Since i’m poor for the next few months, I won’t be able to afford my muay thai gym fees. Does anyone know some good mma/muay thai drills that can be done in the backyard (without any type of equipment). I know of the usual, shadow boxing, jump rope… does anyone know of some good ones?
kick a tree?
You might want to focus on getting stronger rather than doing a lot of sub-par Muay Thai training.
[quote]StevenF wrote:
kick a tree?[/quote]
Thats not too far off…
Shin/fist conditioning are a part of traditional Muay Thai. Find a stick thats pretty strong, and gently tap your shins until they are red and slightly sore. The next say hit them a little harder, as the next day, and so on. Same goes for your knuckles.
Practice plyometrics and stretching. If you even have a conifurous tree, try climbing it. Ever see Ong Bak? That shit is really done in traditional Muay Thai. Those guys were always poor anyway. Its not like the art was developed in a Gold’s Gym or something.
Tony Jaa trains by jumping off the backs of Elephants. If you have some posts from either railroad tracks or telephone posts, set them up so you can stand on them and balance yourself. Those simple tools are great for plyometrics.
[quote]BluePfaltz wrote:
StevenF wrote:
kick a tree?
Thats not too far off…
Shin/fist conditioning are a part of traditional Muay Thai. Find a stick thats pretty strong, and gently tap your shins until they are red and slightly sore. The next say hit them a little harder, as the next day, and so on. Same goes for your knuckles.
[/quote]
this is no shit living at thew mauy thai camp in thailand those guys would literally better there shins (the thais) kicking boards trees etc. there lower leg size and developement was amazing.
Now they legs werent huge as they were generally small guys but in relation the the rest of them there damn lower legs were the same size as there upper legs/quads just hours and hours of kicking stuff
http://www.rosstraining.com/articles.html
look at the videos there, i’m not sure if that’s exactly what you are looking for because i know jack about MMA, but he’s got some pretty cool stuff with random things around your house.
Get into good condition if you can’t train.
I have a lot of drills we do, but one I like is to throw a hand combination, followed by a sprawl. I know that you only mentioned Muay Thai, but the thread said MMA so who knows. In any case, if you aren’t used to sprawling it will throw off your rythm and get you into better shape.
Try this:
Warm up
Throw a jab, cross, sprawl
x10
Throw jab, rear thai kick, sprawl
x10
Throw jab, cross, lead thai kick, sprawl
x10.
Repeat 3 times with no rest and no rest between repetitions.
Burpee 
(sorry I only know the Korean name for this suicidal exercise)
Basically drop to the ground in in a pushup position (no pushup) and get back up and jump as high as you can.
Rep 10 times.(I strive for a 5X10, but I usually fail around the 40 mark)
Burpee with Pushup, jump as high as you can.
Burpee with pushup Jab, Straight.
Burpee situp position. Same thing as push up just now your doing a situp and standing up and jumping as high as you can. (You can mix in small punches and such)
If you have a buddy you can do leapfrog.
Up over and under an obstacle. Get your knees up as high possible.
Jump rope. Pullups.
Work on your rotational power with twists using a heavy rock or ball.
Shadowboxing, push up combos.
There are tonne of things you can do in a backyard that are Muay Thai specific. Work on your speed and muscle endurance and overall endurance. I run with a loaded backpack (I know its no the best but there are no hills where I am)
Your imagination is the limit. In Muay Thai endurance and stamina is everything.
I’ve seen many good fighters get beaten but lower grade fighters with better conditioning.
About conditioning your shins…this passage is taken from: “Muay Thai: The Art of Fighting by Yod Ruerngsa, Khun Kao Charuad and James Cartmell”
What I don’t want to see any of you do is to try and take the shortcut at shin conditioning by using hard objects like wood or bottles. I was shocked to hear that some people were actually told by their trainers to take this route. If your trainer tells you to beat your shins with sticks or roll hard bottles on them, seek another Muay Thai gym. This is what will happen if you take these drastic measures. You will at first feel that your shins are conditioned fast. Why? Your nerves have been deadened fast so that you now feel little pain. But by using an object harder than your shin bone you’ve just damaged the bone too. Guess what will happen later in life? That’s right, you will have to see a doctor for bone problems.
This crazy method probably started from the myth that Thai boxers in Thailand kicked trees with their shins. The truth is long ago before the availability of pads and bags, Thai boxers kicked banana trees. The texture of a banana tree is rubbery and is softer than a person’s shin. It is not like the wooden oak tree sitting in your backyard.
The only thing as hard as or harder than your shin bone that you may one day hit are the shins, knees, and elbows of your opponents. And if you end up hurting your shin bone as a result of kicking into your opponents raised knee, then you may still suffer an injury. Just try to minimize injuries in training and save your luck for the ring.
[quote]quietpro wrote:
Since i’m poor for the next few months, I won’t be able to afford my muay thai gym fees. Does anyone know some good mma/muay thai drills that can be done in the backyard (without any type of equipment). I know of the usual, shadow boxing, jump rope… does anyone know of some good ones?[/quote]
Buy one of those bamboo swords kendo users practice with. Have a friend hit you on the shins, legs, and torso with it. Also, folded up magazines work well for, this, too. Since you won’t be sparring, you’ll need to condition your body to take blows.
Here’s a Muay Thai instructional from Master Yodthong. It’s called “Learning how to Thai Box on your own”
www.sexuploader.com/?d=TE1RL8SS
Also
Fairtex Volume 3 - Leg Kicks
Check out out the Bas Rutten workout tapes/CDs. If you can afford the intial expenses, and you have a heavy bag, they are a great workout, and he calls the combinations so you don’t have to think much.
if you can focus on getting stronger for this month or so. Find heavy stuff around and pick it up. research some gymnastic stuff… do one arm pushups, pistols, 1 arm handstand holds, etc
or if you get the bas rutten tapes, stick with those and be able to go through the whole mma tape (side b, 3min) then do the “all around workout”
if you can do that back to back, you’ll be able to really press the action in your muay thai training from now on.
For best improvement get a training partner. MMA is nothing if not facing competition and seeing what works and what doesn’t.