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It all begins with your fight training, conditioning and foundation. My first martial art was Tae Kwon Doe which I started at age 14 the year Bruce Lee passed. I spent my youth and first 2 years of college training and participating in Korean Karate tournaments sanctioned by the Tae Kwon Do Federation until I was introduced to American Kickboxing where I then began my boxing training at age 16. By the time I arrived (or returned to New York where I was born) as an adult at age 20, I started to expand my fight repertoire by learning Muay Thai, Wing Chung and more Judo as I started entering what was called Open tournaments that featured styles from all over the world.Anderson “Spider” Silva, as the former UFC Welterweight champion exhibited spectacular Muay Thai which was a hybrid synthesizing Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai, as I did during my competition days of the eighties and nineties.anderson silva muay thai clinch fundamentals for mma belowI started entering American styled Kickboxing tournaments that were popular during the 1980s and acknowledge that my Muay Thai training helped me win many tournaments, so much so that I was recruited by the Marine Corp to train their 1992 Olympic boxing and wrestling hopefuls. Although I have practiced Muay Thai for many years, I never pursued a black belt but incorporated a wide number of moves into my fight style over the years that has made me a better, more well rounded competitor.Anderson Silva's Striking Combos for MMAWhile many people think that Kickboxing and Muay Thai are very similar, in terms of technique and fighting styles, they are in many ways, completely different. Although there are universal techniques that are shared between the sports, the implementation varies depending on the sport and the individual fighter.Muay Thai, in broad terms, fits under the category of ‘Kickboxing’ though there are more differences than there are similarities.The most common way to explain Muay Thai to somebody is to say “it’s kickboxing with elbows and knees.” Unfortunately, that is like saying Kickboxing is Karate without a Gi.This is wrong.Depending on your own martial arts background and whether you train Muay Thai or Kickboxing, it is important to understand what makes your sport unique. Being able to recognize the differences between the two sports can also help you improve your own stand up game.You might find that your own current fighting style leans more towards kickboxing than Muay Thai and that’s perfectly fine as long as you understand what you are doing.It is important to know that every Muay Thai fighter has their own style — be it a hybrid of Kickboxing and Traditional Muay Thai or more of one than the other.Anderson Silva vs Rafael Feijao Muay Thai Sparring trainingThis answer is a breakdown of traditional Muay Thai techniques used in Thailand at the major stadiums like Lumpinee and Ratchadamnern compared to Kickboxing (the various types, since Kickboxing has a number of styles under it).Note that you might find that some Thai fighters have a hybrid style between the two arts, especially if you look at those fighters who compete under BOTH styles (K1 and Muay Thai).What you actually find when you look at the history of Kickboxing is that Muay Thai often played a pivotal role in the foundation and influencing of many of the Kickboxing styles!What is Kickboxing?Kickboxing can basically mean any sport that includes the use of hands and kicks in a full contact setting. That is, kickboxing utilizes the 4-point striking system (punches and kicks) while Muay Thai utilizes the 8-point striking system (punches, kicks, knees, elbows) and the ‘full’ clinch. The clinch in kickboxing is a means of tying up the opponent for a positional reset. Some kickboxing rules (K1) allow for a partial clinch from which 1 strike can be thown before the ref resets the fighters. However, in Muay Thai, competitors are not reset once they clinch but must attack and defend while one party is active; a reset only happens when both parties are inactive in the clinch.I didn’t start American styled kickboxing until I was an adult in my twenties after spending time in the US Army and returning to New York when the PKA and ISKA were new kickboxing organizations that were broadcasting fights on CBS during the early eighties. I chose to train for point tournaments in preparation for a career in the PKA (Professional Karate Association) which was a venue for full contact fighters at the time. However, life came first and I got married and started a career on Wall Street while I put my pro career aspirations on hold but continued to train and participate in tournaments in the area, across the country and abroad.Head kick knockouts were my favorite weapons due to my early karate training and flexibility.This was always my thrill to workout out in this sport. The ability to put someone out with a powerful head kick is a very specialized style of fighting with the entire body.To confuse things a bit further, Kickboxing has a number of different martial arts grouped under the term. The short of it is that Kickboxing, in its original form, was a style of karate (Kyokushinkai) with boxing gloves thrown on that originated in the 60’s. It was often called Full Contact Karate. Kickboxing (or American Kickboxing as it was known) was popularized way back in the 80’s with movies like Kickboxer staring Van Dam. Kickboxing, eventually, became a catch all term for any sport that combined Kicks with boxing. To muddle the waters even more, Muay Thai fighters often participate in Kickboxing fights.I want to point out that MODERN kickboxing has evolved over the past few decades. The style of kickboxing that was ubiquitous in the 60′-80’s has now evolved, as a sport, to a style more similar to traditional Muay Thai. The old style of Kickboxing (known as American Kickboxing) can still be found around, however, known as Full Contact Karate. It’s generally only practiced competitively in the Karate world, however. Kickboxing, in the modern sense, refers to the style found in K1/Glory.There are a number of styles of kickboxing:American Kickboxing - my original competition style of fightingDutch KickboxingK1 KickboxingChinese Kickboxing (San Chou) - what I practiced after 30 years of ageMuay Thai - what I continue to incorporate into my fighting systemLet’s look at each of them briefly.American/Western KickboxingWhat is American KickboxingFull Contact Karate (Karate with boxing gloves) that was popularized during the 60’s-80’s. Unlike Japanese Kickboxing, American Kickboxing was not influenced by Muay Thai, but rather developed free from its influence (hence the kicks are completely different, the Karate movement and style very much present in the sport, complete unfamiliarity with low leg kicks, and kicks are not checked via shins).HistoryAmerican Kickboxing, itself, is a blend of (Japanese) Karate (usually the forms that include full contact sparring, this being mostly Kyokushin Full Contact Karate) and Boxing. As such, if you look at the Karate part, you can trace the roots back both to the ancient Asian roots in feudal Japan. But the blend of the two arts in the form of Full Contact Karate started appearing, in sport form across the US, in the 60’s.RulesetModernization of Full-Contact Karate. The kicks and punches are karate based.4-point striking systemKicks only allowed ABOVE the belt (no low kicks)Throws, sweeps, and takedowns not allowedClinch forces immediate reset of fighters’ positionExample of American KickboxingHere is the best example of a pure, untainted, American Kickboxing style in action vs. a pure Muay Thai style. This video is from the 80’s before there was any crossover between the two arts and huge amount of misunderstanding about Muay Thai from America. This is basically a blend of traditional karate styles and western boxing; there is NO Muay Thai influence.For a good intro to this style of kickboxing, watch the fight below. One of the top American Kickboxers comes to Thailand to fight a Thai Muay Thai fighter, but under modified rules (no clinch, no elbows, no knees, no grabbing kicks, no kicking supporting leg).K-1 / Japanese KickboxingWhat is K-1 Style Kickboxing?These days, when someone refers to Kickboxing, they likely mean a K-1 style. K-1 is actually a Kickboxing PROMOTION (just like UFC is a promotion, while Mixed Martial Arts is the sport). It has since evolved from a tournament name with a specific rule set to an actual brand to arguably a martial art ‘style’. These days, K1 is pretty much used as the everyday term for a style of Kickboxing that’s sort of a marriage between Muay Thai and American Kickboxing — a bridge between the two distinct styles, if you will, though it was developed separately (and distinctly) from American Kickboxing (which did NOT have a Muay Thai influence).The History of K-1K-1 started off in Japan in 1993 as a tournament where the best kickboxers from a variety of backgrounds (dutch kickboxing, karate kickboxing, boxers, etc) were invited to fight each other — as sort of original UFC but for kickboxing artists.K-1 had a number of tournament formats from the original Grand Prix to the K-1 World Grand Prix, to the K-1 World Grand Prix Final Eliminator (16 Man Tourney), and K-1 World Grand Prix Final. As of 2003, K-1 introduced the K-1 World MAX tournament which is the 70 kilo Middleweight division. K-1 ran into serious financial difficulties in 2011 and was sold multiple times to different companies before being restructured.K-1 is directly tied into Japanese Kickboxing.The History of Japanese KickboxingIf we are looking at the actual style of Kickboxing found in K-1 (remember, K-1 is a Promotion not necessary a style), known as Japanese Kickboxing, what we actually have is a legit fusion between Muay Thai and Traditional Karate. This happened way back in 1959 when a Karate master Tatsuo Yamada became interested in making a full contact version of Karate, of which did NOT yet exist in Japan. Yamada invited a champion Thai fighter to Japan and began to train Muay Thai with him. Osamu Noguchi, a well known boxing promoter in Japan also studied with this Thai champion. This marked a burgeoning interest in Muay Thai . Several years later (1963), several Japanese Karate fighters were even sent to Thailand to fight in Lumpinee against Thai boxers in the famous stadium. Eventually, Noguchi, after studying Muay Thai, combined it with Karate to form a new style he called Kick boxing. In 1966, the The Kickboxing Association was founded by Noguchi and the first official Kickboxing event was held. This marks the start of Japanese Kickboxing and could be considered the beginning of the K-1 movement.As you see, Japanese Kickboxing is a direct blend of traditional Muay Thai, traditional Karate, and Western Boxing. What’s interesting is Muay Thai played a direct role in it’s development and foundation! This is why, when you watch some of the K-1 fighters (especially Japanese fighters), their kicks look pretty similar to Muay Thai kicks in some ways.The K-1 Rule SetK-1 allows knees and a short clinch (where you can throw a knee or sweep the opponent).6 point striking system (punches, kicks, knees)Kicks allowed to both high and low parts of bodyLimited clinch fighting allowed (a few strikes allowed from clinch such as knees before ref breaks it up)Here is K1 style in action:Dutch KickboxingWhat is Dutch Kickboxing?youtube any ROB KAMAN video and see a true legend of this sport.A style of kickboxing that emphasizes a strong western boxing style with frequent, devastating low (muay thai) leg kicks. The Dutch have a different take on the way low kicks are thrown, however, and often angle into the low kick more (this will be shown later in the article).Dutch Kickboxing is often trained as a Dutch style of Muay Thai, with again, lots of boxing added into the classic Muay Thai arsenal. If you fight a Dutch Kickboxer/Muay Thai boxer, you better be ready for a barrage of hard low kicks and heavy boxing! Quite a few of the best K1 fighters have been Dutch Kickboxers.This was the guy who I trained to fight if I ever went pro during the 1980s.The legedary Rob Kaman. He was a beast in the world of Kickboxing:I loved this guy - he was my primary motivation to train because he was world champion at that time. If I was going to be a great fighter, then I would have had to fight this guy. Watch ANY of his training videos. Go to his site: The official Website of Rob Kaman, 9 time Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion and Martial Arts Living LegendThe HistoryThe Dutch style started in 1976 when kickboxing was formally introduced into the Netherlands. Japanese kickboxing and kyokushin karate have had significant influences on the Dutch style over the years and later one, Muay Thai added to the pot. Indeed, the relationship to Muay Thai is quite strong — the founder of the 1973 Dutch Kickboxing Association, Harinck, also founded the WMTA (World Muay Thai Association) in 1983 and the EMTA (European Muay Thai Association) in 1984. So you can see the connection with Muay Thai and Kickboxing is quite strong.Here’s a video of Dutch Muay Thai word champion / Kickboxing Champion and the only Westerner ever to be awarded the prestigious Thailand Fighter of the Year award, the late and great Ramon Dekker:Other examples of a Dutch Style Kickboxing would be Ernesto Hoost.For the purpose of this answer, I’m going to refer to a K1/Dutch style of kickboxing as the same.Chinese Boxing (Sanshou)What is Sanshou / Sanda?youtube Cung LeThis is a very practical style for street fighting in that once the opponent is on the ground, the fight should be over because it includes striking, grappling and body throws to the ground.A Chinese version of Muay Thai, but one that specializes on punches, kicks, wrestling, throws, and sweeps. Elbows and Knees are not emphasized like Muay Thai, but in some Sanshou rulesets, they are allowed. Unlike American Kickboxing which has it’s roots in Traditional Japanese Karate and Western Boxing, Japanese Kickboxing which was a fusion of Muay Thai, Karate and Boxing, or Dutch Kickboxing which merged elements of Karate, Muay Thai, and Boxing, Sanshou has it’s roots in Kung Fu. Sanda (as Sanshou is called in China) takes a number of KungFu styles and modifies them for Ring combat. You might think of Sanshou as an umbrella term for various blended full-contact KungFu styles. Indeed, Sanshou is not a specific style in the way that Kickboxing is not a specific style but an umbrella term for individual styles modified for full contact ring fighting.For the purpose of this article, I’m going to ignore Sanshou for the most part. You’ll often find Sanshou artists competing under Muay Thai rules (if Sanshou fighters fight OUTSIDE of China) and Nak Muay competing under Sanshou rules, if they fight in China. You can find plenty of Muay Tha vs Sanshou fights on youtube.If you watch a pure Sanshou match, it kind of looks like a cross between Muay Thai and Wrestling and Judo. The straight out clinch game, knees, and elbows are not as developed as they are in Muay Thai, but on the other hand, specialized throws and wrestling sweeps are practiced by Sanshou artists — very different from the standard Muay Thai sweeps. I’ve seen a number of high level Sanshou fighters throw top level Nak Muay to the ground from the clinch.Watch Cug Le below:Everyone typically knows the MAIN rule set differences between Muay Thai and kickboxing (Muay Thai has the addition of the full clinch, elbows, and knees). But at a fundamental level, there are differences even between the similarities.Let’s explore these subtle differences.Subtle Yet Important Differences Between Muay Thai and KickboxingThe BoxingHands down, Kickboxing, specifically the K1/Dutch variety, puts a lot of emphasis on western boxing. Basically, if you take a good K1 fighter, they could at the very least stand their own in a PURE boxing match. The same does NOT go for a Muay Thai fighter who will typically be less trained in the art of pure boxing.If you watch any K1 fight, you’ll often see a heavy use of hands – sometimes more than the kicks. This is completely opposite of Muay Thai (especially Traditional Muay Thai, as found in Thailand proper) which usually feature far more kicking. The lack of a clinch, forward knees, and elbows in Kickboxing also means it’s easier to engage in punching without worrying about being elbowed, straight kneed, or clinched.Example of boxing in K1:Kickboxing tends to have longer hand combos (3-6 punch combos).Kickboxing tends to incorporate more head movement (leaning for uppercuts, slipping punches, etc).Kickboxing tends to have more boxing-style footworkThe Kick TechniquesKickboxing kicks are completely different than Muay Thai kicks, in both the low kick and the high kicks. There is a fair amount of crossover here with Muay Thai fighters competing under K1 rules which mean Muay Thai kicks are utilized in some Kickboxing styles such as Dutch Kickboxing, but generally there is a difference, especially when you look at American Kickboxing vs Muay Thai.Typically, kickboxing emphasizes swinging your hips while lifting your legs up then snapping out your foot. The impact may or may not be the lower shin but the top of the front foot.Muay Thai kicks have the leg exploding from the ground without being bent with the power coming being driven from the torque of the hip and arms as you swing the opposite arm in a downward motion while twisting the hip. It’s important to keep the leg completely relaxed until impact for maximum speed and torquing of the hips. The point of impact is the lower part of the shin, which when combined with proper technique has the force (and impact) of a baseball bat.American Kickboxing Round Kick (Non Muay Thai Kick):One more example from Baukaw:Muay Thai Round Kick:The Legendary Samart shows how a traditional Thai kick is done. Notice there is NO bending of the the knee like in the above example. The leg comes off the ground already very much already stiff.One more example from Baukaw:I want to point out some differences with the low kick as well. Thai low kicks are NOT necessary the same as a non-muay thai fighter would through in a K1 kickboxing match, ESPECIALLY if we are comparing Dutch Kickboxing to Muay Thai (many of the K1 fighters and champions were in fact Dutch Kickboxers). American Kickboxing does not allow strikes to the legs, so we won’t include it here.Thai Low KickNote the Thai leans slightly into the kick:Another example. Note a very slight lean inward as the kick is thrown:Buakaw throwing a devastating leg kick. Also note how he leans into the kick slightly:Another Buakaw example from a different angle:Kickboxing Low Kick (Dutch Style)This is referring to the Dutch style of kickboxing low kick (which you see used in K1 fights by NON muay thai fighters) NOT American kickboxing, for which leg kicks are not allowed.Compared to the Thai style of low kick, Dutch fighters tend to step very much more to the side dropping their head downward and more forward with their center of gravity lowered while kicking around the body, hitting with the side of the shin rather than on the center of the shin. This is downward chopping motion. You should see a difference between the Thai style and the Dutch style.Why do the Dutch do this? Well, this allows you to do a leg kick to the front leg at a MUCH closer angle than if you through a typical Muay Thai style leg kick. This type of kick cuts at more an angle and is more powerful since you are driving your full body downward in the same motion as the kick.This is a devastating low kick and since you can throw it MUCH closer (almost within clinch distance) than you can with a Thai low kick, it works well with a punch combos when you get in very close. Raymon Dekker delivering some chopping kicks:Comparison between Thai Low kick and Dutch Low kick: Foot MovementIf you watch a kickboxing fight, you’ll notice a difference in the rhythm of movement. Muay Thai is very much a patient art – you wait for the right opening then strike. It often does not reward the ball-to-the-walls pacing of boxing, MMA, or kickboxing, where fighters overwhelm each other with rapid flurries. That’s not to say you can’t fight like that in Muay Thai, but if you look at the way the top in the sport fight, it’s often a very counter-fighting type of style.At a fundamental level, you can see this in the way a K1 style kickboxer moves in and out and the way a Thai boxer moves forward to engage.Look at this example which has a strict Thai boxer (one who has not yet fought and adapted to K1 rules) vs a K1 style kickboxer:You can watch the full video here, which is a good masterclass workshop on how to fight a Kickboxers as a Muay Thai fighter.Overall, Kickboxers tend to have a much more boxing style of movement than do Muay Thai fighters. More foot movement, more footwork, more head movement.Pure K1 Foot Movement:Pure American Kickboxing Foot Movement: Pure Muay Thai Foot Movement:Dutch Kickboxing Foot Movement:There is more in part 2 later.Muay Thai Videos Stick with this website - these guys train in Thailand and know what they are talking about.This is an introduction to my new Muay Thai for MMA series.This is a subject I’m personally interested in and I’ve been meaning to write some in-depth articles about the topic. I’ve trained ‘pure’ MMA for a number of years and while I never competed at a professional level in the sport, I used to compete and do well in the amateur circuit. I’ve also trained and fought Muay Thai up here in Thailand for a number of years, so I feel I have a good perspective of Muay Thai, both from the MMA perspective and from a pure Muay Thai perspective.As a purist in Muay Thai, but one who has also spent time (on the dark side as some Nak Muay would call it) training and competing in MMA, I’ve noticed that while some of Muay Thai’s techniques are represented in MMA world, there is still a LOT of effective Muay Thai weapons that are still underutilized or completely unused in MMA. This, more often than not, is because many MMA fighters do not have enough traditional Muay Thai training (and Muay Thai fights) to confidently apply these techniques against a resisting opponent. But just because you don’t see Muay Thai techniques used in MMA doesn’t mean they can’t work. The Thais, after all, have been utilizing them for nearly a century of ring combat.This series is an attempt to address that shortcoming and introduce to readers some Muay Thai techniques that CAN work effectively in MMA. For other Muay Thai techniques that do make an appearance in MMA, a case will be made for how applying the proper technique (i.e. do the technique more like Thai’s do) can improve the effectiveness of those strikes in MMA matches under certain circumstances.This upcoming series will consist of six articles:Muay Thai for MMA: Introduction (Part 1)Muay Thai vs MMA: The Differences (Part 2)Muay Thai For MMA: Effective Elbow Strikes for MMA (Part 3)Muay Thai For MMA: Landing the Low Kick (Part 4)Muay Thai for MMA: (Real) Thai Clinch Strategies (Part 5)Muay Thai for MMA: Knee Strikes That Work (Part 6)The Popularity of Muay Thai in MMAMuay Thai is the popular choice when it comes to choosing a striking art to MMA because it delivers a huge quantity of striking tools that can be exploited in MMA matches with devastating results. Quite simply, by training Muay Thai over other striking arts for MMA, you get the best ‘bang’ for your buck time-wise by learning how to utilize ALL 8 limbs as weapons in MMA matches. Compare this to a standup art like boxing (which I personally love) and rather than just learn how to punch, you learn how to punch, kick, knee, and elbow — and clinch to boot!Muay Thai’s huge bag of deadly tricks work in standup situations; they’ve been working for centuries for the Thai’s, being tested and improved over and over through countless full contact fights.Muay Thai strikes Work Because They’ve Been Tested…on Thousands of People in thousands of real fights…over centuriesThai Boxing delivers an arsenal that works simply because the stuff that doesn’t deliver results in full contact standup fights has been effectively filtered out of the sport over the many long years Muay Thai has been practiced. Unlike many of the other Martial Arts, Muay Thai is in essence a fighting art MEANT to be used in real fights. If you come train in Thailand, the Thai people often don’t understand that foreigners want to train Muay Thai just for the passion and health benefits it brings to the table. Why? Because Thai’s train Muay Thai is to FIGHT in the rings of Thailand. To train Muay Thai is to fight Muay Thai.Muay Thai Techniques in the CageOver the (brief) history of Mixed Martial arts we have seen different Muay Thai techniques used by MMA fighters — some more successfully than others.The ‘Thai Clinch/Plum’ (which in fact is NOT the Thai clinch but only one small aspect of the proper Thai clinch game)Elbow StrikesKneesLow KicksBody KicksThese are all techniques that regularly make appearances in high level MMA fights. As such, each article in this Muay Thai for MMA series will examine ONE of these categories and explore how to BEST implement the different types of strikes in the context of MMA.Not All Muay Thai is The SameIf you examine the ‘Muay Thai techniques’ used in MMA (specifically during fights) you’ll see the techniques are often quite different than you see pulled off in pure Muay Thai matches. To those who do not train strict Muay Thai, those differences may not be so obvious.An elbow or a knee or clinch are all ‘Muay Thai’ right?In fact, no. This is not the case. Just because you throw and elbow or a knee or put both hands behind someone’s neck does NOT mean you are doing Muay Thai. It’s not just about what techniques you perform but HOW you perform them. It’s the HOW you perform the techniques, combined with the perfect timing, that deliver the results.Proper technique and perfect timing are two areas that Thai’s learn to master. Both require years of training Muay Thai AND lots of experience fighting.Muay Thai in MMA Doesn’t Look the Same as Muay Thai in Pure Muay FightsThere’s solid reasoning as to why the Muay Thai moves pulled off in MMA fights doesn’t (often) look like the Muay Thai you see pulled off in, well, Muay Thai matches.Fighters May Lack Muay Thai ExperienceMMA fighters typically don’t have the understanding to apply the whole range of Muay Thai techniques in MMA fights because they lack the breadth of experience training and competing under Muay Thai rules that Nak Muay (Muay Thai fighters) have. This can make a difference in HOW you perform the technique and what techniques you are capable (or even know about) of pulling off in a fight.You can’t really compare someone (a typical MMA fighter) who spends two to three sessions a week working on Muay Thai techniques (often from a Muay Thai coach of suspect qualifications who himself has not lived, trained or fought in Thailand) and has zero Muay Thai fights to someone who trains ONLY Muay Thai for 10-20 years straight, 6 days a week, 5-6 hours a day and regularly fights Muay Thai bouts once a month.The typical MMA fighter is at most just touching the surface level of Muay Thai in their MMA training while the Thai’s fully and completely master the art. There IS going to be a very big difference in the level of technique and timing between someone who has NO Muay Thai fights or a handful of them and someone who has had 200-300 fights.As some who once trained for a few months in Thailand full time, I can personally verify it takes YEARS of hard training every single day, and many many fights before you actually get decent at Muay Thai. I AM NOT A MUAY THAI EXPERT, NOT DO I EVER DESIRE TO BE AT THIS AGE but I love to practice it and incorporate it into my overall fighting style and system of training.Go the Muay Thai PROS and get it from the experts who now live in Thailand. I give them their props and attribute them as a source of a lot of the best info ont he web in relation to Muay Thai training and conditioning. They are the Pros in Muay Thai.Gong back to developing your body to adapt to a particular style of Muay Thai, unless you have that experience and level of practice, it’s hard to pull of the full range of Muay Thai techniques in a fight, be relaxed, and look effortless while you do it. The Thai’s who actually master the sport start training when they are kids and by the time they are in their early teens can have somewhere south of a hundred fights already! Most MMA fights have had 10-20 fights, which is a drop in the bucket compared to Thai boxers.I personally know a number of MMA guys coming down to Thai boxing camps in Thailand only to have to completely re-learn EVERY single technique from zero is very high. It happened to me too when I first came. I thought I knew SOME Muay Thai but I quickly found out the variety of Muay Thai I learned during my Karate and military MMA training was so bastardized it didn’t actually resemble what the Thai’s taught! But this is ok if you come in with an open mind with the desire to complement what you have already been taught from other styles of fighting.I got my as kicked every day I went for training spending more time UNLEARNING my Tae Kwon Do fighting style and transitioning into a Muay Thai body type and dropping all of my American style kickboxing technique, body mechanics, foot work and arsenal of strikes and it was the hardest training on an aging body in my entire life. I suffered so many shin injuries that I almost considered knee surgery from the impact of the blows on my legs and knees.HOWEVER, I became a more well rounded fighter from the experience. I cannot complain about this type of training and wished I had this regimen when I initially became a kickboxer back during the late seventies. I developed a level of conditioning that was superior to my Tae Kwon Do base and continue to sustain my cardio via these types of heavy bag routines.MMA fighters need to master MORE than just a standup art to actually get anywhere in the MMA world, they simply can’t devote the time required to Muay Thai to become competent in the sport. The ones who are (and there are very very very few in the MMA world who are) have their background in Muay Thai rather than using it as supplemental training.Still, there’s a LOT MMA fighters need to learn from Muay Thai — they are leaving a lot still on the table that can be brought into the MMA world. Some fighters like Jone Jones are introducing ‘new’ techniques to MMA fights that people are unfamiliar with.This man is why I returned to kickboxing training once I saw him in the octagon. I now believed that the level of expertise was superior to when the UFC had began back in 1992. His body of work is quite impressive to me mostly because he is so tall with skinny legs like mine, but he makes them work. Can you imagine getting hit by one of his oblique kicks?Or at least attempting them (and granted, the man is able to actually land a good number of them). But if you watch Muay Thai fights in Thailand, you see many of these ‘new’ techniques are regularly used in Muay Thai.Watch and learn before he burns out in the UFC. He is changing the game for practical Muay Thai.Technique AdjustmentsMuay Thai techniques often need to be adjusted to work effectively for MMA fights. The same techniques work for the same positional situations, but the TIMING of when you can apply those techniques (safely) are (sometimes) different between Muay Thai fights and MMA fights.You can’t simply walk into an MMA fight as a Nak Muay and fight like you do in Muay Thai. You will absolutely lose by getting taken to the ground unless you get lucky. The stance, the movement, and many of the strikes do not lend themselves well to the pace and nature of MMA.But this is an area that’s fertile for improvement for MMA guys. Just because a Muay Thai technique is not often used in MMA does NOT mean it can’t be used. It’s just a matter of timing, of knowing WHEN you should and shouldn’t use it.There is often room for a lot of improvement in the way MMA guys do perform Muay Thai technique which can add more speed and power to the strikes.Different Muay Thai StylesFighters who do bring a Muay Thai background to MMA might come from one of the different schools of Muay Thai: Traditional, Dutch, or Brazilian. These styles have a different fight philosophy and look quite a bit different at times.Brazilian Muay Thai (Chute Boxe)The most popular style of Muay Thai that appears in MMA. Fighters like Jose Aldo, Anderson Silver, Wanderli Silva, Shogun,and Thiago Alves are all examples of UFC fighters who come from the Brazilian Muay Thai school. This style emphasizes a lot of leg kicks and lots of hands (especially hooks), lots of clinch style knees and lots of pressure. Clinch is not technical as in Thai style and in the context of MMA, it’s used to throw knees to the face.I hope this information was helpful.