Muay Thai, also known as the “Art of Eight Limbs,” is one of the most effective striking disciplines in combat sports. Within Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Muay Thai provides athletes with powerful striking skills, superior clinch control, and versatile offensive and defensive strategies.
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2️⃣ Scope of Application • ✅ Muay Thai techniques are permitted within MMA competitions in accordance with federation rules and safety regulations. • ✅ Muay Thai is recognized as a fundamental base discipline alongside boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
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3️⃣ Core Techniques in MMA
🥊 Punches (Chok) – Adapted for MMA gloves; used in combinations and striking exchanges. 💪 Elbows (Sok) – Highly effective in close range and clinch (permitted depending on federation rules). 🦵 Kicks (Te) – Powerful roundhouse kicks to legs, body, and head. 🦿 Knees (Khao) – Applied in clinch and standing positions. 🤼 Clinch (Chap Khao) – Used to control opponent posture, land knees, or transition into takedowns.
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4️⃣ Adaptations for MMA • 🧤 Glove adjustment: MMA gloves provide less padding, requiring modified guard and defense. • 🤼♂️ Clinch limitation: Shorter clinch duration due to referee intervention and takedown risks. • 🕹️ Cage tactics: Fighters adapt Muay Thai clinch and strikes against the cage. • 🛡️ Ground considerations: Elbows/knees on the ground depend on federation regulations.
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5️⃣ Safety & Prohibited Actions • ❌ Strikes to the spine, throat, groin, nape, or top of the head. • ❌ Excessive clinching without active striking. • ❌ Illegal throws causing opponent to land head or neck first. • ❌ Use of oils, creams, or substances not authorized by the referee.
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6️⃣ Importance in MMA Training
Muay Thai is considered essential for MMA athletes because it: • ⚡ Provides effective striking at all ranges. • 💪 Improves conditioning, resilience, and mental toughness. • 🔗 Builds a bridge between striking and grappling transitions.
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7️⃣ Conclusion
The integration of Muay Thai into MMA enriches the sport by adding effective striking tools and enhancing the versatility of athletes. Its application must always respect the regulatory framework of MMA federations to ensure both fairness and fighter safety.
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A person performing a form must express and demonstrate a mentally and physically realistic approach to the various defense scenarios he/she is trying to emulate. The moves within the Form must be appropriate to the style being performed. Techniques should be performed with full power, focus and explosiveness. When executing the form all basic techniques should be performed logically and be relative to the selected Form. The Competitor’s name, the name of the form and club, (or country) must be announced to Judges in all styles. In all sections 4 people will qualify for the final, and will perform again in reverse order. It is optional at National level that the winner can be decided after only one round. In all World level competitions, wherever rankings are available, heats must be seeded.
Scoring 3-5 judges scoring with the highest and lowest scores taken away Points are given to one decimal place
In preliminary rounds will range between 6,0 and 8,0 (starting point 7), in finals between 8,0 and 9,9 ( starting point 9 )
CRW – Creative weapons – no music
A self-made Form without music but with weapons, with no gymnastic moves. The Creative weapon Form should contain only the use of standard martial arts techniques, along with the individual’s creative variation. All creative forms without music and with weapons, and any so called traditional Kobudo styles which are not listed must be performed only in this division of creative weapon forms. All Karate, Korean and Wushu weapon forms may have traditional moves only. It must consist of traditional techniques, stance and blocks. No machine gun kicks etc. In this kind of forms the competitor must wear a martial arts uniform. Weapon must be used and is highly important for the scoring. The use of stage props such as Lasers, Smoke, Fire or “Dry Ice“, is not permitted. The duration of a creative form must be between 1 and 3 minutes. The time starts with the first move of the form, not the announcement. A Timekeeper will be appointed.
Scoring should be based on: Manipulation of the weapon, speed of the weapon techniques, showmanship, degree of difficulty, basic hand and feet techniques, balance, basics stances, strength and focus. Traditional performance in all Kobudo styles of traditional forms. The form will be scored on the use of the weapon, not Kicks and other techniques.
WEAPON KATA
In WEAPON KATA division a competitor or team shows their skills in a particular weapon Kata of their choice. This weapon Kata can be a traditional or a modern weapon form (NO FIRE GUNS WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED!!!)
Weapons Kata are for real defending or/real attacking. Therefore it is not allowed to work with soft-weapons. – Also traditional weapons like Katana (sword), Kama (sickle), Tanto (knife), Tonfa, and others have to be made of Iron / Metal / Wood and not of plastic. – Inside the WEAPON KATA division there are 2 subdivisions : WEAPON KATA INDIVIDUAL and WEAPON KATA SYNCHRONIC
Single competitors compete in Weapon Kata and teams composed of 3 members compete in Weapon Kata Synchronic
PRINCIPLES of WEAPON KATA 7
WEAPON KATA has to be alive and has to be performed with feeling. The purpose of techniques must be clear, they should have a combat value. A WEAPON KATA must not be just a dance, nice for looking but devoid of combat value.
There has to be “spirit”. Energy, force and mind must come together in one point in a short moment. Here we can talk about “Focus”.
3. The power of strong and weak, hard and soft, flex and relax. This we have to see in a WEAPON KATA
4-The timing of fast and slow. There has to be a variation in speed. There is a difference between action and no action in a WEAPON KATA. In this manner there will be a rhythm reflecting a character and conveying a feeling of a battle.
5. Rhythm of breathing, the right way of breathing in and out. It is important to gather power and energy in the area of the energy-centre in the lower abdomen
6. Balance is very important in every exercise. For right and effective techniques it is important to have a good balance of the body. Some techniques in a WEAPON KATA are just for development of balance of the body
7. Synchronization is very important in WEAPON KATA SYNCHRONIC.
Disqualification in WEAPON KATA
If one competitor/team is not coming to compete, after 30 seconds follows disqualification. – When a competitor or team stops the performance before the end, disqualification will follow. – When a competitor or member of a team moves out of the competition area, the competitor ore the team will be disqualified. – When a performance is less or more than the time limit .
SELF-DEFENSE COMBAT
In Self-Defense Combat a team is composed of 2 competitors, 1 attacker and 1 defender. – MALE teams is composed strictly by two (2) male members having the same age category. – FEMALE teams is composed strictly by two (2) female members having the same age category. – MIXT teams is composed strictly by two (2) members, one male and one female having the same age category. – In Self-Defense Combat there must be 70% of the performance in a reality way of fighting, 30% of the performance is allowed for show choreographic
SELF-DEFENSE SPORT is a team of 4 competitors, 3 attackers and 1 defender. In the choreography of Self-Defense Sport there must be 50% realistic fighting techniques and 50% of the performance must be show/choreographic. Basically 50% of the decision will be for the realism and 50% for the show/acrobatic techniques/choreography. – All teams are composed strictly of four ( 4 ) members , from any sex category , from any age category
Weapons used in SELF-DEFENSE divisions
The weapons used for the SELF-DEFENSE performances have to be real weapons (not sharpened but made of iron / wood / metal and not from plastic, NO FIRE GUNS WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED!!!). Weapons within SELF-DEFENSE are for real defending or real attacking. Therefore it is not allowed to work with soft-weapons
WEAPON SELF–DEFENSE
In the Weapon Self-Defense division there will be a traditional fight „weapon vs. weapon”. The weapons used for the Self-Defense performances have to be real weapons (not sharpened but made from iron / wood / metal and not from plastik or silicon).Just traditional Martial Arts Weapons are allowed or traditional national weapons of somebody’s country. All weapons must be used in a very traditional manner and not in a very modern survival one. The Chairmen of Referees has the final decision in this case
TEAMS in WEAPON SELF-DEFENSE
There are two (2) kinds of WEAPON SELF-DEFENSE teams: – MALE teams composed of two (2) male members having the same age category. -FEMALE teams composed of two (2) female members having the same age category
Time limit of WEAPON SELF-DEFENSE divisions
Each team must take care of the time limits of their performances which will be mandatory as follows : 2-4 minutes
Disqualification in WEAPON SELF-DEFENSE
If one team is not coming after the head referees call them by the microphone to compete, after 30 seconds follows disqualification. – When a team stops the performance before the end, disqualification will follow. – When any member of a team moves out of the competition area the team will be disqualified––When the performance is less or more than the time limit
