Muay Thai – form of hard martial art and national sport of Thailand. Besides Thailand, Muaythai is also very famous in other Southeast Asian countries. Thai boxing is another name for Muay Thai which was developed hundreds of years ago as close combat in which fighter uses his entire body as a weapon for both attack and defense.
Muaythai symbolizes as “The art of eight limbs” because as a fighter you use hands, elbows, shins and knees to fight. Muay Boran is the ancestor of Thai boxing. Every year on March 17th Thai people celebrate Boxer’s Day or National Muay Thai day. There are few stories behind the celebration. On this day, Nai Khanom Tom, a Muay fighter beat ten Burmese Lethwei champions and earned his freedom from King Mangra.
King Prachao Sua is another Muay Thai legend. He was a king however, his love for Thai boxing brings him to the ring and Prachao Sua defeated three renowned fighters of his time. But later on he had to quit because Thai people respect their King a lot and can not fight with him. King’s love for Thailand’s national sport is evident form the fact that his two sons went under Muaythai training, wrestling and sword fighting.
Some other elements that incorporate the training are stretching, running, and shadow boxing. An avid fighter needs to run approximately 18 kilometers in a day and undergo 20-30 minutes of stretching to improve the elasticity of the muscles and reduce the stretch reflex.
Shadow boxing is another drill in Muay Thai training. Fighters practice the shadow boxing in front of a mirror so that they can see and analyze, if the movements are correct or not. People join training camps not only to become professionals but also to remain fit and sound.
Today Muay Thai is getting popularization all over the world and recently accepted as an Olympic Sport. If you want to become all-round fighter learn Muay Thai as you’ll learn kicking techniques like taekwondo fighter, punches like boxers and gripping like judo player.