Terminology
- Nak Muay - A Muay Thai fighter. A pair of Muay Thai shorts, note the Thai text that translates to Muay Thai in English.
- Nak Su - Thai word for Muay Thai warrior (in Muay Thai term)
- Kru - Instructor or trainer.
- Ajarn - Master or instructor (more advanced than kru).
- Wai khru ram muay. Pre-fight ritual dance.
- Pra Jiad - A type of armband worn by Muay Thai fighters.
- Mong Kon - Headgear worn by Muay Thai fighters.
- Krang Ruang - A Pra Jiad that has special meaning to the person wearing it. It could be anything from a piece of their father's hair to a swath from their mother's sarang.
- Puang Malai - Floral wreaths that are given to a fighter before a fight by friends or fans. They look somewhat like the Hawaiian Lei.
Techniques
The basic offensive techniques in Muay Thai use fists, elbows, shins, feet, and knees to strike the opponent. To bind the opponent for both offensive and defensive purposes, small amounts of stand-up grappling are used: the clinch. Muay Thai is often a fighting art of attrition, where opponents exchange blows with one another. This is certainly the case with traditional stylists in Thailand, but is a less popular form of fighting in the contemporary world fighting circuit. With the success of Muay Thai in mixed martial arts fighting, it has become the de facto martial art of choice for competitive stand-up fighters. As a result, it has evolved accordingly and incorporated much more powerful hand striking techniques used in western style boxing, and the Thai style of exchanging blow for blow is no longer favorable. Note: when Muay Thai fighters compete against fighters of other styles (and if the rules permit it), they almost invariably emphasize elbow (sok) and knee (kao) techniques to gain a distinct advantage in fighting. Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on "core muscles" (such as abdominal muscles and surrounding muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts.
