Find Out If Muay Thai Is One Of The Most Effective Martial Arts Styles

When I first came across Muay Thai I remember watching it on television and I was quite amazed. I have always though myself pretty in touch with the martial arts world but when I witnessed it I couldn’t get over the sheer brutal execution of the style. It really is one of the most effective Martial Arts styles. You have competitors fighting aggressively with their elbows and their shins, striking out with sheer force with their knees. If you get the chance lookup on Youtube and you will know what I mean.

Muay Thai or Thai Kickboxing is unlike all the many conventional martial arts around today. It has a strong heritage in Thailand and is rich in history, they even teach their army and Special Forces Muay Thai in their combat training. You may think that Thai people are a friendly and welcoming bunch of people, which is certainly true. However Thailand over the years has had many people trying to invade their land and they have to defend it accordingly. They came up with a close combat style that was suited to their rough terrain where they would be defending against attackers. It is now a rite of passage for the Thai people to train on this same terrain when starting out.

Over the course of the years Muay Thai has progressed both in its popularity and as one of the Martial Arts styles as a whole. It is now so big that there are television networks across the world broadcasting the fights to the masses. Each bout of Thai kickboxing lasts a maximum of fifteen minutes, made up of five three minute rounds. They are started off by a showy dance where the competitors pay homage to their teacher. Don’t think this is like the American wrestling pre-match song and dance, Thai Kickboxing makes American Wrestling seem like a scuffle in a children’s playground.

It is not all aggressive fighting though; there is a lot of spirituality involved with Muay Thai. Every Thai boxer who competes has their armbands and headband blessed by their teacher or a monk. Thai fighters constantly look to better their skills, this can be very demanding though as this is a sport that requires you to condition your body in the right manner. For instance you need to make sure that you can strike an opponent with your shins, sounds cringing doesn’t it. Muay Thai fighters go through a process of toughening up their body, which can take many years.

Muay Thai is one of the most challenging Martial Arts styles, and some say that they would rather just watch it on the big screen rather than participate. It can be thought with right mind-set one of the best martial arts to study. The strategies and techniques that you learn are lethal and tough, but ultimately worth it in my opinion. However if you are just after some basic self-defence tuition then it is probably best that you look elsewhere.

Click here to learn about Martial Arts styles from across the world, from China, Japan to Brazil.