Pros and Cons - Kick Boxing - Muay Thai

By Cody Church

I want to first say, that when I was learning kick boxing, it was mixed with Muay Thai methods. So some of the things I learned may be slightly at an advantage or disadvantage in a real fight. I will say though the mixture of the two was completely AWESOME! The power of Muay Thai is so amazing that its almost superior to any other stand up strikes. The speed of Kick Boxing is really what brings it a whole new level though. Muay Thai, uses grappling, elbow strikes, knee strikes, each blow meant to put an end to the fight I like that! Kick Boxing uses Kicks, alot like Tae Kwon Do, and Boxing. Trust me that is a deadly combination. The Kicks In this style of fighting are usually meant to target the opponents knees, and head. The knee is used to target the opponents ribs, and head. The elbows target the head and when possible are used to stop your opponent from attacking, but not just to block him, but to hurt him enough he will not want to swing again. The hand strikes are very much like boxing, with a defensive stance resembling Tae Kwon Do with your hands.

The Kicks are much harder, then any fighting style I have ever been in. The bottom of the shin is used to strike with, and your goal is to break whatever you hit. Not just quickly hit it and move away. This hurts far worse then a Tae Kwon Do kick as well. The down side of this is that the knee kicks are performed much like a foot ball bunt, which means there is plenty of time to get out of the way if its not set up properly. Also the fact that you are hitting your shin puts you at a higher risk of breaking your leg. If you do not practice the technique and become advanced in it, you will do more harm to yourself then your opponent. I will say that your would stand a good chance against a person with a knife, or a stick when you become advanced in this fighting style. The reason being you are able to block much harder strikes then most fighters, and your strikes usually have twice as much put down power.

The speed of the movements is a problem though. When your fighting more then one person at a time you can't afford any kind of telegraphing. Simply put you cannot afford for them to see your kick before it has already hit them. Also the stances are some what wide which makes it hard to move quickly, even though it does give you a harder hit. It gives you a much slower dodge. However you are going to learn grappling that allows to control opponents movements twice your size. With these movements you can easily break arms, legs, ribs, even an opponent's neck. (All while standing) I like that advantage. Because as we all know the worst place to be is on the ground during a fight, with two other guys stomping down on your face. I give Muay Thai, and Kick Boxing (mixed) a nine out of ten. It is without a doubt one of the most deadly combats available, however not for its. complexity, but for its simplicity. Because anyone that can throw punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, can be transformed into an elite fighter with this style. This is what makes it so deadly. It used basic movement to stop, and sometimes even kill an opponent. This is a definite must for anyone any where who wants to improve the over all mechanics for there basic fighting style, while at the same time gaining extreme striking power.

I hope this helps you guys decide on your fighting style.

Cody

If you guys like what you read please tell all your friends about my work. I am currently writing a book called Becoming the Warrior. It is about my owm fighting style called (The Destroyer) it revolves mostly around fatal combat for street purposes, but also covers the basic of all the martial arts that I know all mixed together to make them more effective. Thanks for reading (Cody.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more articles and information on Kick Boxing Martial Arts, see www.bestmartialartsource.com.