Boxing and Muay Thai are two of the most popular combative techniques in the world. Both of these awesome fighting techniques can be used for self-defense and are also often used for competitive bouts. So, if you are interested in these two types of martial arts, you may be thinking about whether it is okay to train both boxing and Muay Thai at the same time.
Based on personal experience, it is okay to train both boxing and Muay Thai together without any hassle. By training the two at the same time, you will be able to master more skills together, and this is a great thing for anyone learning to use the techniques for fighting or self-defense. However, you must learn the basic differences between the two fighting techniques so that one will not interfere with the other.
As explained above, you can train both martial arts together as a beginner. However, if care is not taken, there is a risk of not understanding either of the techniques. Therefore, you must focus on understanding how boxing differs from Muay Thai so that one technique will not stop you from learning the other.
What are the major differences between boxing and Muay Thai?
As you start training both boxing and Muay Thai, it is crucial to know how these two martial arts differ. So, let’s take a look at the differences between boxing and Muay Thai:
- Hip positioning
In boxing, the fighters utilize the lower half of their bodies for determining their footwork and also boost the force behind their punches. Consequently, boxers will move their back leg and hip to about 60 to 80° to the back.
In Muay Thai, the fighters will pose at almost the same position as their opponents. As a result of this, it will be easy for them to throw kicks and knees from the back leg quickly. Because of the hip positioning, the kick and knee attacks of Muay Thai tend to be more effective than the footwork of boxing.
- Hand positioning
In general, there are some similarities between hand positioning in Muay Thai and boxing. Nonetheless, a few differences exist that you must know. In boxing, it is necessary for boxers to position their hands in a way that enables them to defend themselves against punches that their opponents throw at their torsos and heads.
In Muay Thai, fighters position their hands around their face with their forearms placed close to their opponents. With this, it is easy for them to deal with the elbows and head kicks that are targeted at their temple or chin.
- Stance
Basically, the stance of boxers is meant for avoiding the uppercuts, jabs, hooks, and crosses of their opponents while also standing in a balanced position that allows them to throw their punches. To ensure balance, the feet must be positioned width-apart in front of the hip with the weight of the boxer evenly distributed on both legs.
For a Muay Thai fighter, the main objective is to defend the blows and punches and prepare them for the attacks they want to launch. The feet are kept close to each other to enable power and speed from the rear leg. Nevertheless, some weight must be placed on the back foot; hence, ensuring that the front leg can be used for blocking kicks.
- Tools
For both boxing and Muay Thai, you need headgear, hand wraps, mouth guards, gloves, etc. Although boxing and Muay Thai gloves can be used by the same fighter. However, competition equipment for the two martial arts will be determined by sport regulations and weight class.
Also, shin guards are the additional equipment that a Muay Thai fighter will need to buy, but a boxer doesn’t need it.
Challenges you may have when training both boxing and Muay Thai at the same time
If you are ready to go ahead with training both of these martial arts at the same period, you should look forward to dealing with the following:
- They are fundamentally different
As stated by One Shot MMA, Muay Thai and boxing are two different martial arts. Kneeing, throws, kicking, elbowing, etc. are parts of Muay Thai, but they are missing in boxing. Although boxing can assist you to improve your Muay Thai skills, Muay Thai may make it difficult for you to master boxing. This is because you may mistakenly use knees, kicks, and elbows (which are allowed in Muay Thai) during boxing training, which is completely wrong.
However, if you can master the difference between the two techniques, you will have no issue.
- You will need more training
Another challenge with training both at the same time is that you will require more training sessions. You can only master the difference between the two combative techniques if you train severally. Therefore, you must be ready to dedicate lots of time to training if you want to learn both skills at the same time.
So, if you don’t have lots of time to commit to training, it will be hard to train both techniques together. The time that could have been spent to master one technique would be split between two techniques. Hence, you will need more time to be good at them.
If you don’t want to deal with the aforementioned challenges of training both techniques at the same time, you should take the time to first master one technique. Once you are proficient at it, it will be easy for you to learn the second one without much hassle.
Verdict: Can you train both boxing and Muay Thai?
Yes, you can train both boxing and Muay Thai at the same time. However, because of the differences between the two techniques, you should be ready to spend more time in training. Also, you should master the factors that differentiate the two techniques so that you don’t confuse them during a fight.
