Hey guys This is my first proper post, as i have never found anything to ask or write, but a discussion started withing my intro post about the affect MMA is having on Muay thai, it started from a joking idea of how to raise the profile of Muay thai within the united kingdom, as it takes a backseat to most sports over here, and Yatsey brought up the point of Which is most likely true, this got me thinking, well most people know who michael bisping is from UFC, but that it due to media hype around it when it first came to the UK again, then that died, then we had the report by the BBC that kids were having thier own little cage fights in parks, then it died down again, So although UFC and Cage rage does help raise the profile of Muay thai a litte, it also seems to be catch 22, where the latter will always be over shadowed by the MMA sports. Which is a shame, as we have some good fighters, 2 of which appeared on the first Contender Asia, and also that have found glory at the WMP amatuer thai boxing championships. So what are your thoughts guys, is MMA overshadowing your martial art, not only with negativity but in aspects of its relisation of its own sport? and how else do you think we can promote our chosen sport in our area/country? Btw just before I end this, i am not an MMA hater, these are just my observations
I think there's a place for both. The audience for MMA seems wider due to it's TV coverage and publicity. Thai boxing shows seem to be full of thai boxers, family and friends.
Doesn't really effect the style i train in as it is a self defence system with a variety of arts incorporated and the stuf we do isn't pretty, its effective. I think most people have a vague idea of the different arts available to them and if they have any sense they will look at a few of them before deciding which they want to train in. With youtube at hand most people can look up different styles and decide whether the style is too violent for them.
thats fair enough there is some people at my work who are into the UFC, and i did work with one person who trained in MMA, i must say though, there is definately more muay thai gyms in my area than MMA gyms that i am aware of, although i know some places that do cross over, i also think that program on channel four, its name i shall not say, did hurt Muay thai's reputation some what, if not all martial art sports on a whole, as in work i had to defuse a few conversations and explain how channel 4 malnipulated the footage to portray a darker side to the sport, but hey anything to get ratings eh tv guys? At least there is some exceptionally good young fighters turning up in our sport, so hopefully this will rise the profile of muay thai somewhat in the next few years
I love,and do both mma and muay thai.I think mma maybe is helping raise the profile of muay thai through some decent fighters being mt practitioners too.Most mma gyms of note have muay thai teachers there.
thats true, plus there is a good UFC fightes that come from a muay thai background, or have a solid MT background, shame most of the fights go to the ground, haha, i must say K1 has done such a good job of promoting it, especially with champions such as andy sour, and its show on eurosport, which means that a great deal of people get to see the fights yay i hope to be on there one day - just to go off tagent for a second
