When training in any martial art, it’s best to have a partner to practice with. It’s the best way to improve as it helps stimulate real combat and allows you to improve all the skills incorporated in your art. Muay Thai is no exception and working with a partner helps you improve your timing and accuracy, just to name a few.Unfortunately, that’s not always possible. But, worry not, even if you plan on practicing on your own, it’s not exactly a bad thing. In fact, there are numerous benefits of training by yourself every now and then and these tips below will help give the right workout. All you’ll need is some ample space to move around, a heavy punching bag, a jump rope and preferably, some good music to help motivate you as you go.
- Warming Up – Don’t forget to run for a while and do some stretching. Do this for about 10 minutes and you’re good to go. After you do that, do two rounds of jump rope, preferably at 3 minutes each for a total of 6 minutes. This makes sure that your blood is pumping as you go on with your solo workout.
- Shadow Box – For those new to Muay Thai or any sort of martial arts, shadow boxing may seem a little bit funny. But, sooner or later, you’ll realize that it’s going to help you a lot. So, be sure to do this as often as possible and with as much effort as you would in a real sparring match. The reason being is that if you take shadow boxing seriously, you’ll end up benefiting from it almost as much as you would in sparring. Thus, this helps you practice the proper head and body movement, the right stance, proper footwork and the right defense.
- The Heavy / Punching Bag Workout
- Push Kicks – Alternate with both left and right kicks. Be sure to time your strikes with the swing of the bag during this drill. To do this, stop the bag with your push kick as it swings towards you. Also, don’t forget to move from one side to another side of the bag at times and circle it as well. This helps keep you on your feet at all times and prevents this drill from becoming boring. Do at least 50 push kicks.
- Roundhouse Kicks – Practice kicking to the leg, body and head. Make sure that you focus on the little stuff, specifically maximizing rotation and retraction speed. Do 50 kicks per leg before switching to the other for 50 more.
- Freestyle – Do at least 5 rounds of mixing up all your weapons, patterns, techniques and feint on the bag. Don’t overdo it with overly complex combinations and stick with something much more simple. Remember, what you practice on your bag will exactly be what happens in a real fight as it becomes your habit.