It is one of the oldest martial arts, originating in Thailand. Considered the “football” of the Thais.
According to the International Muaythai Federation and the Brazilian Traditional Muaythai Confederation, the correct spelling is “muaythai”, due to its eastern origin, which does not accept separation or even the hyphen.
The art is also known as Thai boxing and, in Brazil, as Thai boxing.
Art is famous for using the so-called “eight weapons”. These include the two feet, the two knees, the two elbows and the two fists.
It is becoming increasingly popular and gaining followers, especially in gyms, as it provides high caloric expenditure and excellent physical conditioning.
Sports fighting takes place in rings and athletes use boxing gloves.
The famous callus of the shins is important in muaythai, which is used both to apply a blow (shin kick) and for defense. Therefore, there are “calming” techniques, which include kicking tires, rubbing bottles on the shins and finally, breaking baseball bats or broomsticks with the shin.
In Muaythai, there is musical accompaniment (ram muay), in addition to the ritual performed by the fighters before the start of the fight. The fight is accompanied by an orchestra of drums and flutes that generally continues until the second or third round in official competitions.
The ritual called Wai Kru is the best known. It is a ritual practiced by fighters shortly before the fight begins. Initially the fighter greets the audience, bowing with his hands, then salutes his coach and begins a series of movements that resemble a dance, seeking concentration. After the end, he approaches his coach to receive the final instructions before the fight, removes the mongkon (headband made of braided rope and worn by the fighter during the ritual) and waits for the fight to begin.
They also use the praciat, a braided rope that is placed on one or both arms and is not removed after the ritual. It is used to provide protection to the fighter.
Many muaythai fighters also fight jiu-jitsu, with the aim of improving their ground techniques, as most fighters are not prepared to fight on the ground.
The Brazilian Confederation of Muay Thai, founded 14 years ago, and the Brazilian Confederation of Traditional Muay Thai, are responsible for carrying out and supervising degree exams in Brazil. CBMTT has a National Graduation System, where affiliated athletes can follow their entire evolution.
The rope that symbolized the graduation was called “kruang”. It is currently called “prajied”, which is the same practiced in Thailand.
Professional Muaythai: competitors wear gloves, mouth and genital protection (cup). The fights have 5 rounds of 3 minutes of combat.
Amateur Muaythai: competitors use, in addition to professional accessories, other accessories such as shin guards, elbow pads and chest protectors. Each fight has 4 rounds lasting 2 minutes of combat.
In both amateur and professional, recovery between one round and another is 1 minute.
