Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Muay Thai Techniques Growing Popularity Around The Globe

By Micah Ulery


Muay Thai techniques have been developed in Thailand over many centuries. The sport is physically demanding. It is known to Westerners as kick boxing. It involves a variety of blow and clinches. Blows may be executed by either the feet, knees, hands or elbows. Unlike Western boxing, the two fighters in a Muay Thai bout are permitted to clinch.

It is the national sport in Thailand but does not have Olympic status. In its original form, contestants fought bare-fisted. Eventually, fighters began wearing lengths of hemp rope around their hands and forearms.

The term comes from the ancient Sanskrit mavya. It refers to as the art of eight limbs because the sport allows eight points of contact including fist, elbow, knee and foot strikes. In this sense, it is distinguished from boxing which is a two-point contact sport (fists) and the martial arts which is a four-point contact sport (hands and feet). It is similar to comparable sports developed within the Indochina or southeast Asian region such as tomoi in Malaysia, pradal serey from Cambodia and lethwei in Myanmar.

The sport reflects two main combat influences, namely, Muay Boran and Krabi Krabong. Muay Boran, or ancient boxing, is a contemporary blend of several ancient regional varities including Muay Korat, Chaiya, Tarsao and Jearng. By contrast, Krabi Krabong is an ancient form of weapons-based martial arts using arms such as the staff, sabre (single edged sword), double-edged sword, stick and bladed staff. It was developed in Thailand.

Kicks are important strikes in Muay Thai. One of the most powerful kicks is the roundhouse kick. It involves rotation of the whole body. The kick is used widely by other martial arts. It requires rotating the standing leg.

Practitioners of the sport rely heavily on kicks using their shin bone. To prepare, fighters repeatedly hit hard objects with their shins. This process hardens the bone through cortical remodelling. Other training includes practicing kicks, punches, knee strikes and elbow strikes against a trainer wearing thick protective padding.

Formally, techniques used in Muay Thai divide into two main groups, mae mai (major techniques) and luk mai (minor techniques). Virtually all techniques involve movement of the entire body. Each striking or blocking move requires the contestant to rotate their hips as part of the move.

In conclusion, Muay Thai techniques continues to have a large following globally particularly, of course, in Thailand. A practitioner of the sport is referred to in Thailand as a nak. Western practitioners are sometimes called nak farang meaning foreign boxer.




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