What To Know Before Your First Muay Thai Class
The demand for Muay Thai classes is at an all-time high, regardless if you want to develop proper self-defense skills, improve fitness and overall health, or socialize.
If you have decided to enroll in Muay Thai, congratulation, you are about to enjoy many benefits. But now, you must focus on doing a small research on how to prepare for your first Thai boxing session which opens up a series of questions. What gear do I need? Am I going to spar in the first class? Are other students going to make fun of my skills?
All of these questions are probably rumbling in your mind, and in this article, you are going to find all the answers.
What to Wear In Muay Thai Class
To begin with Muay Thai, you will need a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and sports bras for women. It is important to wear clothes that feels comfortable and do not restrict your movement in any way. You will be practicing footwork, kicks, punches, and any restriction in movement will compromise your ability to learn and perform the right way.
Next, Muay Thai classes are cardio-intense and known to burn up to 800 calories per hour. Or in other words, you will sweat a lot. So in the best-case scenario, you will wear a sports T-shirt made from breathable materials such as 100% polyester.
These sports shirts carry the sweat away, keep your skin dry, are light, do not stick, and feel comfortable. And instead of spending $50-60 bucks for a premiere brand, go to your local store and you can easily find the one for $5-10 bucks. As long as it is 100% polyester, it will do the work.
The same stands for a pair of shorts. Of course, buying proper Muay Thai shorts is always the best option, but you don’t need that for your first trial class. You are yet to see whether Muay Thai is for you so keeping the costs as low as possible is quite important.
On the other side, avoid wearing shirts made out of cotton because they will soak in sweat and be extremely uncomfortable.
What Gear Do I Need For Muay Thai?
As a beginner preparing for your first class, you don’t need to spend a lot of money buying the latest gear from premium brands, nor do you need ALL of the gear. For instance, you can buy proper Muay Thai shorts or an expensive bag later. As far as your first class is concerned, you will need the following:
Pair of full-padded gloves – each Muay Thai school has its own gloves students can use. But these are usually soaked in sweat, stinky, dirty, and probably contaminated with bacteria so be sure to stay away from them. Buying your own gloves is a smart investment and you can easily find a pair of good gloves for around $20-$30. If you can, go to a local store and try them in person to find the one that fits the size of your hands.
Comfortable clothes – as previously discussed, you will need a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a sports bra for women.
Hand wraps – you will need a pair of hand wraps to add extra support to your wrists and knuckles. You can ask a coach or a training partner to show you how to wrap your hands the right way. Or, there are a bunch of tutorial videos online showing the entire process.
Ankle wraps (optional) – expect to throw hundreds of kicks per each Muay Thai class so you might consider buying a pair of ankle wraps to further help support your ankles.
Towel, extra T-shirt, water – you will sweat like crazy so you probably need these three things with you in every session.
Mouthguard (optional) – you won’t need a mouthguard for your first class, but you might consider buying one as you will soon need it.
Shin guards (optional) – a type of gear used in sparring or during live drills so you won’t need them for your first class. But you will eventually need them if you stick with Thai boxing for long enough.
What To Eat Before A Muay Thai Class
Avoid eating heavy food and big meals at least 2 or 3 hours before your first Muay Thai training session. Even if you do feel hungry an hour or two before the class, take some fruit or maybe a small portion of oatmeal. This will “fool” your stomach for some time, and the natural sugars in it will provide the body with an extra energy boost.
Whatever you do, make sure not to work up on a full stomach because you will likely throw up and make your first Thai boxing experience awful.
The logic behind this is simple. A full stomach uses a lot of body energy and blood to digest food. Or in other words, the blood flow to the muscles would be restricted which will result in fatigue and you feeling sick. So, medium-size meals should be eaten 2 hours before the class, while large meals 3 hours ahead. What type of fuel you give to your body is also important. You can’t pour diesel into the jet engine, right?
In the best scenario, you will eat foods rich in carbs, protein, and healthy fats. Make a balanced meal that includes these three key nutrients by mixing the following:
Protein:
- lean meats – beef, lamb, pork
- Poultry – chicken or turkey
- Fish and seafood
- Eggs, milk, yogurt
Healthy fats:
- Avocados
- Cheese
- Nuts
- Olive Oil
- Whole eggs
Carbs:
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Potatoes
- Bananas, blueberries, oranges
Am I Going to Spar In My First Muay Thai Class?
No, sparring is usually reserved for more experienced students who have been consistently training for at least 6 months. Of course, the exact time is based on various factors such as individual talent and progress, methods of teaching, coaches, and others. But overall, beginners do not spar simply because you can’t spar without any experience and proper technique.
Sparring is considered an advanced and probably the most complex and dangerous method of teaching. It is a segment where two students simulate a real Thai boxing match in a safe and controlled environment. The intensity of the session also varies. Students who are focused on learning do not use 50-60% of the power in their shots, while the ones who prepare for competition engage in full-contact sparring.
As a beginner, you will spend most of the time working on a heavy bag, shadowboxing, and focusing on mastering the basics and developing a proper form. Later on, you will start doing live drills where you and your partner drill specific combinations.
For instance, you will throw a two-punch combo and finish it with a low kick and then switch sides. This exercise is good as it conditions your body and mind to absorb strikes, helps you develop timing and feeling for distance, and prepares for sparring that comes in the later stages.
What Is My First Muay Thai Class Going to Look like?
Beginner Muay Thai class includes 10-15 minutes of warm-up, demonstration of basic techniques (stances, footwork, punches, and kicks), 5-7 rounds of heavy bag workout, shadowboxing drills, bodyweight exercises, cool down, and stretching. Of course, this is an example structure that may vary between the schools, but it gives you a basic overview of what you may expect. A typical class lasts anywhere between an hour and an hour and a half.
Overall, it’s going to be exhausting and too hard for your taste, but that’s normal. It takes time for your body to reach the required level of strength, flexibility, and endurance and you simply have to trust the process and go through it.
Muay Thai fighters are considered the finest athletes because of all of the work they put in, and hopefully, you will be one of them too.
