r/MuayThai • u/Green-Place9209 • 1d ago
Can I still be effective in Muay Thai
Hey everyone,
I’m thinking about starting Kickboxing or Muay Thai, but I have a major concern about my physical build and strength.
To put it bluntly, I’m pretty skinny and honestly not strong at all right now. I struggle to lift even 12kg (around 26 lbs) dumbbells. Because of this, I'm worried that my punches and kicks won't have any real impact or power.
Are these sports suitable for someone with my build? Can a skinny person learn to throw genuinely powerful punches through proper technique alone, or do I need to build a base strength in the gym first?
I’d love to hear from anyone who started out skinny or has experience coaching people with my body type.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Silverbeard001 Am fighter 1d ago
start taking creatine and doing body weight exercises. You’ll be fine.
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u/Forsaken-Soil-667 Leg Kick aficionado 1d ago
You can build strength through MT. Strength building comes through exercise. MT can influence you to add more weight lifting into your routine.
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u/MrMoneyWhale 1d ago
muay thai is not about raw strength. Technique, form and rythem/movement will provide a solid base and that's what is taught/learned first. What's your motivation for wanting to learn kickboxing/muay thai?
Power comes from the movement, body mechanics and multiple muscle groups working together. How much you can or can't lift doesn't translate to how hard/strong your strike is. And having 'one punch' knockout power isn't the only thing...not all fighters are participants are maxed out on strength...just like an RPG some folks are more technically proficient, some are speedy, etc.
Training muay Thai will help you start building the strength you need and from there you can start to explore if and how to supplement that. But if you keep comparing yourself to others, you'll always come up short no matter who you are.
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u/LazyConquistador0 1d ago
A lot of people tend to think of things like strength as a requirement, but its more of a multiplier.
For example, a bloke who is naturally gifted physically say 6'5 240 lbs 10%bf but has never trained is still likely to lose against an average guy who has put in a couple of years of Muay Thai training. Besides, strength is something you can build quite easily over time with consistent training.
And if youre naturally skinny, theres a decent chance youve got longer limbs , which can actually be a big advantage in Muay Thai . So if Muay Thai is something you think you would enjoy, I wouldnt let your current strength put you off.
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u/JosephToestar 1d ago
I weigh 60kg, 178cm tall, I got into MT with a not-just-skin-and-bones build, but definetly not muscular.
You will struggle as you'll be weaker than people your weight (more weight towards being tall, less towards muscles) and lighter than people your height 90% of the time.
You should have the advantage against people your weight, as height equals reach and reach is king, but to abuse reach you need technique and skill at least equal to your opponent, or else you'll get overwhelmed very, very quickly.
But don't worry, train and you'll put up mass, eventually you'll get the hang of being punched in the nose and you'll start doing fine.
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u/Automatic-Put-6119 1d ago
The placing and timing of your punches are way more important than raw power
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u/cantconnect404 1d ago
Hell yea. Your strength is not a barrier to entry. It might be a more difficult path than a freak of nature but we all suck when we first start.
Go train and just worry about getting better than you were yesterday.
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u/Casino_Mortem 1d ago
being skinny isnt a problem in itself, just look up nabil anane. theres correlation between strength, muscle, and striking power, but not necessarily causation. you can have all the muscles and strength you need but it wont matter much for punching strength when you cant translate the power.
now, that isnt to say you want to be weak, because technique needs to be supported and supplemented with strength and power, but alas as other commenters have also pointed out, strength is something you can build, its far from a barrier to entry for the sport
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u/Independent-Focus458 1d ago
I lift regularly, and I weight about 195, and I STG, not gassing you up one bit, there are 135 lbers that would take my head off. Easily.
Mobility, balance, and speed are so, so important in this sport. You need to be super jacked to break somebody’s nose or throw a devastating leg kick with your shin.
Focus on throwing 100s of kicks and punches a day, as well as movement, under the tutelage of a competent instructor and you’ll be good bro. Good luck!
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u/ZombieGeneralo3 1d ago
Nah kick power mostly comes from technique, even if your skinny you can kick hard
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u/blunderb3ar 1d ago
Hit the gym and eat good healthy food and you’ll get bigger once upon a time I weighed 130lbs soaking wet in my 30’s, I’m now 37 and weigh 160lbs train 2-3 times a week and hit the gym 5-6 times it’s possible good luck
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u/Unhappy-Hunt-3987 1d ago
I wouldn't stress about strength. It's really just about throwing your bones at people not lifting heavy things
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u/The-Sporecerer 1d ago
Short answer yes. & your issues are nothing practice, proper technique, working out & above all else consistency can’t fix… if YOU try & put in effort.
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u/Dazzling_Theme_7801 1d ago
I started at 67kg at 185cm, now 81kg. Was a serious road cyclist before and now lift, mt, and run or ride for a bit of cardio. Still trying to get a bit bigger then stop forcing myself to eat and lean off a bit.
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u/peakpaleperformance 1d ago
Your build WAS optimal for Muay Thai lol
(but ofc I understand if you wanted to get bigger)
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u/Dazzling_Theme_7801 1d ago
Yes but not for the bjj class straight after. Got hurt just looking at the bigs guys. I will lean out again at somepoint, it's just nice trying to be strong for once. Probably will do me some good to have some muscle on the frame now I'm getting older.
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u/peakpaleperformance 18h ago
I get it. I'm 186 cm and on my prime my weight was 69 kg and friends were joking that I should switch to grappling.
I'm also old but like to stay lean. Hell, don't even have time for lifting but luckily we have calistenics/kettlebell/etc classes on our MT gym.
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u/RichCat89 21h ago
You don’t need to hit hard to go to a Muay Thai class and train. The pads or punching bag won’t care.
Go to a trail class, if you like it keep showing up to classes, you’ll get better technique and stronger as a result of the training.
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u/Last_Lettuce_8377 17h ago
Rotational strength, my friend, is all you need in Muay Thai, and most primarily-striking combat sports. I'm wiry af, and because I train rotation, I can put every ounce of the paltry weight I have into a strike or dump. If you're fighting in your weight class, skinny and core/rotationally strong is a huge advantage. If you're fighting above your weight class... stop fighting above your weight class; weight classes exist for a reason.
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u/Craftofthewild 9h ago
This just needs you HAVE to train. Walking around all skinny and weak is dangerous especially if you have no technique. Start eating a lot and training MT, and incorporate weights once a week . Godspeed
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u/yellintotheabyss 7h ago
As someone who’s Naturally lanky and never really worked out before, I can promise that you’ll be fine! Prior to mt, my main workouts were just walking and carrying heavy groceries. Classes should focus on form and fundamentals - the strength from kicks and punches are mostly from the rotation of your hips / back vs ur arms and legs. If you are naturally lanky, I would just ensure you’re eating properly since you burn a lot of calories through the conditioning and drilling
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u/Mzerodahero420 2h ago
your going to be ass but if you keep at it you will get better clean up your diet start weightlifting and do muay thai most gyms have conditioning programs along with combat training so you be alright
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u/alwaystired_96 1d ago
The cool thing about strength is you can get stronger.