Muay Thai teaches how to use all limbs as weapons to fight at all ranges using kicks and punches, as well as with knees and elbows. It also teaches basic grappling moves liketrips and throws. The emphasis isonhard kicks, fighting inthe clinch, and throwing each strike with intention.
The earliest records of Muay Thai go all the way back to the16th century Siam Kingdom. At thetime,people used Muay Thaito fight in wars against nearby countries.Twocenturies later,thishand-to hand combat system would grow into a very popular sport. The matches were part of various ceremonies, festivals, and peoplecalledit “Muay Khat Chueak”.
Although these events were brutal,the matches looked the same as in modern times.For instance, fighters fought bare chested,wearing shorts andhempropes around their hands and forearms.
But it was in the19th century andreignof Rama V that Muay Thai would start to grow really fast as a sport. This was thanks to the King himself, who was a big fan of Muay Thai matches. The key moment came when king RamaVII (1925-1935) decidedto, insomeway, regulate the sport and make it safer by creating a set of rules. From then on, fighters started wearing gloves, groin cups, and the training methods became much safer.
The sport would start to spread all over the world in the 1970s and 1980s. This was a time when foreign kickboxers would start traveling to Thailand to compete against Muay Thai fighters. Many of these fighters would later go back to their countries, and open up Muay Thai gyms to spread this combat sport in the west.
In modern times, Muay Thai is often seen as the best striking martial art. It is well spread all around the world, matches are very popular, and it also plays a big role in modern MMA.
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