karate vs muay thai: which is better


Kyokushin is "full-contact, knockdown karate." Here, we shall discuss the pros and cons of either martial art and ultimately, which one is better. One needs to only look at kyokushin shinken shobu to see what or how kyokushin is represented in a proper showing of the style . This site is a go-to resource for MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu enthusiasts. If youre looking to improve your fighting skills then check out this book which is focused on kicks. One of the things I feel is lacking in my training right now is conditioning. The answer to this question depends on the practitioner and the time. Like with most styles of Karate, punches and elbows to the head are banned, kicks and knees to the head are legal. While many watered down kyokushin karate schools today , sad to say practice and quite sadly only shows the public the ,as the article quite rightly says tournament rules ( no punching to the face, no elbows to the face, no grappling (mind you knees to the face and elbows to the body are legal ) of kyokushin karate, this in no way reflects what is taught as the style of kyokushin karate in a proper dojo. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. I think they're both fine for self defense. Your email address will not be published. The good news is that if you want to train Karate then there are still real places around, you just have to be careful in picking your dojo. Its more about which martial art is more appealing to you personally. If you tell people that you train Muay Thai, some of them may ask, Muay Thai? After moving to Japan to join the Imperial Air Force, Oyama began to train in both Shotokan and Goju-Ryu Karate. This is once again an example of how the rules dictate the martial art. This is where the benefits of Karate come in. Required fields are marked *.

Your email address will not be published. Fighters from Mejiro Gym battle-tested the Japanese kickboxing style against Muay Thai with applaudable results. This is a question only someone who doesnt train martial arts would ask, given the massive differences between Muay Thai and most Karate Styles. In Muay Thai, this is known as using your 8 limbs whereas Karate prohibits such attacks. Kyokushin matches and free sparring look closer to Muay Thai than other popular Karate Styles. Press J to jump to the feed.

Muay Thai clinching is also vitally important to learn and that takes a long time to master. Although theyre both primarily based on striking, takedowns are also used. He then developed a new style of Japanese kickboxing fusing Kyokushin with elements of Muay Thai. Training Tips They both involve excessive amounts of kicking ass, being awesome and snazzy costumes. However, there are some big differences between the two. Its important to remember that when the focus is more on fitness and conditioning rather than skill and technique you wont have the attributes to properly defend yourself. The main difference being that Kyokushin fighters can throw elbows and punches only to the body but not the head.

In Karate, theres often an emphasis placed on speed and precision. Remember, not everywhere practices Kumite (sparring) so you may need to ask around before starting. What would be good for fitness? The next is the rules of Kyokushin that forbids punches/elbows to the head. At a young age, Oyama was sent to live with his sister on their familys farm in Manchuria. Thankfully, this never happened with Muay Thai which has maintained its tough reputation to this day. Being used to and prepared to defend against punches to the head is very important in fighting. One of the earliest and most notable kickboxers from Mejiro Gym is Toshio Fujiwara, the first. Oyama became the face of Kyokushin and was mainly responsible for promoting the style while Kurosaki worked on the grounds, instructing students at their dojo. Taking bsre knuckes to the body for a period of time is one of the most punishing things you can do. The truth is, a majority of martial arts are useful and its silly to continually compare them, its like comparing apples to oranges. We love Martial Arts. In Muay Thai, this mostly involves foot sweeps which are also used in Karate, as well as takedowns which are similar to those used in Judo. Overall they are both amazing workouts however Kyokushin conditioning scares me. Many of the earliest Kyokushin champions to fight in the K-1 kickboxing competitions were defeated in their quests. Too many grabs, holds or hooks by a fighter can even result in a point deduction. However, they fight using bare knuckles with no gloves or even hand wraps. I train Muay Thai kickboxing as part of an MMA school, so it's not Traditional Muay Thai but I figure I can give some insight. Training Boxing allows to you get much more proficient in self-defense in the short term (such as 6 months training time).

It also doesnt allow for low kicks to the calves, whereas this is fully legal in Muay Thai. Ive met more sloppy western boxing coaches who dont stress the importance of fitness in fighting, however if youve ever been in a professional or amateur fight youll know fitness is important. Kyokushins footwork is similar to Muay Thai with moving forward being the main type of movement. Go and watch a class or two at each place and look at the mid to senior level students training there. Your email address will not be published. Schilt, Hug, Filho, Sam Greco All of Kyokushin, All of them had to branch out and learn some classic kickboxing or boxing before their careers took off; there are very few pure Kyokushin practitioners who can take hard, sustained shots to the head dont get me wrong, it is by no means a weak martial art at all; the Kyokushin guys I know and spar with form time to time are among the toughest fighters I know (physically and mentally). I'm guessing it probably wasn't a great one then? The close range that the fighters take means that the vast majority of strikes are to the body. In other words, Karate as a whole slipped into a McDojo culture where money was prioritized over legitimacy. That being said however, not a single one of them can withstand even a half-assed hook or straight right to the head without staggering back and getting substantially fazed (something any decent amateur boxing competitor can do); the large majority of them (all shodan or above) also tend to shell up and freeze whenever I blitz them with long punch combos to the head (pretty much one of the only tactics I can use against them since theyre practically immune to body shots and leg kicks).

The style bares many surface-level similarities to other styles of Karate, using a traditional gi and incorporating Kata (form) training. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. However if you were to do this in Muay Thai you run the risk of eating a knee in the face. Kyokushin inherits many techniques from the original Karate including many of the fancy kicks. To promote his new school, Oyama would travel around Japan, reportedly wrestling and -literally- knocking out bulls. Man I hate when people pinch me in the head. Muay Thai includes some elements of boxing, however you cant fight like a boxer when you switch to Muay Thai or bad things happen will happen. It just sucks. Often in Karate, you can clinch but you can only punch below the shoulders which takes away a lot of the benefits of clinch fighting. To sum up, if you were to take the average Muay Thai fighter and put them against a Karateka under MMA rules (where neither has an advantage) then the average Muay Thai fighter would win most of the times, because of more realistic training and being able to use other limbs. You are right about their sparring being hard to adjust to. Both are good, I'd just go with whichever has the better school wherever you're going. Those guys are about as tough as anyone in the world of martial arts. For example, in Boxing an effective defense allows you to change levels by rolling/slipping (ducking) punches to the head and upper body.

Fitness and conditioning can be greatly influenced by the effort you put in, but the quality of the technique you develop is much more influenced by the quality of your instructor. However, knees and kicks to the head are legal. The first reasons being that Muay Thai allows the use of the clinch, which can be vital in a self defense situation. This is right after doing conditioning which would be something like pulls up, box squat jumps, and push ups. One reason for this may be its lack of belts, which mean frauds arent attracted to Muay Thai to gain recognition. I'm under the impression that a lot of kyokushin places will wear boxing gloves and allow pinches to the head during sparring, just not in competitions, so the only real difference might be the elbows and clinching. In fact, Kyokushin training sometimes incorporates padwork involving punches, knees and kicks. If one looks at kyokushin shinken shobu , it is what is closer to what the kyokushin actually taught as a fighting style and what made it the strongest karate for decades. The point is to try and accurately hit the opponent as quickly as possible to avoid retaliation. Muay Thai pros: Head punches, clinch work, Ram Muay is better than Kata, Muay Thai cons: Gloves, usually expensive, sometimes it's not real Muay Thai, just generic kickboxing, Kyokushin pros: Bare knuckle, usually cheap, consistent quality. Kurosaki actually trained with Oyama in Goju-Ryu Karate in the 1950s before starting their own style of Karate together. The absolute best thing about kyokushin is the body conditioning. Granted many now a days schools of kyokushin practice as the the article quite rightly says tournament rules , no punching and elbowing to the face, no clinching, no grappling is exactly that! He then developed a new style of Japanese kickboxing fusing Kyokushin with elements of Muay Thai. This includes Roundhouse kicks, spinning back kicks and Kyokushins signature technique, the rolling thunder.

They do not wear gloves or hand wraps like in Muay Thai or other kickboxing sports. They fight in what looks like a stand-and-bang fashion. It is why it was considered to be the strongest fighting styles for msny decades, indeed the founder of the style Mas Oyama was one of the god fathers of modern MMA. This type of striking takes a much longer time to learn when compared to just using one form of attack. Some may be heavy on conditioning, others may want you to do it on your own time. BJJ Unlike other stand-up combat sports, Kyokushin doesnt use gloves in training and competitions.

No falten al Encuentro de Innovacin Educativa, #InnovaForum de la @Universidad de Guadalajara , "Aprendizaje hbrido y pedagogas activas". However this also means that Boxing has extra time to focus on footwork and defense.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Long term self-defense: Muay Thai. Kenji Kurosaki himself and two Japanese fighters went to the famed Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand where they were matched against three Muay Thai fighters.

As well, we can also be thankful for Kyokushin which still keeps the legacy of Karate alive. Your email address will not be published. I started training Muay Thai in 2013 and fell in love with many other forms of Martial Arts ever since, so much so that I decided to create this website to share my love of the martial arts. Ahh, the age old question of which martial art is better. I fought many Muay Thai fighters in Thailand as a kyokushinki style and found the opposite of your analogy. I'm tall, and one of my go-to techniques is to use my jab to measure distance, obstruct my opponent's vision, and set up my cross, front kick, or roundhouse. Also similar to Muay Thai, sparring plays a big part in Kyokushin training, with multiple rounds every session. Not only do you need to learn how to use these type of strikes, but you also have to learn to defend against these type of strikes. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); See my favorite instructionals for It should be noted that the toughest form of Karate (Kyokushin) does allow clinches, but most forms do not. In a full contact ( without padding) setting. But some of the information is flawed when it comes to kyokushin as it is practiced. Thai fighters like Buakaw Banchamek, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, and Superbon Banchamek are all able to achieve success in kickboxing against their Dutch, Chinese and Japanese counterparts. Hi, Im The MMA Guru. Due to movies such as The Karate Kid, Karate ballooned in popularity in the 80s and 90s. Boxing will probably get you to defensive competence in most situations faster, as the focus is on spacing, timing, and reading your opponent for the use of your hands. Whether you have been in martial arts for years, or if youre a newbie looking to find the best martial art to start with, you will be able to learn a lot from this martial art breakdown. Followed by perhaps 10 - 15 mins of shadow boxing and the rest of the time mitt / bag work. Sample workout might be right straight, left hook to the body, right body kick on the mitts --> continue practicing with a partner (one attacks, one defends 1 / 1 etc..) then onto the bag continue for 45 mins sometime an hour. Thailand Travel If a boxer were to match up with a Muay Thai fighter in the street, chances are he would be able to easily avoid punches that were thrown towards him, however there is a huge disadvantage when you start taking leg kicks. A few decades back there was a time where this might be a tossup. Any proper kyokushin school as they say worth its salt utilizes all tools of fighting, namely kicking , punching and grappling. Boxing is useful because it gives you a great advantage with footwork and self-defense. Do you do more stuff than just punch bags really?

As I mentioned earlier, Kyokushin has a lot in common with Muay Thai. What would be good for self defense?

What has happened to the kyokushin is that many schools now only train tournament style which is sad. There are a number of flaws present in traditional Kyokushin system and its training that makes it a less effective style than Muay Thai. So that's the difference in the rules. Out of the two I would pick Kyokushin because you did state you like the traditional side of Karate. Obviously, Muay Thai has a big emphasis on clinch work as this is where a lot of elbow and knee strikes come from. Your opponent in a real-life situation is going to probably go for your head first, so you need to know what to do. This is whst is shown now. I personally find that I love to collect Muay Thai gear and it is a more expensive hobby than boxing. Kyokushin doesnt rely on quick blitzing footwork like other Karate styles. Privacy Policy This means that they dedicate a lot of training time to the many kinds of kicks in Kyokushins arsenal. Luckily for us this dream fight has taken place at least once or twice. Eventually, Oyama founded his own style of Karate and his own dojo, originally called Oyama Dojo. The Karatekas won 2-1 overall. It really comes down to whether you want to wear a gi or fancy shorts. Is that like Karate or some variation of that question.

Your opponent in a real-life situation is going to probably go for your head first, so you need to know what to do. Kenji Kurosaki is a key figure in the founding of Kyokushin Karate. As a result, its fair to say that both are great martial arts in their own right. Even the stances that both styles take are very similar, with square feet and somewhat high guards at the least. Hey I did two years of traditional Muay Thai at Siam No. Another name for the style is Kyokushinkai Karate. As a side-note about boxing, the reason why Muay Thai fighters often cross-train in it despite its perceived lack of offensive weapons is simply due to the fact that they can move much better, defensively speaking, as well as throw fast punch combos that would overwhelm even high level MT competitors if set up properly (at least those who didnt train a bit in boxing); a nak muay who has mastered boxing footwork and/or the fast, high-volume combos boxers are famous for will almost always end up dominating a fighter using the the stand and bang style you see in many traditional Thai fights most of whom have sub-par punching ability. Not only this but generally, Karate is a bit more serious. On the one hand, you could argue that Muay Thai is better than Karate for self defense. You also wont see a lot of evasive footwork, dancing around, or fighters chasing each other in a Muay Thai match. Beginner Central It'll vary. This may be due to Karate coming from Japan, whereas Muay Thai is from Thailand. What would be good for conditioning? When it comes to sparring in striking arts, most will be quite similar and skills are transferable. This not only involves increasing your stamina but also conditioning the body to normalize getting hit. By the way. Like in Muay Thai, Kyokushin fighters also spend a lot of time conditioning their shins. Like I mentioned earlier, Kyokushin still incorporates kata training like in other Karate styles. On the other hand, Muay Thai may feel too intimidating and may be too hard on the body if youre older or less serious about training. The main problem with Boxing is that you really only focus on striking with hands, while Muay Thai focuses on hands, feet, elbows, and knees. The Dutch martial artists then returned to the Netherlands where they started the NKBB (Dutch Kickboxing Association) and that was when Dutch kickboxing took off. This makes body conditioning even more important than any other fight sports. I tried a Muay Thai gym and all we did was just punch the bags for a couple of weeks, it put me off it a bit. Two of the Karate fighters, Tadashi Nakamura and Akio Fujihira won their bouts by KOs. Fighters from Mejiro Gym battle-tested the Japanese kickboxing style against Muay Thai with applaudable results. This differs from Muay Thai fighters, who train in the same style of shorts with individualized styles and detailing on the shorts. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Both Muay Thai and Kyokushin should improve your conditioning and general fitness, but the quality of the instruction will make a big difference in terms of self defense. Go watch some classes. Western Boxing and Muay Thai have different defensive systems based on their respective rules. One of the biggest differences is the interpretation of how to strike your opponent. But, since its creation, a lot of Karate has become less realistic, whereas Muay Thai has maintained its original effectiveness. Boxing and Muay Thai are different martial arts, so when it comes to training the question isnt necessarily about which fighting style is better. On the other hand, Kyokushin has, frankly speaking, nothing much to offer that Muay Thai doesnt already have, as pretty much their only notable element that separates them from other striking styles is their ability to take endless hits below the neck more so than any other combat athletes, though I dare say: any striker can develop a similar ability with the correct conditioning regime, albeit painfully. Oyama was born as Choi Young-Eui during a time when Korea was under Japanese occupation. As you have already narrowed it down to two styles to choose from, I would suggest just checking out the options in your area for those two styles. Do you want to just focus on punching or do you want to add kicks, knees, and elbows? It really depends on the school and what their focus is. Foot sweeps are also legal in both styles but Kyokushin bans the use of the clinch, with any grabbing or hook resulting in an instant break. It offers kicking techniques for both Karate and Muay Thai practitioners. I'm not asking for people to debate which is better, I just want to know a bit more about both! What we see of kyokushin today and sadly some competitors now only train tournament style kyokushin karate which is sad and reflects sadly on the perception of kyokushin karate. Thai fighters like, Karate styles is that Kyokushin is full contact, Top 10 Muay Thai Fighters You Should Know, Where to watch Muay Thai Fights in Bangkok (2022), The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Muay Thai. However I personally would prefer Muay Thai training as you would know more about the clinch and have a longer striking range. You can be all for Kyokushin, but if the only school within 100 miles has a shit teacher it really does you no good. But Kurosaki received a different outcome when he took on Rawee Dechachai. The Best self defense books for the streets. It'll also bring the traditional side of things, if that's what you're looking for. The Japanese walked away from the historical fight with realization of Kyokushin Karates shortcomings. Lets explore the history of Kyokushin, its connection to Muay Thai and finally, lets decide which is the more effective of the two. Kyokushin translates to mean the ultimate truth, expressing the founders philosophy of discovering the nature of ones true character when put to the test. It is what people . So a few things, I REALLY enjoy striking (I did do a year of MMA and will continue when I can) What I find most difficult about Kyokushin is the condition it is down right fucking awful. Today is a little different however, because well be comparing Boxing vs Muay Thai. The late K1 World Grand Prix champion, Andy Hug was the most successful out of the Kyokushin fighters. Muay Thai incorporates all of this. They eventually split in the late 1960s due to the difference in opinion over the commercial direction that Oyama was taking with Kyokushin. In terms of testing your pain threshhold in a fight, kyokushin comes first. This means a Karateka will usually wear a Karate gi when fighting, whereas a Muay Thai fighter will wear shorts and nothing else. So who would win a fight between a Muay Thai vs Boxing practitioner? Aside from uniform and cultural differences, theres more that they dont have in common. Because Muay Thai allows for agreater variety of attacks than boxing, fighters are more limited with the types of defensive techniques they employ. Kurosaki left to start the legendary Mejiro Gym in 1969 not long after his defeat against Muay Thai fighter, Rawee Dechachai in Lumpinee stadium (1964). Universidad de Guadalajara. Kyokushin cons: No head punches, no hand off to grappling, sometimes have to waste time doing Kata. Lets find out if one is truly better than the other. They don't stop. Boxers usually come out in a robe and take it off to fight. I hate to sound like a broken record, but both Muay Thai and Boxing are great for fitness and cardiovascular strength. In this article, we explore the deep connection, similarities and differences between Muay Thai vs Kyokushin Karate. This type of striking emphasizes quick hands and head movement to avoid punches. One more thing to consider is the gear youll need for training. Kyokushin also tends to be heavy on the kicks, as with most Karate styles. I am afraid every time I step foot on the matts. If a Muay Thai fighter were to fight a boxer in the street, he would have the advantage of front kicking his opponent to keep him at bay. These guys don't check leg kicks very often so.. Classes are almost always 2 hours long with a great emphasis on body conditioning. While Kyokushin has low kicks and knees, Muay Thai also throws in elbows and the clinch. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Dutch martial artists then returned to the Netherlands where they, started the NKBB (Dutch Kickboxing Association) and that was when, Source: Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru (Manga).

Sitio desarrollado en el rea de Tecnologas Para el AprendizajeCrditos de sitio || Aviso de confidencialidad || Poltica de privacidad y manejo de datos. They don't incorporate grappling into their competition, a la Daido Juku/Kudo or Enshin (the latter of which is a direct off-shoot of Kyokushin), and there are some oddities in the way matches sometimes go due to the no head punches rule. themmaguru.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. However, there is one particular style of Karate that draws a lot of valid comparisons to Muay Thai. I've sparred with Kyokushin guys and they handle themselves very well against Muay Thai. However, they fight using bare knuckles with no gloves or even, After moving to Japan to join the Imperial Air Force, Oyama began to train in both, Both styles also incorporate all 8 limbs of the body and use them as weapons. Contact Us If you wish to learn a more complete stand-up striking martial arts, then Muay Thai is definitely a more practical choice. The style was created by a Korean expatriate living in Japan, Masutatsu Oyama (Japanese: ), more commonly known as Mas Oyama. Actually, they depended on locking grabs around the neck too much and left them open for short punches to the mid section. If you were to pair up a Muay Thai fighter against a Kyukoshin fighter too, then it would suddenly become more even.