What makes competition and sparring so scary?  Let me tell you, it’s the unknown.  Anxiety stems from the lack of control and anticipation over the situation and the outcome. So what should you do?!  Control what you can, and embrace what you cannot.  Pre-fight rituals (or pre-spar rituals) is one tactic that I use to help me calm my nerves before going into competition.

A pre-fight ritual is a set series of tasks/activities that you do each time before entering the stage to perform.  

WHY PRE-FIGHT RITUALS WORK

Rituals work because amidst all the unknown associated with competition, rituals have the ability to ground you with the power of familiarity and therefore put the element of control in your own hands.  Familiarity is built by the consistent reenactment of these rituals over time so take the time to practice and get acquainted with them.

MY PERSONAL EXAMPLE

Before every BJJ competition I go through a very specific set of rituals.  I usually arrive 1.5 hours before my bracket.  45 min before my 1st match, I like to leave the competition area and find a quiet spot somewhere away from the action.  I put on my headset, play some calming instrumental music and close my eyes for 25 minutes.  I focus on deep breaths and empty my mind.  At times, I even doze off.  I wake up to the sound of the alarm with 25 minutes to go; I start putting on  finger tape.  The process of wrapping my fingers is extremely important for my psyche.  I do not rush the process.  I stay in the moment with each wrap and soak in all my feelings.  Once all my fingers are taped, I get up and start my warm-up routine, which consist of a few sets of mouth clenches, jumping jacks, and burpees.   I head toward the mats 10 minutes before go time.

What happens in a fight is unpredictable and chaotic, so I try not to make too many predictions nor do I try to control the outcome. I try only to control what I can, and that’s the pre-fight rituals which I do my very best to replicate the same each time.  This puts me back in the driver’s seat.     

CREATE YOUR OWN

The set of rituals you chose should be specific to you.  Get creative and create your own routine.  Rituals can be done 30 minutes, 2 hours, or even a day before performance.  Just remember that you should try to keep the process as similar as possible each time you do it.

Ideas for Rituals:

• Listening to music (should be the same every time)
• Meditating
• Calling a friend, or loved one
• Taking a nap
• Taking a series of deep breaths
• Going for a walk
• Eating a muffin
• Watching the same TV show or movie 

Now go take what’s yours.

-Coach Bao
#teamLEGACY
#whatsyourlegacy

 

 

Have you ever been lost with what combos to throw on the bags or pads?  The coaches here at Legacy have put together some of their favorite muay thai combos.  They are very basic, yet they work at the highest levels of competition. Don't just glance over them, study them, and know them well.

Don't forget to read our related blogpost called "CREATING MUAY THAI COMBOS."

Lets dive into it.

Major Single Strike Attacks

1. Jab
2. Cross
3. Rear up elbow
4. Lead up elbow
5. Rear side elbow
6. Lead side elbow
7. Rear swing kick
8. Lead swing kick (switch kick)
9. Rear low kick
10. Rear pushkick
11. Lead pushkick
12. Rear knee
13. Lead knee (switch knee)

 

Defenses

• Parrying punches
• Blocking against punches
• Shin blocks against kicks
• Arm-shield Blocks against kicks
• Dracula guard
• Catching kicks

 

Counter Strikes

• Parry any punch to swing kick counter
• Parry any punch to straight knee counter
• Shin block to swing kick counter
• Counter the cross with a rear swing kick or rear low kick
• Counter the jab with a switch kick

 

Basic Punching Combos

*all hooks are lead hooks

*all jabs or crosses can be substituted for uppercuts

• Jab, cross
• Jab, cross, jab, cross
• Jab, cross, hook
• Jab, cross, hook, cross
• Jab, jab, cross
• Jab, cross, lead body hook
• Fake jab, cross, lead hook

 

Elbow Focused Combos

• Lead up elbow, rear side elbow
• Lead side elbow, rear up elbow
• Jab, lead up elbow, rear side elbow
• Pull down opponent guard and side elbow
• Jab, cross, lead side elbow,rear up elbow (important to close distance)
• Jab, cross, lead side elbow, rear up elbow (important to close distance)

 

Kick Focused Combos

• Jab, cross, hook, rear swing kick
• Jab, rear swing kick
• Jab, cross, switch lead kick
• Cross, switch lead kick
• Cross, hook, rear swing kick
• Hook, cross, lead swing kick
• Jab, jab, cross, swing kick
• Jab, lead uppercut, cross, switch kick
• Inside lead kick, cross
• Jab, body cross, lead hook, low kick
• Lead teep, rear swing kick *2
• Rear swing kick, lead teep
• Cross, switch kick*2

Low Kick Focused Combos

• Jab, rear low kick
• Jab, cross, hook, low kick
• Cross, hook, low kick
• Jab-hook, low kick
• Rear upper, hook, low kick

 

Teep focused Combos 

• Jab, lead teep, jab fake lead teep -> any rear weapon after that works based on range.
• Jab, rear swing kick, lead teep
• Teep, fake teep, rear swing kick (or low)
• Jab, lead teep, rear face teep
• Swing kick, fake swing kick to rear teep

*Side note - timing teeps (lead especially) vs swing kicks is very important.

Establishing an effective teep leads to many opportunities to step a a variety of combinations for all range of weapons

Knee Focused Combo 

• Cross, rear knee
• Jab, switch knee
• Jab, cross, switch knee
• Left hook rear knee
• Cross, hook, rear knee
• Lead teep, fake lead teep, rear knee

*knees are great counters after blocking kicks or parrying punches, example:

• Parry jab to rear knee
• Parry cross to switch knee
• Either side shin block against kicks to either side knee

 

Combos Starting with a Kick

• Rear swing kick, cross
• Switch kick, cross
• Switch kick, cross, hook, low kick
• Lead push kick, rear swing kick
• Rear push kick, lead swing kick

 

PRINT ON GOOGLE DOCS:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ftqLaLyihQEiQDfgNyPk3ibldTJDmwjOX3BUDadrlQY/edit

 

Have you ever been asked by your coach to come up with a combo of your choice and stood there drawing a blank? Do you have a heavy bag at home but don’t know what combos to work on?  Or couldn't think of any good combos when holding pads for your partner?

Here are 3 principles to consider when creating your own combos.

1. Left to Right

A good rule to follow is to flow from one side of the body to the other (ie. left strike right strike, left strike, right strike). This also applies to strikes from different weapon groups (mixing punches and knees).

 

 

Example #2: Left jab, right cross, left uppercut, right cross

 

 Example #3: Right cross, left hook, right low kick

 

2. Striking Ranges (refer fig. 1.1 above)

In muay thai there are four major ranges - Snug (1), Close (2), Medium (3), Long (4). When combining the individual strikes from these groups, do not connect 2 strikes that are 2 or more ranges apart. For example, a strike from Range 1 (snug) can be connected with a strike from Range 2 (close) but not with a strike from Range 3 or 4 (medium and long). The reason for this is simple: if you can make contact with your elbow strike, you are too close to effectively throw a long range weapon like a pushkick! Vice versa, if you are standing afar and throwing pushkicks, and then trying to skip multiple ranges to get on the inside for the elbow strike is extremely dangerous, as a skilled opponent will likely intercept you with a more suitable weapon while you are on your way in.

There are exceptions to this rule. Feints and setups can make it less risky to skip multiple ranges. Faking a push kick (Range 4-Long) to temporarily distract your opponent while simultaneously jumping in for an elbow strike (Range 1-Close) is an example of a feint tactic. However as a beginner to intermediate practioner, you should stick with the basics during sparring. Here is a great fight between Buakaw and Mike Zambidis to illustrate why one has to be careful when skipping multiple ranges in muay thai.  Zambidis unsuccessfully attempts to "jump" into the close range from the long range with hooks only to be punished repeatedly by swing kicks.  When in close, his punches are nullified by the superior knee strikes and clinch throws.

 

3. Keeping it Simple

Don’t get too crazy with the length of your combo! The longer the combination, the more your technique for each individual strike will suffer. What’s more important than volume is the placement (aka accuracy and precision) of these strikes in conjunction with timing as well as choosing the most suitable strike for that specific situation. I suggest 2 to 4 hit combos (no more than 5!), and keeping it to the very basic strikes (refer to the strikes in fig. 1.1 above). 

Here is a collection of 10 basic combos by Sean Fagen.

Some of you may now be thinking, “These ideas and concepts are too technical and won’t work in a real fight.” Well my friend, you obviously don't know good muay thai. Go watch some Samart, Rodtang, or Saenchai fights.

 

The humble student who trains consistently over the long haul will eventually trump the talented one who lacks the work ethic. As a muay thai coach and current Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor, I’ve seen countless examples where the hardworking individual reaches a higher level of success far more often than that of their mere talented counterpart.  

The secret lies in those days when you don’t feel like training, but you do it anyway.