Muay Thai (Ong Bak)?

Question

hi everyone,
i was watching the movie Ong Bak and it was amazing, i am thinking about doing Muay Thai classes and was wondering if you learnt all those moves or if they were just the work of hollywood stunt men, also can anyone tell me more about Muay Thai and what to expect as a beginner.

Answer 1

From what I understand, the art shown in that movie is actually Muay Boran, the older version of Thai Boxing practiced by ancient Thai Warriors which put more emphasis on Elbow and Knee strikes. Muay Thai is the modern version geared more for competition in the ring, it puts more emphasis on punches and kicks, although elbows and knees are still used up close during a clinch. I heard authentic Muay Boran teachers are hard to find and most are found only in Thailand. Most Thai kickboxing schools prefer to teach Muay Thai over Muay Boran since winning in Muay Thai competitions meant winning prize money.

Answer 2

Tony Jaa, the actor in Ong Bak is quite an incredible martial artist and gymnast. It was not Hollywood, fortunately, that produced the movie and to my knowledge he did perform every stunt in the movie himself which makes it all the more entertaining. He also starred in "The Protector" I believe it's called, which is well worth watching. He has some pretty incredible moves in that one also.

Muay Thai will be similar to much that he was doing in the film, but it's not going to be the same by a long stretch. In the beginning, as with every art, you must learn the basics, lay down your foundations, work hard, study, and sweat. Tony Jaa has trained for years. Put in that amount of time, and who knows.

If you like the idea of Mauy Thai as a result of the movie, go for it. What do you have to lose but some time - and who knows what you may gain or learn.

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 3

well its actually muay boran from which muay thai was derived. muay thai is the art of 8 limbs because of the strikes with hands, knees, legs, and elbows. the movie is suppose to showcase muay boran but also tony has expreince in Aikido,Capoeira, Wushu, Krabi Krabong, Gymnastics and Tae Kwon Do. so of course some on those moves have a more flash(gymnastics) to make the movie more appealing.

heres a muay boran demo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=k7H3Tg3itGU
as you will see it resembles ong bak alot especially the move where you jump up on the opponets shoulders and deliver two elbow strikes downwards

heres an example of a thai boxing match
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-yPfukurJdw

you can expect to sweat alot theres alot of conditioning for thai boxing but its fun if your heart is in it.

Answer 4

Muay thai is all about striking, kicking punching elbows and knees. Its quite rough and violent. As for the movie i think it might be muay thai or something derived from that.