Most professional events, such as YOKKAO events, provide official fightgear and fightwear as they might be broadcasted on television on streamed live on social media. Even in international events, Muay Thai fights are often accompanied by classical Thai music known as Sarama, sometimes performed live by musicians. Fighters wear a unique headgear called the Mongkhon and armbands known as Prajiads. Both of these items are looked upon as sacred objects and are handled with care.
The Mongkhon sometimes Mongkol is a headwear unique to Muay Thai. It is believed by Thai people to offer protection and good luck to its wearer. Traditionally, Mongkhons are completely made by hand using rope and cloth, with adornments such as talisman.
This task is taken upon by the trainers of the camp and the Mongkhons are blessed by monks in a ritual before they are eventually worn by a fighter. Fighters put on the Mongkhons before entering the ring which they also wear during the length of the Wai Khru Ram Muay performed before the fight.
When the Ram Muay is completed, the fighter retreats to his corner and the Mongkhon is removed by -usually by a trainer- while a prayer is whispered for protection and luck. This practice has been transported beyond Thailand onto international events. Like the Mongkhon, the traditions of wearing Prajiads are traced back to ancient Thailand when the country was always at war.
They are believed to grant good luck to the wearers. The dress code for Muay Thai training is more casual. Muay Thai shorts are worn and men usually go topless due to the heat in Thailand. Outside of Thailand, Muay Thai shorts are often paired with an exercise tank top or t-shirt for both men and women. Muay Thai gloves are built with some differences from traditional boxing gloves due to the nature of the sport. While traditional boxing gloves tend to be more padded around the knuckle area, Muay Thai gloves are more evenly-padded over the entirety of the gloves.
This all-round padding offers protection against elbows and kicks. Lace-up gloves between 6oz to 10oz are used for professional fighting. For ease of taking them off during breaks, gloves with velcro closures hook-and-loop are used for day-to-day training and sparring.
Occasionally, lace-up gloves may be used in sparring for better support. Muay Thai shorts are also a relatively modern apparel brought over from western boxing. You can observe the apparent similarity between the respective styles. Western boxing shorts tend to be longer reaching just above the knees while Muay Thai shorts are much shorter extending to just around mid-thigh section.
Muay Thai shorts are cut this way to allow complete freedom of movement so the wearers feel unhindered with their kicks. Satin, nylon and polyester-blend fabric are usually used due to their comfortable feel and light weight.
Other than gloves and shorts, hand wraps and ankle guards are two important gear in Muay Thai. Hand wraps provide wrist and hand support, helping to minimize hand injuries during boxing. Reusable, washable hand wraps are used for training while bandages are used in competition for wrapping hands. As for ankle guards, they are not always worn but many fighters train or fight with them for additional support. Ankle guards provide warmth and additional support to the ankles which may help in balance and minimize ankle injuries.
In the early years of Muay Thai when it just transitioned into a sport around the 18th century, hemp rope was used to wrap around the hands. This practice is known as Kard Chuek. This is a more brutal form of fighting with higher knockout rates. Kard Chuek fights are still sanctioned today with minor changes.
Competitors typically wear 4oz gloves and wrapped with ropes to mimic the legacy of Kard Chuek. As a sport heavily linked to traditions and culture, one of the most distinctive aspects of Muay Thai is the pre-fight ceremony known as Wai Kru Ram Muay.
The ceremonial ritual takes place in the ring, accompanied by traditional rhythmic Thai music known as Sarama. The Sarama is a unique rhythmic traditional Thai music that also accompanies the fights. The hypnotic otherworldly sounds of the Sarama starkly juxtaposes with swift brutal movements to characterize the sport of Muay Thai, that is like no other.
In the Wai Kru Ram Muay, fighters begin by walking inside the ring in an anti-clockwise direction along the ropes, pausing at each corner with a prayer to seek protection during the fight.
Once the Wai Kru is complete, the fighters perform a dance Ram Muay with varying degrees of elaboration among various fighters and camps, often passed down from teachers to fighters. Ram Muay dances are often homage to famous characters in Thai legends or Sanskrit stories such as the Ramayana. The fighters then retreat to their corners where their Mongkhon headdress is removed by their trainer or a respected member of the camp.
The Wai Kru Ram Muay is not only ceremonial in nature, but also helps to prepare the competitors for the fight physically and mentally. Today, the Wai Khru is taught in Muay Thai gyms all around the world, even to students who do not compete in the ring. Every year, thousands of Muay Thai practitioners from all over the world gather in the ancient Thai city of Ayutthaya for the annual World Wai Kru Ceremony and show their appreciation for the traditions of Muay Thai.
Muay Thai is a completely different sport from traditional boxing as known in the West. While classic boxing uses only punches, Thai boxing involves a wider range of techniques including elbows, knees, kicks, sweeps, and elaborate use of clinching. Kicks provide Muay Thai with a longer range of striking which can be an advantage against a boxer with no training in kicking.
Boxing tends to focus on punches, defense and footwork. Boxers tend to have more power in their punches compared to most Muay Thai fighters. However, some renowned Thai fighters have competed with much success in both sports. Somrak Khamsing, a golden age fighter, is an Olympic gold-medalist in boxing. In terms of effectiveness in self-defense or street fights, both boxing and Muay Thai are ideal skills to possess. Generally speaking, MMA fighters train in several disciplines that include striking as well as a grappling martial art, while Muay Thai in itself is a striking art.
When pitted against each other, the Muay Thai fighter will do everything to avoid taking the fight to the ground. A MMA fighter proficient in a grappling skill like wrestling or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will likely not fare as well in a full stand-up face-off. When the chance presents itself, he will attempt to bring the fight to the ground. In a study, it was shown that 7 out of 10 street fights ended up on the ground. The person with the ground fighting experience will often prevail in such situations simply due to familiarity and possessing the right skills.
Muay Thai is widely recognized as the most effective stand-up striking martial art while Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is acknowledged as the most dominant grappling, ground fighting martial art. Both are fundamentally different as a combat sport with one focusing on striking while the other on submissions. Both martial arts are also widely favored by mixed martial artists. Like many combat sports, both Muay Thai and BJJ can be effective as self-defense skills in real-life situations.
With the right amount of training, these martial arts can deter the aggressor and disarm the situation. Likewise, BJJ fans are confident of strangling the Muay Thai fighter into submission once the fight is taken to the ground. In a hypothetical faceoff, it boils down to the level of proficiency of the individual martial artist more than the art itself.
A highly skilled Muay Thai fighter will be able to knock out his opponent while a high level Jiu Jitsu practitioner is capable of taking down his opponent and finishing with a lock or choke.
Kickboxing is an umbrella term for stand-up striking sports based on punching and kicking. Muay Thai is one of the most well-known kickboxing sports along with Kyokushin Karate and kickboxing fought under K-1 rules. In the s to early s, K-1 was the pre-eminent international stand-up combat sports promotion. Competitors from a variety of martial arts backgrounds around the world came together to prove themselves on a world stage, necessitating the need for unified rules.
K-1 made modifications to its rules over the years, differing from Muay Thai most notably in the absence of elbows and limiting the use of clinching. Due to its popularity, many kickboxing promotions today continue to apply the same rules. Other than that, the two sports are similar enough that many Muay Thai and kickboxing fighters often compete and hold titles in both sports.
Generally speaking, kickboxers focus more on footwork and punches while Muay Thai fighters focus on all weapons along with clinching with an emphasis on kicks which score more. Like all sports, Muay Thai competitions are governed by a strict set of rules and regulations.
They are put in place and appropriated by officials and the referee to ensure the safety of the fighters as well as the fairness of the competition without any bias. Traditional western boxing was a major influence in the development of Muay Thai as a sport from an ancient martial arts in the early 20th century. The rules of the sport then evolved over the years to become what it is today.
The detailed list of rules and regulations covers diverse aspects that are usually ignored by the audience and most casual fans overwhelmed by the excitement of the fights. These vital rules can vary slightly depending on the venue or organizer but is distinctive enough to make Muay Thai separated from American, Dutch or Japanese kickboxing. It is renown for powerful striking techniques such as elbow strikes and knee strikes.
Many other traditional martial arts mainly use either 2 points of contact 2 fists or 4 points of contact 2 fists and 2 feet. Muay Thai is a term based on words from Thailand. Thai stands for the country of Thailand. Clinching is the hardest and most exhausting thing there is to cope in a competition.
Help from the referee can not to be expected. Where the referee stops the fight in other martial arts, the bout just begins in Muay Thai! Precisely this is the reason why many good boxers devote intensive training their clinch techniques. Who masters the countless movements perfectly, can take a big advantage even against much stronger opponents. The perfect clinching technique is everything. Highly desirable is the Clinch handle from the inner position. So the opponent can be optimally controlled and the balance can be broken much easier.
It is also easier to land knee techniques reliable in the target. You can download the free Mongkon Magazine Special Issue here. Also available in: German , Thai. The team from Muay Thai World want help to promote the great traditional martial arts of Muay Thai and to raise its profile in the world. We also want to persevere the traditions and values of the sports of a proud nation. To realize this, any help is welcome Muay Thai World is source number 1 for Muay Thai addicted people!
Pingback: What is the Best Heavy Bag? I know that writing articles is boring and time consuming. But did you know that there is a tool that allows you to create new posts using existing content from article directories or other blogs from your niche? And it does it very well. The new posts are high quality and pass the copyscape test. Hello muaythai world, this aritcle so great. Thank u. Powerful kicks play a major role in your performance as good kickers are at an advantage. Also known as Teep Kick , this type of kick is basically a long range straight foot-thrust.
It helps to set up an attack and keeps the opponent at a distance. This Muay Thai kick is used to target almost all body parts of the opponent. Round kicks have the following variations:. It requires the fighter to jump while aiming to kick.
The momentum and the power generated during the kick are very high which makes it one of the strongest Muay Thai techniques to use.
Muay Thai kicks are hard to learn. They require proper training and exhaustive practice to pull off in a fight. If you want to learn the kick techniques, enrol yourself in a reputed martial arts training facility that focuses on individual abilities and helps you discover your potential.
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