Starting sparring can feel overwhelming, especially for someone who has trained for over a year but never stepped into a sparring session. On Sunday, I began a focused, four-day intensive course with a new client visiting from New York City. This course, running from December 21st to 24th, consists of four private, two-hour lessons designed to introduce sparring through engaging, game-based drills. The goal for this Muay Thai Personal Training course was to build confidence

My client finished his training off this year with a series of rounds that pitted the various weapons of Muay Thai against one another. During our sparring, we took turns to isolate certain techniques and compare them to another isolated technique.

Tonight my client of over 11 years went back to some more constraints-led sparring to enhance his Muay Thai. Our previous lessons have mainly been holistic in nature with the emphasis being more on strategies and tactics. Now it was time to see how he had improved in when isolating the various ranges and weapons in Muay Thai.

Tonight marked the sixth hour of my client’s Thai Boxing personal training course. We dedicated the session entirely to kicks, exploring how they fit into the broader framework of Muay Thai. Kicks are a fundamental part of this martial art, and mastering them requires understanding both offence and defence in sparring contexts.

In my fifth hour of my client Muay Thai Personal Training course, I had the chance to blend the clinch techniques we practised in the first four lessons with kickboxing (from the previous course). This session was not just another training day; it highlighted a pivotal moment in my client's journey. Combining clinch work with kickboxing strengthens overall striking skills and prepares fighters for real-world scenarios in the ring.