There are many famous martial arts around the world. All of them claim to be good self-defense weapons. Some of them are easier to learn than Muay Thai and may not be as strenuous. Why, then, should you choose to learn Muay Thai?
Here are my top 7 reasons why learn Muay Thai.
#1 Muay Thai is good for selfe defense
Muay Thai uses the whole body as a weapon. It uses the eight limbs to strike and uses the other parts of the body as a shield.
It allows you to grab and hold your opponent while striking. You have better chances of knocking down your opponent to defend yourself.
In addition to that, the practice of Muay Thai will learn you how to train against multiple attacks, which is the typical situation that usually happens on the street, thanks to the footwork that you will learn from it.
Another advantage that you can use for self-defense is the appropriate use of distance, where a correct measure and instinctive movement will help you be better at self-defense.
#2 Muay Thai help to Build Muscle
Studies show that Muay Thai burns fatter than any other martial art. It also eliminates flabs around the body because it uses all parts of the body.
In a survey, most martial arts may help you lose your belly fats; however, some of them do not shape your body proportionally.
For example, many boxers may develop a more significant upper body than the lower body.
Some Taekwondo jins may develop loose fats around the upper body, especially in the biceps.
For men, Muay Thai is the best way to develop a six-pack because it improves core strength.
For women and obese people, Muay Thai is also becoming an excellent way to lose fat or to slim down. Some physical trainers now include Muay Thai exercises in their programs to achieve a sexier and a leaner body.
#3 Muay Thai develops your physical and mental strength.
Since you need to use your whole body in Muay Thai, you may develop better physical strength in all parts of your body.
Muay Thai fighters are known to have great upper body, core, and leg strength.
It also strengthens your cardiovascular system. According to some studies, one 90 minute session of Muay Thai a week can help improve your heart, lessen inflammation and improve your blood circulation. Thus, you will feel younger.
It may not only make you feel younger, but it also makes you look younger.
According to some studies, many Muay Thai players have brighter and rosier skin than those who do not practice the sport. In fact, in Thailand, most of the fighters have smooth and younger-looking skin.
This is because Muay Thai moves more parts of the body than other exercises or martial arts and thus excretes more sweat and toxins.
The sport also improves the stamina and endurance of a person. It helps the person do better in their jobs and perform their functions, especially those that need more strength.
Muay Thai is also a good stress reliever. Since the whole body moves when you are doing Muay Thai, your brain is also exercised.
You develop better reflexes, focus, and presence of mind. Your body is rid of toxins, and thus, you can sleep better.
This is the fourth of the reasons why learn muay thai, but for me it is the most significant, take a look.
#4 Muay Thai teaches many life principles.
Though Muay Thai principles vary depending on the instructor, there are many life principles that you may learn when you practice Muay Thai. Below are some of the principles and virtues taught.
1-Respect
When you first start practicing Muay Thai, you will be taught by your instructor to respect his authority, the gym, your fellow practitioners, and your opponent.
Respect is important in Muay Thai that as part of your initiation, you would have to learn Yok Kroo or Kuen Kroo, which is the dance to show your respect for your teacher and the gym. You also have to dance the Wai Kroo before you fight against an opponent.
Some gyms, to encourage fighters to respect their fellow fighters, prepare dinner once a week. This is to strengthen the camaraderie among the fighters in the gym. This is to teach the fighters that Muay Thai is a martial art or a sport and a way of life.
Muay Thai also teaches you to respect your opponent. Some instructors believe that when you respect your opponent, you become a better fighter. Not underestimating your opponent is a form of respect; however, it will encourage you to do better than him.
2-Dedication
The second principle that your instructor may teach you as a Muay Thai fighter is to have dedication. When you are dedicated, you will love what you do and will have more patience.
Muay Thai is not an easy sport. You will have to undergo physical and mental changes once you start doing it. It will become your way of life. It will take you months before you could learn the basics completely. Thus, you need to focus, love what you do, and learn how to be patient.
Muay Thai is not the kind of sport or art that you can easily declare to learn and stop whenever you want.
3-Honor and Courage
When you learn Muay Thai, your instructor will always encourage you to be fearless. Being fearless does not mean you have to attack and attack. You will have to be wise, too.
Muay Thai will help you learn that a good defense is as good as a great offense. To be fearless, you should be confident that you can defend yourself as well as you can attack your opponent. This means you should develop a plan before going into a fight.
However, most, if not all, Muay Thai instructors will encourage you to have honor along with that courage. In Muay Thai tradition, a defeated fighter is still given applause for fighting with honor. If you win without honor, you are the one who lost.
Others important reasons why learn Muay Thai are:
#5 With Muay Thai You can Make Part of Comeptitions
If you are an ambitious person and like the competition, Muay Thai is the perfect sport.
If you are in the situation that after some time of training, you realize that your improvement is visible, and as your coach, the muay Thai is full of competition.
Before starting the competition, of course, you need to have the correct preparation, either mental than physical.
The competition is for sure one of the most exciting parts of the martial arts; it allows you to measure your level of preparation with other people and keep your mind open to improvement.
#6 Muay Thai is one of the Pillar to start MMA.
If you are wondering about starting MMA, for sure, you need to consider learning Muay Thai.
I tell you these words because Muay Thai is considered one of the most efficient striking martial arts.
Now probably are you asking yourself, but why is so important Muay Thai on the MMA?
Because the Muay Thai uses many techniques that bring the fighter that own it, to become very powerful striking fighter, starting from the use of the elbows and finishing with the devastating round kicks.
One other important reason is the use of clinching.
Due to the nature of the training on Muay Thai, the fighters are highly formed on the clinching technique where the fighters hold each other and strike with knees and elbows.
Usually, in MMA, the Wrestlers use the clinch, especially if they are against a good striker fighter.
They use the clinch to minimize the distance and not allow a striking fighter to throw their punch and kicks.
And the striking fighter will take advantage of clinch technique by minimizing the risk and avoid take-downs of the wrestlers.
You can now imagine how important is clinching on MMA, for a fighter, adding the possibility that a fighter controls the opponent’s distance and position.
In general, if you are approaching or want to approach the MMA, consider having a solid background in Muay Thai, to take advantage of all the techniques that the Muay thai can give to you.
#7 NO Belting System in Muay Thai
Probably you wasn’t expected this on the list of reasons why learn muay Thai.
From your perspective, the belting system can seem like a regular ranking that decides who are the more expert and who is more strong.
In reality, the adoption of Muay thai do not have the belting system is an advantage for some reason.
Nowadays, the belting system has become a way of making the gym’s pocket richer, and there are many gyms that if you pay more or give some extra, the coach will guarantee a new belt promotion.
The Muay Thai, not having the belting system, will focus on what you learn and don’t matter the time you practice on it, you can guarantee a major level of respect after some time, without waiting for a promotion.
The only thing that matters in Muay Thai is your training effort, so always keep a hard attitude on training hard, and stay away from the belting system.
If you are approaching Muay Thai and, in particular, every fighting sport, you are wondering about its risk and some risk of practicing these martial arts, so in the next part, you will find everything explained for you.
What Are the Risks of Muay Thai?
Everyone can practice Muay Thai. In fact, in Thailand, some kids as young as 5 years old already undergo training.
Like any other martial arts, there is a risk of minor muscle or bone injury when you do Muay Thai. You may get a few sprains while practicing your kicks or throwing punches. Unless you plan to go into competition, your risk of getting a serious injury is small.
However, there are people who are discouraged from joining or re-joining Muay Thai. Here are some of them.
People who have heart disease.
Muay Thai is an excellent cardiovascular exercise, but only for people who do not have existing heart disease. The activities and practice of Muay Thai are strenuous, that it may harm your heart more.
People who suffered from chronic injuries.
People who had chronic injuries, especially those who suffered from severe hip and back injuries, are discouraged from practicing Muay Thai. These injuries may be triggered again due to vigorous training.
If you want to return or start your Muay Thai training after an injury, it is suggested that you get your medical clearance first.
CONCLUSION
During this article, you saw the reasons why learn start Muay Thai is a lot: you want to boost your self-defense, bring him to the next level, or begin on MMA.
Muay Thai is a particular sport that will bring you a lot if you dedicate the right time and dedication.
This was all, regarding my top 7 reasons why learn muay Thai, I hope that this reason was helpful and motivated you to start on this amazing fighting sport.
If you are interested can read : 11 Reason Why boxing is considered a good martial art