# Muay thai stance



## Tacos4me (Dec 26, 2008)

I have been wondering if there are more than one stance in muay thai.  Not too long ago I went to a muay thai school that teaches you stand with a square stance, but you have your hips rotated at a 45 degree angle and of course hands up.  However, anther muay thai school teaches you to square up, but you have your shoulder parallel or squared which I have never seen before, only in MMA competition.  Are there some Kru that teaches you to stand with your shoulder parallel in muay thai?


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## Kwai_Tua_Noi (Jan 4, 2009)

Muay Thai has various stances which usually depend on which area you have been training in. Some "streams" prefer certain types of attacks such as punches to kicks and vice versa. 

In instances like Muay Korat (North Eastern Style) which prefers the use of heavy punches, the boxer is standing more squared like a western style boxer as this gives more power to the punches.

Other Forms like Muay Ta Sao/Uttaradit have a long range preference and have a stance which has the boxer in a stance which is almost side ways like a fencer. The back leg is primed to be brought round at anytime to deliver quick succesive kicks.

Muay Chaiya has a more lowerd crouching like stance as its a much more defencive type of Muay. The stance is much more compact and can protect the boxer much easier than the other stances.

There are various other new types and older types of Muay Thai which differ from one another slightly in stances and kicks. Those who dont really know the small details about Muay Thai and only watch Muay Thai sport fighting wont see much difference. Many Western Kru's from what I've seen usually teach the more paralell stances because westerners prefer to punch a lot more than Thai people. 

Hope this helps


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## Bangis (Jan 4, 2009)

Kwai_Tua_Noi said:


> Muay Thai has various stances which usually depend on which area you have been training in. Some "streams" prefer certain types of attacks such as punches to kicks and vice versa.
> 
> In instances like Muay Korat (North Eastern Style) which prefers the use of heavy punches, the boxer is standing more squared like a western style boxer as this gives more power to the punches.
> 
> ...



funny what you said about a western boxing because i dont think its very "square" at all.


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## Tacos4me (Jan 4, 2009)

Thank you Kwai_Tua_Noi, that help a lot.


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## Thunder Foot (Jan 4, 2009)

Yes, I aslo don't agree in that Western boxers stand "Square". Boxers tend to stand at a 45 degree angle with a lead, as the rotation of the hip is what generates power. This can not be done from a squared stance. 

 In my Muay Thai experience, I have also experienced many different stances. And as Kwai Tua Noi stated, it all depends on your Kru's specialties. I have come to know a more squared stance to favor elbows, teeps, and straight knees. This is not to say that it can't be done from other alterations of stance, but its just my own personal observation.

I would say that its most advantageous to stand in a stance that alows the maximum implimentation of all techniques. Standing in a way that favors any techiques is usually telegraphic, and an experienced Nuk Muay will be able to see your favored techniques thru your stance. So do what feels comfortable for you. Good luck!


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## Akira (Feb 19, 2009)

Correct thai style is to stand square with both hips facing forward.  You generate power from your kicks by stepping forward and across, and rotating your hips.

If you stand side on you will get dumped onto the canvas time and time again as it's very easy to get you off balance in the clinch. This is one of the first things I had to change when I started training here.


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## fight4fun (Feb 21, 2009)

also remember if you stand "side on" you will be open for leg kicks to the back of your lead leg.


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## Jarrod G. (Mar 3, 2009)

I can only say from my personal experience (3 1/2 years in Canada and 3 weeks in Thailand)  but I find that the "squareness" of your stance is really secondary to the width of your stance.  As long as you maintain a wide stance, you are able to perform all of the leg checks/ kicks.  I find an 'in between' stance the most effective.  I have a very clear lead leg which i keep about 30% of my weight on to allow for lightning fast push kicks/ lead leg blocks.  i like to keep my rear leg back a little bit in order to protect it from inside leg kicks and give me a faster kick as i need less of a step in order to be in proper possition for a right cut kick.  The down side is that it makes my switch kicks slightly slower and more telegraphed.   Also keeping your rear leg back a little bit allows you to lean back to avoid their kicks instead of having to step back, this allows for a faster counter kick.

stance is a ver personal thing, just remmeber to keep it wide and you should be able to find your own prefference.


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