What’s Next? Ok, so all the above moves are what you see in every martial-art movie, and they are essential to learn to become a great fighter - but there are also some lesser-known techniques that are used here in Thailand: 1. The Fighting Zone - This is all about moving your opponent into your fighting zone and then face off with each other. Muay Thai fighters will move in on their opponent to were they are standing right in front of them and then the battle begins! This takes a lot of practice as you have to know your own fighting distance and “reach” and then you must learn your opponent’s fighting distance. Whoever discovers the fighting zone first usually controls the fight and wins the battle. The more you experience and discover people’s zone, the better defence you have. 2. Embracing Fear - A popular saying in the USA is “no fear” and it truly applies to sports like Muay Thai. However, in Thailand, they simply embrace and accept that they are fearful. Such honesty is really refreshing to me because it is true. Anyone who steps into a Muay Thai ring should and will be fearful. This is one Muay Thai move that really hits the human emotions and the spirit of a warrior. In this fearful situation, a person can learn a lot about themselves. There are benefits from experiencing this fear and a person can learn to do many things even though they are fearful. The more you practice anything, the better you get at it, which is why I tell everyone to have fun with Muay Thai and get into the ring at whatever level you can because when fearful situations occur in life, you will find yourself with the ability to deal with them easier and more constructively once you have learned to “embrace fear”. 3. Fight with Royal Honor - Muay Thai was mainly promoted and brought up in Thailand through the ancient Kings. Many historical Asian warriors had high levels of honor and humbleness that very few foreigners know about and can actually practice while fighting. To me, this is absolutely the most important Muay Thai skill to learn and practice. I myself am 50 years young, having started training in Muay Thai 20 years ago and I am still learning this Muay Thai move!
To an American like me, Thailand is an amazing place and it is so different from the USA on both physical and cultural levels. In this beautiful “land of smiles” exists the toughest and arguably most dangerous sport on the planet - Muay Thai. There are several basic moves that everyone training in the sport needs to learn to become great fighter. Here are some of the well-known ones: 1. Superman Punches - These use the big knuckles of the fist and are thrown like rocks to the nose of an opponent, with devastating results 2. Knife-Cutting Elbows - Called the “Knives of Muay Thai” with good reason, when they hit any part of the face or head, the skin splits easily. This is where the blood you might see in a fight comes from most of the time!
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3. Car-Crash Knee strikes - Using the large knee bone in a full body strike with the hands clinching the neck of an opponent gives a tremendous amount of force to the midsection of the body. This knee strike is very subtle and does not look very powerful but it has been measured by scientists to match the same impact as a small car hitting you in the stomach.
4. Baseball Bat Kicks - There are many kicks in Muay Thai but the most powerful one is this body kick and it is a focal point of the fights in the ring. Thailand is the only martial art in the world that has developed the shin bone of the leg to become like a baseball bat and then it is used to strike the lower-body. This is an incredibly effective move and many a KO has come from a well-executed kick like this.
Thailand is the master at this and my favorite example of this is watching Thailand vs. Japan in the Muay Thai ring. Japan has a long history of mighty warriors but Siam is still the master of “royal honor” which equals being more humble than your opponent, calming your heart and being “sabai jai”. When you humble your heart to show “royal honor” to your opponent, you are able to see and feel their movements and thus you can counterstrike your opponent with knock-out force. If, however, you fight your opponent with anger, rage, violence and the typical aggressive attitude most fighters display, then you can not feel and move as fast as a person who can fight with “royal honor”. This, to me is truly unexplainable until you have experienced it. The way you can see me doing this is when I smile a lot and laugh while fighting in the ring. One of the pinnacles of achieving this “royal honor” is when you are able to fight your best friend in the Muay Thai ring and then win by KO! Now those are truly amazing Muay Thai moves!
About the author: Daniel c docto aka khru “doc” If you want to learn more about Muay Thai or even take a lesson Please feel free to contact khru “doc. docThailand@gmail.com cell 087-810-2177 www.facebook.com/MuayThaimissions www.facebook.com/docdocto
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