What are the 8 limbs in Muay Thai?

In Muay Thai, the phrase ‘8 limbs’ is often used. So, what does this mean exactly? In short, Muay Thai teaches its practitioners to fight by hitting opponents with their shins, fists, elbows, and knees. As the human body has two of these, this means there are 8 limbs that can be used to strike and hurt your opponent with.

The term is often used to describe the versatility of Muay Thai compared to other striking martial arts. For instance, in boxing you can only punch with your fist. In Karate you can only strike with your fists and feet. This means that in comparison, Muay Thai is far more versatile and offers a much broader array of attacks. Below we shall discuss how to utilize your 8 limbs in Muay Thai.

Shins

Although some martial arts kicks use the feet, this is often considered dangerous by the person performing the kick. The reason for this is that if you land it with great power, it can break your foot due to the fragility of the bones in your feet. Typically, the foot is made of lots of little bones which are easier to move which means they can break easier. This differs significantly compared to the shin which is one long, strong bone.

Whilst it’s still possible to break your shin if you kick it hard enough, this is much rarer. Generally, the shin was built for kicking as far as martial arts are concerned. As a result, it’s not surprising to see Nak Muay condition their shins by kicking them off heavy bags and hard materials. The point of this is to harden the shin and make it more durable. In theory, this will not only make your kicks harder but also protect your shins.

In Muay Thai, the shin is used to kick the legs (such as calf kicks), as well as kick the head (such as roundhouse kicks). Obviously, a well timed roundhouse kick can instantly knock someone else, whilst a calf kick can also lead to the opponent collapsing due to damaging their nerves in their leg. This is an example of why kicking with your shins is so important in Muay Thai.

Fists

Humans have been throwing punches for thousands of years and it’s literally the oldest form of fighting where striking is concerned. Often, Muay Thai fists are thrown similarly to boxing, hence the term ‘Thai boxing’. Thai boxers use a combination of jabs, hooks and uppercuts to damage their opponents.

Perhaps the most unique part of using the fists in Muay Thai is within the Thai clinch. Obviously, striking from the clinch is illegal in certain other martial arts, but it’s a big part of Muay Thai. Whilst in the clinch, if you dominate the inside space and grappling exchange, you can throw fists from close range.

These can do damage and lead to bigger, more powerful strikes if they get a reaction from your opponent. Although this has been used in Muay Thai for years, it’s commonly known in MMA as ‘dirty boxing’ which basically means punching from the clinch. This in itself is a detailed art that can take years to master.

Elbows

Talking of the Thai clinch, one of its most useful weapons is the elbow. Unlike the clenched fist, the elbow is obviously sharper and therefore leads to cuts more often. It’s also incredibly painful to bit hit with an elbow, especially taking them on harder parts of your head, such as your jaw, nose, and forehead.

In the Thai clinch, sometimes it’s literally impossible to land punches – or even if you can they may be fairly weak in terms of power. Due to the awkward nature of the clinch, landing clean punches can prove tricky. This is where elbows come in as you can implement them from awkward angles due to the nature of your limbs. For instance, whilst a fist may be holding the back of the head and unable to punch, the elbow on the same arm may be able to hit the opponent’s face and cause significant damage.

It isn’t just the clinch where elbows are used either. Spinning elbows may look stylish but they’re also very effective if they land correctly. In fact, if a spinning elbow does land cleanly, it has a high percentage of knocking out your opponent. This is yet another example of the creativity of Muay Thai when it comes to using your limbs.

Knees

Lastly, the knees are also another key part of Muay Thai fighting. Like the elbows, they’re sharp and can easily cut the opponent. Like the elbows, they can also be used in the clinch, as well as using flying attacks. Having said this, they’re mostly done from the clinch as it’s much easier to do whereas a flying attack requires more athleticism and timing as well as a greater risk.

Usually, knees are done when you have control of the opponent’s posture. This could mean placing both hands on the back of their head and making their face look at the floor. If you can do this then you will dominate the clinch and this can lead to winning the fight. If this is the case, you can then bring your knee to their face which can lead to a knockout.

Obviously, this also emphasizes the importance of stretching and flexibility. If you can’t reach your knees very high then you will struggle to pull off this technique. However, if you can lift your knees highly, then you will have not trouble in hurting the opponent. Due to the power of your legs and thigh muscles, knee kicks can be incredibly powerful.

Does Muay Thai have more than 8 limbs?

Technically, these aren’t the only body parts that you can strike with under the Muay Thai ruleset. For instance, shoulder strikes are also legal. You may think that shoulder strikes are worthless, but from the clinch, they can stun and damage opponents. An example of this could be seen when Conor McGregor beat Donald Cerrone by using this technique. On the whole though, there are probably more effective ways of striking from there, such as using the elbows. Nonetheless, shoulders may be useful in certain situations.

Another limb used in Muay Thai is the foot. For example, the teep kick is commonly used in Muay Thai as well. Generally, the teep kick is used to generate distance from the opponent and can also cause some damage. Therefore, technically Muay Thai uses 12 limbs when you include both shoulders and feet.

One thing that is illegal in Muay Thai though is headbutts. These are seen as overly violent so they aren’t allowed. Interestingly though, headbutting is perfectly legal in Lethwei which is a similar martial art practiced in Cambodia. Other than headbutts though, practically every limb is available to use in Muay Thai which may be why it’s so incredibly popular.