7 Best Muay Thai Sparring Tips For Beginners

Your first few steps into a new martial art is exhilarating — with so many techniques to learn you will no doubt have a lot to take on and practice as a beginner. For Muay Thai, a big part of this excitement is getting to spar with others.

That said, sparring can result in blows to your body, technique, and your spirit if you’re not quite ready for it. Sparring for any martial art should be conducted under the watchful eye of your martial arts instructor - here are the 7 essential tips that we give to all Muay Thai sparring beginners.

Our top 7 Muay Thai sparring tips for beginners

Don’t go too hard

Sparring isn’t something that all beginners will jump into right away. Your instructor will only give you permission to spar only when they think you are ready. The main reason for this is that there’s a possibility of injury during sparring sessions — many beginners get overwhelmed by the heat of the moment and hit too hard, hurting themselves and their sparring partner in the process.

Remember, the purpose of sparring is to help you see how your techniques perform against a dynamic opponent, not to see if you are “better” than them. Focus on how you deliver your strikes and blocks instead of going all out on your sparring partner — they’re not going to appreciate it, and you won’t learn anything from the session.  

Wear the right equipment

You’re going to be hitting and getting hit when sparring, so make sure that you wear the right kind of equipment for it. These include:

• Boxing gloves – As we’re talking about Muay Thai kickboxing, you’re going to need the right gloves. Make sure they are the right size and fit.
• Shin guards – The last thing you want is to drive your bare shin directly into your opponent’s leg. It is as painful as it sounds, so remember to get proper shin guards that fit you and don’t slip down.
• Headgear – Find a protective headgear that fits you snugly without making you feel too constricted. Sufficient padding is also a must.
• Groin Protection – Guys should already know better than to neglect having a groin guard. Ladies shouldn’t overlook this protection too — getting kicked hard in the crotch is painful for anyone.
• Mouthguard – Don’t be tempted to cheap out on a proper mouthguard. Get a professional grade one as an investment, and your teeth will thank you.

Separate sparring from fighting

Let’s get one thing straight — sparring is not fighting. Beginners often make this mistake; and it’s not hard to see why. When faced with an opponent, your mind’s fight or flight responses can take over and cause you to lose focus of the objective of sparring.

Your sparring partner is not trying to hurt you, so you shouldn’t try to either. Try not to take things personally either; accidents and injuries can happen to matter how careful the both of you are, but they are never intentional. Learn to keep a clear mindset of what you want to practice when sparring and place less focus on the actual fight. 

Find the right sparring partners

It may sound counter intuitive, but having a vastly more experienced sparring partner is actually more beneficial for your learning. Of course, it can be intimidating facing someone who may be much stronger than you, but again, the lessons of sparring are to see how well you execute the techniques you’ve learned in a real environment.

Instructors will often match beginners to experts as experts already have the ability to control their strikes and have a better understanding of how sparring is conducted. This creates a more controlled environment for beginners to learn in rather than trying to “beat” the other person. 

Work on your weaknesses

A training dummy won’t counter after taking a hit, but your sparring partner will. This is why sparring is such a great opportunity for learning where your weak spots are, and how you can work on improving them. 

Even fighters with flawless technique can fall prey to simple mistakes for reading opposing moves, which is why the experience of sparring is so valuable in training. This way, you can learn dynamically and progress from mastering a technique to mastering how and when to apply it.

Put together combinations

Stringing multiple techniques together is the most organic way to get better at sparring as a beginner. Each kick and strike you’ve learned so far are meant to be used in tandem, not individually, and it’s during a sparring match where you can try out just how effective your personal combinations are. 

Take the opportunity to try out different techniques and don’t forget that sparring is just as much about learning to strike as learning to defend.

Have fun

Last but not least, just have fun. The reason why you’ve come so far as a Muay Thai practitioner is because you have a passion for it — and it’s that passion that you should fully embrace even during sparring sessions.
Learn to enjoy the process instead of always pushing yourself forward. You’ll find your journey to be much more memorable this way! 

If you’re looking for a place to begin learning Muay Thai kickboxing, UMF Academy is the No.1 martial arts provider in Townsville and North Queensland. Our Muay Thai classes are conducted by master instructors that can guide you with the proper training towards your first sparring session.