How to Hold Thai Pads

Muay Thai is a brutal martial art from the far reaches of southeast Asia. In the past, Muay Thai practitioners were known for participation in contests to the death and had a reputation for being awesome soldiers on the battlefield. All of the Thai soldiers were trained in Muay. According to legend, some competitors in the sport would compete in matches where their hand wraps were covered with molasses then dipped in glass. These violent matches usually ended in death. In this day and age, the art is the primary striking art seen in MMA competitions. Muay Thai has always been notorious for its training methods. The intense conditioning and training that has become synonymous with the sport is a formula for creating excellent fighters. Part of the training includes striking Thai pads. In order to get full benefit from the pads, an experienced pad holder is key. It may seem that something so seemingly simple as holding a pad wouldn’t need any instruction, but that is not the case. Improper pad holding could result in injury to either the holder, the striker or both.

Things You'll Need

• Thai Pads

Instructions

1. Assume a fighting stance with your body angled, feet shoulder-width apart, hands up and your chin down. Your weight should be evenly distributed across both legs. Keep the pads turned inward, facing your body. You want to train the fighter to strike whenever the striking surface faces him. This will help to train his reflexes.

2. Simulate the exact position of the opponent in order to make the drill more realistic. When feeding for a jab or a cross, hold the pad next to your face, not in front of it. You don’t want the fighter to get used to punching a shorter distance than he will have to in reality. That goes for all punches. Don’t feed a hook too far in front of your face, too high or too low. Feed it at chin level. Feed the uppercut at chin level, also. Holding it to high will condition him to overextending and leave himself open for counters.

3. Hold one pad downward and the other outward (almost like an L-pattern) to feed knee strikes. Make sure you hold the pads together tightly, otherwise the strike may separate the pads and you may get hit in the stomach.

4. Hold the pads so that the top inside corners are touching. You should now have a V-shape with the pads. Tuck your elbows into your sides. This is for feeding the roundhouse kick. Get into a stable stance with one leg forward and bent, and the other leg extended behind. It should be a somewhat deep stance. As the kick connects, lean into it, resisting against the kick. If your arms are relaxed and you don’t lean into the kick, your arms can be knocked in the direction of the kick and the pads may hit you in the face.

5. Do not hold the pad next to the outside of the thigh for leg kicks! With the arm extended in this manner, it can easily be broken. Either allow the kicks to hit your legs, block them or use a different type of pad: a suitcase pad.

Tips & Warnings

• Use pad holding as time to train yourself. Watch incoming strikes in order to get used to not blinking or flinching. Watch the striker's body motion as he throws certain strikes. This will help you read your opponent's intention.