Bullshido Muay Thai Techniques?

**War** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 2:17am

Muay Thai

When we speak of some martial arts we tend to find what we feel 'bullshido' about them. Recently I felt many of the Ninjutsu techniques are unrealistic, like the straight walk in punch for example.

When we speak of Muay Thai, is there anything within it that you feel is poor or unrealistic? My question is not about what Muay Thai lacks in the art of fighting, if I ask that you can say it lacks ground work etc, no what I mean is when we speak of Muay Thai, as it is, is there anything to it that you feel is unrealistic?

**Kambei Shimada** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 3:24am

No not really, I'm certainly no expert on this but contemporary Muay Thai has come from arts like Muay Boran and has evolved purely through competitive sport fighting. All the unrealistic or flowery techniques have been discarded over the years.

You could easily argue Muay Thai is missing certain things (takedowns etc..) but pretty much everything you do learn In a decent Thai Boxing class can be applied against a resisting opponent.

**PointyShinyBurn** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 4:21am

If you mean 'Are there things in Muay Thai that can get you in trouble in a less restrictive rule set' then, yes, there are a couple. For example, the way a pure MT fighter tends to defend the clinch (basically posturing straight up and leaning back slightly) is very vulnerable to take downs under rule sets that allow it.

**codo3500** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 7:41am

A lot of traditional MT guys that i've seen videos of will drop their hands while kicking. My guess is that its just to add a bit of momentum and allow the whole body to be behind the kick. At my gym they do the exact same kicking style but we keep our hands up.

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 7:56am

Standing on your opponent's thigh and elbowing the top of his head comes to mind. Also the hanuman uppercut is pretty ridiculous, if rarely used.

**1point2** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 9:25am

Overspecialization in any ruleset begets overspecialized techniques that do not conform to general reality, ie, other rulesets or the lack of rulesets. This does not, however, invalidate the original ruleset, training for any single ruleset, or rule-specific techniques.

Full-contact TKD begets spinning kicks.

Muay Thai begets MT-specific clinch defense.

Orthodox Kyokushin begets a tendency not to facepunch.

Boxing begets vulnerability to lower-body takedowns.

However: Kyokushin, Muay Thai, boxing, and full-contact TKD are martial sports of superior quality, immeasurable depth, focused training, and powerful technique. The benefits of training in them far outweighs the drawbacks of falling into "poor or unrealistic" habits.

But yeah, sure, MT has a few holes in its takedown defense. But (THIS...IS...STRIKEISTAN!!! CHESTKICK) MT is devised as a striking art, and I don't think there are any significant holes in its striking methodology. Oracle and codo mention a few highly-MT-specific things, but that's the worst you're going to get. Training in MT, including those highly-MT-specific things, will still make you a terrific striker against trained and untrained opponents.

***WhiteShark*** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 9:31am

This is not a technique post. Moving to YMAS.

**patfromlogan** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 9:38am

Ignoring the lack of Judo and JJ, I think that MT is great. The only hole would be if one was concerned about sd. I don't think they spend much time on counters in sd situations. Then again, I've never used anything clever in sd as something like a roundhouse to the ankle ends it rather quickly (trained people who come out of styles that don't allow leg sweeping kicks are suckers for 'em, and untrained people weigh their front foot and go down).

**Anna Kovacs** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 9:43am

Originally Posted by codo3500

A lot of traditional MT guys that i've seen videos of will drop their hands while kicking. My guess is that its just to add a bit of momentum and allow the whole body to be behind the kick. At my gym they do the exact same kicking style but we keep our hands up.

I can only imagine the lolz that trying to keep your hands by your face and simultaneously trying to turn your kicks over results in.

Actually, I don't have to imagine because they used to ttryto do the same thing in karate and it really doesn't work very well for....just about anyone.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 11/12/2008 11:53am

Originally Posted by codo3500

A lot of traditional MT guys that i've seen videos of will drop their hands while kicking. My guess is that its just to add a bit of momentum and allow the whole body to be behind the kick. At my gym they do the exact same kicking style but we keep our hands up.

This is more of a theoretical problem than a realized one, like people saying when you miss, spinning in a circle leaves your back open. Both makes sense on paper but the fact that both allow for a powerful kick with the proper use of the hips establishes a range that make it difficult to counter, and the openings are only there for a very brief moment in time.

Originally Posted by Oracle66

Standing on your opponent's thigh and elbowing the top of his head comes to mind. Also the hanuman uppercut is pretty ridiculous, if rarely used.

I wouldn't call those muay thai techniques. They just happen to be wearing the same outfit.