[schermstorm]

Originally Posted by GrazZ

just to let you know, the odds of you even being able to train 3 times a week are like 0% i *guarantee* you will be SO SORE after your first class you wont be able to go more than once a week to start and if you arent, you arent working hard enough

lame and NOT true...it all depends on what kind of shape you go into it with. Obviously you will be working new muscles but if you're conditioning are good you'll be able to go 3-5times a week no problem. Chances are you're shins will be sore and maybe swollen and bruised....but that's part of MT, suck it up and kick the pads, and ice afterwards and you'll be pleased with your results. You'll see epsecially at first it will be something you'll either love and hate and if you love it you'll have to MAKE yourself not do it TWICE a day lol...

[vangor]

But you have to be real close to get someone in that clinch. And how are you going to get a skilled boxer in the clinch when he's firing of combos at your face. And if you try to throw when you're not in the clinch, you'll just expose you're chin and then it'll be lights out.

[RJ Powell]

Not necessarily, it would depend on the fighter, but the clinch pretty much neutralizes inside combos, especially if you keep your head too low and hunch over too much, in some cases muay thai fighters can also overwhelm they're opponents with inside punching, it just has to be done right. Watch some old-school muay thai fights, especially the ones against foreigners.

All of what you are saying hypothetical. Muay thai fighters have "crappy" hands for that very reason, the clinch. They're hands are good enough for muay thai.

And muay thai in and of itself is as close to anything goes while standing.

Don't get me wrong, boxing teaches excellent stuff too. But it all comes down to the individual.

matter fact, thai fighters aren't "crappy" with they're hands, they are careful. Dont diss.

EDIT: all that being said, for MMA, it would be really beneficial to extensively study boxing, because unlike kickboxing, MMA is not at the point where it is highly specialized.

-Not everyone knows the clinch
-Not everyone can take advantage of bobbing/weaving
-Not everyone knows how to handle in-fighters.

Boxing is far more suited learning for MMA if you wanna get right to it, there is less chance of getting taken down, you are very slick against the grapplers that want to stand and bang, simply put, punching skills are indespensable as a MMArtist. Then after that you can branch out and learn muay thai/kickboxing.

Or you can learn Muay thai, then supplement with boxing, whichever you enjoy more, it all comes down to you.

[vangor]

Wasn't Kit Cope( a foreigner) a two time world champion. How do you think he'd do against any of the top welterweights in boxing.

[RJ Powell]

Kit Cope was never a good Muay Thai kickboxer(on an elite level), simply put, he was a fraud.

His world titles were against cans in thailand, they are called "master toddy invitationals". Alot of Muay Thai fans were upset by this deception.

He beat a bunch of cab drivers and restaurant cooks in so-called "bareknuckle" fights, all hand picked by master toddy. No self-respecting top Lumpini or Rajadamnern fighter would ever disgrace his name by participating in a bareknuckle fight.

It's all a farce, rob Mccullough dismantled him. I'll find a thread on it..

[vangor]

Actually MCullough submitted him, so that's a bad example.

[Vector_X]

I'd say about a year unless you have a previous fight background. You might learn some of the basics before hand, but rarely can someone put it all together in any skilled fashion before hand.

[MCanavan6]

Would it make sense to learn to box first and really work on my conditioning this summer, then pick up muay thai when I get back to school in September and have been conditioned and some knowledge of fighting?

[vangor]

It'll take more than a summer to get good at boxing. You should try to get really experienced with boxing before you even get into Muy Thai.

[Vector_X]

Originally Posted by MCanavan6

Would it make sense to learn to box first and really work on my conditioning this summer, then pick up muay thai when I get back to school in September and have been conditioned and some knowledge of fighting?

just start now.