Muay Thai sparring doesn;t translate to karate?

[RW]

I come from a karate background but I am transitioning to Muay Thai. I am not quitting karate just yet.

I've noticed that Muay Thai's sparring is much more realistic (and has actual contact!), but if you're sparring confined to a karate ruleset (emphasis on speed, not full contact) Muay Thai's shorter distance moves and more committed strikes seem to be outpaced and too close distance/too slow?

is this your experience?

[Alan Armstrong]

I come from a karate background but I am transitioning to Muay Thai. I am not quitting karate just yet.

I've noticed that Muay Thai's sparring is much more realistic (and has actual contact!), but if you're sparring confined to a karate ruleset (emphasis on speed, not full contact) Muay Thai's shorter distance moves and more committed strikes seem to be outpaced and too close distance/too slow?

is this your experience?

Perhaps looking at it another way, such as engines and chassis.

Just like different types of vehicles have different engines so does martial art systems.

It could be said that karate has a low frame work firm footed for stability where Muay Thai is build for explosive power and is on the toes.

Depending on your requirements for a martial art and vehicle will depend on your personal preference and needs.

Considering karate is for self defence and Muay Thai is the national sport and pride of country Thailand.

A Thai boxing gym is set up with weights and a boxing ring, where as a karate dojo has usually a nice clean polished floor and very sparse for training equipment.

Martial art engines for different MA systems differ a lot, they all have their unique way of driving techniques, the trick is to find one that is suitable for your chassis that works for you.

As Muay thai is the way of eight limbs, maybe that is too many variables and not suitable for some, then western boxing might be a better choice to pursue.

While another person is very supple and artistic, but not aggressive enough for head to head combat, then practicing Chinese forms could be more to their liking.

Suggest picking a martial art, that leans towards one's own natural abilities, which could be genetic or culturally based; as in what feels natural.

Western boxing for one person, is like a duck taking its first plunge in to a pool of water, while another person boxing looks like one of the most difficult things ever invented.

Boxing can be a way to vent an angry personality harmlessly.

While taking karate in the late 1970's I had my first encounter with Muay Thai.

Quickly learned that..

Taking karate is a form of self defence where In Muay Thai is close to becoming a human weapon.

Whilst staying with karate was suitable for me at the time in the past, now I like the physical aspects and demands that Muay Thai training offers.

We are all capable of becoming far more educated in our choices than it was in the past prior to the internet, suggest taking full advantage of this opportunity to survey the best suitable options available.

[vantheman]

I've long been of the opinion that the way in which you train is infinitely more important than the "style" you train. Is it true that Muay Thai generally trains in more realistic fashion than many forms of Karate? From my experience, the answer has been yes. But there are a fair number of full-contact karate folks out there, too (and, for what it's worth, a handful of MMA fighters that have done Shotokan, etc).

When training is "live", with resisting partners, and relatively few "rules," the ineffective techniques, strategies, etc. will tend to "self-select" themselves out of practice. In part why you don't see a ton of one (or worse, no) touch chi knockouts in most sparring/boxing/MMA/kickboxing venues. Ultimately, "realistic" is in gradients – aside from those who work as law enforcement/correctional officers/bouncers, few will have the opportunity to regularly engage in "true" combative self-defense... but, as Alan alluded to, that might not be everyone's cup of tea. Muay Thai also involves a fair amount of getting hit relatively hard, occasionally in the head. There are certainly times in my life where family and work have precluded my ability to regularly subject myself to that level of training.

St. Paul is credited with once saying "Try everything; keep what's good..." – in that spirit, I'm glad you're transitioning and trying out different styles. Hope you find something that works well, fits your preferences, and gets you excited!

[Spartacus Maximus]

Different systems, approaches, purposes and methods rarely if ever “translate” from one to another. That is also the case for those that are very similar or even related. The important thing to keep in mind is that once the decision is made to switch, it ought to be done with a clear and open mind ready to start at the bottom to learn something new. Take whatever time necessary to learn and physically adapt to the new training.

Most importantly is to be modest enough to set aside whatever previous experience one may have in any other martial art or school, to convince oneself that it has nothing to do with the new style/teacher/method.

[LionsDen]

If you’re used to light contact point fighting only, then no, very little point fighting will translate to MT.

However kickboxing in Japan and the US does come from karate’s experiences in MT during the early 60s.