OK, lets just get the default caveats out of the way very quickly:
- A good Thai Boxer is effective, a crap Thai Boxer is ineffective. No art can support an individual who cannot make it work.
- Self-Protection has far more to it than martial arts, intelligence and strength of will are what generally prevail.
So, with those out of the way:
For physical self-protection, Thai Boxing offers you a strong defensive structure and an excellent attacking arsenal. Powerful low line kicks, good boxing hands, a devastating clinch with awesome knees and elbows. Add to that the fact that a good Thai Boxer will have very good cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance. If they ring fight, they will also understand the mental and emotional stress of the pre-fight. Add all of that up, and if anyone asks me what the most complete standalone system to study is, I also say Thai Boxing.
Some weaknesses that people may label at the art, are: There is no grappling (not necessarily true), no weaponry (not true if you study the complete arts) and “its just a sport”. The perceived lack of grappling and weaponry are not a weakness of Thai Boxing, they are the weakness of the given practitioner to not understand that cross training in this age is just a given. The “sport vs street” argument is done to death on this forum, just check out the threads in the MMA section. My personal opinion, for what its worth, is I would much rather face someone from one of the many “street fighting” styles in an alley, than have to face down a good Thai Boxer.
Short version, if you train hard, you are in good hands with this art.
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