Your first muay thai class: what to expect

The short version: a first muay thai class is usually an hour or so of warm-up (skipping or running, then shadowboxing), stance and a few basic strikes, rounds on pads that you and a partner take turns holding, and a short, hard finish of conditioning. You almost certainly will not spar. Wear shorts and a t-shirt, train barefoot, bring water, and ask the gym whether they lend gloves before you buy anything.

Muay thai classes run to a bell. In most gyms a timer sounds every few minutes from the first skip to the last round on the bag: work, a short rest, work again. When it goes for rest you get your breath back, and when it goes again, you go again. That rhythm makes a hard hour feel manageable, because you are never asked to keep going without an end in sight, only to finish the round.

What happens in a first muay thai class

Most gyms run the same shape, give or take ten minutes.

The warm-up

Skipping, running laps or both, then a few rounds of shadowboxing, then some dynamic stretching for the hips and legs. Rounds are commonly three minutes with a short rest. The warm-up is often the hardest part of the night for a new starter, because it is long and it comes before you have learned anything. Go at your own pace. Coaches would rather you finish the class than win the warm-up.

Stance, guard and the first strikes

The coach shows the muay thai stance: more upright than a boxer's, hips squarer to the front, the lead foot light enough to lift and check a kick, hands high. Then a few strikes, usually from this list: the jab and the cross, the teep (a push kick with the ball of the foot, used to keep distance), the round kick, and a straight knee. Some coaches also show the check, lifting your lead shin to block a kick. Elbows are part of the art but tend to wait for later classes.

Muay thai's round kick differs from most kicking arts: you hit with the shin, not the foot, and you turn your hips all the way through the target. Expect to be told to turn your hips more, many times. That is normal.

Pads, in rounds, with a partner

Your partner holds Thai pads (the thick rectangular ones strapped to the forearms) or focus mitts, and you work the combination the coach has shown for a round. Then you hold. Some gyms put a coach on the pads with each beginner for a round or two; in Thai camps, pad rounds one-to-one with a trainer are the centre of most sessions.

The finish

Most classes end with a few minutes of conditioning: teeps or knees on the bag, sit-ups, push-ups, squats. It is short and hard, and then there is usually a stretch. Some gyms finish with a bow or a wai (a slight bow with palms together) to the coach and the room; copy what everyone else does.

How to hold pads for your partner

Good holding is a skill, and it is worth learning on night one because your partner's session depends on it. A few things coaches repeat:

• Pads together for the kick. For a round kick, put both Thai pads together, upright, at the side of your body at rib height and slightly off it, and step into the kick. Two pads spread the force and protect your forearms.
• Meet the strike. Push the pad into a kick or punch slightly as it arrives. A pad that sags or pulls away can jar the puncher's wrist or leave the kicker's foot or shin landing badly.
• Hold where a target would be. A pad for the jab is held near your own face, not out to the side.
• Brace with your whole body. Stand side-on to a kick, lean into it a little, and keep the pad near your body rather than at arm's length.
• Ask for feedback. "Too high?" and "Too far?" are normal things to say. Experienced people ask them too.

You will absorb some force through the pads, and a strong kicker's round kick will move you. That is part of the sport and it is how you learn timing without being hit.

Will you spar in your first class?

Almost certainly not. First classes are technique, pads and conditioning. Gyms introduce sparring at different points: some wait for a set number of weeks, some run a separate sparring class you choose to join, and some fold light technical sparring into the main class once the coach knows you. How hard it goes also varies, from light touch to fight-team pace. This is a question to ask the gym, not something to guess.

You may still make light contact in drills. A partner might teep into your belly pad, or the coach might show a kick catch with you. Tell your partner if you have an injury, and ask them to go lighter if something feels too much. Nobody will mind. Go at the same light pace yourself: control your power with a partner, especially one who is also new. If the coach shows the clinch, you will be close enough to smell each other's sweat, which is one more reason for clean kit.

What to wear and what to bring

• Before you go: arrive ten or fifteen minutes early, because there is usually a waiver to sign, and eat a light meal two hours or more before class rather than just before.
• Clothes: shorts you can lift a knee and kick in, and a t-shirt or vest with no zips, buttons or hard drawstrings. Proper muay thai shorts are cut for kicking but you do not need them on day one.
• Feet: barefoot on the mats. Bring flip-flops or sliders for walking to the toilet or changing room and back.
• Nails and jewellery: cut your fingernails and toenails short, and take off rings, earrings and watches. Partner drills make all of it a scratch risk.
• Water and a towel. You will sweat more than you expect.
• Gloves and hand wraps: many gyms lend gloves for a first class, but borrowed gloves are worn by everyone, so hand wraps (around 4.5 metres, or 180 inches) are worth buying early and are cheap. You will need a mouthguard once you spar. Ask whether you need shin guards for partner drills, because some gyms use them from the first class and others not until sparring. Evolve's gear guide has a buy-now, buy-later list.
• Clean kit, every time. Wash everything after each session, and stay off the mat if you have a rash or an open cut. Our post on skin infections and when to stay off the mat covers the common ones.

Muay thai etiquette before you walk in

Most of it is the same as any gym: take your shoes off before the mat, listen while the coach demonstrates, and put pads and gloves back where you found them. A few customs come from muay thai's Thai roots, and gyms differ in how much they keep:

• The wai. Palms together and a slight bow, to greet a coach or say thanks at the end. Some gyms do it, some do not. Follow the room.
• The ring. If the gym has a ring, do not climb into it unless invited. Ring customs vary: at some gyms fighters step over the top rope, at others everyone ducks under, and some traditional gyms in Thailand ask women to go under the ropes, a custom many gyms abroad have dropped. Watch the regulars or ask.
• Heads and feet. In Thai culture the head is treated with respect and pointing your feet at people is rude. Gyms in Thailand care about this; elsewhere it is good manners anyway.
• Before a fight, fighters perform the wai khru ram muay, a ritual dance honouring their teacher. You will not be asked to do it in class, but some gyms teach it to students who compete.

How you will feel the next day, and why people come back

Your shins, hips, calves and shoulders will probably be sore for a day or two, and there may be a bruise on your shin or forearm from the pads. This settles as your body gets used to the work, usually within the first few weeks. Shins toughen up from ordinary pad and bag work over months, and nobody expects you to do anything extra to them.

The first time a round kick turns over properly and lands on the pad with a crack, you will know, and so will the room. Holding for each other builds friendships fast, because you spend half the pad rounds helping someone else get better. And muay thai is a real fitness habit: our post on whether martial arts will get you fit explains why round-based training works like interval training.

How a muay thai class differs from kickboxing or boxing

Muay thai uses knees, elbows and the clinch (standing grappling at close range, where you control the head and land knees), which kickboxing classes often limit and boxing leaves out. You kick with the shin through the target. And you defend kicks by checking them with your shin or catching them, rather than only blocking. Many gyms teach all three under one roof and share pads and partners, so a first muay thai class can feel familiar if you have boxed. If the gym also runs MMA, our guide to what a first MMA class covers explains how takedowns and groundwork are added. Our guide to choosing between two gyms covers the visit itself.

What to ask the gym before your first class

Every gym runs this differently, so ask:

1. Is there a beginners class, or do beginners join the main class? A beginners class goes slower and pairs you with other new starters.
2. Do you lend gloves and wraps for a first session? If not, ask what weight of glove they want.
3. When do beginners start sparring, and how hard does it go? The answer tells you a lot about the room.
4. Do you teach the clinch and elbows in the regular classes? Some gyms keep them for advanced or fight-team sessions.
5. What does the trial cost, and what does membership cost after it? Ask about contracts and notice periods while you are at it.

If you have not found a gym yet, our gym directory lets you filter by muay thai and town. And if you already train another art, the guides to your first BJJ class and your first karate class as an adult cover what is different there.