Traditionally Muay Thai has never had belts.  The only belts to be given out are during championship bouts between the best fighters in the world.  While many of our students at CPAMMA strive to be champions some day, most of our students simply train to better themselves as individuals and to some day hope to compete.

Arm bands started as a way of giving a fighter good luck in the ring, often made from the fighter’s mother’s sarong or a family member’s clothing.  Our Arm Band (or Prajead/Prajioud) progression is one of the many ways students can mark his or her progress at CPAMMA and is our way of helping give our students the mental endurance to continue going and progress to the next level in their training.

TBA Ajarn’s Bryan Popejoy and Sangtiennoi tie on a Student’s Arm Band.

While it is not mandatory, our Arm Band progression does give each student an idea of where they stand in the ranking of knowledge and competence of the material needed to be a successful practitioner of Muay Thai.  To receive each arm band, the student must be able to perform the techniques consistently with good form.  The ranking structure material is as follows:

Student Levels (4-8 Months per Level):

Yellow:

Stance – Boxing, Kick Stance

Footwork – Step & Slide, Shuffle Step, Circle

Punches – Jab, Cross, Hook, Upper Cut

Kicks – Foot Jab, Round Kick, Switch Kick

Blocks – Parry, Elbow Deflection, High Shield, Body Shield

Combos – JC, CHC, JCHC, Hook Combos, Parry/ED, High/Body Shield

5 for 5 Varations (5f5-1f1, 5,4,3,2,1, alternate numbers between people)

Orange:

Footwork – Drop Step, Half Step, Cross Step

Punches – Shovel Hook, Over Hand

Elbows – Snap, Downward Diagonal, Upward Diagonal

Knees –  Skip Knees 1 & 2, Curved/Circle

Kicks – HII, Cut Kick, “Step Into It” Kick & FJ, Teep

Blocks – B&W, Slip, Shin Up Block,

Combos – B&W & Slip Combos All of combos w/ SH & OHs

4 Counts – RK,H,C,SWK, | SWK,C,H,RK, | RK, H, C, RK | SWK, C, H, SWK

Green (Sparring Allowed):

Footwork – Wedge, Split Wedge, Reverse Spli Wedge, Push Step

Punches – Flying Hook, Pulling Hook, Super Man, Inverted Hook

Kicks – Pendulum FJ, JII Kick, Diamond Step, JII Diamond Step

Elbows – Spinning, Straight Down, Inside/Outside

Blocks – Front Shield, Elbow Block

Combos – All Combos w/ Elbows, Four Counts w/ Kick Variations

Blue: Clinch Material | Purple: Free Sparring

Instructor Levels (6-18 Months per Level):

**Thai Shorts Are Worn**

Red – Level I Assistant Instructor | Brown – Level II Assistant Instructor

Black (5-10 years per level after III)

Level III (Kru)
Level IV-V (Khun Khru)
Level VI (Ajarn)
Level VII (Sattrachan)- Reserved for Surachai Sirisute

**This is a rough outline, material is subject to change by the month.**
**Timeline under the assumption of 2+ classes consistently /week.**