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Muay Thai

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Muay Thai (Thai มวยไทย, IPA /muai32 tʰai32/) ("Thai Boxing") is the Thai name for an indigenous form of martial art practiced in several southeast Asian countries including Cambodia (where it is known as Pradal Serey) and Myanmar where it is generally known as Lethwei.

Ram Muay before an amateur Muay Thai match

It is the National sport of Thailand.

Traditional Muay Thai has a long history in Thailand as a martial art used by the military. The military style of Muay Thai is called Lerdrit, while today's "Sport Muay Thai" slightly varies from the original art and uses kicks and punches in a ring and with gloves similar to those used in boxing. Muay Thai is referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs", as the hands, feet, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. Muay Thai is now a favorite of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters in all countries, with such fighters as Duane "BANG" Ludwig, Yves Edwards and Spencer cooper, among others, using it as their primary combat art

Techniques

The basic offensive techniques in Muay Thai use fists, elbows, shins, feet, and knees to strike the opponent. To bind the opponent for both offensive and defensive purposes, small amounts of stand-up grappling are used: the clinch. The clinch is applied by holding the opponent either around the neck or around the body. In Western Boxing, the two fighters are separated when they clinch. Defensively, the concept of "wall of defense" is used, in which shoulders, arms and legs are used to hinder the attacker from successfully executing his techniques. Block is a critical element in muay Thai and compounds the level of conditioning a successful practitioner must posses. Low and mid body roundhouse kicks are normally blocked with a raised shin. Mid to high body strikes are blocked with the forearm, knee/shin. Roundhouse kicks to the mid section are often blocked/accepted by a slight rotation of the torso so that the attacking shin strikes the back 1/4 of the rib cage. Mid section round house kicks can also be caught/trapped, allowing for a sweep or counter attack to the remaining leg of the opponent. Muay Thai is often a fighting art of attrition, where opponents exchange blows with one another. This is certainly the case with traditional stylists in Thailand, but is a less popular form of fighting in the contemporary world fighting circuit. With the success of Muay Thai in mixed martial arts fighting, it has become the de facto martial art of choice for competitive stand-up fighters. As a result, it has evolved in order and incorporated much more powerful hand striking techniques used in westen style boxing, and the Thai style of exchanging blow for blow is no longer favorable.

Two Muay Thai techniques were adopted by fighters from other martial arts: The Thai low kick and the Thai roundhouse kick. They are actually variations of the same kick, but hit at different heights. The low kick uses a rotational movement of the entire body to hit the opponent's outer thigh or side of knee with the shin. When not properly defended against, this technique often leads to the end of the fight, as the opponent has great difficulty standing after a few powerful low-kicks. The Thai roundhouse kick is also unique and was adapted for its efficiency. The kick is carried out with a straight leg and the entire body rotating from the hip, which is "locked" right before the leg makes contact to the opponent. At close ranges, Thai boxers strike with the shin; at longer ranges, the foot makes contact.

Some knee techniques (Kao)

  1. Kao Dode (Jumping knee strike) - the Thai boxer jumps up on one leg and strikes with that leg's knee.
  2. Kao Loi (Jumping or Flying knee strike) - the Thai boxer jumps up or takes step(s), springs up off one leg and in mid-air switches to the other knee to strike. A quite spectacular sight when it connects.
  3. Kao Tone (Straight knee strike) - the Thai boxer simply thrusts it straight upwards. According to one written source, this technique is somewhat more recent than Kao Dode or Kao Loi. Supposedly, when the Thai boxers fought with rope-bound hands rather than the modern boxing gloves, this particular technique was subject to potentially vicious cutting, slicing and sawing by an alert opponent who would block it or deflect it with the sharp "rope-glove" edges or sometimes by the glass glued onto the "rope-gloves". This explanation also holds true for some of the following knee strikes below as well.
  4. Kao Noi (Small knee strike) - the Thai boxer hits the inside upper thigh (above the knee) of the opponent when clinching. This technique is used to wear down the opponent or to counter the opponent's knee strike or kick.

Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on "core muscles" (such as abdominal muscles and surrounding muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts.

During a competition, the participants perform a lengthy ritual and ceremony before the fight (wai khru ram muay). The ritual is both for religious reasons and as a stretching warm-up.

Conditioning

Muay Thai is specifically designed to promote that level of fitness and toughness required for ring competition. Training regimens include many staples of combat sport conditioning such as running, shadowboxing, rope jumping, body weight resistance exercises, medicine ball exercises, abdominal exercises and in some cases weight training.

Training that is specific to a Muay Thai fighter includes training with coaches on Thai pads, focus mitts, heavy bag, and sparring. The daily training includes many rounds (3-5 minute periods broken up by a short rest, often 1-2 minutes) of these various methods of practice. Thai pad training is a cornerstone of Muay Thai conditioning which involves practicing punches, kicks, knees, and elbow strikes with a trainer wearing thick pads which cover the forearms and hands. These special pads are used to absorb the impact of the fighter’s strikes, and allow the fighter to react to the attacks of the pad holder. The trainer will often also wear a belly pad around the abdominal area so that the fighter can attack with straight kicks to the body at anytime during the round.

Focus mitts are specific to training a fighter’s hand speed, punch combinations, timing, punching power, defense, counter-punching and are also used to practice elbow strikes. Heavy bag training is a conditioning and power exercise that reinforces the techniques practiced on the pads. Sparring is a means to test technique, skills, range, strategy, and timing against a partner. Sparring is often a light to medium contact exercise because competitive fighters on a full schedule are not advised to risk injury by sparring hard. Specific tactics and strategies can be trained with sparring including in close fighting, clenching and kneeing only, cutting off the ring, or using reach and distance to keep an aggressive fighter away.

Muay Thai has demonstrated its effectiveness against other martial arts in a ring setting, many times, in Thailand and internationally.

Due to the rigourous fighting and training regimen (some Thai boxers fight almost every other week) professional Muay Thai fighters have relatively short careers in the ring. Most professional Thai boxers come from the lower economic backgrounds and the fight money (after the other parties gets their cut) is sought as means of support for the fighters and their families. Very few higher economic strata Thais join the professional Muay Thai ranks; they usually practise the sport as amateur Muay Thai boxers.

History

Although Muay Thai is considered by some to be a derivation of a general indigenous martial art style native to southeast Asia, it was the first to be popularized outside of southeast Asia.

Traditionally in the past, Muay Thai was used as entertainment to kings. It is thought by some sources that gloves were made out of wrapped twine, tar, and broken pieces of glass to ensure a bloody event, however it is still a subject of debate.

Nai Khanomtom

A very famous fighter was Nai Khanomtom. Around 1774, he was captured along with other Thai prisoners, either in a skirmish or at the fall of the ancient capital of Siam (Thailand's name at that time) of Ayutthaya. He was brought to Yangon (Rangoon) in Burma, where the Burmese king Mangra was holding a religious festival in honor of Buddha's relics. The festivities included many forms of entertainment. King Mangra was reported to be curious to see how the various fighting styles of Burma and other countries would compare. At one point, he wanted to see how Muay Thai (or Muay Boran) would compare to the Burmese art (either Parma (?) or Lethwei (?)). Nai Khanomtom was selected to fight against the Burmese champion. Nai Khanomtom did a Wai Kru (wai khru ram muay) pre-fight dance which puzzled all of the Burmese. When the fight began, he charged out and using punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, quickly pummelled the Burmese.

The referee was reported to have stated that the Burmese opponent was distracted by the Wai Kru, so the knockout was invalid. The King then asked if Nai Khanomtom would fight nine other Burmese champions to prove himself. He agreed and fought them all, one after the other. The last Burmese was reputed to be a great boxing teacher. Nai Khanomtom defeated them all in a superior fashion. King Mangra was so impressed that he remarked, "Every part of the Thai is blessed with venom. Even with his bare hands, he can fell nine or ten opponents. As his lord master was incompetent, the country was lost to the enemy. If his lord were any good, there was no way the City of Ayutthaya would fall." He offered Nai Khanomtom freedom along with either riches or two beautiful Burmese wives. Nai Khanomtom chose the wives as he said that money was easier to find. He then departed with his wives for Siam (Thailand). Other variations of this story had him also winning the release of his fellow Thais. His feat is celebrated every March 17 as "Boxer's Day" or "National Muay Thai Day" in his honor and that of Muay Thai's.

Kickboxing

Muay Thai along with savate and karate heavily influenced the development of kickboxing, which was later created in Japan, Europe, and North America. Except for Japan, kickboxing usually is a watered down version of Muay Thai in which elbows and knees are not allowed (kicks are even restricted to above the waist in full contact). In the last decade, Muay Thai has enjoyed a boost in popularity worldwide as it has been very effective in popular no-holds-barred events, such as Pride Fighting Championship and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) competitions. It is widely recognized that a combination of a grappling art, such as judo, wrestling, or Brazilian jiu jitsu, with Muay Thai is very effective in such fights.

In Malaysia

There exists a Malaysian derivative of Muay Thai known as tomoi or Muay Malay by the Thais that is practised primarily in northern Malaysia, in the states that share a border with Thailand. The ethnic Malays in southern Thailand also refer to Muay Thai as tomoi.

Media depiction

Recently the films Ong-Bak, Born to Fight, and Tom-Yum-Goong helped to popularize Muay Thai.

The film Kickboxer starring Jean Claude Van Damme was a film set in Thailand and based on the sport of Muay Thai.

The video game characters Sagat and Adon (Street Fighter), Joe Higashi (Fatal Fury), King (Art of Fighting), Zack (Dead Or Alive 3), Bruce Irvin and Bryan Fury (Tekken), and Brad Burns (Virtua Fighter) are Muay Thai fighters.

Vanessa (Virtua Fighter) uses Muai Thai as an alternate stance in addition to her standard Vale Tudo move set. Jax (Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance) also uses a watered-down form of the style.

See also

  • www.IKFKickboxing.com IKF - International Kickboxing Federation. The Largest Sanctioning Body For Kickboxing & Muay Thai in The World. The ONLY Sanctioning Body in the World with updated rankings for all weightclasses and ages www.IKFKickboxing.com

Central Kickboxing OrganizationThis organization is the producer of the only objective rankings in the world. Visit to see a list of over 250 Heavyweight Kickboxers.

References

  • Muay Thai The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting (Text-book of Pahuyuth) , Panya Kraitus and Dr. Pitisuk Kraitus, Third Edition, Special Revised, 1992, Panya Kraitus, Phuket, Thailand. ISBN 9748684199X
  • Thai Boxing Dynamite - The Explosive Art of Muay Thai, Zorban Rebac, 1987, Paladin Press, Boulder, Colorado. ISBN 0873644263
  • Muay Thai - The Essential Guide to Mastering the Art, Kru Tony Moore, 2004, Barnes and Noble Books, New York. ISBN 0760761019
  • Muay Thai: Advanced Kickboxing Techniques, Christop Delp, 2004, North Atlantic, New York. ISBN 1583941010
  • Muay Thai Kickboxing - The Ultimate Guide to Conditioning, Training and Fighting, Chad Boykin, 2002, Paladin Press, Boulder, Colorado. ISBN 1581603207
  • Ultimate Muay Thai, Bob Spour, 2004, Crowood Press (UK). ISBN 1861266715
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