Thinking about your first fight? Knowing when you're truly ready isn’t about perfection—it’s about pushing yourself past your comfort zone.

In this video, I’ll break down how to tell if your training has plateaued and why stepping into the ring is the next step in your growth. If your training isn’t challenging you anymore, it might be time to embrace the discomfort and get ready for your first fight—and the lessons that come with it.

Every Muay Thai fighter embarks on the quest for self discovery, and it's a journey that tests you in every way. It's about pushing past physical boundaries, but also about evolving mentally and emotionally.

01:06 Eddie Abasolo: The Quest for Continuous Evolution

01:55 Asa Ten Pow: The Quest to Perfect His Craft

02:46 Johan Ghazali: The Quest for Experience and Mastery

03:40 Janet Todd: The Quest for the Perfect Farewell

04:29 Looking Ahead: The Ongoing Quest for Self-Discovery

In this video, Kevin Ross dives into the concept of imperfect progress and how it can be a crucial element in your martial arts journey. Following up on questions from our previous video, Ross shares valuable insights on navigating challenges and learning from mistakes. He emphasizes that while every fighter aims for success, it's the lessons learned through adversity that truly shape us.

00:42 Imperfect Progress=Lessons from the Mistakes

01:32 Choice After Outcome

In Muay Thai, the pressure to perfect every movement can hold you back from real growth. What if there was a more effective way to progress? Enter Muay Thai play—a mindset that combines structure with freedom, allowing you to experiment and adapt.

00:23 Balance Between Structure and Freedom: Muay Thai Play in Training

01:26 Let Go of Perfection and Embrace Muay Thai Play

02:13 From Muay Thai Play to Fight Strategy

In this video, Eddie Abasolo dives deep into the timeless Muay Thai advice he received from the legendary Samart Payakaroon: "Never take more than two weeks off training."

Eddie unpacks the meaning behind this wisdom, sharing how it shaped his mindset, training habits, and ultimately his career as a top Muay Thai fighter.

00:00 Introduction – Breaking Through

00:36 Consistency: The Cornerstone of Samart’s Muay Thai Advice01:10 Samart Payakaroon, Elegant and Ferocious

02:06 Lessons a Legend: Samart and the Power of Discipline

02:39 Momentum: Sharpening the Blade Every Day

03:10 Small Actions, Big Impact: The Drip Effect

03:42 The Vow: Never Take a Break To Let Others Surpass You

If you're serious about dominating the Muay Thai clinch, you need better Muay Thai clinch training... You've got to go beyond random training and focus on what truly moves the needle.

Is sparring in fight camp a smart move or a dangerous gamble?

As fight night gets closer, every decision you make in training counts, and few choices are as critical—or risky—as sparring in fight camp.

On one hand, it’s an opportunity to refine your timing, reactions, and technique under pressure. But on the other, there’s always the looming risk of an injury that could throw off months of hard work.

In this episode, we’ll explore whether sparring in the final stretch of your fight camp is worth it, or if it’s time to shift gears to safer, more controlled forms of training.

You don’t want to enter the ring compromised. Let’s look at the best way to prepare without taking unnecessary risks.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction

00:17 Sparring in Fight Camp: Should You Risk It?

00:30 Two Weeks Out: Time to Shift Gears

00:44 Simulated Sparring: Getting the Fight Feel Without the Fight Risk

01:39 Sparring in Fight Camp: The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Further notes and resources at https://heatrick.com/2024/10/25/sparring-in-fight-camp-yes-or-no/

Fight prep sparring isn’t your usual sparring. It’s more “specific.”

If you're anything like me, there was a time you felt silly shadow boxing.  Maybe you still do. Muay Thai is about inflicting damage and having an effect... Lashing out in mid-air feels, well, lame!

But, I eventually realised how I could best use shadow boxing to do much more than just get my heart rate up and make me feel self conscious!

Are you (still) wasting your shadow boxing?

If you’re not making the most of your Muay Thai shadow boxing, you’re leaving a critical part of your training untapped.

Shadow boxing isn’t just about warming up or working through your techniques—it's your chance to mentally rehearse fight strategy and tactics, to build the necessary reps required for instinctive action in the ring.

It’s not only an opportunity to accumulate more random skill practice “clusters” that I’ve spoken of before to enhance your skill retainment over the long term.

But, it’s an often wasted opportunity to try on different fight mode “attitudes” and fight “ranges” for size, and become more comfortable with attitudes and ranges less natural for you...

A chance to enhance the range of chess pieces you have to play with on your chess board.

In this video, we’ll break down how to maximize your Muay Thai shadow boxing by using fight ranges and attitudes/modes to gain the upper hand.

Whether you’re up against a heavy-hitting boxer or a slippery counter-fighter, this method will help you control the fight, think ahead, and execute with precision.

Let’s strip back the complexity and focus on what really matters.

Further notes and resources at https://heatrick.com/2024/10/04/skill-based-muay-thai-shadow-boxing/

If you’re an orthodox fighter who’s never drilled in a southpaw stance, you’re leaving yourself open to attack—and trust me, that’s a vulnerability you can’t afford in the ring. Whether you’re throwing a punch, missing a strike, or just stepping off-line, sooner or later, you’ll find yourself in that unfamiliar stance. In that split second, you have two options: scramble to get back or confidently launch an attack.

In this episode, I’ll show you why mastering the southpaw stance—whether you’re naturally orthodox or vice versa—can be the difference between getting outmaneuvered or taking control of the fight. Stick with me as we explore how you can use stance-switching to control range, disrupt your opponent’s rhythm, and stay dangerous from every angle.

Further notes and resources at https://heatrick.com/2024/09/27/learn-southpaw-if-orthodox-and-vice-versa-opposite-stance/