If you want to learn Muay Thai, the first thing that people will tell you is to join a training center. With the help of the training center, you will be able to take your training step by step. We can all agree that martial arts are not something that can be learned and proceed simply by using tutorials or reading books. You need someone who knows every move and then explains the details too. One of the biggest issues is that most people who start the practice on their own never realize the consequences that martial arts have on the body. Additionally, they are unaware of how to help the body get prepared for the martial arts. It is no surprise that martial arts need preparation. Your body needs to regain flexibility and this will eventually help with reducing the chance of injury. For a newbie, finding a method of regaining flexibility is pretty challenging. Most people even have no idea that their body has lost flexibility. Apart from this, during the training, most people lose weight but the speed of weight loss is quite different in everyone. For most people, losing weight is difficult but some people have a fast metabolism. As a result, they lose a lot of weight in just a few weeks. Losing weight means that you need to adjust your diet so that your body doesn’t lose weight so vigorously or at least maintain the energy level. Without a proper academy or instructor, you will not be able to figure it out.
If we talk about Muay Thai specifically. Muay Thai is relatively more difficult than the rest of the martial arts types. Within Muay Thai you are using the Thai style of boxing but your whole body will be used. Your arms will work as knives, your hands will work as sharp blades and your shin will work as a weapon as well. Overall, it is far more complex than traditional boxing and most branches of martial arts.
Learn About Authenticity
Most of the academic institutes are not certified. The staff working there is just conducting training and they hardly know anything about Muay Thai. Real Muay Thai includes complete bodywork. You need to use your elbows, knees, kicks, clinch, and punches not only to attack but also to defend yourself. While choosing an academy, make sure they are teaching the real Muay Thai and not just a few tricks to learn martial arts in general.
Experience
Anyone who teaches Muay Thai must have 10 years of experience. If the academy is certified they might have the certificates on display which will give you overall information about the experience. Most of the time you will see the certificates otherwise you might have to ask about the experience.
Competition
Most of the academies have proper classes and they do not offer one on one classes. So, you need to choose according to the team that the institute has. Another important thing is the overall schedule. If they are unable to provide you a full schedule beforehand, this means they have been teaching people before. In most cases, when they don’t have a competitive team, they let others handle a small chunk of the course and leave the basics and professional level skills aside.
Course Level
Institutes offer beginner and professional level courses. Within the beginner level, they start everything from scratch. This means they will not even miss out on a single detail and will help you learn at a slow pace. On the contrary, if they offer professional-level or middle-level courses, they will help you learn at a fast pace. In the case of academies that do not have any certified courses or a proper team, there is no beginner or professional level division. At the beginners level, they even teach you about the use of gloves. However, with a professional, you have to do everything on your own. They let you join at any time and you have to adjust according to whatever they are offering.
Motivation
Motivation doesn’t mean that the academy will teach you how to motivate yourself. Instead, a certified institute always has people for mental health stability. They never push a student to work extra hard or to challenge the limit of his own body. While selecting an academy, make sure you only select the one you think offers all these facilities.
Knowledge
This one is a little tricky but you need to see if the instructor offering you a training facility knows about Muay Thai. We are not asking you to test their knowledge but you will be paying them a fee, which gives you a right to know about the basic program that they are offering. If you end up joining the academy and you do not learn a stance or foot jab in three months, you can switch the academy.
Wai Kru
Wai Kru is a very detailed and professional option and most people are not so familiar with this. If you want to assess the knowledge, you need to ask the instructors if they offer Wai Kru. It is a pre-fight dance that is used for warm-up and helps the body get ready for the fight. It is common in Thailand and most professionals do not start their game without performing Wai Kru.
Facilities at the Place
Most people ignore the actual; setting and facilities but they play a very important role. Simple things like the facility of the locker room, washroom, clean water, and refreshment go a long way. You obviously cannot limit yourself to one room, you need plenty of places so you can easily enjoy yourself while training.
Affiliation
Affiliation is a very important part of an academy. When an academy looks for a teaching license they need a proper affiliation. If you are living in the US, you need to get enrolled in an academy that is affiliated with the United States Muay Thai federation. These gyms take Muay Thai seriously and they will also help you with professional training where you may be able to opt for this as a career option.
Trail Base
Trail base programs are very common in skill-based training. Most of the institutes offer a free trial base for the first few days and after they are done with the first few days, the students can decide if they want to continue with them or not. These starting few days are free and you can ask a question or know in detail about the overall teaching and training program. While selecting a Muay Thai academy make sure they offer a free trial base program first. Within the trial base, most of the classes are just introductory and they teach you about the use of various protective gears.
Reviews and Testimonies
We all know that in the digital era, reviews and testimonials play a very important role. So while you are there for the research or free trial base, ask the students there. Know about their experience and see how many alumni have become professionals, this way you will be able to assess if the academy is teaching according to the rules of the federation.
Cleanliness
Gyms and training academies are hotbeds for germs so you need to be very conscious about cleanliness. If the academy is not very clean there is a high chance for you to get ill. Especially considering the ongoing pandemic situation, you need to be very conscious about these little things.
Step By Step Learning Journey
Most of the academies do not provide a step-by-step schedule, instead, they just tell you about the program in general. While asking about the fee structure and other details it is important to ask about the step-by-step learning process. Most of the time there is a three-month learning schedule and if you complete that you get promoted. This is a very effective way to keep the learning on track and ensure that everyone is learning at his own pace.
Assessment Exams
Most of the academies do not offer assessment tests however while choosing a good academy make sure they have a proper assessment procedure as well. Most of the academies conduct monthly fights to help in assessing the learning curve.
