Thaiboxing, along with savate, karate, and taekwondo heavily influenced the development of kickboxing in Japan, Europe, and North America. However, unlike Muay Thai, many kickboxing competitions do not allow elbow strikes, knee strikes, or kicks below the waist. These rule changes have led some martial artists to consider kickboxing a 'watered down' version of Muay Thai, if even that.

Mixed Martial Arts

Starting in the 1990s, Muay Thai has enjoyed a boost in popularity worldwide as it has been very effective in mixed martial arts fights, such as those held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and PRIDE Fighting Championships. Mixed martial artists such as Marco Ruas (of Ruas Vale Tudo), Wanderlei Silva,Anderson Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (of the Chute Boxe Academy) have combined many striking elements of Muay Thai with grappling, submission, and choking elements from Judo, Wrestling, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into a hybrid synthesis that has been highly effective in defeating practitioners of "pure" martial arts, at least in a sports-centered context. Other fighters that have used Muay Thai as their primary style in mixed martial arts include Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Kit Cope, and Spencer Cooper. Shoot-fighters and professional wrestlers who have trained and been influenced by Muay Thai include Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask and founder of shooto), and Yoshiaki Fujiwara.

register to read more