The combat arts of Boxing and Muay Thai are well-known for their effectiveness in various situations from self-defense to organized competition such as Mixed Martial Arts. They’re both styles that empower an individual to neutralize an attacker/opponent with a combination of accurate striking and defense. Workouts for Boxing and Muay Thai can help you improve your overall fitness by improving your cardio, burning fat, and building muscle.
Here at Absolute MMA in West Jordan, Utah, we teach Boxing as part of our Muay Thai program to help you achieve your personal goals. If you’re reading this blog post, you’re interested in learning more about Boxing and Muay Thai along with key similarities and differences.
Key similarities
There are a handful of attributes that Boxing and Muay Thai share when it comes to each Martial Art as sports. Here are some of the similarities:
- Organized matches take place in a ring with timed rounds
- Victory can be attained through knockouts (KO), technical knockouts (TKO), and by decision
- Fighters wear gloves
- Fighting is done on the feet
While there are arguably more similarities between the two, these are the most common in competition.
Both Martial Arts provide many shared benefits for anyone that are both mental and physical. These benefits include:
- Greater self-confidence
- Less stress due to the endorphins released from training
- More friends
- Better overall physical health
Now that you have a better understanding of what Boxing and Muay Thai have in common, let’s go over the key differences.
Differences between Boxing and Muay Thai
Although Boxing and Muay Thai share some commonalities when it comes to competition, there are major differences. These differences include rulesets and fighting techniques which you’ll learn here at Absolute MMA:
- The art of 8 limbs: Muay Thai is famous for its effective use of knees, elbows, kicks, and punches. There are more striking tools available in Muay Thai than Boxing since Boxing is limited to punching only. The rules of Muay Thai also allow clinches around the neck and sweeps to knock an opponent to the ground.
- Stance: Muay Thai fighters stand with their feet a little closer together than Boxers. This allows them to quickly lift either leg and check incoming kicks. Boxers stand in a slightly bladed stance compared to the squared-up stance of Muay Thai fighters.
- Fighting equipment: While both Boxers and Muay Thai fighters use wraps, gloves, a mouth guard, and headgear, Boxers wear shoes and Muay Thai fighters do not. Muay Thai fighters also will use shin guards in their workouts and amateur competition. Muay Thai practitioners are barefoot whether they’re hitting pads or fighting in the ring. Male Boxers also wear a groin guard which also covers part of the abdomen unlike the cup protection Muay Thai fighter wear.
- Scoring system: In professional Boxing, scoring is done according to a 10-point must system. The most a Boxer can score in a round is 10 points and the loser of the round typically ends up with 9 points. Points are earned by striking an opponent with clean, accurate shots to the torso or head. Muay Thai fighters earn points with clean, powerful strikes that cause visible damage. Technical Muay Thai fighters with the ability to counter-attack tend to be favored more than overly aggressive fighters who miss their target.
Whether you are new to Martial Arts or are looking to build on the experience you already have, Absolute MMA is the gym for you. Our curriculum empowers people of all ages and abilities at our location in West Jordan, Utah. Give us a call at (801) 255-1166 to schedule your first class!