Muaythai Judging: Differences Between Associations

By Tony Myers

Introduction International Competition
Fight Classifications Differences between associations
What techniques score? Fouls
How are fights actually scored? Decisions
Some common mistakes made when judging Muay Thai bouts, and how to avoid them Summary

Do different associations in Britain have different scoring criteria? The answer to this question is yes; how close the scoring used reflects what is used in Thailand and internationally often depends on the MuayThai experience of the officials involved in the association. The rules and scoring discussed in this article will reflect those used in Thailand. The reason for this is not only because Thailand is the birth place of MuayThai and has far more MuayThai fights than any other country, but also because with the formation of the World Muaythai Council in 1995, Thailand has set the international standard for rules, which now most counties are tending to follow.

Confusion can arise when kickboxing organisations that use rules similar to MuayThai but whose officials who have little experience of MuayThai; kickboxing is a legitimate but different sport to MuayThai, with different rules and a different scoring system. Further confusion over rules and scoring has occurred because of Britain's strong links to Holland. Over the years the Netherlands have produced some tremendous fighters, with a number carving out very successful professional careers in Thailand. However, Dutch Thai boxing rules and regulations have been dominated by kickboxing bodies like the NKBB and by gyms like Thom Harinck's famous Chakuriki gym that has a background in Knockdown Karate and kickboxing. This has resulted in the vast majority of fights in Holland being judged in a vastly different way to fights in Thailand. A clicker count system is often employed by judges in Holland, with judges counting the number of strikes each fighter delivers; this is vastly different than the scoring system employed in Thailand. Strong punching and low kicks tend to dominate Dutch MuayThai; less emphasis is given to the knee or body kicks (although there is some evidence this is changing), both primary scoring weapons in Thailand. In addition to differences in scoring, grabbing the ropes is a tactic regularly employed to escape clinchwork and hip throws are frequently employed; the use of both techniques in Thailand can result in disqualification. With a number of British fighters competing in Holland, and the wide availability of video tapes of top Dutch champions in action competing under Dutch rules, has had an influence on understanding and interpretation of rules.

On to What Techniques Score?