What is the Difference between Muay Thai and Kickboxing?
For a lot of individuals, Muay Thai and kickboxing are the same thing. However, both arts do carry a lot of differences that you should be aware of. What is the difference between Muay Thai and kickboxing? This is what we’re going to discuss below.
Muay Thai – What is it?
Muay Thai is a martial art that can be traced as far back as the 1600s! It was refined in Thailand, and its techniques were derived from “ancient boxing”. Back then, it was used as self-defense, but today you’ll find that it’s much more common in respect to competition. This art focuses on shins, elbows, hands, and knees, as well as the “Clinch” positon.
Kickboxing – What is it?
Kickboxing wasn’t developed until about the 1970s. It was a relatively loose term that was used to describe and art of kicking and boxing within the ring. In general, kickboxing is used primarily when describing someone fighting in North America. Kickboxing isn’t a sport that places that much emphasis on the elbows and knees – in fact, it isn’t allowed.
Primary Differences
One of the primary differences between Muay Thai and kickboxing is that kickboxing is a “four-point” system while Muay Thai is an “eight-point” system. If a kickboxer were to try and use elbows and knees in a match, they would most likely be disqualified. However, this is perfectly acceptable in Muay Thai. The two martial arts also differ in the sense that Muay Thai focuses slightly on grappling, although not really. It focuses on how to deliver various strikes from the clinch position, while kickboxing doesn’t encourage or allow this.
Learning Muay Thai – What to Expect
Just like traditional western boxing, clinching in kickboxing will immediately be broken up by a referee. What is the difference between Muay Thai and kickboxing in regards to strikes “below the belt?” Although groin attacks are off-limits, shin kicks as well as knee strikes can be done below the waist. However, kickboxing in almost every part of the world discourages any kind of strikes below the waist.
What is the difference between Muay Thai and Kickboxing? Below-the-belt attacks are perhaps the biggest differences between the two sports. Understanding the differences between these two martial arts is very important. Not only does it make you more knowledgeable about them and their origins, it will also prevent more people from having unrealistic or false expectations about the sport before signing up.