Muay Thai training is about achieving gradual improvements, both in terms of strength and conditioning, but more importantly in terms of Muay Thai skills.
To achieve consistent improvements in your Muay Thai skills, you need to devote a proportion of your Muay Thai training to improving those skills in a systematic and structured way. And this is where Muay Thai drilling comes into play!
Let’s take a look at 4 Muay Thai drills you can do to boost your Muay Thai game more effectively!
Why is the Muay Thai Drilling Session Important?
In general, Muay Thai drills are systematic training to practice your Muay Thai skills by performing multiple repetitions of specific movements or combinations. In Muay Thai drilling, precision and technical accuracy are the most important aspects. Muay Thai drilling is also a good way to improve your reflexes and build muscle memory.
4 Basic Muay Thai Drilling
1. Stance & Footwork Drills
Movement is definitely one of the most important parts of this sport. Without solid footwork, your striking won’t be successful because you are not in the right place to throw them. On top of that, you won’t be able to block or dodge your opponent’s attack effectively as well.
You can do this drill by simply moving forward, back, left, and right in a Muay Thai stance—bend your knees slightly and put your weight in the center—in order to establish good Muay Thai footwork.
The key to this training is to move in rhythm, and in a way that allows you to maintain your base. That means you’ll be balanced and stable so you can strike, defend, and change direction efficiently without making a big adjustment.
Although this might not be the most fun drill, practicing your footwork will be the perfect foundation for your entire Muay Thai skillset.
2. Dutch Drills
Dutch drill training is essential when it comes to practicing your Muay Thai techniques in a realistic fight. The goal of this drill is to perform a combination at high intensity with a moving and defending partner. In this drill, you need to put more focus on speed and accuracy rather than power.
The most common example of a dutch drill would be a jab, cross, lead hook, and low kick combination. To get the most out of this drill, try to move around using correct footwork between attacks.
3. Skip Knee Drills
This drill is a must in Thailand Muay Thai gym and should be included in every Muay Thai training session. In Muay Thai, knee strikes are very useful when you are in a clinch position. That is why being able to throw effective knees is an important technique to master.
You can simply do this drill by performing multiple skip knee shots in a quick session to a heavy bag or even a wall. Performing 50 to 100 of this drill in a skipping rhythm will surely make you have a nice sweat going and improve one of the most powerful and deadly strikes in martial arts!
4. Reaction Drills
These variations of drills are designed for improving reaction speed. The great thing about these kinds of drills is that you can try them out easily, even if you don’t have too much Muay Thai experience yet.
One great method to improve both striking technique and timing is to do so with strikes. Partners will take turns throwing a random striking technique at each other. It might be a low kick, jab, high kick, or some other variation. As soon as it lands on one partner, the idea is to instinctively return to strike, almost without even thinking. The ability to answer back with a strike of your own after receiving one from your opponent is essential for any fighter, and building this using drills is one of the best methods to ensure that it translates into combat.
Sharpen your Muay Thai techniques with our Muay Thai Drilling Class. Ubud Muay Thai offers a variety of Muay Thai and conditioning classes to our members with some of the best trainers in Bali!
Our training classes are not just tailored to help professional and upcoming fighters, but also to help anyone looking to lose weight, shape up, relieve stress, and start feeling good about themselves.
Contact our gym today and begin your Muay Thai journey with us!