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I'm a beginner to Muay Thai who was previously doing boxing (no kicks). I love it except one thing. I am having a terrible time learning to hold Thai pads. I get a sharp jarring pain in my wrists with every kick (even light ones) and sometimes even with a strong hook.

Now, I can hold focus mitts no problem, including for pretty powerful hitters. But somehow the Thai pads feel laterally unstable on impact in a way that focus mitts don't. The first few times I held Thai pads, I toughed it out thinking I'd learn, but I haven't, and my wrists are starting to get chronically sore in a "Danger! Injury ahead!" kind of way.

I do wrap my hands, and I know to rebound the kicking impact downward. My instructor says my form looks OK. What else might I be doing wrong? Is this a common beginner problem?

Edit: More Info

I hold the pads parallel to each other, almost touching, with a thumbless grip. My elbows are against my obliques. My knees are slightly bent. The pads are a little above horizontal to the ground. The kicks are roundhouses, and the pads and positioning are much like in this video.

For hooks (also sometimes a problem), I hold the pad parallel to the ground with my elbow away from my body.

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  • Welcome to the site. This is a nice question indeed.
    – Sardathrion - against SE abuse
    Oct 3, 2014 at 8:53
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    Can you tell us which specific pads you use? What type of kick? Also, a photo of your hands while holding the pad might help.
    – Sardathrion - against SE abuse
    Oct 3, 2014 at 12:31
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    Yeah, a photo is the only way to go here. I suspect you're taking a lot of force into your wrists instead of allowing it to go down your arms and into your body. Sometimes there is no way to get your body behind it, depending on what you're trying to do, and so it ends up feeling like a speed focus pad, kind of dangled out there freely, and that's where it might torque your wrist. Aside from that, I'd say experiment with keeping your wrist relaxed vs. keeping it tight.
    – Steve Weigand
    Oct 3, 2014 at 18:15
  • Thanks all. I've added more info above. I'll make sure to get a photo next time I train, but for now I'm taking a few weeks' break to let my wrists recover.
    – half-pass
    Oct 6, 2014 at 3:25

1 Answer 1

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Here is a Video about holding Thai Pads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53FIPt6z9CQ

Maybe you can find something useful there.

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    It would be a little bit more helpful if you could summarize some of the advice from the video just in case the video gets taken down.
    – Macaco Branco
    Oct 7, 2014 at 17:39

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