Muay Thai Guy Podcast

Muay Thai Guy Podcast - Episode 66I've done my fair share of interviews now, but I think this one was the most inspiring one I've done to date. Richard Abraham is a professional Muay Thai fighter who has fought all over the world including Russia against #1 ranked Russian champ, Africa against a Ugandan champ, and was the first American to fight and win at the new Lumpinee Stadium.After making the sacrifices and putting in the hard work, Richard is now making it to the Lion Fight stage and taking on against Jo Nattuwat at Lion Fight 20. We discuss his journey leading up to this point in his career plus much more:How he started fighting at a young age and took part in underground fighting before finding the Muay Thai ring.The amount of sacrifice he's had to put in away from his family in order to accomplish his dreams.How he's able to wake up at 4am every morning, work a full-day, and train hard at night almost every day.Why he loves to fight and embraces the day-to-day grind of training.His general train

Muay Thai Guy Podcast - Episode 65Ajarn Buck Grant has had quite a journey in the martial arts world and is now a top level coach as well as an official on the national and international levels. The interview with him was amazing and we touched on a number of topics surrounding the spiritual side of martial arts, and Muay Thai. Besides that, we also delve into:The law of attraction and how it has affected his career as a fighter and coach.How Bruce Lee had a major impact on his training and general life philosophy.The spiritual side of Muay Thai and martial arts and how closely related ring sports are to everyday life.Why he decided to move to Las Vegas to pursue his fight dreams and the lessons he learned in Sin City.Key pieces of advice that MMA legend Randy Couture gave him during his stint in Las Vegas.How meditation has helped him have more focus, intention and awareness in his day-to-day life, as well as his training.How he began yoga as a physical practice and how it's turned into much more t

Gabriel Varga has been a force in the featherweigh division for a little while now. With his recent tournament win at GLORY 17, he's set to fight for the featherweight title in 2015. But before he does that, he's fighting on New Years for K-1 in China. Listen in to his interview where he discusses...How he started in Shotokan karate and how he made the transition to kickboxing.What he attributes to his success beating more experienced fighters than himself.What a normal day in the life is like for him in regards to his training schedule.His thoughts on roadwork, interval sprints and general conditioning.How his training differed for his first tournament and why he decided to go back to his normal way of training for the GLORY 17 tournament.What his weight cutting process is like.Who he'll be fighting for the GLORY title and what he thinks GLORY has in store for him.His thoughts on the growth of GLORY kickboxing and Muay Thai in North America and where he sees it going in the future.Click Here or on

Let me just start off by saying that I've been a huge fan of Duane Ludwig since I got started in Muay Thai and kickboxing. He's fought some of the best in the world including John Wayne Parr, Masato, Ramon Dekkers, Albert Kraus, Malaipet and others. Not only that, but he also coached Team Alpha Male to their first UFC title by helping TJ Dillashaw defeat Renan Barao... needless to say, Duane knows his shit.Also, I just wanted to give a shoutout to Rachel who first planted the idea in my head to reach out and interview Duane. Thank you for that idea and for the review of the podcast, you're fucking awesome!Anyway, in the podcast, Duane discusses a variety of topics including:How his new academy Ludwig Martial Arts is doing in Denver, Colorado.Who is toughest opponent was (besides himself) during his kickboxing and K-1 days.Why he decided to make the switch from kickboxing to MMA.What type of adjustments he had to make going from K-1 to the UFC.What his general philosophy on striking is and what he be

Joel Bekker and I covered a whole shitload of topics during this podcast interview that I know you're going to love. With decades of experience in martial arts and being a ref in combat sports for 18 years, Joel is able to shine some light on a lot of what goes on behind-the-scenes with refs, judges and promoters. Not only that but we talk about a whole plethora of other things:Why he decided to become a combat sport ref, judge and official.The differences between good refs and bad refs and how there aren't many requirements to be an official in the US.How he deals with the constant criticism that all refs get during the context of a fight night.What he looks for in fighters who are dazed and how he decides whether to call a fight or let it continue.How many fight shows go on without doctors and without qualified referees.How being a judge is a non forgiving profession and how no matter what he does he'll end up pissing off 50% of the people involved.What he looks for when judging a fight and why he uses

I really enjoyed doing this podcast with Shane Fazen from fighttips.com because we both have a lot in common. Our names sound alike, we love Muay Thai, we're both ravishingly handsome and we're both online bloggers who have to deal with a lot of the same challenges.Needless to say, I've been following Shane Fazen's youtube channel for a little awhile now because his videos are badass and edited extremely well. Oh, and of course, they're loaded with practical tips that cover a wide variety of topics including Muay Thai, self defense, Taekwondo, Jiu Jitsu, and much more. In my interview with Shane, we talk a whole range of topics including:His start in martial arts and his gradual evolution from Taekwondo to Muay Thai to Boxing and a handful of other disciplines.What martial art he thinks is most effective in a self defense situation.Why he began his Youtube channel and how it's grown to nearly 30 million views and 250k subscribers.How he's able to find the time to make all of

It's been awesome watching Stephane Smarth climb the amateur rankings here in the US and fight on some of the same cards as me. Not only is he a badass in the ring, but he's also a great trainer and knows his stuff when it comes to strength and conditioning, weight cutting and having a strong mindset.In this podcast episode we go discuss a number of topics including:How having a military background helped him transition seamlessly into a combat sport like Muay Thai.How he is able to balance fighting, training his clientele, and owning a new business.Why he works at one gym but chose to train at another for his fight at Madison Square Garden.What the day-to-day life is like when he's training for a fight, including what type of training he likes to do.How he balances his strength and conditioning with his skill-specific training.The importance of having other passionate, driven people to train with leading up to a fight.What is was like fighting at MSG and how he was able to deal with his fight being a draw.Hi

Talking with passionate guys like "Lucky" Lloyd Walton always gets me amped up! After Lloyd reached out to me with a passionate email about his love for Muay Thai and how he enjoyed the podcast, I knew I had to have him on the show.It was great chatting with Lloyd because as an amateur champ, fight team trainer and father of two, he has a unique perspective on things. We discuss a whole range of topics including:His journey from Taekwondo, to basketball, to MMA and finally to Muay Thai.How Muay Thai brings out the truth in people and how that relates to life.The challenges of balancing being a father of two, an amateur fighter, and the head coach of a fight team.How he was able to build a solid fight team environment of passionate people looking to better themselves through Muay Thai.His plans for turning pro in the near future at age 42 and the "resistance" that holds him back.How far Muay Thai and kickboxing in the US has come and what steps need to be taken in order to see if grow even more.What Joe Schill

My training partner Chris Mauceri is a beast. He started off his pro career 6-0 before losing to current Lion Fight champ Kevin Ross. Now, he looks to get back in the win column against another experienced opponent in Coke Chanuwat at Lion Fight 19. In this interview with Chris, he discusses:How his training camp has been leading up to his fight this upcoming Friday night.What his thoughts are on Coke and how he isn't intimated by his number of fights or experience.How he envisions the fight playing out and what he'd like to do to beat Coke.Why he isn't allowed to bring a banana into Foxwoods casino prior to a fight.His thoughts on his previous fight with current Lion Fight champ Kevin Ross.What his original game plan was against Kevin and how it changed after he got cut early in the 1st round.What he learned from his loss and how he plans on using it as motivation to improve.How keyboard warriors piss him off.His predictions for other fights on the Lion Fight 19 card.What he plans on accomplishing in 2015 an

Muay Thai Guy Podcast – Episode #57Have you ever hit a point in your life where things are going shitty and you finally make the decision that things need to change now? Well, after years of substance abuse and addiction, James Gregory decided that his life style needed to change before he headed down an even more self-destructive path... and that's how he found Muay Thai.James has had his fair share of amateur fights and is always dropping some major knowledge as a contributor on MuayThaiIsLife.com. Throughout this podcast we talk about a whole range of topics including:When he initially became aware of his detrimental lifestyle and decided to make a life change.How he fell into Muay Thai after just lifting weights at the local YMCA.How training Muay Thai has been an important tool in keeping him healthy, focused, and disciplined.Why he decided to go Paleo and how he feels it benefits his training and overall lifestyle.How he started fighting at a older age and ho

Muay Thai Guy Podcast - Episode #56Angela Hill is a badass. Plain and simple.She's a dominant, undefeated Muay Thai fighter who decided to give MMA a try and found herself being a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter season 20. Needless to say, a lot has happened in her life and career throughout the past year or so, so we cover a whole range or topics including:What triggered her transition from Muay Thai to MMA.How she had to alter her fighting style and adapt to a new form of fighting.The subtle differences from striking as a Muay Thai fighter vs. a MMA fighter.Her thoughts on the risks she had to take in order to try out for TUF 20.How literally living in a gym got her mentally and physically prepared for fighting in the UFC.How her lack of experienced played numerous roles and how she was able to use it as a positive.What it's like being the first African-American woman in the UFC, as well as her thoughts of being a role model to little girls.The difficulties of taking a loss after never tasting defeat bef

Brandon Levi has been one of my favorite and one of the best trainers I've worked with throughout my career. Training with Brandon and the guys (and girls) at Evolution Muay Thai in NYC was awesome & I've definitely become a better fighter & person because of it. In this episode of the Muay Thai Guy podcast, Brandon shares his thoughts on running a gym, training his fighters & much more including:Why he moved from Australia to New York.The reasons and process behind starting Evolution Muay Thai in NY.What type of unforeseen challenges and obstacles he initially faced when starting up his own gym.How he's able to balance training his fighters while still giving equal attention to the fitness-only members.How he went from training and fighting Muay Thai to eventually finding his calling as a trainer.The types of ways he's able to push, motivate and get the most out of his fighters during training.What he believes makes a quality trainer, cornerman and fighter.Why he thinks it's i

GLORY #2 ranked Middleweight, Wayne Barrett, has come a long way in his relatively short professional career. From breaking in with a bang at GLORY 9 and now being one of the top prospects aiming for a title shot, Wayne is looking forward to his upcoming fight against Jason Wilnis at GLORY 18 on November 7th in Oklahoma, US! Besides that we also discuss:His quick rise in the professional rankings of GLORYWhat it was like facing Joe Schilling at GLORY 10 in NY and how the trash talk was a new aspect of the game he had to learn.How he was able to use the back-and-forth banter as a positive thing and what he learned from the whole experience.What is was like training for the GLORY Last Man Standing 8-man tournament and how it differed from his normal training regimen.How he mentally prepared for the tournament and what ran through his mind during his two fights.If his game plan changed at all during his fight with Schilling knowing that he could potentially fight Artem Levin in the final

One of the most overlooked aspects of Muay Thai and combat sports in general is the mental side of it all. Trainers and coaches preach sayings like "it's 10% physical and 90% mental" but neglect to set aside any time to work on the mental aspect of their specific sport. In this episode, Gene from FlowAthletics.com and I go over the importance of taking time to mentally prepare for not just competition, but for training as well and how to maximize your training. We discuss a number of topics ranging from:Why mental training should be something everyone trains, whether they compete or not.How Gene prepares his athletes for training and competition.What types of mental training exercises you can do to prepare yourself for training or for a fight.The importance of finding your ideal state of mind to get the most out of your training.How quality training with complete focus will benefit you 100x more than just going through the motions of training.How Gene's anxiety completely debilitated him from c

"Bazooka" Joseph Valtellini's road to Glory hasn't been an easy one, but he's overcome the odds to become the GLORY World Series Welterweight Champion. He discusses the ups and downs of his journey to the title including:What it feels like being world champHow the belief of his coaches, training partners and of himself were determining factors in reaching his goal of becoming champion.His thoughts and insight on what his training was like when he prepared for his first 4-man tournament for GLORY.How he mentally and physically prepared for the tournament and how he recovered and stayed loose between his fights.How he was able to overcome the devastating loss in the tournament to rebound and eventually become champ.What his training mainly consists of when he's preparing for a single fight.Why sparring and mixing up his training routines is crucial to getting the most out of his sessions and avoiding becoming stagnant.The reasons why he doesn't do any type of roadwork or running.How goal setting, believing in h

There's a lot more that goes along with Muay Thai than just the training (although that's obviously a big part of it) and Matt Lucas was able to capture certain intricacies of the grind that many people overlook in his new book "The Boxers Soliloquy."In my interview with Matt, we talk about how and why he decided to write the book and a lot of other topics including:His multiple trips to Thailand and what fighting/training was like there.Why he felt he needed a change from the daily grind working in the hospitality business and why Muay Thai was the answer.Why reading and writing is a passion of his and why he feels like it's a lost art nowadays.How many of his own experiences he was able to portray through his writings.What gave him the inspiration to write the book and why it's in soliloquy form.Why the book can be read by anyone regardless whether or not they know what Muay Thai is.The potential for the growth of Muay Thai and where he sees the future of the sport going.His future

Jason Farrell has been building his team of fighters for years in Maryland over at Level Up Boxing and Fitness. His guys have  only lost 2 closely contested fights in 2014! Jason talks about a number of topics including:How he took the leap from working a stable job to opening up his own gym.The difficulties of owning and operating a Muay Thai gym.What a normal day of training is like for his fighters and how he prepares them for fight night.The importance of having his fighters best interest at heartNot worrying about "Gym Hopping" and not having an ego when his fighters workout or spar at different gyms.Why drilling and sparring are the main focuses during training sessions.How he warms up and mentally prepares his fighters in the locker room.The importance of centering his fighters in between rounds and giving simple, straight-forward advice.His goals for his gym and fighters and how he wants to be one of the go-to gyms in the US.And much more!MTG 050: Jason Farrell Discusses Gym Hopping, Trainin

Ever wanted to share your passion of Muay Thai with someone you love? Well, Paul and Sam are doing just that. These two amateur fighters from Connecticut, USA are pursuing their dreams and training together on a regular basis and most recently made a trip to Koh Phangan, Thailand to take their training and relationship to the next level.Not many couples are able to punch and kick each other in the face, so needless to say, they have a unique perspective on things. In the latest Muay Thai Guy podcast episode, I sat down with Paul and Sam to talk about the challenges and rewards of training together.MTG 049: A Muay Thai Couple - Paul and Sam talk living, training and fighting together in ThailandCheck out all the podcast episodes and more of Muay Thai Guy here!<enclosure url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/muaythaiguy/MTG049.mp3" length="54094566" type="audio/mpeg" />

Tony Manoharan decided that he's only got one life so why not travel to Thailand and live the dream? After randomly bumping into Tony in Chiang Mai, we decided to talk about his journey and how is came to be.MTG 048: Tony Manoharan Quits His Job, Travels To Thailand, and is Living The Dream!Check out all the podcast episodes and more of Muay Thai Guy here!<enclosure url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/muaythaiguy/MTG048.mp3" length="57755621" type="audio/mpeg" />

Ready for another awesome podcast? Dorian Price has been through the ups and downs while living, training, and fighting Muay Thai in Thailand and was cool enough to share his insights again after I messed up and didn't record the first interview I had with him.MTG 047: Dorian Price Drops Knowledge About The Fight Life in ThailandCheck out all the podcast episodes and more of Muay Thai Guy here!<enclosure url="http://traffic.libsyn.com/muaythaiguy/MTG047.mp3" length="65150737" type="audio/mpeg" />