Today’s topic is How Dangerous is Muay Thai? Muay Thai is a martial art that originated in Thailand. It is also one of the most dangerous martial arts to practice.

This blog post will explore how it can be considered one of the most dangerous forms of fighting, what skills are needed to become proficient at Muay Thai, and why it’s so hard for beginners to learn.

Muay Thai Front Kick

Where Did Muay Thai Originate

Muay Thai is a martial art that originated in Thailand. It is said that the martial arts has roots dating back to the Thailand military as far back as the 13th century, during the reign of the Sukhothai Kingdom.

So what does Muay Thai mean? “Muay” translates to mean “boxing” in Thai, so Muay Thai is literally Thai boxing.

Muay Thai is known as the art of 8 limbs and is considered one of the most dangerous martial arts on the face of the planet. Although it’s considered dangerous it has been adjusted to comply with the rules of sport, and can be watched all over the world.

It was established as the national sport of Thailand in 1920 when it became part of the exhibition at King Rama VI’s birthday celebration.

The sport began to grow and take hold in other countries and eventually made its way to North America by the late 1970s where it began to develop into what we know today.

Today, Muay Thai can be practiced anywhere from your local gym or at home through watching online videos and reading ebooks on the topic.

Muay Thai Clinch Defense

Can Muay Thai Be Used in A Street Fight

The answer is a resounding yes! Muay Thai is great to use in a street fight because it is a self defense system. When you train in Muay Thai you train for exercise but also for self protection.

One of the reasons why Muay Thai is so effective is because you get to use your 8 limbs as a weapon to protect yourself.

The 8 Limbs of Muay Thai

• 2 Fists
• 2 Knees
• 2 Shins
• 2 Elbows

Of course if the person is pointing a gun at you it would be wise to comply with any demands they may have.

Muay Thai works best on the streets when engaging in hand to hand combat. You can really defend yourself in a bar, coffee shop, grocery store, walking alone on the streets at night, or wherever when you have trained in Muay Thai.

There are many places that teach you defense against a weapon such as a knife or bat, but my recommendation is to only engage in that unless you are extremely skilled in that aspect of defense.

If you’re not, the best thing to do is comply with the demands the person holding the weapon may have, or run away if it’s safe to do so.

Muay Thai Clinch Takedowns

Can Muay Thai Kill

Yes, Muay Thai can kill a person if used with enough force. As mentioned before this is a dangerous martial art that uses your limbs as weapons. An elbow or knee to the temple of an assailants head can be a fatal blow which can cause injury or death.

If you watch many of the combat sports that involve Muay Thai such as UFC, One Championship, and Bellator you will quickly see what a kick to the head and knee to the face can do to a person.

It knocks them out cold, and the only thing that saves them from receiving further damage is the referee stepping in, and the medical doctors that are there on site. In the streets their is no help!

If you practice a martial art like this and you use more force than needed to defend yourself, you can end up seriously harming your assailant or even killing them. If you are fighting in the street and someone uses Muay Thai against you, you can meet the same fate; be seriously injured or even die.

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Can Muay Thai Beat Boxing

Muay Thai and boxing are two completely different set of self defense systems. Each system focuses on building different skill sets in order to become more proficient at mastering the system. In other words, boxing and Muay Thai are completely different in nature, and show you two separate ways of defending yourself.

One may look at Muay Thai and say that the practitioner throws punches just like a boxer does. Yes that is true, but the only difference is that a Muay Thai practitioner throws strikes, while a boxer…well…boxes. Striking and boxing are NOT the same thing.

Strikes include punches, elbows, spinning elbows, spinning fists, uppercuts, and of course leg strikes. And boxers…well…just box.

Someone who practices Muay Thai has an advantage over a boxer in a fight because he has more weapons to use. He can use his elbow, knee, fist, shin, and head. He can pick a boxer apart from a distance using kicks alone and wear him down within a few short minutes.

A boxer is only effective when he is close enough to land a punch. He can’t land a punch from kicking distance. This is a major disadvantage that a boxer would have in any fight against someone who has a mixed martial arts background, and knows how to use their legs as a weapon.

Yes a boxer has amazing movement such as head bobs and weaves, and coming in and out when fighting, but a strong martial artists can neutralize that with efficient strikes. So yes, Muay Thai can beat boxing.

Muay Thai Strikes and Combinations

Are Muay Thai Fighters Strong

Muay Thai fighters are known for their strength and endurance, as well as the discipline they must have to train hard every day. What you have to keep in mind is that all those who study martial arts are only as strong as they train their bodies to be.

Muay Thai training is very rigorous in cardio, resistance training, and repetitive movement when learning a technique.

For example, when kicking the pads, to get the technique right and to toughen your shin so it’s use to you using it as a striking tool, you will repeat the movement over and over again for an allotted time.

If the coach decides for you to kick the pads for 20 seconds he’ll time it, then have you rest for a few seconds to catch your breath, then have you kick the pads for another 20 seconds and so on and so forth.

The same method is done for the resistance training, and any weight lifting that is incorporated into the routine. Training prepares your mind and body for when a real fight happens. As many fighters have said, the hard work is done during training camp, so that the fighting part can be easy.

You’re only as strong as you develop yourself to be in training, and Muay Thai fighters have proven to be really strong with high level of endurance.

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Why Is Muay Thai Hard To Learn

Muay Thai isn’t hard to learn it just takes time to be proficient at it. The stances, strikes, sweeps, clinch positions all take time to learn and execute. It’s definitely not a martial arts that you can learn quickly and apply to a fight right away.

This is the same with martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu it’s all about positioning yourself properly and executing the submission in the right way in order to defend yourself, or win in competition. This all takes time.

If you are looking to get into a self defense system where you can learn it and apply it right away, Boxing, Wrestling, Karate, and TaeKwon-Do would be the best options.

These self defense systems are easy to pick up as a novice and you can apply them in their basic forms right away. But I wouldn’t go around picking a fight just because you learned a few new moves from the gym.

You should use any technique that you learn only to defend yourself, not to show off your new moves.

Muay Thai Clinch Techniques

Top 10 Muay Thai Dangerous Knockouts

Will Muay Thai Get Me In Shape

If you are looking for a way to get in shape while learning techniques that will help you defend yourself, then Muay Thai is definitely the way to go.

You do about 45 minutes of cardio before you actually get into learning any techniques. As I mentioned before Muay Thai is very cardio driven, and it also promotes healthy eating.

The combination of the two will keep you very fit and in shape, that’s why you’ll never see an out of shape Muay Thai practitioner. They’re always slim and ripped, or average size for their weight but have toned muscles.

Any martial arts you get into should promote overall wellness, that means a healthy mind, spirit and body. That means consuming no alcohol or drugs because these substances will harm you and have you in an addiction that’s hard to get rid of.

So if you do end up taking Muay Thai have a goal in mind that you’d like to achieve in terms of body weight and muscle gain. If you’re having difficulty with coming up with a plan talk to your coach and he will help you out.

Without goals set you won’t take training seriously, which means you won’t take loosing the weight seriously either. The choice is entirely up to you, it’s either you want to get in shape or not. If you do you have to take things seriously.

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Muay Thai Home Workout

Are Muay Thai and Kickboxing The Same

Although they have similar aspects, Muay Thai and Kickboxing are not the same. One of the difference is Kickboxing uses a 4 point striking system that involves punches and kicks only.

While Muay Thai uses an 8 point striking system which involves the 8 limbs of 2 fists, 2 knees, 2 elbows, and 2 shins.

Another difference is that Kickboxers have better movement that Muay Thai fighters and also better boxing skills. This is because their training places a great emphasis on movement and boxing techniques. A lot of boxers have transitioned well into Kickboxing and vice versa.

Muay Thai fighters are taught to move forward and strike. While Kickboxers are taught to move around and be more fluid like a boxer.

Regardless of whether you choose to train in Kickboxing or Muay Thai, you can rest assure that either of these self defense systems, if used correctly, can protect you in a fight; whether in the ring or on the streets.

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