I found out the hard way that trying to learn Muay Thai from a book is not always such a swell idea. Before I began attending lessons at Sitsonpeenong a couple of years ago I invested my money in a couple of books and tried to follow the instructions on how to perform the techniques. Of course the outcome was that I picked up bad habits that I’m still trying to unlearn. I don’t believe that it is possible to learn any martial arts this way, but I have gained a great deal of knowledge from the material. Here are the best Muay Thai books that I have come across so far:
Muay Thai: A Living Legacy
I bought Muay Thai: A Living Legacy Vol 1., 2nd Ed.
by Lesley D. Junlakan from Asia Books in Bangkok. I notice that it is significantly cheaper to buy here in Thailand. I love this book. It is the sort of thing that you would want to keep on your coffee table. It is packed full of superb photos and information, and it covers everything. It is the nearest thing that I’ve seen to an encyclopaedia of Muay Thai. If I was only allowed to keep one of my Muay Thai books then this would be the one.
A Fighter’s Heart
A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting
by Sam Sheridan is an excellent memoir that follows his journey as a martial artist. There are only a few chapters devoted to his time learning Muay Thai in Thailand, but he provides a colourful description. I sort of wish that he had written a book purely devoted to Muay Thai, but I wasn’t disappointed with the rest of the book. I also read The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game
by the same author and that contains plenty of interesting information.
Fighting Strategies of Muay Thai: Secrets of Thailand’s Boxing Camps
Fighting Strategies Of Muay Thai: Secrets of Thailand’s Boxing Camps
by Mark Van Schuyver and Pedro Solana Villalobos was the first book that I bought. I have the kindle version. I did learn a great deal from this manual even though much of the material is aimed at the more advanced student. The authors provided plenty of information about what to expect when you begin training Muay Thai. The thing that I found most useful was the chapters on fight strategy and the type of fighters that I would be likely to be up against. I still have not managed to get anywhere near ready to enter a fight, but these chapters helped me understand what is involved in sparring.
Muay Thai Sport
I bought the Thai and English version of Muay Thai Sport
by Somboon Tapina. It contains plenty of solid information about Muay Thai technique along with other useful information. It comes with clear photographs demonstrating how each technique should be performed – although as I said above it is probably not a good idea to depend too completely on any book for learning these moves.
The Fighter’s Body: An Owner’s Manual: Your Guide to Diet, Nutrition, Exercise and Excellence in the Martial Arts
The Fighter’s Body: An Owner’s Manual: Your Guide to Diet, Nutrition, Exercise and Excellence in the Martial Arts
by Loren W. Christensen and Wim Demeere is not aimed specifically at Muay Thai Fighters, but it has a great deal of useful information. One of the main problems I had with my attempt to train for a fight was getting my weight down. The owner of Sitsongpeenong advised that I see a nutrition expert here in Bangkok, and that helped a great deal. I also gained a deeper level of understanding by reading this book.
Muay Thai Fighter
I know that I’m being a bit cheeky here by including my own book Muay Thai Fighter
in this best books list but it is my blog. This is a humorous account of what happens when a middle aged coward tried to take on Muay Thai in Thailand. If you find Mr Bean amusing then you might like this as well.
This is nowhere near a comprehensive list, but that’s the limits of my reading journey so far in this martial art. If you guys have any more suggestions for good Muay Thai books send me a review, and I will add it on here.
I originally posted this on my Middle Aged Muay Thai site
