Muay Thai vs Kickboxing

Muay Thai vs Kickboxing (or Kick Boxing), Muay Thai vs Kickboxing, discover the differences.

There is often a bit of confusion when it comes to Muay Thai and Kickboxing but we are talking about important different approaches to combat.

Already with this first simplified hit scheme you understand that we are talking about two different sports where even if the ring is the same the possibilities of attack and the approach to combat is different.

The differences between Muay Thai vs Kickboxing

Muay Thai vs Kickboxing Stances

Although the guard positions are different from fighter to fighter in Muay Thai as in kickboxing, there are some important differences between the position of a Muay Thai fighter and the position of a kickboxing fighter.

In addition to the typical swaying of the Thai fighter, Muay Thai fighters generally have the elbows more out to throw powerful elbows and important to block tibia kicks or with the tibia when kicks are pulled as a target to the thigh.

Instead, in Kickboxing due to the more pugilistic style and with a high volume of punches pulled and received in a kickboxing match, K1 fighters have as in boxing the elbows well attached to the ribs to protect themselves from blows to the body and to have more fluid boxing.

Also, what you should not underestimate in K1 you can’t use your elbows according to the rules of kickboxing, so they don’t use a guard with elbows out.

Similarly it changes how arm kicks are seen as parades:

• Arm kicks sometimes in K1 count as “blocks”, so some kickboxing fighters won’t try to block as Muay Thai fighters do.
• In Muay Thai, the arm kick allows you to score points as well as clearly debilitate your opponent.

This is another reason to add to the difference in positions of technical and tactical reasons related to the regulation.

Fight in the rhythm of the right round Muay Thai vs Kickboxing

Most of the fights have a duration of

• 3 3-minute rounds in kickboxing unless they’re title fights,
• 5 rounds of 5 minutes in Muay Thai.

In the regulation, in a fight of:

• Kickboxing, every single round counts, so it’s fought at a much higher rate than a Muay Thai fight, as is the case in boxing.
• Muay Thai but specific in Thailand, the first two rounds “do not count” and is the stage called “feeling”. The third and fourth rounds are the most action rounds, with the fourth round has the most weight as a score. Fighters only engage seriously in the fifth round if:
  • it’s a close combat or
  • If the losing fighter is trying to knock out his opponent to secure victory.

The fighter who is ahead on points usually:

• dancing around the ring or
• prevents his opponent from scoring with evasion techniques and teep.

Ps. In 3-round Muay Thai matches, every round counts, but again the first round is often a “feeling”.

Numeric ratio between hand and foot blows (kicks vs punches)

Here, too, there is a substantial difference between the two disciplines.

When you watch a Muay Thai pro fight the punches are usually only used to place kicks and knees and it is rarer to see a Muay Maat-style approach that attempts to eliminate opponents with punches instead of fighting to win points.

Instead, it’s easy to see a lot more punches in a kickboxing match, where fighters often throw long combinations or with the style of throwing haymaker punches like real bombs.

This also translates into the different way you score.

In Muay Thai, if you don’t kick, you won’t win unless you take down your opponent with something else.

In traditional Muay Thai, average kicks are scored with a higher score, followed by knees, elbows, then punches.

As you see the punches last.

Fists are scored more significantly when your opponent is against the ropes or if your fists create visible damage.

To simplify if you throw 50 punches in a round and your opponent throws 10 kicks in a round your opponent wins points.

In kickboxing, on the other hand, he scores effective shots fairly evenly, not distinguishing punches, kicks and knees with different weights.

A clarification to avoid confusion.

A light shot is not marked as a well-placed low kick on target, but hard punches support the opponent’s score at the same level as a kick.

That’s why you might see K1 matches with fighters fighting with bursts of punches.

These are points!

This way is not often seen in Muay Thai unless the fighter is sure he can get the knockout with his fists then there is the barrage of blows.

Clinch, Dumps, Sweeps & Catches

The clinch is allowed in both disciplines but the clinch in Muay Thai is a prerogative is a technique identifying the discipline.

Yes, you read well even in Kickboxing you can do the clinch, many people have the impression that it is not allowed according to K1 rules, but it is not true.

You can clinch in the K1 but only for a short period of time and usually you have to break the clinch after a hit.

In a kickboxing match it is difficult to see during the round prolonged stages of clich and if you keep it too much you are given a warning if you keep your opponent more than allowed.

This is perhaps one of the reasons why some Muay Thai fighters who fight with the rules of the K1 continue to try to close the distance to get into the clinch, because they know how to effectively close the distance and do damage with a knee or two.

They do this because if you have no idea how to deal with and quickly get out of someone grabs you to hurt you with a well-placed knee, you will most likely stand there to take it because you don’t know how to react.

Dumps and sweeps are wonderful imbalance techniques that can be used in clinch or when taking a kick, but ONLY during a Muay Thai fight because none of these techniques are allowed in kickboxing rules (some Kickboxing federations now allow you to capture and sweep your legs).

Basically in kickboxing rules you are not allowed to download or sweep your opponent, and you are not allowed to grab the kicks, a substantial difference with Muay Thai that makes it more devastating allowing the fighting stages to stand.

Thai culture and music mixes sport with mysticism

Muay Thai is imbued with culture and is extremely evident by the symbolism, ritual, amulets of Muay Thai and how they are always present during matches.

• There is usually a lot of respect among fighters and you see him for how they greet each other before and after the fight and outside the same gym.
• Fighters often enter the ring with at least one mongkol on their heads and prajioud on their arms as lucky symbols.
• Muay Thai fighters often have magical tattoos on their skin
• They perform the famous wai kru ram muay dance to pay homage to the gym and sneakers.
• The traditional music accompanies the whole match in addition to the commentator with the microphone and the shouting coaches, really a nice mess but suggestive.
• The presence of mixed odors incense you, Thai oil,etc.

This tradition is usually not seen in kickboxing shows unless the fighter is Thai or a Westerner who fought in the local Muay Thai.

Again, although it is K1 out of respect if the fighter wears the mongkol enters and walks only in the ring.

The Wai Kru Ram Muay usually can’t be performed in kickboxing shows as it’s not a Muay Thai fight.

Most kickboxing shows are pretty quiet, except for the most active team and gym support groups or fans of the sport.

The practitioner of muay thai is called Nak Muay and Western practitioners are sometimes called Nak Muay Farang,which means “foreign boxer”.

Technique and showmanship of the fight

Also in this there are two different approaches to evaluating the match where:

• In Kickboxing flashy and super athletic techniques, especially with kicks, can get the judge’s favor so it is easy to see also techniques of different martial arts such as taekwondo.
• In Muay Thai the concept of a beautiful match is when the fighter is always composed, has a good position in the ring and chooses powerful and effective shots instead of shooting series of beautiful but useless shots.

The aggressively “run” opponent that is something that can often be seen in kickboxing fights is also seen positively because of the pressure and high pace that are well seen.

What is sometimes seen as “aggressive action” in a kickboxing match may not be appreciated and called “sloppy” without hesitation by a Muay Thai coach.

Composure for Thais is important and they love a technical fighter rather than an aggressive one.

This results in matches where most fighters remain composed and attack using the basics of combat and avoid flashy rotational kicks.