What is Mini Muay Thai?

As the name suggests, Mini Muay Thai is kids Muay Thai classes; a class that is less about creating ‘junior martial arts warriors’ and more about giving kids the tools they will need if they are to be successful in life.

What it’s based on

Muay Thai is a combat sport that originated in Thailand and which is known as the ‘art of eight limbs’ (due to the use of fists, elbows, knees and shins). Originally a practical fighting technique used in actual warfare, today Muay Thai is a highly respected and popular sport practised in Thailand and around the world.

What it involves

A typical Muay Thai class is usually around 60 minutes in length and would normally start with warm up exercises such as jumping rope, jogging, push-ups, squats and light stretching.

Then the actual class would begin and might include exercises such as jumping rope, shadow boxing, punching and kicking techniques, followed by an intense cardio workout and finally a cool down and stretching session to finish.

The benefits of Muay Thai for kids

Muay Thai in general and Mini Muay Thai in particular offers many benefits to its practitioners including;

• Respect for your body – Muay Thai teaches the importance of taking care of your body through sport and exercise; a message that is particularly important with the growing child obesity problem in Australia.
• Physical fitness – Muay Thai puts the theory into practice, using strength training and cardio exercise techniques to build strong and healthy young bodies.
• Respect for others – Muay Thai teaches kids respect for their opponents, their instructors, their parents and their elders, along with the importance of treating others as they would wish to be treated themselves.
• Non-violent conflict resolution – strange as it may seem coming from a previously war-like form of fighting, Muay Thai teaches children to resolve their disputes without resorting to violence.
• Self defence – Muay Thai teaches kids the skills they need to protect themselves, which in turn gives them confidence at school and helps to deter bullying.
• Aspirational benefits – Muay Thai has eight different levels or rankings to aspire to, teaching kids that success can be achieved through hard work and self discipline.
• Coordination – Muay Thai is as much about not getting hit as it is about hitting others and the fighting skills they learn will greatly improve your child’s balance, reflexes and dexterity.

As well as instilling all these valuable qualities in your child, Muay Thai is actually a fun sport to practise and once they start classes, it will be all that they talk about. So if you think your child would benefit from Muay Thai for kids, why not contact us today at Bailey Fitness.

We also offer adults Muay Thai classes, check them out now.