Art Muay Thai | Exercise and Fitness

011.13.10 Art Muay Thai

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Art Muay Thai

Pittsburgh Muay Thai Classes for Fitness and Self-defense

There are countless fitness programs today that promise to help you shed off the pounds quickly in a natural way. There's yoga (and its many variations), pilates, aerobics, dance workouts...the list goes on and on and there's Pittsburgh Muay Thai. However, there are only few that will not only help you keep in top physical shape, but also help you relieve stress and make you more mentally alert. If you are looking for a fitness program that will effectively help you lose weight, tone your body, defend yourself, and learn an ancient sport all at the same time, you should start finding a gym and fitness center that teaches Thailand's national sport – Muay Thai.

Muay Thai is a contact sport that originated in Thailand and is also commonly referred to as the Science or Art of Eight Limbs. This name was derived from the fact that unlike other styles of martial arts, Muay Thai makes use of eight points of contact: the fists, knees, elbows, and feet. The sport is comprised of entire body movements because it uses eight points of contact, with your hip rotating and moving in the direction of the kicks, punches, elbows and blocks you deliver. The sport is similar to certain styles of kickboxing, but at the same time has unique movements that have been incorporated into the practice as it evolved over the years.

Muay Thai for Self-defense

If you want to learn Muay Thai for self-defense, the first thing you should look into is finding a certified Pittsburgh Muay Thai instructor who's had years of experiencing practicing and teaching the sport. To be able to teach the sport for self-defense, your instructor would have to be able to explain to you the six principles: blocking, redirection, avoidance, evasion, disruption, and anticipation. Under each self-defense principle are movements and techniques that will basically teach you to be alert and agile to avoid getting hit, gain physical advantage over your attacker, and be able to anticipate and counter the attacks.

Benefits of Muay Thai

Aside from being able to effectively defend yourself against attackers, Pittsburgh Muay Thai classes also help students develop agility, focus, and physical and mental strength. Another good thing about the sport is that the movements and techniques are generally easy to learn, so students will not have a hard time learning and using them in a short amount of time. Muay Thai also promotes cardiovascular health because it keeps the entire body moving and thus improving blood flow and increasing the oxygen content in the blood.

As you can see, there are many reasons why Muay Thai is now among the most popular forms of martial art, contact sport, and fitness program worldwide. Aside from the many benefits you'll gain from learning it whether as a sport, martial art, or self-defense or fitness program, it is also a practice that can be easily learned and does not require expensive equipment. What's important is you have the desire and discipline to learn it, and even more importantly, you have a highly qualified Pittsburgh Muay Thai instructor to teach you everything you need to know at a pace that you are comfortable with.

About the Author

This article was prepared on behalf of Pittsburgh Muay Thai (http://www.PittsburghMuayThai.com). Pittsburgh Muay Thai is located in Wright's Gym at 20 Foster Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Drop by their office today or visit their website to find out more about the Pittsburgh Muay Thai boxing classes they offer.

Is there a form of vietnamese martial arts similar to muay thai?

I know vietnamese people are indo-chinese and so was just wondering if they also possess an art similar to muay thai (almost all southeast asian countries possess an art like muay thai, e.g. Lethwei of Burma, Muay Lao of Laos and ect). So is there a vietnamese version of muay thai? I know of other vietnamese martial arts (vovinam and ect.).

I don't think so.

Vietnam was under China's control (or is a part of China) long time ago until it gain its independence, but was imperialised by France and Japan later, so Vietnamese martial arts are influenced by some Chinese, French ideas. Vietnam developed its own martial arts since traditional martial arts were forbidden, so Vietnam pretty much has styles that were traditional, and developed later and as well as Sino-Vietnamese styles.

So there might not have Vietnamese martial arts that are similar to Muay Thai.

The Art of muay thai- Kicking