Muay Boran "ancient boxing" is an umbrella term for the unarmed martial arts of Thailand prior to the introduction of modern equipment and rules. It is the ancestor of modern Muay Thai.[1] The word muay which means boxing comes from the Sanskrit term mavya, while boran or boraan means ancient in Thai. Whereas Muay Thai is often called the "science of eight limbs", muay boran is said to make use o
f nawa awut which means nine weapons and refers to the hands, legs, elbows, knees and head. Muay Thai is a martial art from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese styles, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and Muay Lao from Laos. Descended from my and muay boran, Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport.[1][2][3] [4]
The word muay derives from the Sanskrit mavya and Thai comes from the word Tai. Muay Thai is referred to as the "Art of Eight Limbs" or the "Science Of Eight Limbs" because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (hands and feet) used in sport-oriented martial arts.[5] A practitioner of Muay Thai is known as a nak muay. Western practitioners are sometimes called nak muay farang meaning foreign boxer.
