History 2
Skills involved
And so to the fighting art of Muay Thai itself. Elbows, punches, kicks and knees can all be thrown to any part of the body (with the exception of knees to the groin) with punches used mainly to open up an opponent for a further attack. Kicks are thrown to strike with the shin and not the foot/instep and with correct training is akin to being struck by a baseball bat. The rationale for shin strikes is that if the opponent blocks with his elbows or blade of the forearm, feet tend to break. Ouch indeed... Kicks can be thrown to all levels of the body, with neck strikes being the highest scored, although kicks to the knees, thighs and ribs are used to wear the opponent down.
Holding and hitting, in the forms of knees to the body and elbows to the head, is perfectly legal and a crucial part of the style. Throws without using the hips and turning an opponent in the clinch are also recognised techniques. Tripping and sweeping is however illegal, as is hitting an opponent on the floor or holding onto the ropes.
Don't expect to see too many reverse spinning jumping flicking kicks to the head or the like. They may look pretty in films, but when your legs themselves are fair game, you tend to think twice before launching into the air with the greatest of ease. Besides is regularly turning your back on someone who is more than willing to elbow you in the back of the head such a good idea? Not that this in any way detracts from the spectacle of it all, or that you won't see breath-taking techniques being used. Kicking shin to shin alone takes a lot of guts and training.
Overall fights are short and frenetic, with even professional fighters fighting just 5 x 3 minute rounds. As a consequence the fighters stay very close to each other at all times, with very little backing off, circling of the opponent, time wasting etc. Fights are won as per Western boxing, either by knockout or by judges decision at the end of the fight. Knockouts in Thailand seem relatively uncommon (although not that uncommon!) due to the supreme conditioning, stamina and will power of the Thai fighters.
