Is muay thai really a form of self-"defense" or more of an offense?

I just started muay thai and having done aikido for two years I find that muay thai cannot be considered a self-Defense whereas Aikido came with the complete package and taught evasiveness, locks, controls, etc. Of course I am not comparing the two styles as one is %26quot;soft%26quot; and the other is %26quot;hard%26quot; I just wanted to know if anyone agrees with me about muay thai and that to be a proper martial artist one desperately needs a supplement with it. So what can I do to make muay thai a part of complete package?|||I don%26#039;t know, would you want to start a fight with someone who knows muay thai and has a kick waiting for you when you make the first move?|||um... actually muay thai was created with the intent to kill...|||As the saying goes: the best defense is a good offense. If this is the case, then muay thai will turn you into one potent defensive machine! Once you put on your headband thing and start gyrating like a snake on the ground, your opponent will either be too scared to touch you, or too enthralled by your beautiful movements and will not want to harm you.|||well, when someone%26#039;s trying to hurt you, and you use muay thai to kick his/her butt...Can you call that self-defense?|||I love Muay Thai, it%26#039;s my favorite martial art. But it%26#039;s all offensive, therefore supplementing it with a more defensive art is your best bet. An idea is to implement some boxing techniques in there and see how that works. Trial and error is good if time permits.|||Muay Thai is a sport. It%26#039;s geared for competition... not self-defense. That%26#039;s probably why it focuses more on %26quot;offense%26quot; than on %26quot;defense.%26quot;





Not to say that Muay Thai can%26#039;t be used for self-defense. It can. But like I said, it%26#039;s geared twoard %26quot;winning,%26quot; not %26quot;surviving.%26quot; And if you do end up in a physical confrontation, you might have a hard time explaining to the judge why you had to kick the crap out of someone after he punched you in the nose.





You could try a grappling system (maybe take Aikido again?) to supplement Muay Thai, since MT focuses on punching and kicking.|||isn%26#039;t the whole point of that to be lethal? see, i have this philosophy...i%26#039;m not going to get into a physical fight with anyone unless i plan on killing them. that prevents me from getting physical until it%26#039;s absolutely necessary. i think that requires quite a bit of self-discipline and control which is the flip side of what you%26#039;re talking about. maybe that%26#039;s what the idea is. like in the karate kid (i get that that%26#039;s completely different but...) when mr. miagi only opened his can of whoop-*ss when his opponent left him no other choice. i mean, martial arts is a way of life, not just discipline in your combat style. and if you don%26#039;t like it, then don%26#039;t continue. i would think that going into something like that and studying that would require some serious devotion.|||It is an offensive art, but can be used to defend yourself.|||Well from the lack of any evidence of Aikido%26#039;s effectiveness other than with teacher and student. I would say its effectiveness as a self defense is questionable at this point. Try and find some video of real world or anything close to MMA with Aikido in it. Don%26#039;t drink the Aikido Kool Aid.





If some one is attacking you, you should use what is proven most effective to immobilize them, Muay Thai is a good start. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a good follow once it goes to the ground.|||Studying Aikido you%26#039;ll understand the philosophy of Ying and Yan. The terms Offense and Defense are merely dualistic hinderances to our own minds. Do not mistake the Map for the Territory. There is not defense and offense... just ( )