Which is best for self-defence : kickboxing or muay thai?

Answer 1

Muay thai is a form of kick boxing, check out jujitsu, (also a form of kick boxing,) it is not as cultural as muay thai and is more suited to self defence in society today.

Answer 2

They are very similar. I would say the most important thing is the intructor. However, if the instructors were equivalent, the only differences would be the rule differences in kickboxing and muay thai competition. In muay thai, you can do leg kicks as well as knees and elbows. While, most posters would say this makes it a more complete art, I beg to differ. The basis for both Muay Thai and kickboxing is that your fists are wearing heavy gloves. So in a sense, the most instinctive weapon you would use in a real fight, your fist, is "dumbed" down. Since your primary weapon is dumbed down, you learn to rely on your other weapons such as your legs. There are many reasons for the gloves, safety being one of them. But I would conjecture that the most important reason is that the fights last longers with the gloves on. If the fights are short, the fans won't get their money's worth. My point is that the way Muay Thai and Kickboxing stylist fight may be different from the way they would in a real fight. In a real fight, they would definitely punch more. So for self defense purposes, you want to practice a style that simulate how you would also want to fight in a real fight. If you look at Muay Thai fights, they throw a lot of leg kicks. While this technique is good at creating opening in a ring. During a real fight, the leg kicks are dumbed down if both fighters are wearing pants, which is quite common. So, my theory is that if a champion muay thai and kickboxer of the same weight class faces each other on the street, the kickboxer would more likely win, because: 1) The kickboxer's punching techniques will work better on the street without the gloves on. 2) The leg kicks of the Muay Thai fighter would be less effective on the street due to the likelyhood that they would be wearing pants.

Answer 3

Kickboxing is a sport with rules. No groin attacks, no open hand techniques, no grappling....
Muay Thai is a martial arts system. A martial arts system will always be superior to a sport system for self-defense situation.

More important than any of this is the place you train and the manner in which you train.
If person A learns Muay Thai from a Wal-mart video and person B learns kickboxing at gym where they are actually working out and sparring. Then the person B has superior training.

Quality and frequency of training are very important factors.

Answer 4

muay thai is a real martial art Kickboxing is more a sport

Answer 5

Look at any Pride fight champion, UFC champion or K-1, MMAs winningest style is the combination of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/Muay Thai. Don't worry about Krav or Karate, there are no MMA champions who use these styles. Your butt will be owned by anyone who trains in MMA Brazilian Jiujitsu/MuayThai.

Answer 6

The problem with those kind of styles is that they are easily overcome by someone who knows how to grapple, like someone who knows jujitsu, because most fights end up on the ground, and someone who knows what to do when they're down there will make sure it ends up that way. But for general self defense either one would be great.

Answer 7

between those two, train in muay tai. But if you want a style MEANT for self defense, then train in jujitsu or hopkito. they are much better for getting people on the ground and making them stay there.

Answer 8

muay thai since most fights typically are close ranged, and muay thai is a close ranged fighting style.

Answer 9

Muay Thai. They have more arnsel to use such as elbows, knees, clinch, and low kicks.

Answer 10

muay thia is a mile ahead and im a kickboxer