Muay Thai or also known as Thai boxing is a full contact martial art, which is termed “The Science of Eight Limbs”. This is because the hands, shins, elbows and knees are all used extensively in this art. So a master practitioner of Muay Thai thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight points of contact as opposed to four points in other martial arts or two points in western boxing. This effectively gives the practitioner to debilitate opponents with any combination of the science of eight limbs.
Muay Thai is a straightforward but brutal art practiced in many countries all over the world and is the national sport of Thailand. It uses gloves similar to the ones used in western traditional boxing and is fought in a ring. When I had first started Muay Thai it seemed similar and looked similar at first to traditional western boxing but after my first lesson my view on the art was completely changed forever. I don’t think it could be more different from traditional boxing as the style and feel of it is nowhere near the same. Muay Thai is such an interesting art to learn because there is so much to learn. Muay Thai now has watered down forms of it as a beneficial sport. These are typically called kickboxing. So this is where Muay Thai is a completely unique and devastating martial art.
Muay Thai does although demand a lot of physical fitness. There are a couple of disciplines and conditionings involved with Muay Thai. Some of these include: shadow boxing, running, rope jumping, bag training, sparring, weight resistance exercises, medicine ball exercises, abdominal exercises and in some cases weight training just to name a few. Some of these exercises include full contact conditioning using a Thai pad, focus mitts or heavy bag. These can be physically demanding as the training includes long rounds of hitting pads. This can be from the using the focus mitts to spruce up your jab cross hook or using the Thai pads to master your roundhouse kick.
The fact is there’s so much to learn in Muay Thai and at the same time is very enjoyable leaving you wanting more. Which means a good idea would be to find somewhere to train on a daily basis. It doesn’t have to be supremely decent place just somewhere that you can hit a bag around practice your techniques and combos a bit, maybe gain some power or speed in your punch or just to keep you in shape. It’s all up to you to decide what you want to get out of Muay Thai.
Starting in the 1990’s Muay Thai became very popular in mixed martial art fights such as those held by K-1 and ultimate fighting championship. The Thai military today uses a form of Muay Thai called Lerdrit. Muay Thai began as Krabi Krabong, the Siamese weapon based style. Then when disarmed it went on to resort to unarmed fighting techniques which were centred around kicks and judo like throws. It then naturally evolved over time to become Muay Boran, the ancient version of Muay Thai. The basis of battlefield warfare advanced hand-to-hand combat was no longer need and so Muay Boran divided Muay Thasao (North), Muay Thai Korat (Esarn or Northeast), Muay Thai Lobburee (Centre region) and Muay Thai Chaiya (South). Each style emphasized something different. Muay Korat emphasized strength, there was one technique called “throwing buffalo punch” because it supposedly could kill a buffalo with one punch. Muay Lobburee emphasized clever movements strong points being the straight and turned punch. Muay Chaiya emphasized posture and defence making it difficult for an opponent to attack, it stresses elbows and knees. Then came Muay Thai a sporting martial art kept alive in Thailand as a competitive sport but not only that for some people for others it is a way of life.
