What is Muaythai?
The traditional form of martial arts in Thailand is called Muay Thai or Thai boxing. It has two contact spots like boxing and four contact spots in the hands and feet like kickboxing. The 8 angas technique is used to make contact by punching, kicking, elbowing, and kneeing. Heading is prohibited for the Thai belief that the soul can escape through such contact. Boxing trunks are worn with a Mongkhon on the head and a Peurakchiat strapped on the arm. Today, gloves are worn as opposed to the past when glass powder was coated on bandaged fingers with hemp.
History
Bare handed fighting arts(Rammuay), weapon-based arts and breathing is called Muay Thai in all. Muay Thai called Thai Boxing and known as The Art of the Eight Limbs is Thailand’s national sport with a long history traced back to a thousand years and is the Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand. It is known as Pradal Serey in Cambodia, Tomoi in Malaysia, Muay Lao in Laos and as a similar style called Lethwei in Myanmar. Muay Thai is a generic term of Muay boran, unarmed martial arts of Thailand prior to the introduction of modern equipment and rules in the 1930s and accordingly the direct ancestor of modern Muay Thai, and krabi krabong the weapon-based art together with Wai khru, an action of respect in Thai culture that is performed by participants in Muay Thai competitions. Traditional Muay Thai practiced today varies slightly from the ancient art Muay Boran and uses kicks and punches in a ring with gloves. The muay thai became popular in the sixteenth century, but began to be internationally distributed only in the twentieth century, when many Thai fighters won several victories over representatives of other martial arts.
Techniques
Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on “core muscles” (such as abdominal muscles and surrounding muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts. Formal muay Thai techniques are divided into two groups: mae mai or major techniques and luk mai or minor techniques. Almost all techniques in muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, elbow and block.