MTguy
Yellow Belt
Many many people find Muay Thai to be an incomplete stand up martial art. IMO, besides MMA, it's the most complete striking system on the planet. I've done martial arts since I was 12. I have coached MMA fighters, one of which fought in the UFC twice and 7 times overseas, 3 countries, etc. I am a blue belt in BJJ and used to be able to tap purples on occasion. I just never did GI training. I retired due to Injury and disgust of the fight world in general as a business. I got to train in Thailand in 2000 before the rush of every Farang going there and many gyms turning into vacation destinations for people. Not that there is anything wrong with that in general.
One of the major misconceptions about Muay Thai comes from the scoring system between Thailand and the West. We tend to see only the punches to the head as who wins a fight. Thais look at the whole story of the fight. Are kicks and knees scoring? Who is dominant in the clinch. Who is fighting the strongest in defense. Shutting an opponent down can bring a win. From K-1 to Glory, we judge fights based on who ever can pummel a guys head, not the overall skill vs an opponent. I don't understand fully the Thai mindset in judging and believe ( know that gambling has corrupted the Stadium fights ). Having fought myself amatuer and pro, I'd hate to beat the hell out of an opponent and lose because the other guy had more 'beautiful' striking. But it's a game that kids start in their childhood and pre teens and understand.
As far as Thais go, simply hitting a guy in the head is not a hard task and really only scores when it is dominant and hurts the other guy. you only need to look at the recent fightin ONE between the two best kickboxers going right now, Gerogio Petrosyan and Superbon to see how a Thai deals with stonger boxer. People loved Ramon Dekker who was viscious with his hands but had trouble winning unless he KO'd the opponent. he did not fight the Thai style fights. In the Golden age-1980's -2000, people loved to pit the stronger boxer against the knee artist and the great kickers. That produced numerous world champions in western boxing as well, like Samart Pakyroon and others. I could tell stories of my time there and how I learned the difference between fighting Muay Thai is different than Boxing and WHY. This is a chart on the different chart of the recognized styles Thai's get categorized into with Muay Fimeu being the man who can use all the weapons of Muay Thai.
I'd be happy to discuss Muay Thai and incorporating boxing or anything about either as I'm now 49 and have been at it for over 35 years! I can also link videos to demonstrate what I'm trying to convey. There just isn't alot of understanding and MMA is a reason. When they say, his Thai is good. I mean what the hell does that mean? He can throw a leg kick? The level of striking is very low in MMA. I realize that takedowns change the game but people are now standing because that is what the UFC has discovered people enjoy and they want to see a knock out instead of grappling, though it can be exciting too. The result is watching bad stand up. If you think the 4 ounce gloves make it impssible for good standup should watch ONE's promotion of the Muay Thai super series. Here is a link to some good fights.
One of the major misconceptions about Muay Thai comes from the scoring system between Thailand and the West. We tend to see only the punches to the head as who wins a fight. Thais look at the whole story of the fight. Are kicks and knees scoring? Who is dominant in the clinch. Who is fighting the strongest in defense. Shutting an opponent down can bring a win. From K-1 to Glory, we judge fights based on who ever can pummel a guys head, not the overall skill vs an opponent. I don't understand fully the Thai mindset in judging and believe ( know that gambling has corrupted the Stadium fights ). Having fought myself amatuer and pro, I'd hate to beat the hell out of an opponent and lose because the other guy had more 'beautiful' striking. But it's a game that kids start in their childhood and pre teens and understand.
As far as Thais go, simply hitting a guy in the head is not a hard task and really only scores when it is dominant and hurts the other guy. you only need to look at the recent fightin ONE between the two best kickboxers going right now, Gerogio Petrosyan and Superbon to see how a Thai deals with stonger boxer. People loved Ramon Dekker who was viscious with his hands but had trouble winning unless he KO'd the opponent. he did not fight the Thai style fights. In the Golden age-1980's -2000, people loved to pit the stronger boxer against the knee artist and the great kickers. That produced numerous world champions in western boxing as well, like Samart Pakyroon and others. I could tell stories of my time there and how I learned the difference between fighting Muay Thai is different than Boxing and WHY. This is a chart on the different chart of the recognized styles Thai's get categorized into with Muay Fimeu being the man who can use all the weapons of Muay Thai.
I'd be happy to discuss Muay Thai and incorporating boxing or anything about either as I'm now 49 and have been at it for over 35 years! I can also link videos to demonstrate what I'm trying to convey. There just isn't alot of understanding and MMA is a reason. When they say, his Thai is good. I mean what the hell does that mean? He can throw a leg kick? The level of striking is very low in MMA. I realize that takedowns change the game but people are now standing because that is what the UFC has discovered people enjoy and they want to see a knock out instead of grappling, though it can be exciting too. The result is watching bad stand up. If you think the 4 ounce gloves make it impssible for good standup should watch ONE's promotion of the Muay Thai super series. Here is a link to some good fights.