It’s a common saying that it takes seven years to master a skill. Whether you want to become a doctor, harp player, or Muay Thai fighter, you’ll need to invest a lot of time into honing your skills until perfection. When you hear Muay Thai fighters describe “The Art of Eight Limbs” to an outsider, they typically won’t refer to it as particularly hard. Let’s see if that’s the case.
Muay Thai is hard to learn and is considered a difficult sport to participate in because it involves developing pain tolerance, physical endurance, and mental toughness. Developing these traits will require you to invest a lot of time into your training and train purposefully, which can be more than painful.
However, from my long Muay Thai experience, I can assure you that anyone can get good at it if one doesn’t quit. It doesn’t matter what your current state is; you can be overweight, skinny, tall, or short and you’ll be able to start training.
If you can’t run 100 meters, start walking. If you can’t throw punches for more than 13 seconds without stopping, start with that. Slowly, you’ll amp up the pace and experience noticeable results and benefits that many trainees report experiencing. For instance, it’s more than common to hear Muay Thai disciples reporting higher confidence and self-esteem, two highly desirable traits.
Is Muay Thai a Hard Sport?
Typically, when you train in any sport out there, you’ll need to invest mental energy and physical effort to improve and experience benefits. For instance, when you do Muay Thai, you have to invest time by showing up to the gym, which also takes mental effort, and then working hard and sweating. Some people will call it hard.
Muay Thai is considered hard because it’s not only physically demanding, but it’s also painful and involves fear, as you’ll have to fight people who are more experienced than you, and that can inflict a lot of damage and pain on you. However, it’s as beneficial and rewarding as it is hard.
Many non-Muay Thai trainees consider it a difficult sport. However, once you begin your training, there’s no stopping since you’ll see many benefits naturally flow into your life, which will refuel your motivation tank and boost your discipline in every endeavor you take on in life.
That’s why I’ll never stop training Muay Thai, although it’s considered a “hard sport.
The intimidating part for me was the physical pain it involves. You’ll be getting punched and kicked in the face numerous times throughout your training, which can be scary if it hadn’t happened to you yet. That said, it becomes second nature soon enough, so I urge you not to be scared or intimidated by that.
If you’re interested in reading about the benefits of Muay Thai, follow this link to an article of mine on the topic!
Can Anyone Learn Muay Thai?
If you think you can’t train in Muay Thai, you’ve been conditioned by the wrong people. The number of people who stay away from Thai Boxing because they’re absolutely convinced they can’t participate in it for some odd reason—is mindblowing to me.
Anyone can learn Muay Thai because the training adapts to you and not the other way around. If you can’t spar because of medical issues, you’ll shadowbox or hit the heavy bag instead. If you can’t hit in the face because of any reason whatsoever, you won’t be hit in the face. Muay Thai adapts to its trainees.
Regardless of what you can and can’t do, if you show up to training and that’s it, you’re already better than most people in the world. Most people who live on this earth don’t even care to start participating in Muay Thai, or even just a regular sport that’ll get them fitter.
You showing up to your fighting gym is already better than most people. Take the initial step; trust me, you won’t have to do anything you can’t do.
But there’s an important distinction here. Can’t and don’t want are completely different things. I never want to show up to training and get hit in the face, but I still do it because it makes me a better fighter and a better person.
So take the initiative and show up to your first Muay Thai class if you haven’t already. And if you want to learn about the necessary equipment to bring to your first Muay Thai class, follow this link.
How Hard Is It to Learn Muay Thai?
Getting punched in the face is never an enjoyable experience. Unless, of course, you love feeling pain, which if you do, I get why. When I first started my Muay Thai training, I flinched every time someone would throw a punch at me, which would lead them to continue to throw a combination, which got me into even more trouble.
So, once and for all, how hard is it to learn Muay Thai?
Learning the basics of Muay Thai isn’t as hard because the only requirement for that is to invest time into training and learning the basic punches, kicks, stance, and defensive moves. However, the training will get tougher once you continue to the more advanced techniques and begin sparring.
Indeed, sparring is one of the most painful experiences out there, in the entire sports realm. My experience in sports is fairly vast, I would say, and Muay Thai has been the most difficult sport I’ve done thus far. The reason for that is because of the fear factor.
The fear factor in Muay Thai is real. I’m not trying to scare you or something, but it’s true. There’s a lot of pain involved in Thai Boxing, as you’ll get hit plenty of times, either with a kick, punch, elbow, or knee. As a result, the training might become tougher than your typical sport because of the physical pain involved.
But again, the deep improvement you’ll get from getting hit in the face and continuing with your life like it’s nothing is truly amazing!
But knowing the moves is just the beginning; now you can play the game, but you probably won’t be winning very often unless its against people who also just learned the moves and nothing else.
Ben F.
Is Learning Muay Thai Worth It?
I’ve been waiting to write this section for so long now and I’m glad the time is finally here. I want you to pay close attention to this section, as it includes important points to understand. I’ve been in a Muay Thai session two hours ago and I got kicked hard in the quad and had an uppercut hit me in the nose. As of right now, I’m in complete pain.
However, I’m in complete pain that comes with contentment and fulfillment. I don’t regret showing up to training and getting hit in the face and I never would. Do you want to know why? Because I’m a stronger person post this session. Suffering is the only way to truly improve as a person, which is a major part of Muay Thai training.
Learning Muay Thai is worth it because it provides endless physical and mental benefits, such as being in a better physical shape, learning to fight fiercely, learning to stand up for yourself better, and even meeting like-minded people. The benefits of “The Art of Eight Limbs” exceed the sacrifice of pain and time.
There’s nothing you can say that’ll change my mind. I’ve been doing martial arts for a very long time now and I got to tell you that Muay Thai has been the most enjoyable experience. It has been the most enjoyable because it improved me as a fighter and as a person the most.
You should start your training as soon as possible if you haven’t already. If you want to learn about the ultimate equipment guide to Muay Thai, including what you should and shouldn’t buy, follow this link!
Final Words
All in all, I don’t see a reason not to at least try doing Muay Thai. Before you leave this page, I want to try something out with you. I didn’t try it before, but let’s do it together. Are you ready?
Open a new Google tab and search for “Should I Learn Muay Thai?” You’ll see many results show up (Blinklift.com is probably there for that as well.) Out of these results, I want you to genuinely look for someone who says something bad about Muay Thai and that advises you to not learn it.
I’ll do it right now, give me a few minutes.
Alright, I’m back. I haven’t found a single person suggesting that Muay Thai training is harmful in some regard, which doesn’t surprise me.
The takeaway from this article for you should be to start training as soon as possible. You’ll reap the many benefits that come with becoming a fighter quickly. Indeed, a motivation cycle that you want to commence as soon as possible.
Here are other articles you’ll benefit from reading:
Best Muay Thai Supplements: For Performance and Recovery
How to Choose Muay Thai Shorts – Comprehensive Guide
The 7 Best Muay Thai Shorts for Your Money