Muay Thai in a real situation ?

[marino13]

Hello, I would like to know some of your opinions regarding Muay Thai outside the ring. I'm considering taking some lessons, but I'm only interested in self defense. I have nothing against the ones that train for sport, but it's just not my interest. This school where I live is run by a man named Rick Davis, he is supposed to be a retired undefeated champion. His site is www.championmuaythai.com , could someone give me some feedback on whether this school is for real. I've asked him about MT being a self defense style or was it strictly for sport ? He responded by saying, " MT is the perfect style for the street, even more so than the ring. " I was just wondering what are some of your takes on this.

[KopyKat]

I would have to agree, i think is would be an ideal striking art for the ring and the street. Its simple yet effective, the thai roundhouse is devastating to the average person im sure and most of the strikes are hard and fast...not to mention the conditioning in all of it as well.

[m.artist]

i'd say it is..but watch out for the guys who procalim they are "masters"...

[Brak86]

from what i hear froma lot of people and u guys....it would kick ass....im not sure why everyone seems to be obsessed with Muay Thai....im not that knowledgable so it very well could be effective...i dunno.

[Damian Mavis]

Uhm.... kicks are kicks and punches are punches for all arts although the shin kick to the thigh is great self defence.... but the main street defence strength of Muay Thai is the clinch and stand up grappling. If you can become extremely profient at this range using the knees, elbows, throws and defences of Muay Thai you can end many fights easily if you can get to that range safely. Although for street defence I would learn how to incorporate head butts into the Muay Thai arsenal of stand up grappling.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

[RapidAssault16]

I studied Muay Thai for a while in Bangkok and it definitly improved my conditioning and mental toughness. The use of the knees and elbows are excellent. Now to answer your question: Is it the most ideal for a streetfight? Ehhhh...that's another story. Yes, Muay Thai will definitly prep you for the harsh realities of a fight (getting used to receiving punishment and giving punishment, a no quit attitude, etc.) but you need to consider the other dangers a street fight brings: multiple attackers, guns, knives, blunt weapons, concrete, broken bottles, etc. Also, the Muay Thai roundhouse kick works great on the mat or in the ring, but on the street, it's advantages diminish. The added weight that pants and shoes give to your legs make the roundhouse kick slower and more difficult to deliver. Also, the very act of conditioning your shins to take the punishment takes a long time. From my experience, Muay Thai elbows, knees, and stand up grappling works in the street, but the kicks aren't ideal for a real fight. When your adrenaline hits in a real fight, you'll realize how hard it is to throw a real kick (your leg muscles tense up and its tuff to move your legs in the traditional kicking manner. I know cause it's happened to me).

So, in conclusion...Muay Thai conditioning, elbows, knees, and standing grappling work in a real fight...but if you want street-reality kicks, pick up a copy of "Get Tough" by Fairbairn or "Kill or Be Killed" by Col. Rex Applegate. The techniques in the two books regarding kicking revolve around the use of the shoe or boot as a weapon, with the knee joint or shin as the primary target. They really work. Supplement Muay Thai with a working knowledge of blunt and edged weapons, mass attack scenarios, Fairbairn/Applegate techniques, and basic groundfighting, and you will have a good base upon which to survive a real fight.

Happy Training!

[adacas]

Muay Thai+BJJ+Eskrima= ONE PUMPED UP BADASS

[S.Anucha]

Muay Thai+BJJ+Eskrima= ONE PUMPED UP BADASS

why mix when you can simply learn Krabi-krabong? This is the martial art of Thailand which includes very simple weapons techniques and throws, locks, standup fighting (Muay Boran), clinching, ground work.... this is the "street" ready martial art..... why mix when you can learn one, and BJJ, damn I'd learn Naban before BJJ, Naban is geared towards self defense and teaches biting and fouling techniques, this is not a sport and works very well, Kachin state in Burma is where it comes from.

Muay Thai works perfectly on the street, I know I have succesfully defended myself a few times and one time against 2 people at the same time. No shit! But Muay Thai is a sport and if the sport version can work wonders just imagine what the unsanitised version can do.

[RapidAssault16]

Well, no one art has all the answers. Also...there aren't many Krabi-Krabong schools around...so most people need to train in numerous arts to prepare them for a combat situation.

Happy training!

[Thai Bri]

I used the Muay Thai knee techniques a few times and had good success with them in the street.

[marino13]

I had my first workout yesterday, and boy do I hurt. I was gasping for air five minutes into the class, and the instructor came over and told me that this was just warm ups.....I thought that this would be the end of me! I'm very competitive and I have a lot of heart,so i tries to hang with them as best I could.

One thing I got out of this class was, how hard you must train if you want to be good. I'll take this training philosophy back with me to JKD, but I'm also joining the Muay Thai school. I just hope the cross training want confuse me any.

[amy2toby]

rick davis championship muay thai

Hello, I would like to know some of your opinions regarding Muay Thai outside the ring. I'm considering taking some lessons, but I'm only interested in self defense. I have nothing against the ones that train for sport, but it's just not my interest. This school where I live is run by a man named Rick Davis, he is supposed to be a retired undefeated champion. His site is Champion Muay Thai , could someone give me some feedback on whether this school is for real. I've asked him about MT being a self defense style or was it strictly for sport ? He responded by saying, " MT is the perfect style for the street, even more so than the ring. " I was just wondering what are some of your takes on this.

I just wanted to assure you that rick and his school are awesome. I've been attending for a few months now an d am completely satisfied. rick is a real honest, down to earth guy. he really cares about us and treats us like friends he loves-not just fighters!

[Junka]

It'll get you in good shape and physical condition for a start. Once you spar you'll learn to fight back even when you feel exhausted enough to vomit, in pain and would rather go to sleep on the canvas. That in itself is worthwhile though, the same could be said of boxing amongst other things.

Street fight can mean anything from a 'dust up' in the bar to having a gun stuck in your face so it's hard to quantify. You need a good core of skills before learning anything more SD orientated but Muay Thai is a good set of core skills to have.

For a more SD orientated view on things have a look at Geoff Thompson's work. He comes more from a boxing background but you'll get the picture. There are plenty of other good SD guys too.

My advice: Go for it, get stuck into Muay Thai and work hard, worry about other stuff later when you feel comfortable with the Muay Thai.

[Junka]

I just wanted to assure you that rick and his school are awesome. I've been attending for a few months now an d am completely satisfied. rick is a real honest, down to earth guy. he really cares about us and treats us like friends he loves-not just fighters!

I find that very typical of Muay Thai camps/clubs generally. One of the things I always liked was the informal, friendly atmosphere.

[amy2toby]

yes, me too. its feels like one big family. when I first started everyone was so nice and helpful. they made me feel like i belonged. instead of saying, "you are doing this wrong" they'd say "try it like this, that looks more solid, did that feel better?", etc.