Muay Korat
มวยโคราชOne of the four regional styles of muay boran, from the Nakhon Ratchasima area. It is known for the power of wide-angle strikes thrown from long range.
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About Muay Korat
Muay Korat is one of the four regional styles of muay boran, the umbrella term for Thai boxing before modern equipment and rules were introduced in the 1930s. The name comes from the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, commonly called Korat, in the north-east of Thailand. It has no founder: sources on muay boran name none for this style, and neither the name the entry previously carried nor the year 1850 can be documented. A Thai saying sums up the four regional styles by assigning each a single virtue: Korat power, Lopburi cleverness, Chaiya stance and Thasao speed. In that scheme muay Korat stands for the punch. Technically this means two things. From a distance the style works with wide arcing strikes, of which the so-called buffalo swing is the best-known example; from shortened range, by contrast, it delivers straight blows. A characteristic device is holding the opponent's neck, which allows several strikes in succession while denying him a reply. The style's weakness is stamina: after repeated series of strikes the power falls off noticeably. The older form also included binding the hands and forearms with hemp rope, kaad chuek, which protected the knuckles and at the same time made a cut more likely. Interest in muay boran has been revived in recent decades by Thai cinema, above all the films of Tony Jaa.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.