The Different Styles of Kickboxing

Where I’m from, Muay Thai is the national sport. It’s become so popular that people from all around the world have traveled to Thailand to learn the art and compete at a high level. But to most Thais, Muay Thai is synonymous to all forms of kickboxing, which isn’t the case.

First, what is Muay Thai? The Thai word muay literally means boxing or combat. And then of course, we have Thai. Put these two together, you get Thai boxing. Essentially, Muay Thai is Thailand’s form of boxing. Makes sense; in Europe and the US, you have Western boxing where all you use are your fists. But then what about the other forms of boxing?

One of the most internationally recognized forms of kickboxing is probably K-1 rules aka Dutch kickboxing. To Thai audiences, K-1 rules is basically Muay Thai minus the elbows and clinching. The casual Muay Thai fan in Thailand would say these rules were designed to put Thai fighters at a disadvantage. Again, this isn’t true. The K-1 rules are a combination of karate, boxing and Muay Thai. Personally, I prefer K-1 rules over Muay Thai. Saying this in Thailand as a Thai national would be martial arts blasphemy.

But then there are the national kickboxing styles Thailand’s neighboring countries: Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. So let’s get started, shall we?

1. Kun Khmer (Cambodia)

When I worked at Thai Fight, I noticed that aside from Thais, a large portion of the Facebook following consisted of Cambodian nationals. Now, this may be due to the fact that the company held an event in Cambodia back in 2017, raising awareness of the organization in the country. Since the company’s founding in 2010, a handful of Cambodian fighters have also competed at Thai Fight. All of them come from a Kun Khmer background. On the surface, Kun Khmer is almost identical to Muay Thai. Traditional fights last five rounds, each round spanning three minutes. I’ve watched several Kun Khmer fights on YouTube and have noticed one striking difference from Muay Thai: there’s not much of a feeling out process in the early rounds. Also, while fighters still kick, they tend to rely more on elbow strikes. In Muay Thai, the use of elbows is usually dependent on a fighter’s style. But Kun Khmer is an elbow-heavy martial art. Next to that, you have the background music. While the instruments and tempo is relatively similar to Muay Thai’s sarama, Kun Khmer’s vung phleng pradall emphasizes it’s own oboe called the sralai. There’s an ongoing rivalry between Muay Thai and Kun Khmer, where Muay Thai fighters go over to Cambodia to compete and Kun Khmer fighters come over to Thailand to showcase their skills. All in all, it doesn’t take much for a Muay Thai fighter to adapt to Kun Khmer rules just as it doesn’t take much for a Kun Khmer to adapt to Muay Thai rules.

1. Muay Lao (Laos)

At first glance, Muay Lao is very much the same as Muay Thai. Perhaps the only difference is the background music. Relative to Muay Thai, the music of Muay Lao is rather lively. However, Muay Lao isn’t as popular in Laos as Kun Khmer is in Cambodia or Muay Thai is in Thailand. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Muay Lao fighters get paid marginally less than Muay Thai fighters, making it impossible for Muay Lao to be a full-time profession. Competitions are few and far between, usually held at the semi-professional level. To put it lightly, it’s not as big a national pastime. But there have been a handful of Laotian nationals who’ve come over to test their skills in Muay Thai competitions in Thailand, experiencing mixed results.

1. Lethwei (Myanmar)

And last but not least, we have perhaps the biggest and baddest of them all: Lethwei. Instead of gloves, fighters don gauze wrappings, essentially competing bare-knuckle. Headbutts are permitted, making this the Art of 9 Limbs. Perhaps my most favorite aspect of Lethwei, however, is the fact that the only way you can win is to knock your opponent out. If both fighters remain standing after 5 rounds, the fight is automatically ruled a draw. This is what makes Lethwei such a brutal sport and the perfect embodiment of hand-to-hand combat. I’m no historian but I would assume that at one point in time, all the ASEAN forms of kickboxing were interchangeable with Lethwei. Many Burmese Lethwei fighters are known for their chin and their ability to withstand punishment. I feel that it’s what separates them from the other kickboxers in Southeast Asia. They are true warriors. Many fighters from neighboring countries have gone over to Myanmar to try their hand in Lethwei, with many being unable to withstand the punishment of the sport and getting knocked out before 5 rounds have elapsed. Still, I applaud any fighter who dares to dip their toes in the deep waters of Lethwei.

So there you have, it the styles of kickboxing in Southeast Asia. While Muay Thai is in my heart, I do have a soft spot for Lethwei. Which one do you like?