Why Muay Thai is Gonna Kick Your Ass

Ong Bak's Tony Jaa

I've never taken a fitness class before like this one, if you don't count mandatory PE. I've taken boxing before at Elorde in Makati, Philippines (check those out for a good workout!), and I had a trainer at the gym a few years ago. But I've never taken an actual class with other people, sitting and stretching and basically looking like an asshole on a yoga mat, sweating and burning and overall feeling really great afterwards.

My mum goes to Muay Thai class every few days, and I've gone with her around 5 or 6 times. Unfortunately, I can't go regularly cause I don't live in Hong Kong full-time. Muay Thai is completely different to me, because although I have had experience working out with gloves and hand-wraps, I've never had to do it in front of other people. It's one thing when you've got someone coaching you (I took Wall Climbing for 7 years in grade school and high school), and it's another thing when you do things on your own (like jogging or running sporadically with my Beagle). But it's a completely different thing when you're in rows and trying really hard not to fail in front of all these different people--older women like my mum, kids who are in their mid-teens, yuppies both skinny and slightly buff, twenty-somethings looking to get fitter, and even some old man with really impressive stamina.

I'd never show photos of the actual training;
we look like idiots. HAHA. And yay for trying to be incognito.

Muay Thai is gaining a lot of ground. My mum can attest to that, because when she started out, she had very few regular classmates. Even I can see the difference in attendance from my first class in early April to the last class I went to last week (mid-May). More and more people are getting into Thai kickboxing, and for good reason, too. Mostly, you do drills; but they will make you sweat. They will make your muscles ache. Your inner thighs could hurt for days. Your shoulders will kill you. Your arms will cry. And you'll realize your balance is not as great as you think. This is assuming you have the same hardball instructor that we have: this Thai-Chinese dude who will tell you to "KEEP GOING!!!" with a huge, friendly smile on his face that you can't say no to, and who will give you ten sit-ups for every mistake you make (which, trust me, you would gladly do--your self-esteem will thank you). Otherwise, you get a brief but effective one-on-one turn with the instructor, where you get to spar with him IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. Fun, right?

Why is Muay Thai effective? It's dynamic, it's fast, and it's repetitive enough to give you that good old "great workout" feeling. Sure, there's loads of cardio, but there's also a lot of endurance and flexibility involved. According to this website, the physical benefits of Muay Thai are strength, coordination and stamina. All in all, it's a great way to break a sweat; and that's an understatement.

What you'll need: Gloves, Handwraps, Water. That's it. As for your outfit, any work-out outfit will do, like an old t-shirt and running shorts or yoga pants. Hell, I wear my pink crocs to the studio.