There is a lot of debate among Muay Thai and MMA fighters on how they should hit a thai pad in training, but few people know what is the correct way to hold these pads.
It is the extraordinary skill of a great trainer that he/she makes pad holding look so simple and effortless, but the reality is it’s not. This special skill becomes even more special when they are holding pad against freestyle kicking. In a freestyle kicking, a fighters are able to throw strikes whatever they wants.
If you have aspiration of becoming a good trainer or partner, then it is imperative for you to learn the basics of thai pad work.
Muay Thai Pad Work Basics
Most important thing for a pad trainer is the stance. Remember, if you are holding pads, you must maintain a good fighting stance. The pad work is when you are really learning how to fight and throw full power strikes. The disadvantage of sparring is that you are unable to throw full power strikes, as there is a risk of injury or knocking your opponent out. That is where pad work holds so much more importance for any fighter.
- Pad work for Round kick
The importance of pad work becomes so much more important when it comes to round kicks because most people do it completely wrong. If you will find people holding pads facing downwards, above the shoulders or too far from the body, remember this is not what you should be doing at any stage of the pad work training.
The Proper Way
Take a fighting stance, and position your left hand on your ribs and right hand on your belly button. Keep the pads right up and tight attached towards your body.
After positioning, distance is the most important thing. How far you stand from the striker is really important. The best measure stick to calculate the right distance is to allow the striker to throw couple of warm-up jabs and kicks. Once you have an idea where his kicks and punches are landing, you should make adjustment according to that distance.
This is how you should your carry the pads and facilitate training for your training partner. Remember, to always keep the pads up tight and closely attached to your body to minimize the impact.
