Muay Thai
What is Muay Thai?
Muay Thai which translates to “Thai Boxing”, is the national sport of Thailand. It is a martial art with roots originating from military use dating back to around the 13th century during the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
Muay Thai is a martial arts style from Thailand that is similar to kickboxing but also involves elbow and knee strikes. Muay Thai is also known for its powerful kicking techniques; It is also referred to as Thai Boxing Many MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters employ Muay Thai techniques given the effectiveness of this style’s strikes. A number of MMA training routines combine Muay Thai techniques and conditioning(i.e. elbow strikes and knee strikes) with the grappling techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The most well-known MMA fighter with a Muay Thai background is Anderson Silva.
Muay Thai is known as the “Art of 8 limbs” because it makes use of 8 points of contact namely, punches, elbows, knees and kicks. This differs it from other stand-up combat sports such as boxing (2 points - fists) and karate (4 points - fists and feet). Today, Muay Thai is practised and competed not only in Thailand, but also all around the world.
Modern Muay Thai
Muay Thai has grown over years since around World War I period to become a combat sport loved and practised all around the world. Modern Muay Thai encompasses elements of traditional boxing including the use of padded boxing gloves, 3 to 5 rounds with time limit, defined rules and take place within a ring (squared platform).
Muay Thai takes much of its strikes and techniques from ancient Muay Thai, also commonly known as Muay Boran. Muay Boran was created primarily for hand-to-hand combat during warfare. As the sport evolves, dangerous techniques from Muay Boran that may be deadly have become forbidden in Muay Thai such as strikes to the joints or back of the head.
Other than variations of punches as seen in western boxing (e.g. jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts), kicks, elbows and knee strikes are used in Muay Thai. Clinching, sweeps and throws are also used strategically in modern Muay Thai to make it an all-rounded combat art. Due to the 8-point contact, the sport has proven to be one of the most effective stand-up striking art and practised by many mixed martial artists.
The stadiums of Lumpinee and Rajadamnern in Bangkok are considered to be the most prestigious arenas of Muay Thai. Fighters, local and foreign aspire to compete at the stadiums.
Muay Thai & Weight lose
Muay Thai is one of the most intense and engaging workouts out there you can try it if you’re looking to lose a lot of weight. Combining strength and conditioning, cardiovascular endurance training, with the art of self-defense, Muay Thai is the ultimate fitness program to help you sweat out that excess weight and gain lean muscle mass and skyrocketing confidence. One-hour sessions of Muay Thai can burn up to 1,000 calories, depending on how much effort and determination you put into your training.
Martial arts training incorporates various strength and conditioning elements therefore a good, efficient heart as well as strong, lean, and flexible limbs is a mandatory requirement. A lot of the workouts featured in martial arts training, particularly in Muay Thai, are both aerobic and anaerobic in nature. The term ‘aerobic’ means the use of oxygen. It features controlled breathing to fuel muscles with enough oxygen to function which in this case we are talking about a lot of explosive movements and strikes. This is usually less intense and steady-state, with workouts lasting at least two minutes or more. On the other hand, ‘anaerobic’ training refers to working out ‘without air’ or with little oxygen. This is more intense and will really push your lungs and raise your heart rate.
Muay Thai training has the best of both worlds, and will boost your metabolism enough to burn calories hours after your workout — not to mention, you become pretty much a sweat factory during training.
Shall we get you started…
