How to Win Your First Fight - Read these Tips

Every time I try to give someone advice on what to do during their first fight, I always get the same response, "yeah yeah yeah, I got this, I already know what to do."  On one hand, it's good that they're confident, but I guess if they weren't, they wouldn't have taken a fight in the first place.

But 90% of guys make the same couple mistakes during their first fight and end up losing.  Part of me wants to scream at the guy and tell him to fucking listen, and stop being over confident, but at the same time, maybe it's good for people to lose their first fight, that way they can truly be open to learning and better preparing for their second fight.

I wasn't any better, I went into my first fight cocky, arrogant, thinking that it would be easy.  I told myself, Thai guys aren't very good at boxing, I'll just out box him.  The stupid thing that my friend Nic later pointed out is that it's not like I studied much boxing either.  I was lucky, the fight went to decision and I lost.  It was then, and only then did I put my ego aside and really want to learn, improve and work hard.


Here are a list of things that can help you win your first fight.

1. Make sure you have good cardio - 

Five rounds of 3 minutes each is a very very long time once you're in the ring, especially if your adrenaline is pumping and you are tense.  If you don't already run, make sure you can run 3miles (5km) straight without stopping.  Another good way to build and test your cardio is with burpees.  I do a descending pyramid of burpees with a pushup.  Basically you would start by squatting down, jumping back into a pushup position, doing a single pushup, jumping back into squat, and then finishing by jumping straight in the air before repeating the process.  Start with 12 burpees, rest for 30 seconds, do 11 burpees, rest 30 seconds, then 10 rest, 9, rest, 8, rest, 7, rest, 6, rest, 5, rest, 4, rest, 3, rest, 2, rest, 1, rest.  If you can get through the entire pryamid with good form, you just did a total of 78 burpees, and you've passed the cardio test.  The best thing about this is it's a full body workout that you can do anywhere without any gym equipment.

2. Spar a lot then Rest a lot -

The most important thing you can do before your fight is spar a lot, you can look amazing on the pads but if you never spar, it'll show in the ring.  Mix it up with Muay Thai sparring, boxing sparring and clinch sparring to get used to all three, but try to do Muay Thai Sparring most often as that's what you'll be fighting.

If you're going to be fighting MMA, make sure you work a lot on your wrestling, takedown defense and getting off your back.  You can't learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 3 weeks before your fight but you can learn how to avoid getting put on your back and how to stand if you do you.

When you spar, make sure you time it for 3 or 5 minutes, the same as your fight and don't stop half way to adjust your gear or talk.  Treat the pace like a real fight and learn how to get out of bad positions, or out of the corner in Muay Thai.

48 hours before your fight, stop training and do nothing.  Rest and relax.  Stay out of the sun, don't run, you'll need the energy for your fight.  You can shadow box and think about technique and strategy and try to watch a lot of beginner fights on youtube.  Watching high level pros isn't going to help you much aside from motivation, but watching others people's first fights and seeing their mistakes may help you not make the exact same ones.


3. Be prepared to get hit and cover up -

It's funny that a lot of guy don't actually realize they're in a fight until the first hard shot they take.  Then the realize that it isn't just fun and games, the guy in the ring is trying to kill you.  Make sure you check his kicks, you'll be surprised how many guys don't check kicks until it's too late.  The first few low kicks to your thigh may not hurt too much, but trust me, eventually it'll make your leg numb and want to collapse, check the fucking kicks.  Keep your hands up and watch out for head kicks. During your first fight, often you'll realize what you really signed up for.  This is the make it or break it moment for most guys, this is when you either man up or you start making excuses.  If you choose the latter, don't think for a second that people won't know you bitched out, they may listen to your excuse and accept it, but deep down inside, they know you bitched out.

4. Punch straight and avoid the clinch and elbows -

Thai's love to clinch and exchange knees.  Don't play their game, you'll lose or at least get seriously hurt.  Instead of throwing hooks and other big loopy punches that allow your opponent to step in and clinch you, only throw straight jabs and straight rights.  Keep your distance, even if you get the guy on the ropes of in the corner, don't rush in too close or he'll clinch you.  Instead, keep at arms length so you can jab and through straight rights without him being able to grab you.  Sometimes you'll need to move back while punching.

Also watch out for elbows. It's something that you won't be used to receiving since you never get elbowed during sparring.  I used to really love throwing hooks to the body until I received my 4th short elbow to the face.  If you're getting elbowed, you need to keep your hands up and go back to straight punches instead of hooks.

5. Set up your kicks with punches -

Don't throw super projected kicks, they are a waste of energy.  Instead, make your kicks count.  If you watch any Muay Thai fight, the first 5 kicks or so are fast and powerful. Then they start slowing down.  Set up your kicks with punches, or even fakes.  If you're going to kick, commit to it and put some speed and power behind it.  Your best bet to beat a Thai guy in his sport is to throw a lot of punches to neutralize his kicks and mix it up with kicks of your own.

6. Be Aggressive -

At lower levels, especially with beginners, the guy that is most aggressive usually wins the fight.  So move forward, throw lots of straight punches and follow them up with hard kicks.  Look for the opportunity to finish the fight.  When your opponent is tired, he's going to want a way out, give it to him by being extra aggressive and going for the kill as soon as you see the opportunity arise.  If what you're doing isn't working, change it up.  In my last fight, I threw tons of hard body kicks and punches that seemed to do nothing so I started throwing knees, which finally ended the fight.  Remember that you have 8 limbs and 8 different tools to knock your opponent out with, and everyone has a weakness.

7. Finish the fight - Never leave it to the judges

If you don't finish the fight and get a bad decision, it's your fault.  Especially in Muay Thai rules, the person that does the most damage or looks like they should have won, often doesn't.  Things like most punches and low kicks don't score points.  While knees in the clinch, even if they don't do any damage, score lots of points.  You have 5 rounds to KO or TKO your opponent.  If you are aggressive and seize the chances to overwhelm him, you can finish the fight.  If you don't and it goes to decision, it's no one's fault but your own.  Leave it all in the ring, as long as you came into the fight with decent cardio, realize that he's just as tired as you are.  The worst thing you can do for the audience and for yourself when you look back on the fight is to stall and wait for the decision.  You will regret it, and everyone will know you were a bitch for doing so.  Leave it all in the ring and go for the finish each and every time.

8. Your first fight in 80% Mentality -

Especially with beginners, the guy that has the most heart, the one that truly wants to kill his opponent and leave it all in the ring usually wins.  At higher levels having heart and a good mentality can only take you so far if you're being out classed, but in the lower levels of fighting, it goes a very long way.  Ask yourself how badly you really want it and if you are fit to be a fighter.  Not everyone is, and excuses don't make anyone feel better but yourself.  For me personally, I wasn't mentally or physically prepared for my first fight.

My cardio was lacking from not running, and I didn't have the killer instinct.  Luckily, my opponent accepted a rematch and I ended up beating him the second time around.  After losing my first fight to decision, I stepped up my training by training by running everyday after class.  Technique wise I made myself only jab and throw straight punches to avoid the clinch, and I went for the knock out, which I got in the second round.





What to eat before your fight:

The night before your fight you want to load up on some carbs, sweet potatoes would be your best choice, followed by white rice.  On the day of your fight, don't eat anything too spicy or anything suspect.  Try to eat what you would normally eat on a training day.  An hour before your fight, you can drink a redbull or half of one if you are sensitive, for that extra push from the sugar and caffeine.

What bring to your fight:

The stadium and your trainer will provide most things such as the gloves, hand wraps, and metal cup.  You need to bring your mouth guard and Muay Thai shorts.  Make sure you wear underwear under your shorts since they'll need to put the cup on last minute before your fight.  I also suggest wearing a sweatshirt to keep you warm before the fight and bring some music to listen to.  You'll often have a few hours of downtime before you actually fight and you want something to keep the nerves down.  It's also a good idea to bring a pair of flip flops to walk to the ring in as it'll be hard to put on normal shoes with gloves on.

Filming your fight: 

Bring an experienced camera man.  You'll regret not having proper video of your fight if you don't.  Have him take a few photos for you before the fight and more importantly film the entire fight. Have him stand on the corner of the ring so he gets a good angle.  Filming from the audience stands requires zooming which makes the picture shaky.  Sometimes it's worth the money to hire a pro.  I've seen inexperienced guys miss entire rounds thinking they were recording when they weren't, and I've seen it more than once.  I've also seen some really shitty filming from the audience stands.  Ask your gym if they have someone that can film for you, the going rate in Phuket was 1,500 baht for filming and editing.

Keep up the fight streak: 

One of my biggest regrets is not taking more fights immediately afterwards.  You'll already be in shape, and as long as you're not injured there's no reason why you can't fight a week or two later.  Doing so is the best way to get a lot of experience under your belt.  For me, I always schedule my fights at the end of a 3 month fight camp right before I'm about to go home.  The good thing is, I'm usually really fit and ready by then, but the bad is since I'm leaving I can't fit in another fight before I go.

If you're reading this to prepare for your first fight, good luck and let me know if you have any questions or anything to add by leaving a comment below.

Warm Regards,

Johnny @ MyFightCamp.com