do , we are a very poor academy so we don

 

[PivotPunch]

It depends on what you're style is really. If you're an outside fighter that specializes at using kicks and long strikes to keep your opponent at bay then Thailand but if you're more of an in your face, close range or clinch type of fighter then I'd say Holland. I'm pretty sure both countries teach both styles as Matt Brown and TJ Grant came out of Thailand with a better clinch and overall striking game than before they went but from what I've seen a lot of Thailand guys tend to have a lot of emphasis on their work outside and guys like Overeem who come out of Holland really emphasize a lot on their inside game.

The clinchwork in Thailand is 10 times that of that in Holland especially since kickboxing is big in Holland which doesn't allow much clinching anyway.
If you want to clinch go to Thailand and don't even think twice.

In Holland punches and lowkicks score more and are trained and used more it's about punch combinations into kicks and especially lowkicks.

In Thailand it's a ton of clinching, obviously elbows and mid and high kicks punches and lowkicks don't score much there. The most important things there are the clinch and knees and kicks (especially midkicks) .

They spar harder in Holland in Thailand the sparring is more relaxed. In Holland they are on average more aggressive and in Thailand more patient and they counter more.


Overall Holland is heavily oriented after kickboxing (K-1 rules) and in Thailand they obviously only train for Muay Thai if you watch a Mt match and a K-1 or Glory fight you will see the difference what you see is mostly what you get.

 

[aries]

Aside from what's already been said I'd say differences in the approach to training styles might sway you one way or the other. In Holland you'll get more formal instruction and more strategic advice. Thailand tends to be a bit more of a learn yourself as you go along and faster paced show you once then go away and do it. Holland is more structured, and Thailand is more about discovering stuff for yourself as you go along. If you aren't going to go there and train for a decent period of times (months) then I'd think you'd get more from the structure of a dutch gym.

Certain specialities might also push you one way or the other, for clinching, knees, elbows and throws it's Thailand. For boxing and combination striking I'd say Holland.

 

[Chungungo]

I'm sure it is but i went there in 2005...before I started training anything.



how big are you and are you a seasoned pro? if not, you're probably gonna get thrown around anyway by 135lb Thais.

I am not so seasoned, trained kickboxing years ago and my instruction is mostly in grappling arts, did judo before so I love the clinch , I still do it but less and I

 

[Chungungo]

The clinchwork in Thailand is 10 times that of that in Holland especially since kickboxing is big in Holland which doesn't allow much clinching anyway.
If you want to clinch go to Thailand and don't even think twice.

In Holland punches and lowkicks score more and are trained and used more it's about punch combinations into kicks and especially lowkicks.

In Thailand it's a ton of clinching, obviously elbows and mid and high kicks punches and lowkicks don't score much there. The most important things there are the clinch and knees and kicks (especially midkicks) .

They spar harder in Holland in Thailand the sparring is more relaxed. In Holland they are on average more aggressive and in Thailand more patient and they counter more.


Overall Holland is heavily oriented after kickboxing (K-1 rules) and in Thailand they obviously only train for Muay Thai if you watch a Mt match and a K-1 or Glory fight you will see the difference what you see is mostly what you get.

Hola !
My coach told me thais look for a lot of precision in their sparring but a friend told me something similar about Holland so is that hard sparring with equipment or they would beat me without headgear.

My coach is brazilian and in some academies over there they are kinda bad with foreigners in sparring so i want to know if in Holland is the same or are they more careful with the students please?

 

[JustinvR]

Hola !
My coach told me thais look for a lot of precision in their sparring but a friend told me something similar about Holland so is that hard sparring with equipment or they would beat me without headgear.

My coach is brazilian and in some academies over there they are kinda bad with foreigners in sparring so i want to know if in Holland is the same or are they more careful with the students please?

I have never seen dutch people going extra hard during sparring on people just because they are foreign. Some gyms might do this, i have never seen of heard about it though.

The main reason why I'd recommend the Netherlands over Thailand is because 80% of the people here can speak english, which is not only nice during training but also to find your way through the cities and stuff.

 

[Chungungo]

I have never seen dutch people going extra hard during sparring on people just because they are foreign. Some gyms might do this, i have never seen of heard about it though.

The main reason why I'd recommend the Netherlands over Thailand is because 80% of the people here can speak english, which is not only nice during training but also to find your way through the cities and stuff.

That helps too , my heart is divided as I love traditional Muay Thai style but also want too train with taller guys as I am tall guy in my country and gym and I am missing a part of the training---

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Meanwhile, everything I've heard and seen about Holland indicates that they focus more on punch/low kick combinations. And I'd attribute Overeem's success in the clinch mainly to being roided to the fucking gills and having a huge size and strength advantage.

Not strictly true, Overeem was definitely stedded up but he demonstrates quite a few very subtle traditional muay thai throws that very few opponents see coming, no doubt from training so much in Thailand. Bare in mind that Overeem never has fought like a typical dutch fighter, when he was a light heavyweight he focused more on body kicks and knees (and ground and pound) and as he got bigger he became more focussed on boxing and knees (and of course that ground and pound). He's never been much of a "punch, punch, low kick" type guy, certainly not to the extent of other (surprisingly non dutch) fighters like Jose Aldo.

As for the whole dutch vs thai thing, it's not as different as you'd think for, the technique on the kicks and the work rate are sometimes different but Thai's do practise combinations as well as evasion etc. but they put time in every day in practising the clinch whereas the dutch don't tend to (although Lucien Carbin's gym does a lot of clinch work) and while its true the dutch like their low kicks you will see them teaching all sorts of kick variations, don't get too wrapped into the stereotypes because you'll still learn plenty of body kicks and knee strikes as well

If you're looking to train though I'd say that Thailand you'll probably get more training for your money for cheaper but Holland is also worth visiting, they are particularly quite fond of English speakers for some reason.

I'd personally look into the gym you'd want to train at (In Thailand or Holland) and see what techniques the emphasise more. Sitmonchai are bigger on punch and low kick combinations that would stereotypically be thought of as dutch techniques, but Lucien Carbin's gym in Holland use a lot of punching off of kicks and knees that you'd associate more commonly with Thailand.

 

[Chungungo]

Not strictly true, Overeem was definitely stedded up but he demonstrates quite a few very subtle traditional muay thai throws that very few opponents see coming, no doubt from training so much in Thailand. Bare in mind that Overeem never has fought like a typical dutch fighter, when he was a light heavyweight he focused more on body kicks and knees (and ground and pound) and as he got bigger he became more focussed on boxing and knees (and of course that ground and pound). He's never been much of a "punch, punch, low kick" type guy, certainly not to the extent of other (surprisingly non dutch) fighters like Jose Aldo.

As for the whole dutch vs thai thing, it's not as different as you'd think for, the technique on the kicks and the work rate are sometimes different but Thai's do practise combinations as well as evasion etc. but they put time in every day in practising the clinch whereas the dutch don't tend to (although Lucien Carbin's gym does a lot of clinch work) and while its true the dutch like their low kicks you will see them teaching all sorts of kick variations, don't get too wrapped into the stereotypes because you'll still learn plenty of body kicks and knee strikes as well

If you're looking to train though I'd say that Thailand you'll probably get more training for your money for cheaper but Holland is also worth visiting, they are particularly quite fond of English speakers for some reason.

I'd personally look into the gym you'd want to train at (In Thailand or Holland) and see what techniques the emphasise more. Sitmonchai are bigger on punch and low kick combinations that would stereotypically be thought of as dutch techniques, but Lucien Carbin's gym in Holland use a lot of punching off of kicks and knees that you'd associate more commonly with Thailand.

Which gyms in Holland are big in the clinch?
I have an exhile friend over there and might fall on his house one day while I