Why Muay Thai in America Needs Structure, Ranking, and Clear Progression

Based on Episode 55 of the Black Belt Business Podcast

One of the biggest sticking points in Muay Thai in America is ranking.

We hear it all the time:
“Muay Thai doesn’t have belts."

“This is how it’s always been done in Thailand.”

“Ranking systems turn schools into McDojos.”

The reality is simple: Muay Thai in Thailand and Muay Thai in the United States operate under completely different business models. In Thailand, fighters are the business.

Gyms survive based on the success of the athletes they produce as well as tourism. Ranking happens through competition. You fight, you win, and your status rises.

In the U.S., that model does not exist. Ninety-nine percent of your students will never fight. They’re not trying to build a record.

They’re trying to learn a skill, build confidence, stay healthy, and be part of something meaningful. If you don’t give those students a way to progress, they eventually leave.

That’s the problem ranking solves.

At Easton, ranking is not about claiming Muay Thai needs belts like Jiu Jitsu. It’s about creating clarity. It’s about helping students understand where they are, what they’re working toward, and what comes next.

Without that structure, classes become chaotic, instructors guess who belongs where, and students have no tangible sense of growth.

Sean explains that ranking didn’t start on the Muay Thai side at Easton. It started in Jiu Jitsu, where belts and stripes made class structure easier, partner pairing safer, and retention stronger.

When Easton began expanding Muay Thai, the muay Thai program borrowed ideas from Jiu Jitsu, tested them, and then adapted them to fit a completely different sport. S

ome things worked immediately. Some didn’t. Over time, the system evolved.

That evolution is important. Sean makes it clear that there is no blueprint for Muay Thai ranking. Unlike Jiu Jitsu, there’s no international standard to copy.

That scares a lot of school owners, and it scared Easton early on too. But instead of freezing, we iterated. We treated the ranking system as a living structure, something that could change as the program matured.

What emerged was a clear ascension model that aligned directly with class structure.

Students don’t walk in and get ranked on day one. They earn their way in through consistency.

Early ranks are designed to recognize effort, commitment, and foundational understanding. Not mastery.

Mastery comes later.

This is where many instructors get it wrong. They assume every rank must carry the same weight as a black belt. 

Instead, early ranks exist to keep people training long enough to actually get good. Recognizing progress early isn’t “soft.” It’s how humans learn.

We celebrate children when they take their first steps, not when they run a marathon. Martial arts should be no different.

As students move through the system, the milestones become more meaningful and more demanding.

White and yellow shirts represent the fundamentals stage.

Orange and green mark the transition into intermediate training and sparring.

Green opens the door to in-house scrimmages, allowing students to test their skills in a controlled environment before ever stepping into real competition.

Blue marks the entry into advanced classes, and from there, the time between ranks stretches into years.

This structure does something critical: it aligns student ability, class expectations, and instructor decision-making.

When everyone is wearing a rank that reflects their experience, pairing partners becomes safer. Teaching becomes easier. Classes stop feeling like a free-for-all.

Instructors can walk into a room, see who’s there, and immediately adjust the class to meet the needs of the majority without leaving beginners behind or boring advanced students.

Most importantly, the system keeps people training.

Sean points out that students asking about promotion isn’t a problem. It’s a sign of engagement.

When someone cares enough to ask what’s next, they’re invested. That’s a moment to guide them, not shut them down.

Over time, those students become tougher, more skilled, and more resilient precisely because they stayed long enough for the hard work to matter.

The takeaway from Episode 55 is clear: ranking isn’t about ego, money grabs, or watering down Muay Thai.

It’s about building a program that works in the real world. One that respects the art, serves students, and allows a school to grow without sacrificing quality.

Tradition matters. But so does innovation. And if your goal is to help people train for years instead of months, structure isn’t optional. It’s the foundation.