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Can someone explain / link me to how a fight is scored, what are worth the most points, etc.
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Ranges from amateur to pro right? Depends on the division, and league. You could be talking about the pro fights in thailand, the amateur fights in brazil, or the semi pro in the middle of nowhere. First of all every league has different rules, so for example, Toronto, the place where i live, the Amateur Muay Thai boxing league of Canada or whoever the heck is scoring, reffing, and all the other stuff will have different rules than one from somewhere else. Maybe its a private league?? I dunno, k1, Pride, Ufc... If you wanna look up one of them, probably google will aid you.For sure ones like k1 pride and ufc will be easy to find. Maybe Thailand has the same rules for all fights throughout the country? I dunno, but check it out, im interested also so ill be looking it up to see the differences. But asking to link you is just silly, it wont take as much time for you to look it up on google than waiting perhaps days for a reply to a question that was unclear in the first place.
Generally the best points are scored to hits that contact areas like the face, but mostly to the hits that contact and throw the opponent off their feet or get them unbalanced. I guess blocked kicks or punches wont score much points unless the opponent flys off their feet heh, but seriously, typing "Muay thai+scoring" into google will get you your answer very quickly and probably if you click on the right site, it will be nice and accurate to suit your needs. Good luck. -
MuayThai scoring is a convulated process. A lot of things are taken into account.
Obviously successfully striking your opponent with a staggering blow scores. This is an important concept. Simply hitting your opponent isn't really enough. It has to have an effect on your opponent for it to truly score.
Example #1: Say I kicked you across the leg, but you don't visibly react to it. You return the favor by kicking me in the leg, and my leg buckles. You have just won that exchange.
Example #2: Say you kicked me in the abdomen, landing cleanly, but there is no visible reaction to it. Then I return the favor and kick in in the torso, but you block it. But when you block it, you are forced to take a step back as you absorb the power of the blow. Despite the block, I have just won the exchange because your attack had no visible effect, but mine did.
The example (#2) listed above is kinda unique to MuayThai, in my experience of sport fighting. In other sport fighting systems, defending an attack, even if it makes you move backwards, negates the attack. In MuayThai, causing a visible reaction to your attack, defended or not, is a scoring attack!
Bear in mind is that MT scores using International Boxings "10 point must" system. You don't score individual 'points' throughout the round which are tallied up at the end to give you a score. You win a round (and the fight) by being the most effective fighter.
Other things that are taken into account to determine who actually wins the round are aggressiveness (staying on the offensive), ring generalship (controlling the action), defense (successfully negating opponents advances), and style (how good is your MuayThai?).Comment
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Thanks Khun Kao. Very interesting topic. I fought in the IKF North American Amateur event this past summer and was interested in scoring. The head referee was very good with explanations and they told us, knees would be favoured as techniques and just plain good technique over slop. Does this seem to jive with what you have experienced?Comment
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Traditionally, in Thailand, knees count for 2X the point value of all other strikes. Also, ring generalship supposedly accounts for 60% of the score. Aggressiveness is not always scored highly if the other fighter is in the center of the ring controlling the fight. This makes it a very subjective process, the only sure things being for a farang to win in Thailand you have to get a KO, and to take a belt you must definitely overshadow the champ.Comment
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whats a farang? it might be a typo i suppose but you dont seem to make many and i cant think of any words that fit and are similar to "farang"
just curious... my best guess is it means foreigner, that anywhere near the mark?Comment
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Yes im curious too.My best guess is also foreigner. But why would a foreigner need to KO to win? Thanks for the infos!Comment
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I'm still trying to understand the scoring system.
From what I gather:
In Thailand, landing a punch doesn't score unless there is a kick somewhere in the combination. A lot of foreign fighters tend to go for punching KOs, and even if they rock their opponents, they still end up losing the round.
The fight seems to be won or lost in the clinch, for the reasons Chalambok mentioned. The Thais are VERY good in the clinch.
The person to land the last blow of an exchange tends to win it.
Farang/Falang = foreigner. I've seen foreigners win decisions in Thailand, but they REALLY had to dominate the rounds to get them. Thais like Thais, as one of the political parties holds.Comment
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Has there been a more standardized approach in the west? I imagine all the different orgs have their own scoring method but do they tend to be as subjective as in Thailand?
Is there a place to learn more about judging, reffing etc, online or any good things to read anywhere?Comment
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You guys have to understand that I'm still learning this stuff myself. A lot of MT judging does "appear" to be subjective, but in truth, it really isn't. That is why MT judging is often unanimous for a winner. Very little split decisions. Its just a matter of learning the criteria and being able to apply it.
In my understanding, MT judging does favor knee strikes. But I believe it is incorrect to say they count 2x's other strikes.
MT also favors 'flashy' moves that actually land. Chorakad Faad Hang (Spinning Hook Kick), Sawk Kwan (Axe Elbow), etc. If you are able to succeed in landing this techniques, they will score big! MT disfavors boxing techniques because the hands are the only parts of the body that are padded.
Even though MT scores similarly to Boxings "Ten Point Must" system, the fact is that each round is scored within the context of the entire fight. For instance, in Boxing each round is scored as a separate entity. Once the round is scored, it stands. By contrast, the Thai's view the fight in context of a marathon. How you start is much less important than how you finish.
How often in a Boxing match do we see someone win the early rounds, but fade towards the end, yet still win the fight? They racked up enough points early in the match, preventing their opponent from winning by just not getting KO'ed.
In MuayThai, how you finish can actually be more important than your performance earlier in a fight. The score of an earlier round can actually be changed based on your performance later in the fight. As an example, lets say Fighter A is getting out-hustled early in the fight. He's not getting whipped, but Fighter B is just out-working him, using hit-n-run tactics that are frustrating Fighter A's counter attacks.
But then let's say at the end of round 3, Fighter A lands a DEVASTATING round kick to Fighter B's thigh. Being the only effective technique landed by Fighter A so far, he is still initially loses the round, and is losing the fight. However, during round 4, it becomes obvious to the judges and audience that the leg kick at the end of round 3 has really affected Fighter B's movement. He is no longer moving around a lot, hitting-n-running. He is now opting to cover up rather than move in-n-out. Fighter A is now able to get off effective combinations, and Fighter B is no longer able to avoid them.
Thai judges will now go back and review the score of round 3, and will likely change the score so that Fighter A, who initially lost the round, is now marked as having won that round.Comment
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Khun Kao, that was excellent! I think you have it all figured out, and thanks for clarifying some things for me. I have never been able to understand how all that goes down yet the referee gets the scores only seconds after the bell rings. In terms of the rules, I don't think I have ever seen a bad decision, even when personally I thought the other fighter won. As an aside, I think the refereeing and the camera direction are the best in the world.Comment
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So, in your opinion Khun Kao, is it better to fight for points, or better to try and knock out your opponent? -- I realize a good fighter would attempt both, but which do you think is more important?
Because if I can just catch a roundhouse and kick out his supporting leg, him falling is worth a lot of points for me. If I just kept doing that, how would the fight turn out? Do judges start to award less points if you keep doing the same thing?Comment
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Its better to fight for the points while looking for the knockout, if you know what I mean. KO'ing your opponent is never guarenteed, but should be your goal. However, fight to win without trying to force a KO. When you do that, you rarely ever will succeed.
Hope that answers your question.
But I have to add: knocking your opponent down with a sweep doesn't really count for much. It counts towards your "Ring Generalship" category, but not much else. Same goes for legal takedowns from the clinch. An actual knockdown from a strike is what scores big! Especially if its something cool like a kick, knee, or elbow strike.Comment
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Another point to bear in mind about winning an exchange....
Take into account what I've already mentioned about how it is more important to finish strong than to start strong. This applies to exchanges with your opponent as well. There are three ideas to apply to winning an exchange in MuayThai.
1. Never give away anything for free. If your opponent hits you, make sure you hit them back!
2. If your opponent hits you 2-3 times, you should hit him 4-6 times.
3. You should be the one finishing the exchange! Get in the last shot/s
Also, another overlooked thing in MuayThai scoring is style. I briefly mentioned this previously, but as a way of "protecting" the MuayThai fighting style, you are judged on how you fight within the context of MuayThai.
A lot of Fahrangs/Falangs (foreigners) miss out on this and then get really pissed off when they lose. They think "I out-punched my Thai opponent, I should have won!". Well, in MuayThai it doesn't work that way. You could actually dominate your Thai opponent, but if you are using a more Boxing/Full-Contact Kickboxing style, you will lose because you are not fighting within the context of MuayThai's fighting style.
Think of it like this: If its a MuayThai rules fight, then fight MuayThai style! PERIOD! NO EXCEPTIONS!Comment
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How many catagories are there? "Ring Generalship" being one of them, and which are "worth" the most of the overall?Comment
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