Difference between Muay Thai and boxing

Muay Thai is an incredible sport, one that focuses a lot on strength and striking power. It’s a very aggressive martial art and the main focus is to bring in powerful blows via kicks, knees, elbows and punches. A lot of people like Muay Thai because it’s different and distinctive, and it does bring in front some pretty creative ideas for you to explore. With that in mind, there are some nuanced differences between it and boxing, as you will notice below.

Boxing

Boxing is very impressive because it focuses on things like self-defense and a really good footwork. Boxing is a lot more focused on strategy and it requires a lot of planning for every punch. You’re only using your fists, which a lot of people in Muscat, Oman tend to like quite a bit. 

It’s great because you get to focus on defense and you can time your punches in order to deliver a very powerful blow. But it won’t always work the way you want, so it does go with trial and error. 

Muay Thai

Muay Thai is very good if you want to attack even from a large range and separate yourself from the opponent. Since Muay Thai relies on using your fists but also your elbows and feet to attack, it’s more diverse and you are at an advantage when it comes to a boxer. Punches don’t contribute to points in Muay Thai, so you need to combine a vast range of attacks to make it work. You do have an advantage when it comes to the clinch situations as you can escape them with greater ease. 

Which is the better option for you?

Both Muay Thai and boxing are great for real life situations and self-defense in general. If you want to better defend yourself, boxing is the way to go, since you get to read the opponent’s attacks and timing as well as spacing. However, Muay Thai is better if you deal with opponents that are using their feet to kick you. You also get a much longer striking range. 

Basically, Muay Thai is great for the long-term self-defense, but if you want to focus on the short term self-defense, then boxing might help you a lot better. It’s all about the situation at hand and the style that you find more favorable in your own situation. You still need to adapt and adjust accordingly, but it will be worth the effort.

Conclusion

Muay Thai is better for fitness and it allows you to train more of our body. It’s also more stylized and less technical, which means newcomers will find it easier at times. However, they are both great self-defense arts and they can transform in magnificent ways. The great thing about Muay Thai is that there are lots of teachers out there which can help you improve and refine your skills in a powerful manner. You just need to give Muay Thai a try for yourself and you will find it incredibly interesting and a lot of fun to pursue!