Muay Thai Vs. TKD?

Question

I kickbox for a gym in Ohio. I've been training in Muay Thai for about a year and a half. I've fought a few Taekwondo guys in tournaments and have never lost to them. Which is a better martial art in your opinion?

Answer 1

go with muay thai

Answer 2

i personally like muay thai better. as for which is better it depends on the person. i can post up videos from youtube with a person using muay thai destroying a person with tkd and i can show you a person with tkd obliterating a muay thai guy.

when it comes to style you got to look at the rules too, some rules may favor that style. a boxer would probably beat a thai boxer in a boxing match cause the rules better favor the boxer. same with tkd and muay thai. thai rules thai boxer has the edge, while in tkd touraments the tkd person has the edge.

now if you are talking about like a free style like fight then it depends on how hard the person trains and how realistically. a good number of times thai boxers come out on top because they train pretty hard and only use simple but effective techniques, but once again if you get a person in tkd that trains hard and only use effective realistic moves then it can go either way

Answer 3

I ve watched a couple of videos on youtube were a Muay thai guy fights a TKD guy........ Muay Thai always wins easily

Answer 4

A very difficult question to answer.

I've taken both at one time or another (Just like cnote), but I am unable to choose. Cnote is the closest one to the right answer: Certain rules make certain styles more applicable more often than others, but what really matters is training methodology and frequency. On the street, however: It really can't be known.

Muay Thai almost always has intense training, and it produces a lot of tuff fighters because of that. Tae Kwon Do, on the other hand, has many good schools, but also has a long record of horrible teaching, and mcdojoisms that have plagued much of it. There's good schools, but there's many people that think watching youtube videos gives them the knowledge to determine which is better.

The arts are on different plains as well. Tae Kwon Do is self-defense art, and Muay Thai is a martial art that while it does have self-defense in it (Very strong I might add, as Muay Boran, Krabi Krabong, and the other arts that it's dervied from are straight to the point self-defense at its core): It is an art centered around competition in most cases (Though some schools do the self-defense swing, like Vee Arnis Jitsu), and that's one of the many reasons it is well known. Muay Thai is very aggressive naturally: That direct crushing power is intense. That is important, but fights are way more than that of course.

Time is a big factor as well:
A year in Muay Thai can be nearly enough to develop good weapons, but it takes many years to perfect Tae Kwon Do. When you start to get into master level Tae Kwon Do fighters, the training goes up a bit ESPECIALLY if the person isn't teaching. Tae Kwon Do traditionally has knees and elbows, but again: The training isn't always the best. Bag training and the like are essential to building power, but hey.....

Other than that: It really depends on the fighter. I didn't take Muay Thai very long, but if I get back into it (Because I really do want to keep mixing up what I know or a style similar to it): It's going to add to my skills. The other arts i've practiced make me a sort of defensive/counter figher: Wait, and attack if you will (And lots of disturbances: I LOVE giving people knee jams, and punching the crap of them as a response to closing that distance :P). Not that I can't be aggressive, but that usually isn't what I'm going for (Minus some cases).

Bruce Lee stressed mixing the two concepts of defensive and combative fighting, so that one flows across them. I really couldn't pick one, but I would pick both, as I think they're both really good striking arts. ^_^
Now all we need is some grappling: I've got hapkido for now, but I definitely want to jump into some BJJ or Wrestling after awhile.

We're comparing apples and oranges. They're both good when they're fresh and well-developed, but which does one like more?

Either way: Good luck continuing your training. No style is better than another: Just certain training methods.

Answer 5

It all depends on how well you both know your style of combat. With TKD you can use your kicks to keep him at bay and use knife hand strikes, punches etc when he gets in close. Keep in mind that Muay Thai fighters are vicious kickers, so use the blocks you learned in karate and TKD to block and counter the kicks.

Answer 6

muay thai is more of a sport, TKD is an art. To fight or compete in a full contact tournament, Muay Thai will generally win hands down. That doesn't make it "better" just better if u want to fight.

Answer 7

u gave yr answer by yrself...u said tat u have never lost any tkd guy so definelty u dont need to ask this question coz u have proven this tp yr self...alright ..personally for me muay thai can kick tkd *** any time..... 2 yr of muay thain can destroy 8 yr of tkd....muay thai is made for war so it got really effective strikes which can kill the people...where as tkd got lots of flashy kicks which looks better but have no use in real life suitation.....if u will see kick of muay thai n tkd then u will definetly say whow tkd guys kicks damn well ...but those kicks r too flashy for real life ......stick with yr muay thai....u even learn how to elbow n knee which r very lethal...

Answer 8

Depends on the rules of the match. If you use the Olympic rules, TKD will win out almost every time. If you use any of the standard Muay Thai rules, they'll win out. Using "freestyle" rules, it will come down to the practitioner and how well they can adapt to the rules in force.

On the street, though, its all about fighter, not style.

Answer 9

There is no such thing as better. It just works for you. You might run into a TKD guy at the next tourney and get rocked, you never know. The UFC was doing this same sort of thing when it got started (still kind of is), the age old question of is a wrestler better than a boxer, or a grappler, etc., and it comes down to whoever wins that day. These sorts of questions are loaded, and they are designed so that one particular group of people can hoard something over another group, "See those guys with the Blue hats? They Suck! We're better than them 'cuz our hats are GREEN." so.............perhaps you just need a hug.

Answer 10

It is not the tool, it is the worker that creates a masterpierce.

In other words, you cannot select one discipline over another as universally superior. Certainly, some disciplines focus more in particular areas and may provide benefits in those over other arts, but all have both strenghts and weaknesses.

It is up to the practitioner to identify their own individual strengths and weaknesses, and to work dilligently on them all to enhance their skill level and ability. That is what makes a proficient, effective, skilled martial artist.

As a competitor you should already know that you can be on your game one day, and completely off it the next. All such competitive engagements have large elements of luck, perception, and opinion involved in them.

If Muay Thai is your preference, more power to you, but don't presume it to be superior to TaeKwon-Do and threfore you have nothing to learn from TaeKwon-Do. We all have much to learn from our own choices in discipline, and as much from those we do not choose.

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