What Is Muay Thai

An Introduction to Muay Thai Boxing

What is Muay Thai kickboxing?
Why learn Muay Thai kickboxing?
Who can learn Muay Thai kickboxing?
The value of Muay Thai Kickboxing
Attributes of a Muay Thai boxer
A common misconception


What is Muay Thai Kickboxing?


Muay Thai (known to some outside of Thailand as Muay Thai kickboxing) is a national sport of Thailand as well as a national passion. It is a fighting technique borne out of combat reality. Known as the science of eight limbs Muay Thai kickboxing uses the knees and elbows as well as kicks and punches. Almost any part of the body is considered a fair target and any part of the body, except the head, may be used to strike an opponent. It is considered by many to be the ultimate in hand-to-hand fighting. Muay Thai kickboxing is a professional and amateur sport, a martial art, aerobic fitness programme and a useful form of self-defence. But Muay Thai kickboxing is more than just learning how to fight. Muay Thai kickboxing is a strong and vigorous martial art art that teaches self-discipline and self-awareness. It has been passed down through generations for the last 2000 years.


Why learn Muay Thai kickboxing?

On a physical level regular Muay Thai training will give you a well-proportioned physique, build stamina and get you in excellent shape. Fat will disappear and your complexion will improve. Muay Thai kickboxing teaches you to defend yourself and toughens you up. You will gain greater strength and agility, and will benefit from an immune system boost. On a mental level the study of Muay Thai kickboxing will improve your self-confidence, discipline and self-awareness.


Who can learn Muay Thai kickboxing?

Muay Thai kickboxing is a form of unarmed combat accessible to all people everywhere, children and adults, male and female. Not everyone learning Muay Thai kickboxing wishes to compete. Nowadays people from all walks of life are turning to Muay Thai kickboxing for many different reasons.


The value of Muay Thai kickboxing

Muay Thai kickboxing has enriched the physical and moral well being of the Thai people for hundreds of generations. It has brought fame, honour and wealth, and strikes fear in the hearts of opponents. A genuine Muay Thai boxer (Nak Muay) will lead a virtuous life with kindness and modesty, and respect to law and traditions. Muay Thai kickboxing consists of the qualities of true knowledge, endurance, compassion, patience, courage, gratitude and honesty.


Attributes of a Muay Thai boxer

A Muay Thai boxer should be outwardly humble but maintain an unshakeable inner resolve. He should be honest and reliable, not proud or overconfident. He needs courage to become accustomed to pain and danger without fear. A genuine Muay Thai boxer will create unity, make himself useful to society, be a good patriot and avoid unruly behaviour. A man (or woman) truly absorbed in the art of Muay Thai kickboxing is always in control of his feelings. He is intelligent and wise. He is gentle as a lamb and fierce as a lion.


A common misconception

There is a common misconception that Muay Thai kickboxing and other contact sports breed aggression, but this idea could not be farther from the truth. While it is a tough sport the central precepts of Muay Thai boxing promote compassion, gratitude and honesty. A genuine Muay Thai boxer seeks to create unity and is always in control of his feelings.

‘It is unfortunate that people often have the wrong impression that Muay Thai does not originate in Thailand or that the Thais have borrowed the art from another country. This misconception is caused by the fact that foreigners often learn Thai boxing in an incorrect way, and without sound foundation, from those who do not possess sufficient knowledge of Thai boxing.’


A quote from ‘Muay Thai–The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting’ by Panya Kraitus

Thai people are delighted their national sport is becoming so popular internationally. In this way it can become globally recognised, receiving the credit it is due. But Thai people do not want their martial art to become diluted or for its important traditions and values to be lost. So, it is important for anyone wishing to learn the martial art, particularly those with aspirations to teach, to spend as much time as possible training in Thailand, where they can meet with genuine Muay Thai boxing masters. Thai boxing masters in Thailand are happy to pass on their knowledge to any student, wherever they come from, who displays commitment and appropriate humility. It is our aim at Horizon Thai Boxing Camp to facilitate the travel of true Thai boxing masters to different places around the world so they can teach and preserve the art of Muay Thai in its original form.