whats more dangerous-muay thai or boxing?

[proud chinaman]

boxing is supposedly more dangerous for the brain as thats where most of the punches are targeted at, and cos they use gloves and have longer rounds the brain gets exposed to more damage. however wouldnt an elbow to the temple or top of the head be more damaging than fifty punches together? also im sure a knee to the head would be more powerful than a mike tyson uppercut even if done by a small guy.

do most thai boxers suffer from the sport once they are older? and what about shin damage?

im jus wondering cos i had an arguement with some thai boxers over which was worse for the body, i was pretty sure thai boxing is, but they made some good points about boxing. but in thai boxing you punch as well!

[Nutz]

Hmm... That's a pretty thorough question. From what I've seen I'd have to say MT is definitely more brutal since they use the Knees and Elbows. However, the boxers do have their share of fatalities in the ring. Not so much these days as in the past, but it still happens. Then again, the deaths are usually attributed to outside factors that were compounded by the fights themselves. I've seen guys get dropped by things that ordinarilly wouldnt have been so devestating, but because of soemthing that happened to them previously they were just hypersensitive to the the actions in the ring.

Overall, I believe that MT is one of the most brutal widespread sports of today.

[kh_s]

try to find that kickboxing shin break video around here, or kazaa.

[sercuerdas]

in thailand there careers are much shorter than boxers, but they fight much more in that time. you really can't fight thai into middleage like many can box. brain damage is probaly less likely in thai thou because you tend to get dropped quicker a substain less continuos blows to the head.

[Nutz]

Originally posted by sercuerdas
in thailand there careers are much shorter than boxers, but they fight much more in that time. you really can't fight thai into middleage like many can box. brain damage is probaly less likely in thai thou because you tend to get dropped quicker a substain less continuos blows to the head.

Good point. The sustained blows in boxing can result in death by the brain getting bruised more and more throughout the course of a fight. In severe cases the swelling results in death.

The fact the MT guys have MUCH shorter careers than boxing (generalization, I know) illustrates my point of why I think MT is rougher as a sport than boxing.

[sercuerdas]

yes imo after a career in mt your body will be much worse for the wear, but you probably won't end up punch drunk like a boxer. after only three years of mt my body is already complaining.

[MuayThaiFighter]

As a muay thai fighter myself,I have to laugh at what some of you guys say.

It is true that MuayThai is a more devastating art then Boxing due to elbows and shins,however boxing is more dangerous as far as brain damage since it is continuous hits to the brain.Boxing has no kicks where as MuayThai does so we're not always punching to head.

Thai fighters hit and punch basically anywhere on your body,where as boxers hit specifically to ribs and head,we strike at head,body,shins,thighs,and do foot sweeps etc.

I personally have never heard of a MuayThai kickboxer dieing from fighting,unless the fighter had brain damage to begin with, and had been told by doctors not to fight any more.I read something like that in a newspaper once,but the brain damage hadn't come from kickboxing, it had come from a disease that ran in his family.

Same thing with Mohammad Ali,he would have gotten his brain damage with or without boxing because Alzheimer runs in his family.Of course the boxing just added to it though.


My point is either one can make current brain damage worse and lead to death,but to get brain damage from fighting you have a better chance from doing boxing.

Any sport can cause brain damage or death,I've heard of someone dieing due to getting hit by a hockey puck in the head,I have also heard of a football player dieing from it being too hot under his gear and not being able to breath.

For those who want to complain about brain damage from boxing or muaythai,they should get a life,because you have a better chance of getting brain damage from doing drugs like pot,crack and heroin.I hear of more people dieing from that crap then from doing MT or Boxing.

Another thing to say a MT fighter is unable to continue after middle age is garbage.I'm 34 and I fight in Muay Thai competitions all the time.Infact I'm training 6x a week at the moment because I would like to fight pro.I have only been in MuayThai 5 yrs.which is sort of late for starting,but it doesn't mean it's impossible to do muaythai in middle age,that's generalizing,it maybe for some people but everyone's body is different.

Have I ever been hurt? Of course it is expected in MuayThai due to training and fighting,but it has nothing to do with middle age,I'm in better shape then most 18yr.old punks out there.

An example is UFC,these guys are the best fighters in the world,they fight harder then muaythai and other martial arts styles since they usually need to know both grappling and stand up and go full out,most of these guys are anywhere from mid 20's to mid 40's.

[Nutz]

Originally posted by MuayThaiFighter
Same thing with Mohammad Ali,he would have gotten his brain damage with or without boxing because Alzheimer runs in his family.Of course the boxing just added to it though.

Not to say he didn't have any brain damage from boxing, but his issues are mainly caused by Parkinsins(sp?) disease. Its the same thing Michael J. Fox (Family Ties, Spin City) is dealing with now. IIRC, Parkinson's disease attackes your nervous system and degrades your motor functions, which is why Ali looks like he's always got 'the shakes'. Just watch his hands when he's on TV.

[sercuerdas]

muay thai figther,

34 is by no means middle age, and five years is really not thet long to have been training mt. i'd like to hear your thoughts in another 5-10 years. lastly your find that most things in life are generaliztion. if you can fight into middleage then you are the exeption not the rule.

[MuayThaiFighter]

Originally posted by Nutz


Not to say he didn't have any brain damage from boxing, but his issues are mainly caused by Parkinsins(sp?) disease. Its the same thing Michael J. Fox (Family Ties, Spin City) is dealing with now. IIRC, Parkinson's disease attackes your nervous system and degrades your motor functions, which is why Ali looks like he's always got 'the shakes'. Just watch his hands when he's on TV.

Sorry my mistake,you are right it is Parkisons disease not Alzhemier got it mixed up.I think he has Alzhemiers also though,could be wrong.

Either way I believe he has some brain damage,but I doubt it came from boxing alone.

[MuayThaiFighter]

Originally posted by sercuerdas
muay thai figther,

34 is by no means middle age, and five years is really not thet long to have been training mt. i'd like to hear your thoughts in another 5-10 years. lastly your find that most things in life are generaliztion. if you can fight into middleage then you are the exeption not the rule.

Well when it comes to stuff like boxing and MT ,many people consider 34 middle age,perhaps not outside of boxing or MT.My misunderstanding.

I know 5yrs of MT isn't long but that doesn't mean I have only done martial arts for 5yrs.infact I have now been in martial arts for 17yrs. I did Goju Ryu karate for 12 yrs.before I changed to Pankration and decided to fight MuayThai.

[billywest1924]

age, brain damage

first off muaythaifighter is correct age don't mean shit! it only does when you have been involved in "war's" thats what "age's" a fighter....boxer's get brain damaged mostly from the day in and day out sparring as you all know most boxer's don't spar in the gym they fight as hard as they would in a real fight. we as thai/kickboxer's don't spar like that, in thailand they hardly spar at all and if they do its light thats why those guy's get out with all there marbles and suffer fewer head injuries i think there equally risky however i think they are a little smarter training they rely more on conditioning thru bag, pad, and road work rather then sparring 4-8 rounds a day as is common practice in boxing gym's over hear...just my 2 cents

[MuayThaiFighter]

Re: age, brain damage

Originally posted by billywest1924
first off muaythaifighter is correct age don't mean shit! it only does when you have been involved in "war's" thats what "age's" a fighter....boxer's get brain damaged mostly from the day in and day out sparring as you all know most boxer's don't spar in the gym they fight as hard as they would in a real fight. we as thai/kickboxer's don't spar like that, in thailand they hardly spar at all and if they do its light thats why those guy's get out with all there marbles and suffer fewer head injuries i think there equally risky however i think they are a little smarter training they rely more on conditioning thru bag, pad, and road work rather then sparring 4-8 rounds a day as is common practice in boxing gym's over hear...just my 2 cents

Well I agree and disagree at same time.

Yes it is true age means shit,and that boxers have a better chance of getting brain damage,but where I disagree with you is that boxers fight full out as in a real fight and muaythai fighters don't.In my school everything is full contact.We fight just as hard as boxers do.

We go over techniques and in most classes we spar full contact .AT my school we compete in plenty of tournaments.
Obviously we also do alot of bag,and pad work as well.

[jules]

what you have to add into account is that MT does not go 12 rounds like boxing.. It goes 5.

[MuayThaiFighter]

Originally posted by jules
what you have to add into account is that MT does not go 12 rounds like boxing.. It goes 5.

Actually most MuayThai fights go 3 rounds,but that's because we use more of our body so it gets more tiring.

Besides with MuayThai fighters it doesn't need to take 12 rounds to win a fight.

Ever been shin kicked or have knee kick to your body or face? Once you have you'll understand why.