Muay Thai & Self Defense – Going From The Ring To The Street!

Does Muay Thai Kickboxing, the worlds most dangerous striking art, work in a street fight? Come on man this question is a no-brainer.

Read On…

This is the thing, Most people view Muay Thai as a sport. A martial arts style born and bred in the rings of Thailand. That’s all true, Muay Thai is a sport on some level. They fight in a ring, there’s rules just like in Boxing. So it falls into the “sport” category.

But don’t let the sport thing fool you. Muay Thai works in the streets just as well as it does in the ring or cage, maybe even better.  Everything you work on in the ring just fine in a bar fight.

I can tell you from real world experience that Muay Thai works. A good low kick is enough to put any thug down for the count.

Growing up in Philadelphia I got to test the techniques of Muay Thai all the time. I did stuff like karate and TKD but to be honest, that stuff didn’t work in the streets. But once I learned Muay Thai I was like okay this is more like it!

Funny Street Self Defense Story

I remember one time I squared off with this one dude and as he charged forward I hit him with a low kick and boom, down he went. I’m laughing thinking about it because the guy started yelling this to me “Wow wow you can’t kick!”, haha yeah sure okay. One kick, fight lasted 20 seconds. Danny Ives – 1, Philly street tomato can – 0 hehe.

I’ve also dropped guys with push kicks and teeps. Those techniques work well because most people don’t see them coming. I mean, who in the world uses a teep in a self defense situation?

I should point out that I’m not writing all this to act tough or talk about my past fighting history. Truth be told I try to avoid this type of fighting if I can.

I Just want to point out how well Muay Thai works for self defense. The above story should give you an idea of the effectiveness of this martial art style, whether in a ring, cage or sidewalk.

What Techniques Work Best For The Streets?

So now the question is how is Muay Thai best used for the street? What techniques are best?

Like I said above, low kicks are a good option. Also, Clinching and the use knees works just fine too. What you choose to attack with depends on your style and the situation at hand.

For example, I would fight one guy very different then I’d fight three. It’s a matter of strategy. There really isn’t a “best” technique to use. They all work I can assure you of that.

Safety Tip Free Of Charge From Me (Danny Ives)…

The one thing to be careful of if you ever need to use your Muay Thai skills in a real fight is breaking your hands. Your hands are made for building stuff, not for decking dudes in the face.

Be careful here. A good right cross may very well land and knock the street thug out, but it might also break your poor hand. It’s a twin edge sword.

I’d stick more to knees, kicks and elbows if given the choice. If you do punch try using more open palm style strikes.

My Final Thoughts.

In the end if your Thai Boxing skills are sound and well drilled you should be just fine if the need ever arises. I hope not but the world is a crazy place…be prepared! Start learning Muay Thai Kickboxing today.

Oh and I thought this might be a good time to post some awesome Thai Boxing videos, you know, for you to study. The guys in the videos are 2 of the worlds finest Kickboxing champions.

Needless to say I wouldn’t wanna run into either one of them in a dark alley…

Enjoy!