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Writer's pictureKing Calisthenics

What Are The Key Weaknesses Of Muay Thai?

Muay Thai, which is also known as Thai kickboxing, is an increasingly popular martial art sport.


Many people take up learning Muay Thai for various reasons, such as improving their strength, self-defense, or even as a hobby. 


Muay Thai is also considered to be one of the most lethal martial arts. Many people class Muay Thai as a very dangerous sport to participate in.


However, with that being said, people also believe that Muay Thai has its weaknesses. 

If you want to know more about the key weaknesses of Muay Thai, then you’ve come to the right place.


In this guide, we are going to walk you through all you need to know about the key weaknesses of Muay Thai. 


We are also going to guide you through important information related to the key weaknesses of Muay Thai, so you have a better understanding. 


What Is Muay Thai?


Before we look at the key weaknesses of Muay Thai it is important that you understand what Muay Thai is.


This will help us to understand why Muay Thai has weaknesses. 

Muay Thai originated in Thailand and it is a combat sport.


This means that Muay Thai involves kicking, punching, and striking your opponent with your knees and elbows.


Since Muay Thai makes you use your whole body to fight your opponent, it is also known as The Art of Eight Limbs’.


Muay Thai techniques are often used by MMA fighters during their matches. A lot of MMA fighters are trained in Muay Thai.


This is due to Muay Thai being one of the more dangerous and aggressive martial arts. 


Not only is Muay Thai used for professional fighting, but it can also be used as a form of self-defense.


Since Muay Thai teaches you to strike quickly, it is great for situations where you need to defend yourself. 


What Are The Weaknesses Of Muay Thai?


So now that you have a clearer understanding of what Muay Thai is, it is time to look at the key weaknesses of Muay Thai. 


It is important to understand the key weaknesses of any sport you want to master as it prepares you for what you might encounter.


Knowing the weaknesses of a sport will also help you decide whether that is a sport you should participate in. 


Understanding the key weaknesses also allows you to work on those weaknesses in other areas of your life.


For example, Muay Thai does not teach you how to fight on the ground. This can be a weakness if you are learning Muay Thai for self-defense.


So knowing that weakness allows you to learn to fight on the ground as well as learn Muay Thai.


With that in mind, here are some of the key weaknesses of Muay Thai. 


Injury


As mentioned before, Muay Thai is considered to be one of the most dangerous martial art sports.


So as expected, there is a high chance of you receiving an injury during training and if you play professionally. 


Muay Thai’s main aim is to be able to completely knock out your opponent.


If this does not happen, the aim becomes incapacitating your opponent. This is done by striking them with multiple fast and powerful strikes. 


With any sport, there is the risk of being injured. However, with Muay Thai there is a risk of brain damage.


This is the same risk that boxers face. When you receive many hits to your head, there is a chance that this can impact your brain over long periods of time.


However, it is worth noting that research regarding this link is not conclusive. 


Fighting On The Ground


We’ve touched on this briefly, but since Muay Thai does not teach you to fight on the ground this is the main weakness in terms of skill. 


Muay Thai has a heavy focus on fighting from a good range and keeping an eye on your footwork.


This means if you rely on Muay Thai only if you are in a situation where you are fighting on the ground, you will be at a disadvantage. 


Fighting on the ground is especially a weakness of Muay Thai if you are fighting an opponent that is also familiar with another sport such as Judo. 


Fluidity


Whilst Muay Thai is great at teaching you good footwork, it does not teach you to be fluid with your movements.


Fluidity is important because it allows your movements to be smoother which can give you an advantage in making fast strikes. 


However, since Muay Thai doesn’t teach how to improve your fluidity, if you are against an opponent that is, you are at a disadvantage. 


What Are The Strengths Of Muay Thai?


Now that we have looked at the key weaknesses of Muay Thai, it is important that we look at the strengths. 


Your Body Is A Weapon


The main strength of Muay Thai is that it teaches you to be able to use your body as a weapon.


This means you learn how to use all of your limbs effectively to fight against your opponent. 

Mastering The Basics


The great thing about Muay Thai compared to other martial arts is that it does not take too long to be able to master the basic strikes.


This means you can become very advanced in the basic movements of Muay Thai quickly. 


Builds Your Strength And Endurance


Since Muay Thai is about delivering powerful strikes, it helps you to build your body’s overall strength.


Muay Thai helps to develop your core strength and your leg strength. 


Muay Thai is great for building up your endurance as this combat sport is about making rapid and intense movements. 


Conclusion


Muay Thai is a wonderfully intense and powerful combat sport, with many great advantages.

However, it is a sport that has some key weaknesses including on-the-ground fighting, fluidity of movements, and increased risk of injury. 


We hope that this guide has provided you with all you need to know about the weaknesses of Muay Thai. Thank you for reading!

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