Muay Thai is a popular martial art that comes with a lot of benefits. If you’re looking to get fit, learn self-defense, and unleash some aggression, Muay Thai could be the right style for you. But with so many different types of Muay Thai out there, it can be tricky to figure out which one is right for you. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at Muay Mat – the heavy puncher of Muay Thai – and see what makes it unique. Stay tuned!
What Is Muay Mat?
Muay Mat is used to refer to the fighting style of heavy punchers and also the fighter itself. Their powerful hands and persistent aggression pushing forward from the time the bell rings is almost trademark to them. A Muay Mat predominantly uses hard-hitting heavy punches along with devastating low kicks to leave opponents writhing in pain. Although both punches and kicks aren’t the best to score points, Muay Mat fighters generally don’t require scores, easily winning bouts with their offensive strategies that often end in knockouts that inevitably declare them winners.
These Muay Thai fighters are relentless in their attack, starting off by exerting forward pressure disregarding their defense to power through, much like the vicious Muay Bouk style, which thrives on using all weapons and techniques to land devastating strikes.
The Muay Mat fighting style is one employed by many Muay Thai world champions, where they execute elegant punches, swift low kicks, and neatly pack the attack with strategic head movements that protect them, especially from technical fighters that look for gaps in the defense strategies of Muay Mat fighters to sweep in and counter this aggressive style.
How Muay Mat Fighters Win Against Other Muay Thai Fighting Styles
The main weapons of a Muay Mat fighter are their punches and low kicks. There are various types of punches and kicks, and a combination of the varieties as well. Below we’ve outlined how Muay Thai fighter uses their techniques to fight the likes of Muay Khao, Muay Tae, Muay Femur, and other fighters with diverse fighting styles.
The Infamous Knockout Wins
In Muay Thai and kickboxing, punches are the most famous for delivering knockouts because they are easier to swiftly strike although the Muay Thai kick is more power-packed. This means that the Muay Mat fighter whose main weapon is the punch can practice adeptly land more impactful punches than kicks along with their persistent forward aggression that ultimately leads to a knockout.
Practice improves not only speed but also the intensity of the punch. While genes make a huge difference to the strength a punch can have, for example, some fighters are born with fast-twitch muscles that directly correlate with a higher impact which means more damage to the opponent.
Although strength plays an important role, being tactful and expertly punching the right spots is key to securing a knockout punch. The chin, jaw, the spot behind the ear, and the liver are weak spots that can cause Muay Mat opponents to succumb to knockouts. Precisely delivering powerful punches while moving forward aggressively, Muay Mat fighters can effectively bag knockouts.
Low Kicks
These fighters powered by their punches also use a combination of a variety of low kicks to damage their opponents. The low kick is a destructive approach that a Muay Mat fighter consistently employs in a fight, delivering massive effect to the adversary’s thigh, pounding them down to the extent where they can no longer rise up to keep going. These kicks are typically built on after hefty fist attacks, forcing the opponent to block high with their arms, diverting the focus away from defending their lower body.
Muay Mats use a variation of kicks that range from the basic low kick to the forward low kick, side-step low kick, and step-back low kick. Practice is key to ensuring this attack mechanism adequately strikes the opponent, while also making sure the lower body is conditioned to support the strength of the fists, which these fighters can’t solely rely on. In instances where Muay Femur fighters try to tactically push a Muay Mat into a clinch, the successful mastery of punches and kicks whether they are short-range or long-range kicks can deter the opponent from attacking.
Straight Punches
Straight punches with enough power and accuracy to vulnerable points, especially the chin can be damaging enough to result in an instant knockout. The cross is a straight punch delivered with the most powerful fist, which is usually the rear hand contingent on the boxer’s posture and angle.
Hook Punches
A hook is a close-range attack that injures the competitor’s head from the side mainly targeting the jaw, chin, or temple. It is flung with the dominant hand and typically necessitates an attack prior to being effective. Other variations like the long-hook and check-hook are also great techniques that can instantly result in knockouts.
Head Movement
Solid defensive head movement raises the likelihood of the rival debilitating their attacks while also losing their stability. Muay Mat fighters You can refute this gap. Unlike common defensive strategies that include taking a little hit, this approach concentrates on dodging the damage.
Experienced Muay Mats use one hit for the counter to swiftly and effectively strike the opponent without losing their own balance and being susceptible to attacks from the opponent’s attack.
Body or Liver Shots
Although not as stylish as a headshot KO, a body or liver shot can instantly knock out any Muay Thai fighter. Intense pain and breathing difficulties can be an outcome of a body hook or cross. Another susceptible area that can send a fighter to sleep is the pit of the stomach or celiac plexus. The infamous punch to the torso can also cause intense damage.
Muay Mats, however, use even more techniques from uppercuts to body hooks, body crosses, and more to tower over and force opponents to succumb to their aggressive fighting style.
The Most Notable Muay Mat Fighters
As one of the most popular Muay Thai fighting styles adored by fans, this style has been adopted and demonstrated beautifully by many renowned fighters to beat Muay Femur, Muay Khao, Muay Tae, and other fighting styles.
Sagat Petchyindee
Sagat’s fists were remarkably intimidating. The strong puncher was a KO technician with a Muay Thai and kickboxing combat record of 266 victories out of 317 fights with 151 knockouts.
He has three Lumpinee championships and three Rajadamnern titles. Sagat is unquestionably one of Muay Thai’s most prominent fighters throughout history. Coined perfectly by Evolve MMA, he is memorable as having a force of dynamite in his hands.
Anuwat Kaewsamrit
Known as the “iron hands of Siam”, Anuwat Kaewsamrit is a punch boxer with the strongest hands recorded in Muay Thai history. The legend was known for his hard-hitting punches, walk-through style, and powerful kicks. During his prime, he was a regular on Thai television, and he defeated some of the sport’s greatest fighters. Anuwat’s thunderous fists and deadly legs helped beat prominent figures like Lerdsila Phuket Top Tem, Singdam Kiatmoo9, Singtongnoi Por Telakun, and Liam Harrison.
Samson Dutchboygym
Samson Isaan also known as Samson Dutchboygym had a brief but impactful career as a phenomenal heavy puncher for just six years from 1998 before he moved to box completely. He won the Lumpinee Bantamweight title, the Rajadamnern Junior Bantamweight title, and the highly coveted “Fighter of the Year” award in 1991.
His boxing career is his highlight but a stark reminder of his heavy punching capabilities, during which he won all fights out of the 43 he fought out of which 34 were knockouts or technical knockouts from 1992 to 2002.
Ramon Dekkers
Muay Thai outside of Thailand was spearheaded by the late Ramon “The Diamond” Dekkers. He is regarded by many as the best international Muay That fighter, reading to beat Thais at their home bounded by their own rules. His Dutch fashion of attacking with potent jabbing pairings posed significant challenges for top-tier opponents and earned him a devoted following.
Coban Lookchaomaesaitong
Coban was known as “The Crusher” and “Doctor Knockout” because he was a complete beast in every bout. Coban Lookchaomaesaitong was a ruthless stiff jab that few adversaries could stop. Even if his kick was trapped, Coban would barrage his opponents with jabs until he was free. He would gladly take a hit to avenge it with his jabs, especially the southpaw cross that would earn him many wins. He has a Lumpinee title and is a world champion with many global wins. His most notable win is against the acclaimed international fighter, Ramon Dekkers.
If you want to know more about a current Muay Mat technician, read about Rodtang Jitmuangnon and his dominating career in Muay Thai.
Become a Muay Mat and Deliver Powerful Punches and Low Kicks for a Staggering Knockout
Muay Mat is one of the most if not the most popular fighting styles due to the impressive knockout wins of its fighters. The powerful combination of hard-hitting punches and impactful low kicks leaves opponents damaged, giving the Muay Mat fighter an upper hand to continue striking while leaving fans in awe. This aggressive style is a great technique to adopt, and there are many Muay Thai training series that can help you master it.
Interested in learning more about the Muay Mat style? Contact Ushup for more information!
FAQs
A Muay Mat is a Muay Thai fighter who predominantly uses power-packed punches and potent low kicks to damage their opponents. The Muay Mat fighting style thrives on aggressiveness and the fighter pushes forward from the time the bell rings without worrying about defending themselves.
Liam Harrison, a multi-time world champion and contemporary superstar, has ended many of his battles with a catastrophic left hook. Harrison is most popular for his heavy punching Muay Mat style, especially his low-kick which earned him a title specifically for the low-kick in 2004. Although he has great technical superiority, his Muay Mat is his most attractive forte.
