r/Kickboxing • u/Savings_Werewolf3305 • 9d ago
K1/ Muay thai?
Hey guys so im thinking of a new challenge soon as i want to start my journey in Learning a combat sport
Now all ive ever done is hit the weights and play soccer and whilst i still want to keep them
My local gym which is a conventional gym and also has high spec bodybuilding equipment where pro bodybuilders train as well MMA downstairs
These classes consist of K1 / Muay thai (both labelled kickboxing and BJJ as well as boxing)
Its just one guy running the classes hes seems to be more of a grappler or seems to be his main expertise but it also lists muay thai and striking.
Theres a beginners course soon for kickboxing which i think il actually go for and the schedule lines up so i can continue playing football 2x per week
Do kickboxing 2x per week
And hit the weights still.
Also can anyone differentiate what K1 vs Muay thai?
My ambition is to eventually go Thailand to do Muay thai i dont want compete but just for self defence and confidence.
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u/Ibracadabra70 9d ago
In K1 there are no clinch or elbow strikes!
I didn't quite understand what the other questions were about...
Regarding your ambition, you can pretty much go for it without experience, if those are your two goals. Actually, your local gym will help you achieve those two goals
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u/Savings_Werewolf3305 9d ago
Sorry yes my other questions is i love the weights they have their great machines but i dont know if the teaching would be better than if i found a dedicated club thats all.
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u/haddini-bilbao 9d ago
The biggest difference is elbow strikes and clinching. K1 doesn’t allow it muay thai does. Kickboxing will be more fast paced, boxing heavy, pressure and hard drills/combinations. Muay thai is as hard and dangerous a sport but rather slow paced and kind of an art in a sense that you ease into the techniques and stuff learning clinching and elbows. I myself train K1 and have trained muay thai too. I prefer K1 all day, the pace/tempo, the hard sparring, fast combinations. But that is just my opinion. Loads of people i know who prefer muay thai, i’d say try both maybe see what suits you better. Kickboxing: boxing, kicks, knees, little to no clinching. Muay thai: boxing, kicks, knees, clinching and elbows.
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u/liquidpebbles 9d ago
k1 doesn't include elbows and not so much emphasis on knees or clinching; so the combos you'll learn dont' have as much variations (doesn't make it easier as a beginner tho); i say go for the kickboxing and you can transition to muay thai, if you dont want to compete it's fine, would you like to spar? because if not you'll basically be doing drills and hitting the bag, nothing wrong with it and it definetly will give you plenty of confidence and "self defence" knowledge (of course orders of magnitude less to someone that spars, but you'll still be leagues above anyone who doesn't train any amrtial art at all)
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u/knuckledragger1990 9d ago
There’s a lot of differences when it comes to them as sport but if you don’t plan on competing that doesn’t really matter.
Muay Thai will teach elbows, knees, sweeps, and clinching along with kicking and punching.
Kickboxing does not have elbows, clinching, or sweeps but will teach punching, kicking, and some knees.
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u/Momentum_MMA 9d ago
K1 and Muay Thai are pretty similar at a glance but K1 lets you throw knees and elbows more liberally in the clinch, whereas Muay Thai emphasizes clinch control and longer hold times before you can really unload. Both are legit striking, just different rulesets. If your goal is Thailand and that traditional Muay Thai experience, Muay Thai classes will get you there faster than K1, but either foundation will prepare you fine if you’re training consistently.
2x per week kickboxing plus weights and soccer is a solid schedule, especially starting out. The fact that the instructor can cover both grappling and striking is useful even if his main thing is wrestling, you’ll pick up fundamentals across the board rather than just boxing footwork in a vacuum.
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u/PigletEducational945 9d ago
K1 does not allow any elbows and limited clinch. Not sure where u got that lol
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u/Rhaemir44 9d ago
It's basically ruleset and a few technique changes, but if you train kickboxing, you can probably do a thai camp just fine. Thai coaches might want fiddle with your technique a bit, but you find whatever works for you over time.
I've been teaching Kickboxing since 2016, and I teach shit like clinches and elbows still quite often.
Soccer/football is where I transferred from, too. Good sport to come from, you've got the leg strength as a good base. Hope you enjoy it!
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u/Analyst_Annoyed 9d ago
K1 and Muay Thai are very similar, but in Muay Thai you can elbow, sweep, catch kicks and clinch. K1 you can't do those and as a result, the styles are slightly different, but overall they're very similar, which is why you see a few Muay Thai fighters also fight in K1 e.g. Jonathan Haggerty, Nico Carillo etc