What is the difference between American kickboxing and Muay Thai?

Basically there are 2 main differences I need to know.





Firstly the rules which I can probably find myself.





Secondly what are the differences in technique, fitness levels, skill levels, years it takes to learn. How many hours fighters practice. Thanks very much.|||The rules vary depending on who sanctions the fight.





kickboxing in general doesn%26#039;t allow elbows, knees, kicks below the belt (legs), or any clinching, like they do in muay thai.





Depending on who sanctions the fight, extra rules are applied, such as 7 %26quot;intended%26quot; kicks per round, and others.





K-1 competitions are similar to muay thai, but they don%26#039;t allow elbows and clinching is supposebly not allowed, but this is not enforced, they just do limited clinching.





As far as technique, they are both very similar, but there%26#039;s no parrying with the shin in kickboxing even though you can%26#039;t do low kicks, since there%26#039;s no clinching or elbows fights tend to be a bit further away (kickboxing). When sparring muay thai the lead foot tends to be more relaxed in order to parry the low kicks. Traditional muay thai stance has the guard higher, since the abs have to be so strong blows to the stomach are dismissed.





For some reason I still don%26#039;t understand, kickboxers tend to have their lead hand down, and do spinning back fists alot more often.





As far as fitness leves, skill levels and years it takes to learn the differences are minimal, unless you compare Thai fighters to American fighters. The average thai fighter does this as a means to earn a living, they fight pretty much on a weekly basis, and train all day, hence why they are the best stand-up fighters in the world (lightweights, since Dutch heavyweights rule).





Fighters on average practice at least 20-30 hours a day, again, Thai fighters train all day (over 50 hours a week)





I hope this info is useful, I have friends who are both kickboxers and muay thai fighters, I highly respect both martial arts.|||The main differences are best broken down by describing the ring rules of each sport. We%26#039;ll start with American Kickboxing in an average, American rules bout:





No elbows. No knees. No kicks below the waist. A 10 kick must per round, ie. you must perform 10 kicks in each full round or suffer a 1 or 2 point deduction, depending on number of kicks not attempted. No tripping. Clinching is ruled the same as boxing, fighters are warned, then broken up. Punches inside clinch are counted towards round score. A 10 point must system, just like boxing. You can fight in american kickboxing matches today if you have the insurance and a cornerman, as well as any entry fees. There are no requirements to fight in the ring, save those two. In fact, many Karate, Tae Kwon Do and other martial arts schools put there students into these tournaments, since the rules are so strict. And now Thai rules:





Elbows allowed. Knees allowed. Leg kicks to thigh and shin allowed. Inside to outside and outside to inside trips allowed, though they do not count as knockdown and most practitioners of Muay Thai only use them during roundhouse kicks that hook the leg of an opponent who is inexperienced. Clinching allowed, even encouraged, as most knees and elbows come from %26quot;thai clinch%26quot;, hands at crown of head (not the neck, as most think, since the neck allows little true control of the head). There is no 10 kick must, since the majority of the damage done in Muay Thai is from leg and head kicks. In fact, in Thailand, boxing with the fists is looked upon as a last ditch effort or humliating to the opponent, since they primarily fight with elbows, knees and kicks. In Thailand you must be given your Monkwon, the head piece worn by traditional fighters, by your trainer to be deemed worthy enough to enter the ring in a major bout. In America, it is hard to find a state boxing commission that allows these rules, so most %26quot;Thai%26quot; fighters here fight modified, or %26quot;Oriental%26quot; rules. No elbows, but knees are allowed. Kicks to outside of thigh only. Outside to inside trip allowed. Clinch allowed, but only to deliver knees, then get out of clinch. And 10 point must system.





If you%26#039;re interested in Thai rules kickboxing and you live in the US, your best bet is to get into a good school that trains with those rules, then look for Oriental rules matches until you can get into a K-1 style %26quot;MMA%26quot; event that allows full Thai rules, or until you can get to Japan, Holland, or Thailand, where those rules are prevalent in kickboxing.|||An obvious main differance is the rules that affect the strikes each practitioner can use. Elbow strikes are the first and foremost in differance. Stance is the second. American style tyipcally uses an american boxing stace protecting the mid section with a closer guard. Thai practitioners use a broader more open guard almost %26quot;taunting%26quot; the opposing fighter to come in. This technique requires a very strong torso and training to take the mid section abuse.


This takes the focus off off the inner and back thigh from leg strikes. Several blows to the sciatic nerve will criple any fighter and the match is done.


There is a great deal more to look at between the two. To me that does not matter. There is much to learn in the %26quot;why and How%26quot; and apply them.


Remeber that body geometry plays a huge role in how many of the worlds martial arts have devoloped, among other factors. Geography, Religion, The oppressing force. etc.





Your skill level is solely determined by how much you wish to train and how far you want to take it. It does also help if you can walk and chew gum!|||American Kickboxing resembles karate more than Muay Thai. sad yet true. if you have the option, go Muay Thai.|||American kickboxing is considered a %26#039;watered down version%26#039; of Muay Thai. Usually there is no elbows or knee strikes. The number of years it takes to learn American Kickboxing is about 2-3 yrs depending on the instructor and whether or not his or her school has a belt level or not. In Muay Thai it takes 4-5 years (to get to a proffessional level) and depending on how often you train and for how long each time.