Muay Thai vs. Western Boxing

**Freddy** · Posted On: 12/19/2003 4:34pm

Perhaps someone should have elaborated on the similarities and differences between MT's hand strike to boxing's.

**Disaster Master** · Posted On: 12/19/2003 6:18pm

Some time in the 20th century MT adopted western boxing punches in place of the traditional MT hand techniques. The difference between MT punches and boxing punches is minor and due to a little difference in stance and guard.

**Orion** · Posted On: 12/21/2003 4:59am

Muay Thai prepares the best strikers. It's not that the boxers just can't kick... it's that they don't know how to defend from kicks, clinches, the rough grappling of MT and elbows.

**Hannibal** · Posted On: 12/21/2003 7:02am

I have done boxing before. But normally Mt fighters would take apart western boxers. They have more tools to use. Face it one only uses fists,the other uses fistes,devestatingly powerful kicks,elbows and kness there is no comparison.

**Jenfucius** · Posted On: 12/21/2003 10:46am

depends on how hungry they are. genuine muay thai fighters generally look like they're starving!

just one more thing. LEG KICKS.

**Jenfucius** · Posted On: 12/21/2003 10:50am

and besides, western boxing's great advantage was neutralized when the famous thai figher sagat developed the

TIGER UPPERCUT!

**MMA_Phil** · Posted On: 12/21/2003 11:48am

I guess that MT prepares you better all round, but the striking that I tend to use is boxing; kicking is risky - not to say that I don't do it - but in MMA you can't use your kicks like jabs (like they often do in MT fights) as grappling makes it too risky. You have to set up your kicks a lot more in MMA, so I tend to find boxing more useful. Of course MT has clinch work, but IMHO it's not as good as greco/freestyle clinch work. MT does teach striking in the clinch though.
I'm an MMAer, so I train the lot, but if I had to take one or the other I think that I would pick boxing.