Muay Lao
ມວຍລາວThe Lao form of Southeast Asian boxing: five rounds, eight weapons and a roundhouse kick with different mechanics than in Muay Thai.
Quick Facts
LaosCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Muay Lao
Muay Lao is the Lao form of Southeast Asian boxing. It is neither a foreign branch of Muay Thai nor a separate technical school, but a national counterpart of the same system with its own competitions and its own identity. The rules are close to the Thai ones: five rounds of three minutes, eight weapons — fists, kicks, elbows and knees — and work in the clinch. The most noticeable technical difference lies in the roundhouse kick: the rotation comes more from the hips and the shin travels into the target parallel to the ground. From Burmese lethwei, Muay Lao differs in equipment: in lethwei the hands are wrapped rather than gloved and head butts are allowed.
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The dating is the weak point. Tradition places the roots in the kingdom of Lan Xang from the fifteenth century and gives the older name mas lak hang, the fight of the tiger's tail; no source refers to any evidence for this, and another describes the dating as historically disputed. Only the modern competitive form is documented, so the period of origin remains undetermined. Today professional bouts are held in Vientiane roughly twice a month, and Lao fighters routinely compete in Thailand, where more can be earned. In 2009 Muay Lao was an official sport of the Southeast Asian Games, which Laos hosted in Vientiane: there were eight men's and five women's weight categories, five countries took part and the hosts won five gold medals.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.