When delving into the world of martial arts, it’s important to figure out which of the arts is going to be best for your specific needs. Ask yourself what you want to get out of learning your new art? Are you looking for an art to throw yourself into to learn discipline, mental and spiritual strength? Or are you specifically looking for a martial art that teaches self-defense as well as all of the spiritual and mental aspects too? To answer these questions for myself, I have put a lot of time and attention into investigating the various styles of martial arts. Today, my focus is on Muay Thai.
Is Muay Thai effective for self-defense and real fighting? Yes, Muay Thai is highly effective in self-defense and real fighting. In fact, Muay Thai is one of only a few martial arts that have been battle-tested and street certified for real-life encounters. Muay Thai is a striking based art that also focuses on throwing and locking techniques. The art teaches the conditioning of body, mind, and spirit, which is designed to give practitioners the confidence required for real life scenarios requiring self-defense.
When learning Muay Thai, you will gather all the skills and mindset required to fight to protect yourself as well as those you love in a real fight. If you take a look at Muay Thai as a fighting sport and martial art, you will see it as clear as day; it is the perfect form of self-defense. Before you can decide if Muay Thai is the martial art for you, let’s take some time to delve a little deeper into the art and what/why it is such a good form of self-defense. To learn more, read on.
How Is Muay Thai Effective In Self-Defense & Real Fighting?
It’s one thing to say that Muay Thai is good for self-defense and in a real fight, but quite another to answer how! What is it about the martial art of Muay Thai that makes it so effective in a real-life scenario? What is it about Muay Thai that makes it the go-to for so many people? When faced with a real-life confrontation, say in a street fight or a mugging, the skills and techniques that you learn in Muay Thai will help you to overcome your aggressor and protect those you love.
Of course, there’s a secret to the success of Muay Thai in self-defense. And that secret is that Muay Thai is designed to use the momentum and submissions of the opponent to actually overcome the opponent. Another reason why Muay Thai is so effective in a real fight is that the striking taught and used is second to none. In fact, it is considered the most effective striking sport in the world. It therefore comes as no surprise that it is one of the key foundations of the ever-popular sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Some of the world-renowned champs in MMA make use of Muay Thai based striking in their attacks.
Does The History of Muay Thai Deem it Fit For Self-Defense?
Where a martial art originates and its actual purpose can help you to determine whether or not it is suited to a real fight or for self-defense. When you delve a little into the history of Muay Thai, you will find that it was originally designed and developed as a close-combat martial art, making it perfect for self-defense. It was taught to ensure that practitioners know how to use their entire bodies as weapons. The actual origins of Muay Thai are shaky to say the least. It turns out that the historical documents were lost during a Burmese ransack in Thailand in the 14th Century.
What we do know is that the martial art of Muay Thai originated in Thailand. If you take the time to look up some of the most renowned fighters of all time, you will find that there are many Muay Thai practitioners among them. Some famous Muay Thai masters and practitioners include the likes of Buakaw Banchamek, Smart Payakaroon, Dieselnoi Chore Thanasukarn, John Wayne Parr, and Tony Jaa to say the least.
At the very least, we know that Muay Thai, even in its most original form, was designed with self-defense in mind and that simple fact alone makes it a great choice for those wishing to learn a martial art that is specifically good in a real street fight.
Effective Muay Thai Moves In a Real Fight
When learning Muay Thai, there are several moves and techniques that will prove highly effective in a street fight or when faced with a situation where self-defense skills are required. When you learn Muay Thai, you will learn a plethora of strategic techniques and moves that will serve you very well in a fight. Learning these moves with self-defense in mind will put you in a good position when attacked or caught up in a street fight. Of course, it will take time to learn all of the moves required to fully protect you. Below are a few of the basic Muay Thai moves you will learn that will prove highly effective in a fight.
When learning Muay Thai, you will be taught to have a strong defense by blocking. The idea with all martial arts is that you conserve your energy and don’t get into unnecessary bursts of fights, but if someone comes at you swinging punches and flailing kicks around, you have to take action. Knowing how to effectively block punches and kicks, is the strongest possible defense you can have. You can shut down a fight fairly quickly if you know how to redirect a punch or use your shin to block a kick.
1. Short, powerful jab kicks.
You might be tempted to master the roundhouse kick straight away, but if you are just starting out and want to learn basic self-defense moves before you master the art of Muay Thai, smaller kicks are the safest bet. A smaller, quick foot jab will prove far more powerful than a complex roundhouse kick you haven’t truly mastered yet. Learn tight, powerful kicks first.
When learning to kick, make sure that you practice being able to carry out more than one kick at a time. Being able to deliver kick after kick is strategically effective. When learning to kick, you will learn to return to a squared, steady position. When using Muay Thai for self-defense you will need to train in such a way that after delivering a kick, you are quickly able to regain your balance and deliver another swift kick.
2. Dealing With Grappling In An Effective Clinch.
Learning to clinch will take you far in self-defense. In Muay Thai, a clinch happens a lot. It’s a move where the practitioners are grappling in the standing position. Because Muay Thai focuses on clinches, it will teach you to get out of a grappling session with another person or at least use it to your advantage.
3. Using Hard, Impactful Elbow Throws.
It’s important to know that the elbows can be used like hard hammers. The good thing about using your elbows to fight is that they are far harder to damage than the delicate bones in your hands and feet. Elbow throws work really well in a clinch. When someone is up close and grappling with you, you can time an elbow throw (aka elbow blow) to the opponent’s jaw or even the head in the temple area. A move like this can knock the opponent right out.
4. Uses Punches As A Defense.
In most other sports, punching is used as an offensive move, but in Muay Thai, they are used as a defensive move. Instead of learning to punch with the object of striking your opponent, the punch is used to redirect your opponent’s punch or throw them off. Because of this, a Muay Thai punch requires a very specific technique and uses more muscles than a regular punch would. The Muay Thai punch is perfect for self-defense or in a street fight.
Muay Thai Belt System
While you might be looking for a martial art to use as self-defense, you might still want to know about the belt system and how long it will take you to master the art. Knowing that you are progressing in the art and earning the belts along the way might even boost your confidence when using Muay Thai in self-defense. Does Muay Thai have a belt system? Muay Thai doesn’t have a traditional belt system, but many Western schools have implemented their own belt and grading system used specifically for their school. Fighters are typically ranked purely on their skill and fight record. The quality of wins and number of championship belts and wins the fighter has will hold him to a certain high esteem.
How long will it take you to master the art of Muay Thai? Well, that’s hard to say. Just like with any partial art, how long it takes to master the art will depend on how much effort you put in and how disciplined you are. If you practice a few hours a day diligently, you will be able to master the art in a shorter space of time than if you only put in several hours a week. A lot of your success in mastering the art will also depend on your physical fitness. If you aren’t fit and active, you might struggle to get ahead as quickly as you would like to.
In general, Muay Thai is a fairly simple martial art to learn. Most beginners can get the basics down between 3 and 6 months. To be a more effective practitioners, fighters will take 8 to 12 months to become more proficient at Muay Thai.
If you want to be a pro fighter and enter competitions, you could look at entering competitions somewhere between the 6 and 12 month mark in your training. To become a “master” in Muay Thai it can take a lifetime of hard work and dedication.
What To Wear To Your First Muay Thai Class
If you are attending a Muay Thai class for the first time, you will want to ensure that you wear the right attire and have at least some understanding of the gear used in the training of the art. Like most martial arts, you need to be able to move freely without restriction. Most practitioners take a towel and extra shirt along because it is a grueling work out – you may want to change. Gym style clothes are good options. Comfortable t-shirt or vest with shorts. Avoid wearing leggings unless they are able to wick away moisture.
In your first class learning Muay Thai as self-defense, you can expect to be introduced to various punch-and-kick combinations with Thai pads. You will be taught the correct way to stretch and how to maintain correct stances. Muay Thai trains with highly intensive cardio conditioning so it’s good to be prepared for that. You won’t need shoes or socks to train – most training is done barefoot.
Some Muay Thai training gear and equipment that you can expect to use along the way includes the following:
- Skipping ropes
- Thai kick pads
- Punching bags
- Belly pads
- Punching mitts
- Kick pads
- Focus mitts
- Mouth guard
When attending a Muay Thai class for self-defense, you need to be prepared in more ways than one. You need to be physically and mentally prepared. Below are just a few tips to help you:
- Have an open mind.
- Be open and friendly towards other students.
- Prepare to sweat and work hard.
- Push yourself.
- Be open to constructive criticism; it will only make you better.
- Ask questions specifically about how to apply certain Muay Thai moves to self-defense scenarios.
Last Word
If you are looking for a martial art that teaches great self-defense, Muay Thai should be on your list of options. Muay Thai is focused on close combat and when the techniques are correctly learned, they can be brutal.
