Is Muay Thai allowed in the USA?

John Matao · 01-24-2001, 11:55 PM

Can you fight with full Muay Thai rules or is it still that candy a$$ "American Kickboxing" crap that Don Wilson fought in?

Evilution · 01-25-2001, 03:17 PM

I don't know if it's illegal but it's uncommon. The dumb thing about american kickboxing is there are 3 or 4 different sets of rules. Muay thai rules (which aren't really muay thai rules) oriental rules (whatever that means) freestyle rules and maybe one other, I'm not sure. I've only seen one match that allowed elbows and both fighters had to agree to it, it wasn't a standard thing. The thing that bugs me is when they don't let the fighters clinch, or they say no kicks below the waist, or a minimum number of kicks per round.

Jaguar Wong · 01-25-2001, 04:45 PM

The organizations that run most full contact fights don't really allow real Muay Thai rules. The standard format is kickboxing (all kicks above the waist), but the also have international rules (kicks allowed to the legs), and modified Muay Thai (knees, but no elbows). They used to call it Muay Thai rules, but the World Muay Thai Council (One World, One Muay thai

) said that if they don't use the same rules as they do, they can't call it Muay Thai. Hence the "modified" crap.

I don't think that Muay Thai is illegal here, just like Evilution said, it's just uncommon. There's a guy that's bringing fighters and coaches from Thailand here to Vegas and he sets up Muay Thai fights all the time in other countries. I beleive he's trying to set up an organization to bring it here to the states. I'm sure it's here somewhere, he's just trying to make it mainstream like boxing.

sccr06 · 01-25-2001, 05:11 PM

I don't know but I have seen a few ISKA matches on ESPN2 that looked like Muay Thai without elbows. Anyone else see those?

duchman · 01-25-2001, 05:20 PM

Muay Thai= Full thai rules

Thaiboxing= Almost the same as thai but without elbows

John Bennett · 01-25-2001, 06:07 PM

ESPN2 used to have a mixture on Sunday nights. There were some darn good fights there.

Somtimes they would have kickboxing, and sometimes "international Thai" like JW described above.

The only time the showed real Muay Thai rules were matches they filmed in Thailand. At least they did show some of those, usually at the end.

In their TV listings they only show it listed as "Karate".

It could be anything from stupid kung fu forms competition to full-on Muay Thai.

Evilution · 01-26-2001, 02:54 PM

I used to watch that stuff on espn2 until half the time the time they just showed fat karate guys breaking cinder blocks with their heads.

01-24-2001, 11:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
John Matao Novice Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Bangkok Posts: 81 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Can you fight with full Muay Thai rules or is it still that candy a$$ "American Kickboxing" crap that Don Wilson fought in? __________________ ~John Matao-One of the top 10 MMA players in the world~

01-25-2001, 03:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
Evilution Novice Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Corvallis Oregon Posts: 216 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	I don't know if it's illegal but it's uncommon. The dumb thing about american kickboxing is there are 3 or 4 different sets of rules. Muay thai rules (which aren't really muay thai rules) oriental rules (whatever that means) freestyle rules and maybe one other, I'm not sure. I've only seen one match that allowed elbows and both fighters had to agree to it, it wasn't a standard thing. The thing that bugs me is when they don't let the fighters clinch, or they say no kicks below the waist, or a minimum number of kicks per round. __________________ UNITED WE STAND

01-25-2001, 04:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jaguar Wong Registered User Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 115 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	The organizations that run most full contact fights don't really allow real Muay Thai rules. The standard format is kickboxing (all kicks above the waist), but the also have international rules (kicks allowed to the legs), and modified Muay Thai (knees, but no elbows). They used to call it Muay Thai rules, but the World Muay Thai Council (One World, One Muay thai ) said that if they don't use the same rules as they do, they can't call it Muay Thai. Hence the "modified" crap. I don't think that Muay Thai is illegal here, just like Evilution said, it's just uncommon. There's a guy that's bringing fighters and coaches from Thailand here to Vegas and he sets up Muay Thai fights all the time in other countries. I beleive he's trying to set up an organization to bring it here to the states. I'm sure it's here somewhere, he's just trying to make it mainstream like boxing. __________________ - Jaguar Wong - The 6th Lazy Venom

01-25-2001, 05:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
sccr06 Novice Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: LA, CA Posts: 311 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	I don't know but I have seen a few ISKA matches on ESPN2 that looked like Muay Thai without elbows. Anyone else see those? __________________ The noble soul has reverence for itself -Neitzsche

01-26-2001, 02:54 PM	#7 (permalink)
Evilution Novice Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Corvallis Oregon Posts: 216 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	I used to watch that stuff on espn2 until half the time the time they just showed fat karate guys breaking cinder blocks with their heads. __________________ UNITED WE STAND

01-25-2001, 05:20 PM	#5 (permalink)
duchman Advanced Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: holland Posts: 1,034 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Muay Thai= Full thai rules Thaiboxing= Almost the same as thai but without elbows

01-25-2001, 06:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
John Bennett Registered User Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Lufkin, Texas Posts: 332 Groans: 0 Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts	ESPN2 used to have a mixture on Sunday nights. There were some darn good fights there. Somtimes they would have kickboxing, and sometimes "international Thai" like JW described above. The only time the showed real Muay Thai rules were matches they filmed in Thailand. At least they did show some of those, usually at the end. In their TV listings they only show it listed as "Karate". It could be anything from stupid kung fu forms competition to full-on Muay Thai.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread: