When a Muay Thai fighter enters the ring to compete, it is with the support of an entire gym working behind the scenes to prepare them. There are the coaches and the pad men, the strength coaches and nutritionists too, but the ones who are most often overlooked are the fighter’s training partners; the ones who sparred and drilled with them, sacrificing their own time and training to help them on their journey towards victory.
Because the role of training partners in Muay Thai is often overlooked, many fighters and gym members don’t know or understand the important role of being a training partner. In this article, we are going to give you the 5 most important pieces of advice that you need to know about being a great teammate in Muay Thai. While these pointers are written in the context of helping a teammate prepare for a fight, following them can do wonders for your own development as a Nak Muay. So, if you want to be a great teammate and forge stronger bonds with the members of your gym while improving your own Muay Thai skills, read on.
1) Be Consistent In Training Even When You Aren’t Competing
Consistency in training is not only key to your Muay Thai progress but also essential for being a reliable teammate. Fighters depend on regular partners to sharpen their skills and prepare effectively for competition.
Being consistent in training isn’t just the best thing you can do for your Muay Thai journey, it’s also the most important thing you can do as a Muay Thai teammate and many of the points that follow in this article require you to do this first.
If everyone only trained consistently when it was their turn to compete Muay Thai would quickly become a solo sport. Fighters in camp won’t have teammates to drill techniques or to help them sharpen their skills in sparring. These are essential roles in fight preparation that pad men and coaches can’t always fill and without someone to practice their gameplan with, a fighter’s performance in the ring can be severely impacted.
So, remember; you can’t be a good training partner if you aren’t actually at training.
2) Be The ‘Opponent’ In Sparring
When sparring with a teammate preparing for a fight, step into the role of their opponent—even if it’s out of your comfort zone—so they can sharpen their strategy, while you improve your own skills in the process.
When you are sparring with someone who is preparing for a competition while you don’t have a fight looming yourself, it’s always good form to spend some time being their ‘opponent’.
This simply means that, if your teammate is fighting an aggressive puncher for several weeks, but you happen to prefer the Muay Femur style, try to take on the role of a Muay Mat every time you spar until they fight.
It can be difficult to put yourself out of your comfort zone like this, especially if it means you are clearly losing every single round where you take the opponent’s role but, this selfless act will pay off for you with dividends.
You’ll learn more from the rounds you spend out of your comfort zone, including new skills you can add to your repertoire and an insight into what techniques work well on the style you are mimicking. So, as humbling as it might be to put yourself at a disadvantage, allowing your teammate to use you as a punching bag for their next fight’s game plan not only makes you a great training partner but also helps you on your own Muay Thai journey.
3) Do The ‘Extra Work’ With Others
The toughest parts of fight prep like early runs, core workouts, and recovery sessions get easier with a teammate’s support, boosting both motivation and readiness for future fight opportunities.
Some parts of Muay Thai training can be incredibly boring and when you are in the final weeks of fight preparation running, extra abs and core work, and long recovery sessions in the sauna can become torturous. While it’s a big ask to do every aspect of a fighter’s training when you aren’t competing yourself, offering to join a teammate for an early morning run or training abs once or twice a week can do wonders to help with their performance and motivation.
These hard aspects of training become so much easier to complete with the company of a teammate. It will also keep you ready for any short-notice fight opportunities that may arise and, if you’re still waiting for your first bout, it will go a long way to proving to your coaches that you are ready.
4) Give Compliments And Ask Questions
There are no wrong questions; each one is an opportunity for growth and an integral part of your personal martial arts journey.
While it might be tempting to impart all of your Muay Thai knowledge to teammates in training, you can often end up overstepping if you start critiquing every aspect of your training partner’s skill set. If they are in fight camp, you could also end up undermining the game plan they have been working on with your coaches.
So, unless you have been specifically asked, it’s best to just compliment your teammates on the things they are doing well. It will inspire confidence that they’ll need to draw on when they are in the ring.
If you do see something that seems incredibly wrong, ask questions instead of criticizing them. There could be a good reason for it and, even if there isn’t, politely saying “I’ve noticed you doing this. I’m just interested to know the reason why?” is a good prompt that gives both of you the opportunity to learn without the risk of stepping on any toes.
5) Represent Your Gym At Competitions
When your teammate steps into the ring, showing up in support with gym gear and cheers can make all the difference, giving them the boost they need to push through a tough fight.
It is easy to forget the team behind you when you are standing alone in the center with your opponent in the opposite corner and all of the lights in the venue raining down on you. This can be compounded if you look to the crowd before the first bell and see an ocean of your opponent’s supporters staring back at you.
If you want to be a good teammate, rally your friends, put on one of your gym’s branded tees, and get to every possible competition that has one of your training partners on the card. It will mean the world to them to see that they have allies in the crowd who are spending their spare time supporting them as they follow their passion, and your screams of encouragement might just be enough to give them a winning push at the end of a close fight.
Conclusion
While all of these pointers are a great starting point for anyone looking to be a better Muay Thai training partner, it is always best to communicate with your teammates so that you can better understand what they need from you. Some people might need an extra push to do their final set of sprints late at night while others might prefer time alone to be with their thoughts. So, you should always communicate with your teammates so you know how they would best like to be supported. If you take the time to be responsive to your teammate’s needs in training, then they’ll be more likely to do the same for you when your training becomes the priority.
So if you’re not currently someone’s training partner and haven’t started learning martial arts for yourself, join one of Evolve’s complimentary introductory Muay Thai classes to discover how it can benefit both you and others.
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