Male Vs Female Kickboxing Article
At Last You Can Get Top Quality Online Muay Thai Instruction, Training, Tips, And Videos, All In One Place For Free!
You might have seen Muay Thai on TV. You've probably seen Thai boxers at your local gym. You may have seen the spectacular displays of Muay Thai skill on the "Ong Bak" movie like most people have. Of course everyone knows this is just Hollywood style crap but imagine if you could do a fraction of the Thai boxing shown in that movie. If you want access to authentic online Muay Thai instruction then have a look here to get the info you need.
In the world of martial arts Thai kickboxing is becoming renowned as the most effective stand up striking art that there is. Just ask the mixed martial artists in the UFC which striking arts they use; most of the time they'll say "thai boxing".
But try to get information on authentic Muay Thai training and you might get mixed results.
A lot of kickboxing out there has been "Americanized" where by the techniques and training is diluted with western style boxing and flashy Tae Kwon Do style kicks. This kickboxing is not pure Muay Thai and there is a big difference if you want to learn. In fact as the years have gone by since American kickboxing and Muay Thai have met in the ring you can see that the kickboxers have become more and more like the Thai fighters.
This is because the Thai boxers keep kicking everyone's arses and everyone's realizing that the Thais do it their way for a reason.
In fact you may be wondering about the difference between 'kickboxing' and 'Thai boxing', where they came from, and who cares! Well the short answer is that Thai boxing (properly known as Muay Thai) comes from Thailand and kickboxing comes from else where.
Where kickboxing comes from is a source of controversy. Many claim that the Americans invented it in the 70's as a means of making karate full contact, some say that the Japanese did the same thing, and some say the ancient Greeks developed a form of it thousands of years ago.Go here for an article on the development of kickboxing in the twentieth century.
The differences between Muay Thai and kickboxing are mainly in the rules. The strikes are mainly the same (as Bruce Lee once said "a punch is just a punch, a kick is just a kick") it's just that in Muay Thai you can use more of them and to more targets. For instance elbow strikes and knees are allowed in Thai boxing and not in kickboxing. Originally kicks to the legs were not allowed in kickboxing in America but were slowly fazed in to the rules. Now there is another popular form of kickboxing called K-1 where limited knees are allowed but no elbows and no clinching or stand up grappling.
That's the main difference between Muay Thai and all other styles of kickboxing; grappling.
Contestants are allowed to grab each other whilst standing up and deliver strikes at the same time. Points are also awarded for throwing your opponent to the ground. Some people like to watch the different styles of kickboxing for different reasons; some like to watch clean hitting without the clinching and some people don't like to see a fight stopped because of a cut from an elbow (they would rather see a knockout).
But one thing appears to be clear. If you learn a style like Muay Thai with the least amount of rules then you can compete very effectively with more restrictive kickboxing rules. The opposite cannot be said however. A lot of kickboxers who have been training and competing very effectively within their own style and rules have tried to compete in Muay Thai with limited success.
I'm not having a go at any style or set of rules but this seems to be the case. There have been exceptions like Mike Zambidis who started in kickboxing but has dominated in both K-1 style events and Muay Thai fights.
But there are many fighters like John Wayne Parr who started in Muay Thai and have dominated across all striking competition including Western boxing. In my biased opinion you should get Muay Thai kickboxing training over others.
Another reason that getting training in true Muay Thai is hard is because no one wants to teach it. If you had a stable of fighters who were the best at what they do then you would be reluctant to share this information with anybody.
That has been the situation in Thailand for years but the good news for everybody is that this is changing. A lot of Thai trainers have moved to different countries to teach, and foreign trainers have been excepted to learn the tricks of the trade in the homeland of Muay Thai.
"But what if I don't want to hurt anyone or do any sparring?"
Then I suggest doing something like Cardio Kickboxing or some other similar class where you don't spar or hit each other. You either hit the punching bags and mits or do those exercise programs where you just strike into the air. There are many good ones to choose from these days and even videos that allow you to do it at home.
Be warned though these type of programs are just a good workout and nothing more. Don't expect to be able to protect yourself after doing them for a while. You need expert coaching from a good trainer for that.
This website is dedicated to provide you with the most authentic online Muay Thai instruction and Kickboxing training as it is taught in the best camps and gyms in Thailand. You can read about the Thai boxing strategies while watching the free online videos demonstrating the techniques. And as you absorb the information, you'll find direct ways to implement it into your practice and become a better Muay Thai kickboxer.
You're probably thinking that this type of information has to cost you somewhere, and I will admit that there are links to Muay Thai kickboxing products for sale throughout this site.
But you don't have to buy anything to get access to any of the free info, and there's tons of it.
As you can see we're serious about helping the Muay Thai community make this martial art as popular and mainstream as other arts like karate. You can find lots of other useful pieces of information on the other pages of this site and we're always updating and creating new content. We would also love to here from you and receive input.
If you can improve this site then we all improve.
