Free Muay Thai Training Exercises by Christoph Delp Page A

kick is carried out in a jump. At close distances, you can grab your opponent around the neck and pull the opponent in. It is important to stretch your knee as far as possible.
    •  For a technique with your rear leg, step forward with your front foot.
    •  To knee kick with your front leg, you first have to change the stance. Step forward with your rear foot or jump back with your front foot.
    •  Deliver the knee kick in a direct line. In the process, your heel is raised and your stretched pivot leg turns along with the move to the outside.
    •  On impact, move your hip forward and lean back with your upper body. Pay attention to your guard.
    •  Quickly return to your fight stance.

    A:
The front knee kick
.

    B:
The rear knee kick
.
    Forms Derived from the Basic Techniques
    These days, forms, also called kata, are used for training in Muay Thai. The forms are not traditional and clearly defined, however, which means that trainers can develop their own forms. When organizing the forms, it is important that all basic techniques are trained in.
    This section introduces a kata made up of basic techniques that must be learned first in Muay Thai. You can use the form after your general warm-up exercises and before technical training. If you’ve already mastered other attacking techniques, you can add them.
    Execution: Train the kata in front of a mirror and correct your techniques in the process. Perform all the techniques in succession in the air, initially at a slow pace, and then faster and faster for as long as it takes you to master the kata quickly and without interruption. Be mindful of the correct use of each technique. Advanced athletes can carry out the complete form in one minute, and they also train in it on a punching bag.
    1. Front and rear straight punch to the head
    2. Front and rear side hook to the head
    3. Front and rear uppercut to the head
    4. Rotating elbow to the head from the front and rear
    5. Front and rear side elbow to the head
    6. Low kick from the front and rear
    7. Round kick to the body from the front and rear
    8. Round kick to the head from the front and rear
    9. Front and rear push kick to the leg
    10. Front and rear push kick to the body
    11. Front and rear push kick to the head
    12. Straight knee kick to the body from the front and rear

    3. Stretching and Loosening
    A flexible body is necessary to be able to carry out Muay Thai techniques. You don’t need extraordinary agility for Muay Thai, however. There is no need, for example, to do the splits. The term
stretching
covers the targeted execution of exercises required to improve agility. This means slowly assuming a position where you experience a slight stretching sensation in your muscles. In that position, you then improve your agility by doing a stretching method.
    Stretching improves agility, helps reduce restrictions in agility, and supports posture and body perception. Alternatives to these stretching exercises can be found in the book
Fitness for Full-Contact Fighters
(2006).
    Important Tips: Organizing Muay Thai Training
      Start training with a warm-up exercise such as, for example, skipping rope. Train in the exercise for approximately ten minutes, but do it at low intensity and avoid extreme strain and complex jumping patterns.
      If you feel your muscles are strained or stiff, or if your movement is restricted in specific muscles, for example your inner thigh muscles, you can do targeted static stretching exercises. Don’t hold a stretch position for more than ten seconds, and subsequently reactivate your performance potential with rapid movements and rotation of the joints. Some Thai boxers intensify that part of their preparation; other athletes completely go without it. Decide on your approach depending on how your muscles feel.
      Perform swinging movements in preparation for the requirements of Muay Thai. These include, for example, moves like arm swings while rotating your body. Leg swings are