Why do thai boxers move differently ?

Discussion in 'Thai Boxing' started by daggers, Apr 4, 2015.

  1. daggers

    daggers Valued Member

    As part of a project I'm doing I just want opinions from people of all styles/backgrounds to give me YOUR thoughts on why Muay Thai boxers stand and move differently to all other styles.
     
  2. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    You're making an incorrect assumption that Muay Thai has a different stance from every other martial art. Most martial arts have their own stances.


    The correct question would be "why do Thai fighters have the particular stance they use?"
     
  3. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x

    That makes the answer to easy :)
     
  4. daggers

    daggers Valued Member

    You got what I meant though? So what's your opinion???

    .how about this..
    Many martial arts are similar in their stance and foot work . boxing and sport karate, kickboxing are very bouncy (generalised. I'm not saying they are all the same , I have no interest in bashing other styles here, I'm interested to know people's opinions on muaythai)
    But in Muay Thai it is quite clear that the pace, rhythm and footwork is quite different
    Typically starting off Slower, set on the back foot
    Why do you think this is?
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2015
  5. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    So are you asking about the pace they set, the footwork, or the music they fight too?


    It's one of the least restrictive rule sets for stand up striking, but it still has a lot of cultural trappings to it.
     
  6. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    Because it's suited to Muay Thai bouts?

    Change the scoring, or not even the rules so much as the traditional way of scoring and it would be different?

    Mitch
     
  7. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    The answer is going to be a mix of what Chadderz and Mitch just mentioned.
    Every style has an individual stance, some are similar and MT stance can be described as sport specific.

    What is the project about? You can probably compare MT with Boxing stance and then compare Thai and Dutch stances etc?
     
  8. Rebel Wado

    Rebel Wado Valued Member

    Based on how closer ranged fighting systems use footwork, I would say that Thai boxing footwork is very strong for close ranged striking.

    I would state that longer ranged systems move into something more like Muay Thai and wrestling when closer in. And Thai boxers, conversely move into a more bladed stance when attacking longer ranges.

    The more open stance allows for the use of both sides of the body and powerful strikes/kicks using rotation/pivoting of the waist, hips and shoulders.

    Range is relative too. I might go shoulder to chest at close range but strike with my shoulder into their solar plexus rather than go chest to chest with under hooks. The shoulder strike is close range but is relatively longer range compared to chest-to-chest clinching.
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2015
  9. SWC Sifu Ben

    SWC Sifu Ben I am the law

    Well that back weighted stance is very similar to some stances found in TCMA and it serves essentially the same function; fast defence against fast kicks. It's fairly high because the clinch is high and they're not so worried about the shoot or wrestling and it lets you fire off kicks a bit faster because you can shift weight quickly. There's more but others can speak to it better than I.

    FWIW I learned how to use Tsui Ma a lot better through training Muay Thai because the two stances are similar.
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2015
  10. daggers

    daggers Valued Member

    Yes it would! A slight rule and scoring change and you have k1 for example
    There is a lot if difference between a k1 fighter and a Thai match

    This is my point , k1 (for example) requires lots of aggression, busy shots , landing On targets so the footwork/movement changes again

    Thanks to the others that contributed
     
  11. qazaqwe

    qazaqwe Valued Member

    The changes required to turn Muay Thai into Japanese kickboxing are more than slight.
     
  12. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

  13. Rebel Wado

    Rebel Wado Valued Member

  14. qazaqwe

    qazaqwe Valued Member

    The back foot is also turned much further to the right than it should be.
     
  15. daggers

    daggers Valued Member

    I don't think the likes of buakeaw and koaklai would entertain k1 if the change were more than slight
    Take out 90% of clinch and all elbows, change the pace, but more importantly know how to adapt to how it's scored
    What slight differences are we talking about that would make it no different?
     
  16. qazaqwe

    qazaqwe Valued Member

    But knees from the clinch and elbows are two of the three major scoring criteria in Muay Thai, the egalitarian nature of K1 striking creates different objectives which in turn cause skills and tactics that have little to no place in Muay Thai to be very effective, such as volume punching, blitzing from range and counter fighting, Buakaw did very well in K1, but i feel that it was more a case of having developed a style that crossed over well by focusing on the only legal major scoring criteria (kicks above the waist) as opposed to the differences being subtle and most Thai fighters being able to make a well received transition with little to no learning curve.
     
  17. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    K-1 is supposed to be a rule set to allow fighters of all styles to be competitive. Karate, Kung fu, Thai and kickboxing.
     
  18. qazaqwe

    qazaqwe Valued Member

    It was supposed to, but if you took a fighter who predominately utilized the clinch, to either consistently land knees and elbows or to compromise the opponent's balance in hope of achieving a knockdown, they would find the transition much more taxing than a fighter like Buakaw who was a predominantly ranged fighter, such comparisons with lacking skill areas can also be made with old school PKA kickboxing and San Shou i'd imagine, not all fighters would automatically fail, but there are more than a few middling factors against them.
     
  19. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Thai's start slow because the first round is a feeling out process, isn't really used when judging the bout (IIRC the judges favour the later rounds) and also gives the spectators time to see the fighters and make bets (VERY important).
    They fight on the back foot so they can teep and shin check kicks if needed. Thai boxing is as much a test of balance as it is striking. Strikes and throws will score if they unbalance the opponent, even if the strike is "blocked" (or would be seen as blocked in other formats).
    As such Thai's tend to favour stability and measured footwork rather than bouncing or lots of movement (as such things can be a cause of losing balance).
    In Thai, if you bounce around, block a kick but stagger a few paces you get scored on. If you stay more stable, block the kick (even if it lands harder on you than the bouncing guy) BUT stay well poised and in control of your balance the kick won't score.
     
  20. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Also...not all Thai's fight the same.
    Saenchai is a fairly mobile fighter for example (IIRC). Back in the day Coban was a puncher, Diesel Noi was a knee specialist and liked to clinch a lot. There are more modern examples with the same differences but I'm not that up on modern Thai's.
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2015

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