Recently, we posted a picture on one of our blogs about how the key to mastering the art of anything is nailing the fundamentals. Muay Thai, in this instance, is no different. In order to build up to the more technical stuff, it’s worth taking some time to really iron out the kinks in the basics before moving on so you have a solid foundation on which to build.
The first thing that you should focus on is your stance. Just as the fundamentals are the foundation on which you’ll build up the art as a whole, your fighting stance is your foundation for the fundamentals. It needs to be unshakeable.
In general, the Muay Thai style is more upright than other disciplines, such as MMA or Wrestling. You’ll want your feet just over shoulder width apart and your hands on a similar level to your temples. While your natural instinct may be to sink to a lower position to give you a wider grounding, you need to remain higher as it will make bringing in your knees and legs to perform kicks just that little bit easier.
Your eyes should always be on your opponents. If you’re around the same size and the other person is practicing another discipline like boxing, if you’re both in a traditional position, you should be standing slightly taller and so it can be easy to let your eye contact slip.
With your top half sorted, you’ll need to work on your feet positioning. The first question to ask yourself is which one is your dominant side? You will want your dominant hand and leg to the back. This will give you a solid back leg as well as giving yourself space to bring them through for a power attack.
Like most fighting disciplines, you will need to be on your toes. This will give you better mobility and kicking will be made easier. You back leg will also be on a 45 degree angle, the important thing to remember here is that your two feet should not be on the same line. This will give you a more solid base.
Slightly bend your knees and you’re there! This is the basic Muay Thai fighting stance. From here you can use all of your attacks (knees, kicks, elbows etc.) as well as having a great grounding to build up the rest of your skills! Good luck!
