Understanding the Typical Attacks of Muay Thai Fighters

UNDERSTANDING THE TYPICAL ATTACKS OF MUAY THAI FIGHTERS

Grandmaster Wong once asked his teacher, Grandmaster Ho Fatt Nam, which martial art he would consider most difficult to fight against. Grandmaster Ho thought for a while, and said it was Muay Thai. He added that was leaving kungfu aside, explaining that a Shaolin Kungfu exponent would be the most difficult to dealt with because there was so much scope as well as depth in Shaolin Kungfu.

Grandmaster Ho, who was a former professional Muay Thai fighter himself, explained that Muay Thai or Siamese Boxing looked simple, and was actually simple, but Muay Thai fighters were not only fast and powerful but also very tricky. A Taekwondo kick was a Taekwondo kick, but a Muay Thai kick could turn out to be anything.

A professional Muay Thai fighter typically kicked a tree trunk in his training a few hundred times every day until the tree could sway. A single kick from a professional Muay Thai fighter could kill an opponent. There was, however, a huge gap in combat prowess between a professional Muay Thai fighter and an amateur Muay Thai hobbyist.

We in Shaolin Wahnam are very lucky because Grandmaster Ho taught Grandmaster Wong many secrets in fighting against a Muay Thai fighter, and Grandmaster Wong shares some of these secrets in the video clips here.

Following the advice of the great strategist, Sun Tzi, we must first of all understand the opponent before we plan how to beat him. Hence, in the first part of this series, Sifu Ronan, who has spent many years practicing Muay Thai, demonstrates some typical Muay Thai attacks.

Notice that the typical poise of a Muay Thai fighter is different from that of a Boxer. In a Boxer's poise, you may have a good idea of which hand he may use to initiate his attacks, which attacks are feint and which are real. A Boxer does not use kicks in his art, nor knee jabs and elbow strikes. If he does in a real fight, he often signals his intentions.

But this is not the case with a Muay Thai fighter. The way he poises enables him to use either of his hands or legs equally well, and it is not easy to tell which of his moves are feign and which are real. Nevertheless, with an understanding of the strength and weakness of a Muay Thai fighter, and planning and practicing our defence and counter-attack efficiently, we can handle a Muay Thai fighter competently.

We spent a lot of time learning and practicing tactics and techniques against Muay Thai fighters, and have a lot of video clips. This is the first of the series.

Please chick the pictures or the captions below to view the videos

Low Sweep Kick

Sifu Ronan demonstrates a low sweep kick which Muay Thai fighters often use to initiate an attack.

Opening the Way

Take note that a Muay Thai fighter does not merely come in with a low sweep kick. He opens the way with some suitable moves.

Avoiding and Countering

In countering a Muay Thai low sweep kick here, Sifu Ronan reveals a secret against Muay Thai attacks which Grandmaster Wong often mentions in class. Do you know what that secret is?

Intercepting and Countering

Sifu Ronan demonstrates another way to counter a sweeping kick. Here he intercepts the kick, then counter-attacks.

Flooring a Muay Thai fighter

Sifu Ronan demonstrates a third effective way to counter a powerful Muay Thai sweeping kick. Here he throws the Muay Thai fighter to the floor using the Shaolin pattern “Planting Willow in front of Camp”.

Muay Thai Frontal Kick

Sifu Ronan demonstrates a frontal kick which a Muay Thai fighter often uses to initial his attack. The kick itself is not difficult to counter, as it is like a Shaolin thrust kick. It is the elbow and knee strikes that follow the leading kick that are formidable.

How would You Counter this Attack?

Sifu Ronan applies the Muay Thai frontal kick on Alex. How would you counter the Muay Thai attack?

Counter from a Side

As the Muay Thai fighter kicks, strike his kicking leg and simultaneously move aside to avoid his possible follow up elbow or knee attack. Then strike him from the side irrespective of whether he hesitates or continues with his follow-up attacks.

Muay Thai Knee Attack