This may be a controversial blog post today, as I know there are some very strong opinions on either side of this issue. That being said, I think that while the intention of point Muay Thai is good, there are some major issues that it does not address well enough.
That being said, I want to start off by explaining what point Muay Thai, or semi-contact Muay Thai, is. Basically, it’s a “harder” sparring session where knockouts and TKOs aren’t allowed, and the judges score based on a variety of techniques. Head shots typically count the least, while body attacks, leg kicks, clinching, and other techniques are emphasized. The idea is to help athletes develop multiple skill sets rather than turning the match into an uncontrollable brawl.
When I was growing up training, we didn’t have these opportunities, at least not in front of a crowd of people and in a setting where you could be tested under pressure without the stakes being extremely high. The only thing I had in Muay Thai were smokers to test yourself, which are basically unsanctioned fights where both participants go 100% against someone around their skill level (hopefully). This was how you went “for real” in the ring without necessarily having it count toward your record. It wouldn’t really matter how many points you scored if you ended up finishing the fight.
The difference between a smoker and a semi-contact point match is that, in a smoker, you’re allowed to go 100%, whereas in a semi-contact match you can’t—and herein lies the problem.
When people put “percentages” on fighting, there’s a weird gray area that nobody really understands. What is 10% compared to someone else’s 50%? Or, like Frieza would say, “This isn’t even 10% of my power,” or whatever he says in DBZ.
I’ve taken our students to point Muay Thai tournaments as a way for them to develop their skills and get used to performing in front of a crowd (because fighting in front of a crowd is very different than in a private setting, which I think is important), but I’ve seen several problems with it:
– Mismatches People who say they’ve trained for “six months” but clearly look like they’ve been fighting for a couple of years. I’ve had it go both ways—students of mine who were mismatched, and students of mine who looked like they were sandbagging. I don’t think it’s fair to either gym. This does happen in smokers, don’t get me wrong, but that leads me to the next issue.
-“Excessive” contact.** I’ve seen guys literally knee someone in the face and the fight keep going. I’ve seen people throw bombs and haymakers, and instead of getting disqualified, the other guy gets so rocked that he ends up losing. I’ve seen fighters throw nothing but head shots while the other person scores with clinching, leg kicks, and sweeps, yet still loses because he got hit with a big shot.
– Weight classes. I’ve had people weigh in at 145 pounds and then fight people who weighed 155.
– Sandbagging. Back to the sandbagging issue—the difference between a local smoker and these point matches is that smokers are usually local. When you go to these point matches, you’re potentially dealing with someone who’s traveling from out of town, claiming they have no record, but participating anyway. When things are local and involve local gyms, I’ve found that the matches are generally better because coaches are more aware of who’s currently competing and who’s not.
True story: there was a gym we saw (I don’t want to name names, but a VERY well-known gym) participating in a point Muay Thai tournament. One of their fighters entered despite holding multiple belts in Thailand. He brought a crowd of people to watch him, cameras and all, and spent the entire match clowning a guy who was clearly making his debut. (Karma did catch up to him, however, as he lost the match—probably because the referee realized he was sandbagging pretty hard.)
So should you do one?
Honestly, you’re probably better off visiting local gyms and sparring for an hour rather than waiting two to four hours for a single match that starts and ends in two rounds. I think point Muay Thai is good for kids, teens, and people who don’t want to do smokers, but be warned that you could end up with a bad mismatch. For adults, I think you should really just prepare for a smoker. Unless you’re 45+, I think the semi-contact division in that age category isn’t a bad idea.
I don’t think semi-contact Muay Thai is a bad idea in theory. I wish I had something like that growing up instead of going straight into smokers. However, while it’s a hard pill to swallow, most people probably shouldn’t fight. It’s a very small percentage of people who can handle the grueling demands of the training and preparation. Our standards at our gym are high, but that’s because, as a coach, I want you to do your very best.
I think semi-contact Muay Thai is a way for people who romanticize the idea of fighting but don’t want the risks involved.
Maybe that’s why I’ve become a little skeptical of anything that promises all of the benefits with none of the costs. In life, the things worth having usually demand something from us. The challenge is often what gives the reward its meaning.
When we separate the reward from the sacrifice, we may get something that looks similar on the surface, but it often lacks the depth that made the original worthwhile.
Just some food for thought.