muay thai good self defense?

[holte2]

Hey guys I am new here and need your help. I am looking to get back into martial arts again (took 1 year of karate when i was 12..if that counts) anyway after doing a lot of research muay thai looks like it would be a good fit for me.

One of the main reasons I am wanting to do this is for self defense and to be able to protect my fiance if the need ever arose...so long story short, is this an effective self defense if i ever got into a fight in the street?...all the werbsites says yes but i thought i would ask the people that know what they are talking about...thanks for your help guys.....

[Guest]

Yes. But only if you train hard. If you do you will be exceptionally fit, and be able to "take" alot of punishment.

You will also develop great punches, elbows, kicks and knees to dish it out back if you need to.

However it would be best to learn some form of ground grappling too in case youand your opponent fell to the ground.

[DJ Coldfusion]

I've seen women with six months of training who could hit harder, faster, and do it with more dangerous weapons than some 7 year veterans of tKD with 3rd degree blackbelts that I know.

The most important factors in self defense are awareness and confidence.

Most violent criminals are predatory by nature and will doeverything they can to take the weak. If there is opportunity theywill attack.

A person who is aware of his/her surroundings is several steps ahead ofthe pack. Unfortunately, Awareness is not something most Muay Thai schools teach.

The other element, confidence, comes by the bushel full in Muay Thai. And as Bri Thai said, the ability to absorb punishment will go along way in helping you if things do go south.

[dgb]

Remember that muay thai is first and foremost a *sport*.
You're training to fight under a set of rules, and with gloves on. If your primary goal is self-defense, I think muay thai can provide a great foundation, but you'll want to augment it with training in which self-defense is the primary focus. Hapkido and ju-jitsu come to mind. I think muay thai is great for situations where you want to apply a limited amount of damage, such as dealing with a belligerent drunk. A few hard leg kicks or knees should get him out of you or your fiancee's face real quick. But honestly I think of muay thai as a really great _sport_ which also has self defense applications. Other styles are better for saving your a** in a life or death situation. Look into kali/arnis/escrima, as well as the above mentioned styles.

[crazyjoe380]

^^^

another one saying muay thai is just a sport ...


muay thai has knees, punches, kicks..
with a slight adjustment it can be deadly...

a knee to the balls....

who is gonna win...


a fat karate man

or a well shaped muay thai fighter??

I agree with the life or death thing...
muay thai can't save it all

but it's excellent for just hand to hand..
a human being is not a machine!

we adapt.. if there is a bottle or a brick i'm cracking u with it..

streets =us common senses

[Edge]

MT is a very effective & well rounded system. As CrazyJoe stated MT uses elbows, knees, shins etc. In their striking techniques. Advanced/Combat MT techniques have throws & joint locks. It was developed for combat & a number of techniques are still used in Thai military training & U.S. spec war training,& other U.S. fed. agencies. It's not just a sport.
Just remember that in a fight all goes baseball bats, pool cues, sticks, tire irons,rocks, knives guns, multiple attackers, ambushes, etc. A well placed bullet wil usually stop a person, empty a 15 round clip into someone& a few vital organs will be the worse for wear. No matter what h2h system one knows they'll probably be dead after that.
Phisycal skill in a fight is neccesary,use your mind too, try to learn your opponents rythem, use fakes to make opening's don't just "look " for them then,take advantage.
Obsereve what people are wearing to use to your advantage such as bandanas, ties, collars on shirts or jackets. Also look for belt, knife on belt Boots cowboy, work, combat(are they steel toes??? wouldn't you hate to find out the hardway!!! lol) Are there others dressed similarly ( possible gang or club, family???) N-E way I fell MT is part of a good h2h method It can be further enhanced by a graplling system such as Ju-Jitsu,BJJ, Judo, JKD, or Greco-Romano wrestling & good observation skills & common sense. Best of Luck ---Edge---

[True $chool]

Just remember that in a fight all goes baseball bats, pool cues, sticks, tire irons,rocks, knives guns, multiple attackers, ambushes, etc.

ah the memories. the best style of street fighting is the unfair fight.
anything goes.

[TheDeadlySquid]

Totally Agree

ah the memories. the best style of street fighting is the unfair fight.
anything goes.

I totally agree, in a street fight anything goes because you know the other person is gonna do whatever it takes to destroy you. It may be frowned upon in the ring, but on the street they're getting a knee to the groin - no doubt. That's why I always wear my cup.

TheDeadlySquid

[KZL]

Ok, I've got to chime in about this one. The "hit the groin" isn't always a fight winner. From my training, I've taken some serious shots to the bojangles, and it doesn't put me down. It does really piss me off though, even when it was an accident. I find this area to be far less effective of a striking point than people believe it to be.

I'm not saying that it's not a good place to shoot for, just that you shouldn't be surprised when you hit some people there, and they don't go down. I've actually found that hitting the nose is much more effective in getting an instantanious response from the other guy. You hit it nice and hard, they'll be blind for a while, whereupon you smash him with whatever is handy.

[TheDeadlySquid]

Fair Enough

Ok, I've got to chime in about this one. The "hit the groin" isn't always a fight winner. From my training, I've taken some serious shots to the bojangles, and it doesn't put me down. It does really piss me off though, even when it was an accident. I find this area to be far less effective of a striking point than people believe it to be.

I'm not saying that it's not a good place to shoot for, just that you shouldn't be surprised when you hit some people there, and they don't go down. I've actually found that hitting the nose is much more effective in getting an instantanious response from the other guy. You hit it nice and hard, they'll be blind for a while, whereupon you smash him with whatever is handy.

I agree, but I'm basically stating that all the "rules" go out the window in a street situation. Regardless, to the untrained, a hit to the groin may prove to be fairly effective. However, I'm sure a hit to the bridge of the nose works just as well.

TheDeadlySquid

[chalambok]

muay Thai

Remember that muay means fighting and Thai means free. muay Thai means fighting without rules. If your muay Thai school is not teaching throwing, joint locks, weapons, it is a 'sport' or 'ring' school, and as such is only teaching a very small part of a very complete martial system. The fact that a huge money-making machine has grown from the art does not lessen a teacher's responsibility to teach self-defense. If you join a 'fighting' school you will probably be taught the ring art, which in my opinion is still the most viable street hand-to-hand system there is, but your teacher has become more of a manager or trainer and it now has become your responsibility to continue your education, whether in more advanced Thai boxing or in another direction. A 'complete' curriculum at a good muay Thai school equates to 4000 hours training, 2000 empty-hand and 2000 weapons to attain journeyman status. Most fighters have their first fight somewhere around 500 hours in, or 6 to 12 months after they start class. If they enjoy this aspect they may never feel the need to grow into the rest of the art, and there is nothing at all wrong with this. If a teacher becomes overly concerned with teaching to the student and not with his own growth the throws, ground-fighting and weapons facets may be left out. That is just the way it is, and probably the only way it can be.

[Somchai]

Muay Thai is indeed a full martial art and not just the one you see in the ring. There are still a few schools here in Bangkok that teach all the old styles of ground fighting, throws ect.. Is the best self-defense?? I dunno. If you train hard though you will be in good shape and that gives you an edge over some drunk picking a fight with you. As my greatest teacher once told me "Your best defence is not to be there."