Muay Thai VS. Kickboxing: What's the Difference?

Photo by Justin Ng on Unsplash

So you've always been puzzled about why are there even two types of sport that are similar yet different in many ways? Well, today, we'll find out what makes one sport stand out from the other, and which sport would knockout the other in a match!

Photo by Nick Wang on Unsplash

The national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) is a martial art with roots that originated from military use around the 13th century during the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom. (Extracted from YOKKAO, May 2021.)

 Known as the “Art of 8 limbs” because it makes use of 8 points of contact namely, punches, elbows, knees and kicks, Muay Thai differs from other stand-up combat sports such as boxing (2 points - fists) and karate (4 points - fists and feet).

A form of martial arts deriving from Karate, Kickboxing borrows moves from multiple types of martial arts. These martial arts include: full-contact karate, Muay Thai, and boxing. 

Kickboxing uses both hands and feet as points of contact- kicking and punching. How Kickboxing differ from Muay Thai is that elbows and knees are generally not used, and the points of contact are limited to the hands and feet.

HOW DO THEY DIFFER?

1. Striking System

Both sports differ in a few ways, one being the striking system. Kickboxing is a  4-point striking system that involves the use of kicks and punches only, and Muay Thai is an 8-point striking system involving kicks, punches, elbows, knees, and upper body grappling. (Extracted from RoninAthletics.com, May 2021.)

2. Techniques (Moves and Attacks)

Another way they differ is through their moves and attacks adopted by each fighter. It is known that fighters in Muay Thai school are taught to be patient until a window of opportunity opens for them to strike aggressively while advancing forward. Thus, Counterattacks plays a significant role in Muay Thai. Unlike Kickboxing, Muay Thai has very little head movement, circling and weaving.

3. Volume Combos vs. Timed Sport

Muay Thai is a timed sport which relies heavily on fast and strong counter-attacks, whereas Kickboxing tends to tether on the side of boxing with the use of hands, angles and/or movements together with volume combos.

With that in mind, fighters in Kickboxing tend to move more defensively and fluid compared to Muay Thai fighters.

 

WHO WILL WIN? KICKBOXING OR MUAY THAI?

In terms of how dangerous each sport is, Muay Thai involves plenty of brute force and blood. Don't believe me? Watch a Muay Thai fight on YouTube, and you'll witness bloody noses, blackened eyes, with vicious punches and ruthless kicks to the body. So, on a spectrum of safe to highly dangerous, I would say Muay Thai is far up on that spectrum.

Not discounting Kickboxing, it wouldn't hurt one to learn it too. According to Bull Muay Thai, fighters who practice Muay Thai could improve their movement and learn a few more skills and techniques just by picking up some Kickboxing tips.
Imagine being able to widen your range of techniques by using kickboxing, it would definitely help you in different scenarios.

I wouldn't dare say which sport is better than the other, as both Muay Thai and Kickboxing are the best two striking martial arts available.