Muay Thai and boxing are both forms of striking martial arts. They are both effective in delivering powerful blows to an opponent, but they differ in many ways. Unlike the popular martial art of kickboxing, which can deceive the eye with its clear similarities to Muay Thai, boxing is much easier to identify as a different combat sport.
In this blog post, we’ll examine the key differences between muay thai and boxing. We’ll look at the rules of each art, the techniques used in each, and how effective they are for self-defense. If you’re expecting the billion-dollar question, “Which martial art is the best?” to be answered, let us already tell you that each sport is a master of its league, and unless you’re talking self-defense, it’s hard to determine one. Regardless, let’s dissect the two martial arts and find out exactly how they differ. So, if you’re interested in learning more about these two martial arts, keep reading!
What Is Muay Thai?
“Muay” is the Thai word for “boxing,” making Thai boxing the literal translation of Muay Thai. Muay Thai is an ancient combat style that dates back to the 16th century. It’s not known exactly how it came about, but some of Thailand’s first recorded instances show close-quarters fighting being used during this time under King Naresuan, who reigned as its monarch in the 16th century and trained his soldiers to be fluent in this ancient art form and become powerful Thai boxers. If you want to know about the historical significance of Muay Thai, then known as Siamese boxing, read our blog on the History of Muay Thai.
Muay Thai focuses on using the eight contact points for Muay Thai fighters to strike, which are the fists, elbows, knees, and shins. This gave the combat sport its other popular name, “The Art of Eight Limbs”. Muay Thai was eliminated for its brutality before it was revived by the kingdom of Old Siam (modern-day Thailand). It was at its brightest in the 19th century, before becoming an officially recognized martial art, with rules and regulations to refine the sport in the 20th century. Consequently, the sport was modernized with a Muay Thai fight classification for the fighter’s respective weight class for fair competition, while Muay Thai fighters gradually shifted to using better equipment for protection. Despite that, the sport has not forgotten its roots and still maintains elements of the past, like the Samara music, rituals before the fight, and apparel of customary Muay Thai.
What Is Boxing?
Boxing is considered a martial art because it perfectly fits the definition of one. A boxing match between two skilled opponents is a thing of beauty, and boxing can be used for self-defense, as a sport, or even by the military as a means of close-quarters combat. Boxing has systemized methods of combat training, and boxers throw punches in strategic ways to defeat their opponents, with coordinated footwork and head movement that protects them from hits and places them in an advantageous position to hit.
While televised boxing is the current version of western boxing, its traces to age-old martial arts are undeniable. The history of boxing is fascinating, dating as far as human history with records of informal boxing in Egypt in 3000 BC. The first recorded official boxing match appeared as an Olympic event in the 23rd Olympiad (688 BCE) and it is amazing how this skill has evolved. Boxing is an incredibly popular sport, and it is easy to see why once you understand all that goes into a boxing match.
How Do Muay Thai and Boxing Differ?
Though both boxing and Muay Thai are combat sports that involve striking an opponent with the fist, there are several significant differences between the two. The main difference between Muay Thai and boxing is the use of eight limbs in muay thai vs. only the fists in boxing. This difference leads to different fighting styles, stances, and movements in each sport. We’ll get into the details of the differences below, so hold your horses, and get ready to learn everything about the differences between the two striking arts.
The Rules of Muay Thai and Boxing
We’ll start with the least favorite topic, “rules.” The rules of boxing and Muay Thai are more similar than different, in comparison to their other evidently distinct traits. Both boxing and Muay Thai have 3-minute time rounds with 2 minutes of rest in between a Muay Thai round and 1 minute for boxing. A Muay Thai match goes up to 5 rounds, while boxing alternates between 3 rounds for amateurs and can go up to 12 bouts for high-profile boxers.
In Muay Thai, the first two rounds act more like a “tease” than even a trailer for the actual fight, before things get intense and aggressive from the third round onwards. A Muay Thai fighter can punch, kick, clinch, and sweep opponents off their feet, scoring higher points for striking techniques that use their lower body more. Shins and knee attacks can strike the legs but not the knees. Head kicks are allowed too, but a Muay Thai fighter cannot hit the back of the head, groin, or opponent once they fall to the ground.
On the other hand, boxers will maintain the same intensity for each round, right from the start. Each round has a 10-point scoring system. Clinching is out of the question, and the referee separates players showing any sign of trying to do so. Boxing rules only allow boxers to throw punches to the upper body; they cannot hit the back of the head, or use any other motion than fist punches. The ideal climax for both art forms is a knockdown for Muay Thai and a knockout for boxing.
Weapons
Like we mentioned before, Muay Thai uses the eight limbs as its weapons, which are the fists, elbows, knees, and shins. Muay Thai training will focus on coordinating and conditioning the upper body and lower body to work together, to block kicks and punches while returning them in full blow to their opponents.
In comparing boxing with Muay Thai, the former’s weapons are only the fists, and in hindsight, they seem less advantageous. However, boxing training involves great attention to footwork, core strength, and maintaining a protective posture that ensures they can fortify themselves against attacks, unlike in Muay Thai, where fighters are more susceptible to getting hit before they hit back. We’ll explain in detail right below.
Stance and Footwork
Footwork, movement, and stance are extremely important in boxing. This is because boxers tend to fight at a much closer range than other martial artists, so they need to use foot stances to create angles and keep their range. The boxing stance is sideways to make the boxer a smaller target for the opponent and to allow for fast movements. Boxers maintain the position of their hips, with the back leg up to at least 60-80 degrees behind them, to balance themselves while allowing fluidity to easily duck, weave, and safeguard themselves from incoming punches.
The Muay Thai fighter’s stance, on the other hand, is squared or linear with their feet shoulder-width apart and their weight on the back foot, sometimes alternating to the front leg, but either way, they are mostly flat-footed. This gives the Muay Thai fighter more power for strikes but makes it difficult to execute some of the same techniques that boxing relies on, and also puts them in a position where they are prone to receiving attacks, especially to their upper body. This puts boxers at a huge advantage in comparison to Muay Thai fighters, who will likely experience more damage even if they win their fight.
Head Movement
Luckily for boxers, their only concerns are first punches, which leave them unworried about damage from their opponent’s knees, elbows, and shins. They can easily avoid a punch by bobbing their heads or ducking and slipping the punch from the other fighter.
Unfortunately for Muay Thai fighters, ducking a punch means a kick could come flying right in from their opponent’s knee. A slip at any angle might signal a high kick, and so on. While some champions have mastered the art of not even getting grazed by a kick despite confusing the opponent with head movement, most fighters receive a hard kick.
Fighting Technique and Style
Professionals and champions training Muay Thai can agree that the most famous move that learners love to master and instructors like to teach is the roundhouse style kick. While this is not the only aspect of Muay Thai fighters and their styles, it is popular for its capability of delivering a knockdown with ease.
Despite being called Thai boxing, the combination of upper and lower body movements makes Muay Thai fighters stand on the far opposite of professional boxers following western boxing. The Muay Thai stance ensures the fighter maintains a longer striking range to throw kicks while protecting themselves from hard knocks from the elbow, one of the hardest bones in the human body. Their fighting style allows them to offend, defend, and counter-attack and incorporates harder kicks than punches while they stand flat-footed, ready to check kicks, advance, and block rather than continuously moving.
In comparison, boxers keep their feet slightly closer to allow more rapid movement, hold their hands as a guard to their face, and deliver the most strategic and powerful punches. While the two fighting styles allow punches, the strength of the punch delivered by a boxer cannot be matched by a Muay Thai fighter. While it is not the Muay Thai fighter’s ability that is the hindrance, it is the huge focus on mastering punches that makes most of the boxer’s fighting style. Naturally, a Muay Thai fighter cannot punch as effectively. Notably, striking points are the lowest for punches in Muay Thai, and obviously the most rewarding in boxing.
Equipment and Protective Gear
The two arts are dangerous in their own ways and need adequate resources for safety. Both fighters use padded boxing gloves, with the Muay Thai fighter’s glove having a padded side to block kicks, and an easier grip to clinch the opponents. On the other hand, boxers have more rigid gloves to ensure they don’t damage their own hands when delivering a punch.
Fighters of both sports will wear boxing shorts, mouthguards, and groin protectors. Boxers will additionally wear shoes and sometimes shin guards, while Muay Thai fighters must wear a shin guard. Muay Thai fighters also wear a braided armband called Prajioud, which is believed to protect them from harm and bestow luck during a fight.
Muay Thai and Boxing for Self-Defense
Martial arts are often praised for their self-defense applications, and Muay Thai and boxing are two of the most popular options. Both sports teach participants how to use their bodies as weapons, delivering powerful strikes that can disable an opponent. In addition, both Muay Thai and boxing require participants to maintain a high level of fitness, making them less likely to be taken by surprise by an attack.
However, since Muay Thai generally allows for more grappling and clinching than boxing, it is a more well-rounded self-defense option. Boxing, on the other hand, focusing mainly on punches, can help practitioners develop lightning-fast reflexes. As a result, both sports have their own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to self-defense, but Muay Thai is the clear winner on that front.
Is Muay Thai the Better Martial Art?
While we cannot say which of the fighters will win if they engage in a street fight, we can guarantee that the fight will be unimaginably tough. However, on the self-defense front, especially if the situation is not a formal one, and you are in danger, nothing can save you like Muay Thai because of the various techniques a person can use to pull themselves out of a dangerous hold. While boxing is great for self-defense, Muay Thai can leave the opponent too stunned to pursue the person.
Street fights, on the other hand, although not advisable, favor Muay Thai fighters solely because Muay Thai training focuses less on protecting themselves from a punch, and rather on counter-attacking. This leaves boxers at a slight disadvantage, and more susceptible to getting punched than in a regular boxing fight. However, boxing punches must be taken seriously because the intensity and speed of the punch can leave a Muay Thai fighter too disgruntled to return the blow. The two sports are powerful in their own ways, cannot be compared, and are some of the best martial arts to pursue.
If you’re interested in learning both sports, starting with Muay Thai can be a better fit because boxing can get you used to too many head movements that can develop into a hard habit to break and make your Muay Thai training much harder.
FAQs
Muay Thai fighters can box very well, and it is a significant part of the martial art. However, when competing with professional boxers, Muay Thai professionals may struggle to have an upper hand. This is due to the different levels of specialization where boxers focus indefinitely on their punching while Muay Thai focuses on other bodily weapons too.
Although Muay translates to boxing, Muay Thai and Thai boxing are not the same. Instead, Thai boxing is the term used to refer to boxing practiced by professional boxers from Thailand.
