Why Muay Thai Defies The Modern Age

Uber Eats – Hot food at your door within half an hour.
Swipe left, swipe right – Tee up a date tonight.
Need a ride – A car arrives within minutes to whisk you away…
The modern age gives us everything in a flash, at the touch of a button.

Everything that was once upon a time time-consuming, is now quick, and easy to obtain.

One big thing I notice is more people who walk through the door to learn Muay Thai and want everything as soon as possible…

My team and I get asked a lot:
“When can I have my first fight?”
“When can I spar?”
“How can I get good at Muay Thai fast?”

Is it a generational thing? Could be, might not be.

Life today, is so convenient that it’s hard to not see why people want everything in a jiffy.

If only you could become proficient at something with the touch of a button – Everyone would be masters in what they do… Life would essentially be ugh, VERY BORING.

When I started Muay Thai nearly two and a half decades ago at the age of 11, each and every training session was challenging, both physically, and mentally.

My fitness wasn’t great.
My punches felt like they couldn’t blow the froth of a cappuccino.
My arms didn’t swing enough when I kicked.
I was flinchy in sparring.
I got punched in the face A LOT.

…But I knew I didn’t want to be the guy that started something and quit.

Why? Because if you have the tendency to do that in one area of life, you probably have the tendency to keep doing it in others.

Each day of training, I turned up. When it sucked, got through it. Cried in the toilets getting beaten up by the grown men in sparring. Revelled in the moments of doing something well. It was just day in, day out, doing the shit you don’t want to do, but have to do, knowing you’re going to get better.

Was it easy? F*ck no. But I kept reminding myself of the pros I’d watch before me, that if they’re human and can get good at this, then so can I. Two arms, two feet, and a heartbeat.

To put things into perspective:
It took me nine months to have enough cardio for sparring by running twice a day, every day, four to five days a week,
It took me twelve months to stop flinching as much in sparring,
It took twenty months of solid training before I was even considered by my coach to get nominated to have my first fight,
It took me five fights for me to get somewhat of a handle on my adrenalin dump,
It took me hundreds of hours sparring boxers to stop getting punched (as much).
It took me forty-seven months (four years) to win an Australian title.

These are some of the things off the top of my head, and probably lots more…

24 years later, I still have so many things I can improve on.

But most importantly, Muay Thai taught me that no matter how you feel, how sore, how tired you are, or how much you’ve been beaten up, you have to control your response to pain, and keep coming back knowing you’re going to be better on the other side. (Something very applicable to adulting in everyday life).

You simply can’t rush the process of becoming good at Muay Thai.

It takes time.
It takes patience.
There will always be setbacks.
People will be better than you, and that’s okay! (Just keep going and one day, you may surpass them)

You have to have an open mind, surrender yourself to the process, ask lots of questions, make mistakes, learn from them, and keep getting better.

Muay Thai goes against the modern age and that’s beautiful because it is a gradual process that probably doesn’t have a finish line.

Each session is challenging, but long term, is so rewarding, pushing you to become the best version of yourself for everyday life.

Let’s go! 🚀

Pamorn Martdee
Founder/Director