by Don Heatrick
@donheatrick

In the long overdue 2nd episode of the podcast….

Former two-times World champion and owner of K-Star Legacy Gym UK, Damien Trainor generously shares his hard-earned Muay Thai knowledge – from both competing at the highest level in the early 90’s and onwards, and as a world renowned coach in the present day.

We cover a lot in our chat together. Get a pen and paper at the ready, and be prepared to make some notes!

You can learn more about, and more from Damien at his gym website here…

And his instructional videos on the Warrior Collective Marketplace here…

Join the most informed Muay Thai performance community out there!

Subscribe Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/donheatrick

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-science-of-building-champions/id1493554765

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5OEb22M1K9G4e3eDp8IcQD?si=7WAY7G-hSsqj-5rrFHpaJA

Each episode revolves around my Four Big Questions…

1. What’s Your Story?
2. What’s Your Why?
3. What Makes A Champion?
4. Challenges And Lessons Learned?

Digging into the answers to these questions helps uncover and share both the commonalities, and the differences in the journey to become a champion. And can help inspire and fast-track your journey too.

Timestamped Links To Key Points of Interest…

• How Damien got started in Muay Thai
• A fight career begins
• Chasing titles, then moving beyond them
• Coaching others – learning how to teach
• Seeing Muay Thai beyond the surface level
• UK Muay Thai fight scene in the 90’s – Dutch style influences
• Understanding fight habits
• Working with fighters of different experience levels
• Nearly three decades of UK Muay Thai evolution
• For one night only… Coming out of retirement
• Discipline – every champion’s key trait
• Motivation – doing it for your own purposes
• Knowing your fighters, and fighters knowing themselves
• On self-reflection when training in Thailand
• Styles make fights – Understanding what you’re looking at
• Using punchbags to level up
• Longer combinations – using volume, and serial sequences
• Effectively relaying information to fighters between rounds
• Working with the person that’s in front of you – understanding a fighter’s personality
• Persevering with a broken hand, and learning to use goals
• You don’t have to go hard all the time
• Using supplemental strength & conditioning training well
• Misunderstanding the importance of rest
• Productive training as you get older
• Coaching, and remaining capable of effective visual technical demonstrations
• Lost Muay Thai role models, and lessons in keeping your own historical personal record
• Getting the right amount of time between fights
• Reviewing opponent’s fight footage effectively
• Adaptability – the best attribute a champion can have
• You can’t make everybody the same – fight your own individual way
• Your physical attributes affect a how you can fight

Further Resources

• Do This Every Session To Get Better at Muay Thai Quicker
• Muay Thai Mindset – Who Are You Competing Against?
• Muay Thai Fighting Styles and Becoming a Complete Fighter
• A Few Good Words – Effective Coaching & Cornering
• Recovery – The Secret to Rapid Performance Improvement
• Strength & Conditioning for Muay Thai 101 – A Science-Based Approach to Accelerated Athletic Development
• Are you fighting TOO often?
• Breaking Limits In Muay Thai

FREE VIDEO COURSE | THE SCIENCE OF BUILDING CHAMPIONS

The science of building a Muay Thai champion’s strength & conditioning, which results in…

• Fastest possible short-term progress

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• More efficient movement patterns

• Better technique

• Relentless endurance (never gas out)

• Reaching athletic potential as quickly and efficiently as possible (without wasting time on things that aren’t worth doing)

• Free up more time for technical training AND life!

• The Optimum 12-Week Fight Camp