From a layman’s point of view, the common people think Muay Thai and Kickboxing are the same sports. Perhaps this concept is developed after seeing a boxing match because, in boxing, only punches are allowed while in Muay Thai and kickboxing, we see fighters throwing kicks as well.
So as both the sports involve punches and kicks; is Muay Thai the same as Kickboxing?The Answer to this question is NO,There is a huge difference in the rules, technique, and training along with the concept of hitting areas.
Furthermore, there are cultural and regional effects that separate both the arts.
Muay Thai vs. Kickboxing differences:
Muay Thai is an art of the eight limbs where fists, elbow, knees, and feet are used to land different combinations of punches and kicks, and this technique is the best weapon to handle bullies, robbers, and goons.
People visit Thailand to learn this great art for self-defense.
There are a lot of training camps in Thailand where thousands of fighters are learning or have learned Muay Thai to either proceed with their career as an MMA fighter or to master the art of self-defense.
On the other hand, Kickboxing is dependent upon the four limbs to strike, which means a fighter is not allowed to throw strikes using knees and elbows.
Due to this difference, we can say, Kickboxing is a sub and less lethal form of Muay Thai or Thaiboxing.
Muay Thai or Thai Boxing is one of the greatest sports to gain self-defense and self-confidence.
It is packed with attack and defense at the same time as once a fighter is attacking the opponents, she or he is also in a defense mode due to throwing non-stop strikes with a come forward way.
In this situation of facing the flurries of strikes, the opponents have no options other than blocking those strikes while stepping back continuously.
Kickboxing is usually used for professional cause, people learn this to pursue a career in either Kickboxing or Mixed Martial Arts.
Muay Thai health benefits
Along with self-defense and other benefits, there is one more purpose of learning this art of Muay Thai.
And that purpose is for the sake of Health and Fitness.
Muay Thai is the best amongst the other martial arts to gain great shape along with fitness and wellness.
It is not only based upon throwing different combinations of hands and feet, but it contains almost complete exercise for a body to stay in good shape and strength.
Throwing knees and kicking helps in the exercise of the lower body along with back while practicing punches, hooks, and uppercuts along with different combinations of the elbows, which helps to improve the health of the upper body section.
And like before starting any exercise a warm-up session is required that not only prepares the body for the heavy exercises but also firms the toes and ankles of a person.
Furthermore while throwing different combinations of eight limbs, almost every muscle is exercised to sustain good health and shape.
People also practice Muay Thai to gain, lose, or maintain their weight and to live a healthy and active life( as mentioned on the 7 REASONS Why Choose to Learn Muay Thai). These practices at a young age make life more active and healthy when one reaches one’s old age.
Muay Thai can use clinching while KickBoxing not
In Muay Thai holding and clinching is allowed that is called upper body grappling, while in kickboxing, the fighters are not allowed to do so.
Although, Muay Thai is an art of throwing different combinations to handle a group of people; it was invented for the army personnel to keep fighting even when they are unarmed.
Still, Muay Thai is a very rhythmic fighting style. The fighters establish and maintain their rhythm before throwing those combinations of different strikes.
On the other hand, Kickboxing is not so rhythmic fighting style. The fighters are supposed to mix up soon after a round is started.
Difference in rounds between Muay Thai and Kickboxing
While talking about the professional fights, a championship fight of kickboxing is comprised of three rounds. While there are five rounds of action in a Muay Thai or Thai Boxing championship bouts.
Both the fighting styles are based upon the different lethal combinations based upon the allowed limbs but, when discussing the difference of techniques, kickboxing is about exchanging the strikes and trading the punches.
But, Muay Thai is about the timing. Muay Thai fighters land well-timed strikes depending upon the situation. And once the first damaging one is landed, it is followed by a flurry of different combos in a come forward way to end the quarrel at its earliest.
Muay thai vs Kickboxing history
Muay Thai or Thaiboxing is attached to Thailand’s war history, and now it is touched with the cultural influence being the National sports of the country.
A few centuries ago, Muay Thai was used by King Naresuan as the close-combat weapon, and it played a big role in librating Thailand from Burmese rule of almost sixteen hundred years.
For this reason, Muay Thai was – and still is – attached to a specific region or demography while Kickboxing is a generalized fighting style attached with Japanese who mixed Karate with boxing and invented a sport with a little tweaking.
Furthermore, a few Muay Thai strikes were also included in it to make it a little advance.
So we can say Kickboxing is not a new art but, it is a hybrid fighting style involving some pre-existed ones.
Who is the father of muay thai?
When discussing Muay Thai, Nai Khanom Tom appears as the Father of this sport.
In Thailand and other parts where people practice Thai Boxing, they Celebrate 16 March as the Muay Thai day or Nai Khanom Day to honor the Father of Thai Boxing.
Nai Khanom, the freedom fighter, was a war prisoner in Burma. The Burmese king asked him to beat a few fighters and they would set him free. Nai Khanom did it and got liberated from the prisoner jail in Burma.
Further traces of Muay Thai reach to the 16th century when King Naresuan trained his army to get liberation from Burma.
So this type of rich cultural effects and freedom fight is not linked with kickboxing which was only developed to add another combat sport in the list of already existed ones.
Why kickboxing is less effective of Muay Thai ?
Another huge difference between both combat sports is, Kickboxing is less effective during the inside fights because when the opponent is at the close-range, only punches will be thrown from inside.
While Muay Thai is a more complete martial art as compared to any other sports.
So It is more effective during the inside fighting because a well-trained Muay Thai fighter can land elbows, knees and do great grappling along with power punches.
So Muay Thai is more effective in street fights where all the fight is fought from a close distance.
So That’s all about the differences between Muay Thai and Kickboxing, but if you ask which one is better?
My answer is Muay Thai! Which is specially designed to handle a group of assailants with ease by using different effective combinations along with a synched footwork to neutralize any attack of goons or robbers and to end a street fight as soon as possible.
Because in Muay Thai, the defense is enwrapped into attack along with rhythmic moves to make, maintain, and cut the distance.