Health Benefits of Muay Thai

The Art of Eight Limbs

Muay Thai is a Martial Arts which is also known as Thai Boxing. Muay Thai is also known as the Art of Eight Limbs which are composed of fists, elbows, knees, as well as feet. Muay Thai is formed with “fighting techniques such as punches, elbows, knee strikes, kicks, and grappling” (Mohamad 1). Muay Thai instills many positive life factors, some which are not being taking into consideration by many. There are many people in the world who are not taking the initiative to involve themselves in physical activities in order to elongate their life span, as well as decreasing the risk of obesity. Since not taking care of your body is bad for your health, people should involve themselves in a Martial Arts such as Muay Thai, which is beneficial for maintaining good health, instilling discipline, as well as teaching self defense skills.

Unfortunately, due to all the risks in Martial Arts such as Muay Thai, people should not engage in this sport due to the fact that it may cause injuries and or death, also it does not guarantee safety and security. There are many negative effects that could result from the involvement of Muay Thai. Muay Thai is an unpredictable sport, one may never know what or how things may occur during a practice or match.

The risk of getting injured during the spam of learning Martial Arts is high. The most common location of injury is the face and the face. The regions of those two common injury location are the eyes, nose and jaw. Following the head and face the next two common injuries involves the lower and upper extremities (Loria 23).  Depending on how dangerous the injury is, it may lead to further circumstances such as death. Head injuries are the leading injuries which leads to death, do to the fact that it deals with the brain. Muay Thai is a very technical sport, on  of the main techniques involves kicking. When facing an opponent there may be many measures taken to win the match. This may also mean release a or multiple kicks to the head to the opponent (Lockwood 252). When involved with an injury depending on the extent of the injury there may be a long period of time needed for recovery. Recovery may also require physical therapy, in order to gain full health.

Unfortunately, Muay Thai does not guarantee safety and security. It is impartial for Muay Thai instructors and senseis to teach their students skills such as self control and aggression skills. Those skills are needed in order to be successful at this sport, reason being Martial Arts can be easily revolted into hands of evil and not good (Canavan 67-8 ). Students may display their skills in ways it should not be shown, and even at inappropriate times. This could perhaps put others in harm and danger, when they should not. This effect can also be shown through the social learning theory. The social learning theory is a learning process and social behavior which is acquired through observation and imitation of others. The impact of the sensei on the students weighs much, on the students reaction (Meganck 4).

Although there are many risks that can be taken into place while participating and learning Martial Arts, such as Muay Thai, there are also many positive benefits with Martial Arts. Since not taking care of your body is bad for your health, people should involve themselves in a Martial Arts program such as Muay Thai, because it is beneficial for maintaining good health, instilling discipline, as well as teaching self defense skills.

Due to the intensified exercise prescription needed in order to participate in a Martial Arts such as Muay Thai, participants’ health status are maintained.  Martial Arts such as Muay Thai can advance both “physical and mental capacities in ways such as stress reduction, improved agility and balance, posture control, and lower extremity strength” (Bu 206). Students participating in Muay Thai will be ensured with a healthier lifestyle, which can also reduce the stakes of having any physical complications within the body. Physical complications may result in obesity, heart defects, as well as high blood pressure. Muay Thai is a physically demanding sport, which contains involvement of both aerobic metabolism and anaerobic glycolysis (Crisafulli 143). Muay Thai is also a sport which provides the essential skills and techniques needed in order to maintain a good health status. In regards to a Muay Thai match, the times may vary from being very short or very time consuming. There are factors such as skill level and athletic levels  There is a positive feedback That is correlated with the input and output of Muay Thai.

To enumerate on the fact that the sport of Muay Thai obtains a positive feedback loop, Muay Thai teaches and instills self- defense techniques and training. Self- defense is the countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself harm. While adopting and applying the art of eight limbs students will gain the techniques of being able to correctly punch, strike with the knee and elbow, as well as grappling (Mohamad 615). A Muay Thai student is taught and trained to always be prepared to react, also knowing how when and how to properly execute specific techniques against an opponent. Having self defense skills may be beneficial in many different ways, such as teaching it to others, or protecting oneself against someone or something harmful. When involved with Muay Thai one skills that is correlated with self defense is attempting to be smarter than the opponent, and wanted to always stay three steps ahead. To be a successful student of Muay Thai alertness and awareness is key, which is also known as passive preparation. According to the “Sports Science- Based Research on the sport of Muay Thai: A Review of the Literature,” it states that passive preparation is simply when the opponent is at its highest alert as well as advocating the eagerness to revert. Having self defense skills means that one obtains the ability to protect themselves against harm and danger, likewise, Muay Thai aids with this factor in many ways (Mohamad 622).

The sport of Muay Thai entills many positive aspects to life, one impartial skill such as Self discipline. Self- discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it. Most of Muay Thai’s skills almost always involves the prefix of self. Reason being techniques will be taught to the student, however, the extent of the measures taken in order to become a better student involves mostly self, than the teacher and or sensei. According to the “Internal Martial Arts Training and the Reduction of Hostility and Aggression in Martial Arts Students”, the student will soon begin to develop a sense of self- discipline in order to become a better Martial Arts student overall, not only due to the authority their sensei obtains. Self- discipline will will help with many life aspects such as bringing structure to life (Hernandez 170). Structure in life also refers to being responsible and respectful. The most successful people are responsible and respectful, they both bring an abundance of positivity into life.

People should partake in Martial Arts, such as Muay Thai due to the great benefit is offers. Although there are disadvantages of learning Martial Arts such as injuries, there are many ways in which that can be improved with the teaching styles. Ultimately, the strengths counter balance the weaknesses in Martial Arts, and would greatly influence good health both mentally and physically.

Works Cited

• Bu, Bin, et al.“Effects of martial arts on health status: A systematic review.” Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. (2010) 3. 205-19. Web.
• Canavan, Pete J. “Your Warrior Mindset: The Mental Side of Staying Safe.” USA Today Magazine, vol. 146, no. 2876, May 2018, pp. 66–68. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-smus.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=129621994&site=eds-live&scope=site.
• Crisafulli, Antonio et al. “Physiological Responses and Energy Cost during a Simulation of a Muay Thai Boxing Match.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 34.2 (2009): 143–150. Web.
• Hernandez, James, and Kathryn B. Anderson. “Internal Martial Arts Training and the Reduction of Hostility and Aggression in Martial Arts Students.” Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, vol. 20, no. 3, Fall 2015, pp. 169–176. EBSCOhost, doi:10.24839/2164-8204.JN20.3.169.
• Lockwood, Joel, et al. “Traumatic Brain Injuries in Mixed Martial Arts: A Systematic Review.” Trauma, vol. 20, no. 4, Oct. 2018, p. 245. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/1460408617740902.
• Loria, Keith. “Working With Combat Athletes. (Cover Story).” PT in Motion, Apr. 2018, pp. 16–25. Web.
• Meganck, Jeroen, et al. “ Martial Arts: Learning How Not to Fight.” www.researchgate.net. (2004)
• Mohamad, Nur Ikhwan, et al. “Sports Science-Based Research on the Sport of Muay Thai: A Review of the Literature.” Walailak Journal of Science & Technology, vol. 14, no. 8, Aug. 2017, p. 615.