FAQ

The correct pronunciation is not Moo-Thai or even Mai-Thai it is pronounced Moo-aye-Thai. Muay Thai is a martial art that dates back thousands of years to ancient Siam or Thailand, as it is known today. Muay Thai is th national sport of Thailand and infuses all aspects of Thai culture. It is taught in the schools and universities and is an integral part of Thailand’s military training. The arsenals of this fierce martial art include punches, elbows, knees and kicks. The sport of Muay Thai is an internationally recognized ring sport and in recent years has gained recognition for its contribution to full contact sports including the UFC (Ultimate Fight Champion), Pride and other pay-preview events.

The Kickboxing Program taught at Sityodtong Los Angeles focuses on the fitness and conditioning aspect of Muay Thai. Muay Thai is an extreme ring sport dating back thousands of years. By and large, American “style” Kickboxing originated in the 1970’s and evolved from Full Contact Karate and Boxing. European Kickboxing or Savate originated in France. Today, the sport of Kickboxing has adapted elements and training methods of Muay Thai including kicking with the shin and Thai pads drills. The main difference between Kickboxing and Muay Thai is that Kickboxers do not train using elbows and/or clinching and kneeing.

It doesn’t matter if you’re inexperienced, out of shape or not very coordinated. As long as you have “heart”, which means you’re not a quitter and you’re consistent with your training, you’ll get into shape, you’ll develop valuable self-defense skills and you’ll improve strength, agility, coordination plus so much more.

In general, none except for some moderate to intense muscle soreness depending on your physical condition. However, like other contact sports such as basketball or even soccer accidents can happen. Students are encouraged to train with proper form to minimize chances of injury. Training to fight in an aggressive and demanding sport like Muay Thai is a different story; fighters have the highest risk of injury because the mere nature of the sport is to win by knocking out or disabling an opponent. Training for competition is serious business and requires extreme mental and physical fortitude. Plus, the better prepared a fighter is for the bout, the less chance they have of sustaining injuries.

Of course not, in fact, most students train to improve their physical condition and/or to learn realistic self-defense. Training for competition is not for everyone, fighters are a rare breed. The fight game is physically and mentally demanding and not something anyone can make you do. “You” have to want it, “you” have to train for it and “you” have to do the work!

Muay Thai is unlike traditional martial arts, because although an ancient martial art, it is a “Fighting Art”, so the concepts and training methods will be very different from what you are use to. If you’ve trained in other martial arts, that’s great, but, it’ll be very important to “Empty Your Cup” first or it will be a long, hard and painful journey.

Absolutely not and although Muay Thai is a fighting art it is still a martial art and like most martial arts training will develop discipline and respect, while improving confidence and self-esteem. Plus, one of the many benefits of training in a Fighting Art such as Muay Thai is that it teaches realistic and street proven self-defense.

We accept students as young as 5 years of age and how “old” depends on the individual. We have students who are in there 40’s, 50’s and even 60’s. They’re not working on a fight career, but they train hard and get into great shape. Some choose to spar and some don’t.

To start, you’ll need hand wraps, bag gloves or boxing gloves and prior to purchasing any equipment, we suggest you try a class first and if you don’t have boxing gloves, we can lend you a pair. Hand wraps and all other equipment are for sale at the gym. For a complete list of uniform and equipment requirements, refer to the Class Descriptions located on the reverse side of the Class Schedule.

The minimum is 2 days per week. If you can’t commit to training at least twice a week, then unfortunately you will not be accepted as a student. In the Student Enrollment Program you can train “6 Days Per Week”.

How long it’ll take to “get into shape“ is difficult to say because results vary and like anything else, “you will get out what you put in.” We have a student that lost close to sixty pounds in two years training consistently three times a week. Another student weighed 170 lbs. when he started and in three and a half months he fought at 145 lbs. If training to fight, “when” will be determined on an individual basis and is the sole decision of your Coach.

Like most contact sports, Muay Thai is definitely a male dominated sport. Most of our women students train in Kickboxing where contact is limited to punching and kicking heavy bags, focus mitts and Thai pads. Some of the women continue into Muay Thai, some don’t, some do both and maybe some will choose to fight, but at least they have choices.