Muay Thai Kickboxing is often referred to as the science of 8 limbs. The reason for this title is the fact that you use nearly every body part as a weapon. You can strike with your forehead, elbows, fists, Knees, Shins and feet. Muay Thai Kickboxing was invented over 2000 years ago and is recognized as one of the oldest martial arts known to man. Although records of Muay Thai fights only date back to 700 years ago, there is a general consensus that Muay Thai originated over 2000 years ago in the part of Asia that is now inhabited by China.

Muay Thai is known as the martial art of "kings" because in 1411 when a king by the name of Sen Muajng Ma died, his sons literally fought to the death for his throne, using the techniques of muay thai. Many kings were known to not only train in the martial art of Muay Thai but also to compete. The only problem is that it was viewed as improper to touch an emperor much less strike one. So a king by the name Phra Buddha Choa Sua used to enter various Muay Thai tournaments dressed as a peasant in order to fool both the audience and his opponents. He not only won all his matches, he eventually defeated the national champion.

The majority of the world refers to Muay Thai as Thai boxing. Although Thai boxing's most recent claim to fame is from John Claude Van Dam and other various movies, this martial art is regarded as one of the most brutal forms of self defense. Thailand has been known to hold open challenges pitting other forms of standup fighting against their Thai boxers. Most Thai fighters are heavily out weighed in these matches but still manage to destroy their opponents due to the various ways of attacking. No other martial art trains you to use every limb to attack and most other martial arts limit their striking area to above the waist. In Thai boxing you are allowed to kick, punch and knee your opponent's legs. Many opponents who are unaccustomed to receiving leg kicks literally lose the match due to the excruciating pain as a result of the technique.

Thai boxing is not known as the most vicious martial art for no reason. Thai boxers train their kicks in a manner that when you are struck by them it literally feels like someone has swung a baseball bat. Thai boxers tend to focus on a few effective techniques and master them rather then wasting energy on some of the flashier techniques found in other martial arts. In addition to being an effective martial art and the official self defense system of the Thai national army, Muay Thai is one of the best cardiovascular workouts you will ever partake in. Many aerobic studios incorporate Thai boxing techniques into their workouts. As you can see if you want to kill two birds with one stone by both learning how to defend yourself and getting yourself into great shape, Thai boxing is a martial art that's definitely worth taking a look at.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Martial Arts Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell