Throughout time, there have been many debates about what martial art is the most effective. Martial artists are very loyal people and thus usually stand by their discipline of choice firmly. While there’s no doubt most martial arts have effective and useful techniques others could borrow from, when it comes to the debate of what is the most effective striking martial art in the world, one particular martial art is often thought of as the one that stands above the rest: Muay Thai. Over the years, there have been many match-ups like the ones on this list that have pitted the ancient martial art from Thailand against other martial arts from all over the globe. And time and time again, the results of these high-level matches have often supported the fact that Muay Thai is indeed the best striking martial art in the world.
So today, Evolve Daily presents 4 Muay Thai vs Karate Fights:
1) Sakmongkol Sithchuchok (Muay Thai) Vs Karate Black Belt
Sakmongkol Sithchuchok is widely regarded as a legend and one of the best Muay Thai fighters of all time. As a three-time Lumpinee Muay Thai World Champion and a five-time WMC World Champion, he has traveled across the globe beating champions and elite fighters from various martial arts. After retiring from Muay Thai, Sakmongkol began training in Karate, winning several world championships using the techniques and style he adopted from Muay Thai.
In this fight, he takes on a Karate black belt fighter under full contact Karate rules. Sakmongkol’s Muay Thai experience was evident right from the start as he took down the Karate fighter at will with powerful low kicks and sweeps. The fight was a clear one-sided affair, and Sakmongkol won the fight on points with ease. This performance shows just how effective the power and technique of Muay Thai is, even under Karate rules.
2) Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn (Muay Thai) Vs John Moncayo (Karate Kickboxing Champion)
Throughout the rich history of Muay Thai, there has never been a fighter quite like Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn. Holding the Lumpinee World Championship title for 4 consecutive years, he was also one of the most feared fighters of all time. At over six-feet tall, Dieselnoi’s trademark was his devastating, gut-wrenching knees in the clinch. It’s safe to say that no other fighter in history has been able to execute knee strikes like he has. Unfortunately for Karate and American Kickboxing World Champion John Moncayo, he had to learn that the hard way.
This fight was set under standard kickboxing rules but modified to only allow elbows and knees to the body and not the head. This did not matter at all to Dieselnoi as he wasted no time going to work on Moncayo, ravaging him with swift knees to the body. It was only a matter of time before the knees proved too much, and Moncayo was sent crumbling to the ground after a crushing knee left him paralyzed in pain.
3) Rawee Dechachai (Muay Thai) Vs. Kenji Kurosaki (Karate)
In 1964, Rawee Dechachai faced off with famed Karate Instructor, Sensei Kenji Kurosaki at Lumpinee Stadium in one of the earliest fights between Muay Thai and Karate. The much-anticipated fight was an intense, heavily contested match from start to finish. Rawee landed powerful kicks and punches throughout the fight, but whenever they came into close range of one another, Kurosaki was able to counter the clinch with Judo throws.
However, the variety of weapons available to a Muay Thai fighter proved too much for the Kurosaki, and he was knocked out with a beautifully placed elbow from Rawee. This performance shows just how effective and important it is to utilize all the weapons on the human body in a fight. And no martial art in the world does it better than “the art of eight limbs”.
4) Unknown Muay Thai Fighter Vs. Tadashi Sawamura (Karate)
Tadashi Sawamura is without a doubt one of the greatest kickboxers to have ever lived. The Japanese legend has amassed an incredibly impressive record of 241 wins with only 5 losses and 4 draws. However, it was not until he went face to face with a Muay Thai fighter back in the 60s that Sawamura was motivated to start kickboxing.
As a young karate black belt, Sawamura decided to travel to Thailand to compete against Muay Thai fighters as he wanted to prove that he could beat any fighter regardless of the rules. However, the Thai fighter opened Tadashi’s eyes to the true deadliness and effectiveness of Muay Thai, swarming him with powerful kicks and punches at ease throughout the fight. In the second round, the Muay Thai fighter threw a devastating left kick, knocking Sawamura out and breaking three of his ribs.
The debates about which martial art is the most effective will surely continue forever. Now with the sport of MMA however, there is an arena that can put the theories behind many of these debates to the test. One thing is for sure, the effectiveness of Muay Thai is impossible to deny.
