Muay Thai Explained: History, Rules, Techniques & Benefits for Beginners

 

Muay Thai, often referred to as Thai boxing, is a traditional martial art that originated from Thailand. It encompasses a blend of striking, grappling, and sweeps, earning its nickname the art of eight limbs, where the practitioners use their fists, elbows, knees, and shins.

Renowned for its versatility and effectiveness, Muay Thai has gained popularity worldwide and is favored amongst many high-profile fighters today. Unfortunately, the history of Muay Thai isn't that well-documented, but several historians believe that early forms of Muay Thai, Muay Lao, and Pradao Saray all trace their roots to the lineage and have linked a heavy influence from the Khmer Empire, which ruled over parts of present-day Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia from the 9th to the 15th century. During this time, cultural exchanges and martial art techniques likely flowed between the Khmer Empire and neighboring regions, contributing to the Muay Thai that we know today.

So when it comes to the rules of Muay Thai, fighters use their fists, their elbows, their knees, and their shins in stand-up combat. The rules typically prohibit groin strikes, headbutts, strikes to the back of the head, or the back of the spine, and fighters also can't strike their opponents when they're on the ground. Depending on the event, Muay Thai matches typically consist of several rounds, most of which are around three minutes or so, with a one-minute break in between.

Fighters typically aim to win by either knockout, technical knockout, referee stoppage, or decision. So Muay Thai fights are typically held inside of a four-sided ring, with Muay Thai fighters wearing boxing gloves and also Muay Thai shorts. Now Muay Thai boxing gloves typically differ that they have more padding to help cushion kicks and other strikes, and also they're more malleable to help with the clinches.

Now when it comes to the Muay Thai shorts, typically it's going to be a shorter cut compared to boxer shorts or your traditional athletic shorts, just to help accommodate for kicking and also knees. So when it comes to the techniques that you'll find in Muay Thai, a lot of them are going to be very similar to other stand-up striking arts. For example, when it comes to the punches that a Muay Thai fighter uses, you'll probably see a lot of the same punches that you'll see a boxer use.

So we're talking about your jabs, your hooks, your crosses, and uppercuts. When it comes to kicks that Muay Thai fighters use, a lot of them are similar to the kicks that a lot of stand-up kickboxing artists use. The most common kicks you'll see would be your leg kicks, your roundhouses to the body and the head, and the push kick.

So when it comes to knees, some of the more common knees you'll see would be the straight knee, the round knee, and of course the knees inside of the clinch. And when it comes to elbows, the most common elbows you'll see will be the horizontal elbow, the up elbow, and of course the spinning back elbow. And a whole other aspect of Muay Thai is the clinching.

So when it comes to clinching, there's several uses for clinching, but to really dumb things down, essentially it can be used offensively to set up inside strikes such as your elbows or your knees, or maybe even defensively to neutralize your opponent's offense and really stop them in their tracks. So unlike some other grappling arts, you can't actually throw your opponent, although you can sweep and trip your opponents. So fighters in Thailand typically start pretty young, we're talking about six, seven, eight years old, and you know many do unfortunately come from poor backgrounds and really do it as a way to support their family rather than for recreational purposes.

Fighters in Thailand do compete pretty often. When you're younger, you can expect to compete likely around two, three, maybe even four times a month. Once you get older and you make your way to higher level shows, that number does go down to about one to two shows a month.

And the purpose for younger fighters to fight so often is to get experience and also build up a reputation to eventually make their way into the higher profile shows. So typically the lower level shows are going to be held at temples and festivals. The bigger shows are typically going to be in the bigger cities.

Now when it comes to the biggest shows in Muay Thai, most of them are going to be held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, specifically the Lumpini Stadium and Rajadharan Stadium. And also another thing to note is that in Thailand, it's unlikely you'll find independent fighters who represent themselves. It's more than likely that they're going to be attached to a gym.

And because of that, oftentimes fighters from Thailand will adopt the gym's name as their last name. So for example, Stan Fairtex, Tawan Chai, PK San Chai, and Yoten FA Group. In the past, fighters would typically retire in their 20s, pivoting into more of a coaching role, helping the next generation of fighters.

But now with the international growth of Muay Thai, we're seeing more and more fighters fight well into their 30s, some even into their 40s. So if we talk about some of the biggest names in Muay Thai, we should probably make a video just dedicated to that list alone. But just to call out a couple of names here.

So when we talk about pre-golden era, some of the big names would be Apaday, Phutphanoi, and Wichanoi. Now when we get into the mid-80s to mid-90s, that's what many people consider the golden era of Muay Thai, when Muay Thai saw its peak of popularity, aside from where it is today. And we're talking about big time legends such as Samat, Dizonoi, and Sagat.

If we talk about the modern era, again, we can probably make a whole video just dedicated to that. But two of the most notable names in the modern era would have to be San Chai and Buakaw. Now when it comes to the biggest names, that list isn't only exclusive to Thai fighters alone.

Many non-Thai fighters have made a big name for themselves too within the world of Muay Thai. Some with just as many accomplishments as their Thai counterparts, such as Ramon Deckers. So some of the staples of Muay Thai training would include running, jump rope, bag work, pad work, clinching, and sparring.

And in most Muay Thai camps in Thailand, they usually train twice a day, once in the morning and once again in the afternoon. And because of the frequency of a Muay Thai fighter's schedule, they typically spar more on the controlled side with a heavier focus on technique and timing, and also to avoid potentially getting injured before the next fight. So here are some of the most common terms in Thai that you'll hear in the world of Muay Thai.

So a Nak Muay is someone who practices Muay Thai. And a Nak Su is someone who competes in Muay Thai. So as long as you train Muay Thai, you are a Nak Muay.

A Muay Ying is a female who practices Muay Thai. Kru is a instructor or a teacher. And in some schools, there may be some instructors that are called a Jorn.

And if that's the case, that is likely because they are one of the more senior teachers compared to some of the Krus of that school. Now a Wai Kru Ram Muay is a ritual that a fighter performs before their fight. The Wai Kru portion is when a fighter pays respect to their teacher.

And a Ram Muay is a traditional dance that comes after the Wai Kru. A Mongkol is a traditional headdress that a fighter wears as they make their way to the ring. So typically when a Muay Thai fighter comes out, they'll be wearing the Mongkol.

Once they get to the ring, the corner will usually push down the top rope, and the fighter will go over that top rope. From then on, they usually walk around the ring, sealing all four sides of the ring. And at that point, if the event permits it, they'll usually perform the Wai Kru and Ram Muay.

So another term you may hear is Sabai Sabai. Really the best way to define what Sabai Sabai means is to relax, no worries, easy. And the last term I'll share with you is Teep.

That basically means push kick. I think in terms of all the striking terminology, Teep is probably the one you're going to hear the most. Whereas some of the other ones, you'll probably hear jab or punch, knee and kick.

Teep is probably the one term I hear the most that's used interchangeably with push kick. So now that you know a little bit more about Muay Thai, what are the benefits of Muay Thai? And if you don't do it already, why should you do it? Well, the first thing on the list is going to be the health benefits. Not only can it help you physically, but it also helps you mentally as well.

And you would be surprised at how well it helps you in terms of your self-esteem and confidence. And the great thing about Muay Thai too is that anyone can learn it. I would say out of everyone I've met within my 12 years of training around the world, I would say, gosh, maybe only 10% of the people I've ever met actually compete.

So what that says is that you could go into training Muay Thai without any inkling of ever having to compete. And it doesn't matter how old you are or what kind of shape you're in. I started when I was 28 years old and I was a pack a day smoker, heavily, heavily overweight, was not active at all.

And I've met several others that started very much in that same kind of condition. I've had people start in their forties and fifties. I've had people start that have lost over a hundred something pounds.

So it doesn't matter where you lie on the spectrum in terms of age, conditioning, and all of that. Again, I think Muay Thai is very much open to everybody and anybody that wants to try it. And I think the last benefit I want to share with you guys is my personal favorite, and that's got to be the community within Muay Thai.

I think regardless of wherever you end up training, or if you go visiting somewhere and you meet other people that do Muay Thai, chances are there's only one to two levels of separation from the people that you know already within the community. And the community, in my experience, has always been very welcoming and very warm. And it's given me a lot of opportunities in my life, a lot of ways that I didn't expect.

I've met a lot of really great people just from doing this whole Muay Thai thing. So if you're looking for different reasons to start, hopefully some of the ones I shared with you will help nudge you in that direction. So Muay Thai today is more accessible than ever.

There's gyms opening up just about everywhere in the world. If you're thinking about training in Thailand, now more than ever the gyms in Thailand are very very much foreigner friendly, whether you're a beginner or you're somebody who's well into their professional career. And Muay Thai is not just growing around the world, it's growing digitally as well."