Muay Thai

[Braveheart]

Muay Thai (IPA: [/muai32 tʰai32/]; Thai: มวยไทย) ("Thai Boxing") is the Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Cambodia (where it is known as Pradal Serey), Malaysia (where it is known as Tomoi) and as a similar style in Myanmar (called Lethwei). The different styles of fighting in mainland South East Asia are analogous to the different types of Kung Fu in China or Silat in the South East Asian islands or Malay World. It is the national sport of Thailand, and is also known as Thai Boxing or Art of the Eight Limbs.

 

Muay Thai has a long history in Thailand. Today, the Thai military uses a modified form of Muay Thai called Lerdrit. Traditional Muay Thai, as it is practiced today, varies slightly from the original art and uses kicks and punches in a ring with gloves similar to those used in Western boxing. Muay Thai is referred to as "The Science of Eight Limbs", as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art. A master practitioner of Muay Thai thus has the ability to execute strikes using eight "points of contact," as opposed to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (fists, feet) used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts. Muay Thai is an especially versatile, brutal, straightforward martial art.

 

Terminology

• Nak Muay - A Muay Thai fighter
  
• Nak Su - Thai word for Muay Thai warrior (in Muay Thai term)
  
• Kru - Instructor or trainer
  
• Ajarn - Master or instructor (more advanced than kru)
  
• Wai Kru (also transliterated as Whai Kru) - A ritual before a competition. The fighter performs three bows, on the third one the fighter concentrates, thinking about someone who is very dear to them. This ritual is meant to show respect toward family, gym and teacher.
  
• Ram Muay - The Ram Muay is the pre-fight ritual conducted after the Wai Kru. It is a dance that the fighter performs to traditional music. In ancient times, the Ram Muay was used as a warm-up before a fight, but it is now performed prior to the beginning of a Muay Thai Match.
  
• Pra Jiad - A type of armband worn by Muay Thai fighters. The Pra Jiad gives good luck and confidence to the athletes. Some Muay Thai fighters prefer to wear one Pra Jiad, while others wear two. In some Western Muay Thai Gyms colored Pra Jiad are used to show rank, much like the colored belt system used in Karate, Taekwondo, etc., although other methods of showing rank are used, as well.
  
• Mong Kon - Headgear worn by Muay Thai fighters to signify those athletes whom their teachers feel have learned many of the skills and techniques of Muay Thai. They are presented at ceremonies honoring the fighters and are to be worn only in the ring during fights. However, they must never fall on, be close to or held near the ground as doing so will cause the Mong Kon to lose its magic. The student is never allowed to touch or handle the Mong Kon. Only his Kru or Ajarn may handle it. The trainer will take care of the headgear, will present the band to the fighter just before a competition and will recover it from him at the conclusion of the match. In the past, one could tell the school from which a fighter originated based on the color and style of his Mong Kon.
  
• Krang Ruang - A Pra Jiad that has special meaning to the person wearing it. It could be anything from a piece of their father's hair to a swath from their mother's sarang.
  
• Puang Malai - Floral wreaths that are given to a fighter before a fight by friends or fans. They look somewhat like the Hawaiian Lei.
  

Pre-Fight Rituals

 

Even before entering the ring many fighters perform rituals. Some may kneel before the ring, others might pray with their coach or by themselves or perform a series of repetitive movements, such as touching the ring ropes 3 times. Thai boxers always climb over the top rope when entering the ring, because in Thai culture the head is considered to be more important than the feet, which are thought to be dirty. It is therefore important to always have the head above the feet while entering the ring. Once in the ring, a fighter might go to the center and bow to each side.

 

Now begins the Wai Kru ritual or (Wai khru ram muay). The Wai Kru usually starts with the fighter walking around the ring, counter-clockwise. This could be described as "sealing the ring", showing that the match is between only these two combatants. The ritual is both practical and spiritual. In a practical sense, it prepares the body for combat. During the Wai Kru there are many different movements and steps that a fighter might perform before the match, along with stretches. Some motions imitate, for example, a swallow, a hunter, a soldier or an executioner. Some fighters use this ritual to attempt to scare their opponents, commonly by stomping around them. But in a deeper sense, the fighter is expressing religious devotion, humility and gratitude. Transcending both physical and temporal limitations, he opens himself to the divine presence and allows it to infuse his heart and soul. In ancient times, the ritual was intended to show devotion to the King and the fighter's mentor. Today, that devotion is given to the organizer of the match and the fighter's trainer. The ritual also gives the fighter some time alone before the fight to collect his thoughts and concentrate on the task ahead.

 

After this dance, the fighter walks over to his coach who removes the Mongkon and the Pong Malai. The match begins after a review of the rules by the judge and a glove shake.

 

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. 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 western style boxing, and the Thai style of exchanging blow for blow is no longer favorable. Note: when Muay Thai fighters compete against fighters of other styles (and if the rules permit it), they almost invariably emphasize elbow (sok) and knee (kao) techniques to gain a distinct advantage in fighting. 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.

 

The Clinch

 

The clinch is applied by holding the opponent either around the neck and head or around the body, although clinching around the body is rare and is usually avoided. The neck hold is usually called the Thai clinch. Clinching is extensively used in Muay Thai and sometimes the clinching goes on for a whole round, although it is very rare. In Western Boxing, the two fighters are separated when they clinch, in Muay Thai however, they are not separated. It is often in the clinch where knee techniques are used. The clinch should be performed with the palm of one hand on the back of the other and not as shown in the picture. There are two reasons why the fingers mustn't be inter-twined. The first: in the ring you are wearing boxing gloves and wouldn't be able to inter-twine your fingers. The Second is that the thai clinch involves your forearms pressing together, almost like you were trying to cut off your opponents head, or press your elbows together. This is to get control of the opponents head/neck so you can move him around. If you intertwin your fingers it will be much harder(impossible unless you have superman like strength) to apply the amount of pressure on the neck needed to gain control.

 

A correct clinch also involves your forearms pressing against the other fighters collar bone while your hands are around the opponents head rather than his neck.

 

Defense Against Punches and Kicks

 

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. Blocking is a critical element in Muay Thai and compounds the level of conditioning a successful practitioner must possess. Low and mid body roundhouse kicks are normally blocked with the upper portion of a raised shin. High body strikes are blocked with the forearm/glove, knee/shin. Mid section roundhouse kicks can also be caught/trapped, allowing for a sweep or counter attack to the remaining leg of the opponent. Punches are blocked with an ordinary boxing guard.

 

Elbow Techniques

 

The elbow can be used in seven ways: horizontal, diagonal-upwards, diagonal-downwards, uppercut, downward, backward-spinning and flying. From the side it can be used as either a finishing move or as a way to cut your opponent's eyebrow so that blood might block his vision. The blood also raises the opponent's awareness of being hurt which could affect his performance. That's the most common way of using the elbow. The diagonal elbows are faster than the other forms, but are less powerful. The uppercut and flying elbows are the most powerful, but are slower and easier to avoid or block. The downward elbow is usually used as a finishing move.

 

There is also a distinct difference between a single elbow and a follow-up elbow. The single elbow is an elbow move independent from any other move, whereas a follow-up elbow is the second strike from the same arm, being a hook first with an elbow follow-up. Such elbows, and most other elbows, are used when the distance between fighters becomes too small and there is too little space to throw a hook at the opponents head.

 

Kicking Techniques

 

The teep (literally "foot jab," similar to a front kick) and the roundhouse kick are the two most common kicks in Muay Thai. The Muay Thai roundhouse kick has been widely adopted by fighters from other martial arts. The roundhouse kick uses a rotational movement of the entire body. Thai boxers are trained to always connect with the shin. While sensitive in an unconditioned practitioner, the shin is the strongest part of the leg. The foot contains many fine bones and is much weaker. A fighter may end up hurting himself if he tries to attack with his foot.

 

Muay Thai also includes other varieties of kicking, such as the crescent kick, side kick or spinning back kick. But these are rarely used compared to the teep and the roundhouse kick.

 

Some knee techniques ("kao")

• Kao Dode (Jumping knee strike) - the Thai boxer jumps up on one leg and strikes with that leg's knee.
  
• 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.
  
• 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.[citation needed] 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.
  
• 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.
  

Conditioning

 

Like most competitive full contact fighting sports, Muay Thai has a heavy focus on body conditioning. Muay Thai is specifically designed to promote the 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

[operator33]

...good gym in pattaya.....which one ???

[noodles]

...good gym in pattaya.....which one ???

 

I have heard Fairtex are the best in Thailand.

They are located on Pattaya Nua (Pattaya Central Rd) on the right side near 3rd road if you are coming from Sukhumvit Rd end.

 

http://www.fairtexpattaya.com/muaythai/fai...ya-stadium.html

 

In 1975 Mr. Wong opened Fairtex Muay Thai Fitness Camp in Bangplee just out side of Bangkok- www.muaythaifairtex.com . The small facility became home to a stable of professional fighters that quickly established Fairtex as a camp to be dealt with. Producing more than 30 world champions in over 26 years and today Fairtex fighters have won the first three world championship belts from WBC Muay Thai- www.WBCmuaythai.com . The WBC has recognized Mr. Wong and is officially using Fairtex equipment and gyms.

[ROIDFREAK]

I have heard Fairtex are the best in Thailand.

They are located on Pattaya Nua (Pattaya Central Rd) on the right side near 3rd road if you are coming from Sukhumvit Rd end.

 

http://www.fairtexpattaya.com/muaythai/fai...ya-stadium.html

LOL..then u heard wrong..Fairtex are one of the most well known and commercial Gyms in Thailand but as for the best, far from it..Howmany guys do u see in Lumpinee(which are undisputedly the best in Thailand) fighting representing Fairtex? not too many..

[noodles]

LOL..then u heard wrong..Fairtex are one of the most well known and commercial gyms in Thailand but as for the best, far from it..Howmany guys do u see in Lumpinee(which are undisputedly the best in Thailand) fighting representing Fairtex? not too many..

 

LOL, thanks for your input

 

Ok, so who would you consider to be the best in Pattaya for those guys that want to get involved in Muay Thai.... it might benefit the board if you could contribute some names in this thread.

Edited December 19, 2008 by noodles

[Smee again]

Tony's Muay Thai academy & Tony's gym at the same location on third road, opposite Soi Chayapoon.

See web for details. 'tony's pattaya'

[bigjimslay]

Tony's Muay Thai academy & Tony's gym at the same location on third road, opposite Soi Chayapoon.

See web for details. 'tony's pattaya'

 

 

COME TO TONY's!!!!

 

 

[lincslad]

LOL..then u heard wrong..Fairtex are one of the most well known and commercial gyms in Thailand but as for the best, far from it..Howmany guys do u see in Lumpinee(which are undisputedly the best in Thailand) fighting representing Fairtex? not too many..

 

 

 

 

.

Edited December 19, 2008 by lincslad

[Chadrick]

cool post awesome info

[takaianaa]

hmmm guess I should have used the search function earlier

 

 

nice infos in here - ty to the providers

 

 

 

to give my post a sense:

 

in my thread the one seemed to be most promising was sityodtong

 

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-article...acy-340721.html

Edited March 18, 2009 by takaianaa

[anaconda19]

some of the Muay Thai videos on youtube are kick ass. really wanna see some live when i finaly get to visit thailand!

[mikey1313]

I trained at the world Muay Thai council on the island of koh samui for 6 months. i won my pro fight at cheweng stadium. in a few weeks i will be going to pattaya to train at the Kombat Village

[camy9000]

Kaew Fairtex number 1 in superfeather weight in lumpinne rankings (Saenchai Sor Kingsta champion)

Yodsaenklai Fairtex is also a beast and won the contender asia

fairtex has produced some excellent fighters many of whom are in the top 10 current rankings of lumpinee

[makntracks]

great post heaps of good info

[mikey1313]

i'm looking for advice on the KOMBAT VILLAGe any tips

[mikey1313]

is anyone interested in training!!!!

[camy9000]

Yeah that is true for the Farang fighters

when i was their the fat twat Jack Osborne was filming some Tv show and had a obviously fixed fight in Pattaya

But i still repect their Thai fighters

[humnoy]

sityodtong is great gym if your looking to fight in thailand or even just to get in shape you can hire your very own pad holder in the mornings for a few hundred bart .

its a great way to sweat out the beer from the night before.

freindly staff got me chep bike chep hotel great.

if you wont to fight and train its best not to do it with so manny destractions so close.

ok it mite be just me but the bars and girls take you away from the fight.

the first time i went to pattaya i didnt know about the bar life i loved it more than training(converted i traded my gloves for a bar stoll never looked back)

[hamma09]

I trained at fairtex pattaya for 10 days a couple weeks ago and it was really awesome the trainers and other fighters are really friendly and helpful. Only problem is its quite expensive compared to other Gyms in thailand. You train at the same time as the fairtex champions, so i got to train next to yodsaenklai, naruepon and other great fighters.

[Boneysun]

Muay Thai is the most beautiful and efficient martial art in the world. Do you know the real differences between Muay Thai and Muay Boran if there are any.

[ROIDFREAK]

Muay Thai is the most beautiful and efficient martial art in the world. Do you know the real differences between Muay Thai and Muay Boran if there are any.

 

 

Muaythai is the sport form, muay boran is the original form fought with hands wrapped with rope, no gloves. Burma and Thailand have an annual competition on the border between Thai and Burmese fighters-muay boran, all out real fights with no gloves..

[Boneysun]

Oh, I see now, thanks.

Muay boran moves looks much more spectacular which one do you think is the most efficient?

Edited May 3, 2009 by Boneysun

[ROIDFREAK]

Oh, I see now, thanks.

Muay boran moves looks much more spectacular which one do you think is the most efficient?

 

 

They are pretty much the same, in essence.. Efficiency depends on the experience of the practitioner IMHO.. You can buy dvds of the real fights between burma and Thailand..these include the headbutts and kicks in the balls too. I bought a whole set of them a few trips back..Burma always got their asses kicked

[mrice]

I tried some Muay Thai for the first time, on my last trip at Tony's gym on third road. My God it was hard. I think I am in rather good shape, but after 1/2 hour I was done for.

 

I think I will give it more try on my next trip, as it seems to be a overall, a very good workout. It trains you for stamina, speed, strength, flexibility and much more.

[ninjaboy28]

ive been training Muay Thai for about 8yrs, I think its one of the most realistic training systems out there.

most thailand Gyms are open for farang to vist and train at. its one one the best daytime activites in bkk/pattaya.

there is nothing like seeing the fights live at lumpani stadium.