Is Muay Thai Safe for Children?

There’s a growing interest in parents enrolling their children in gyms and schools to train in martial arts.

One of the martial arts and disciplines that’s starting to become more popular is Muay Thai.

But, as interest in Muay Thai grew, so did concerns. After all, Muay Thai is a dangerous sport. It’s like boxing but amped up. You don’t just use your fists to fight anymore. Instead, you use your fists, elbows, knees, and feet, which is why Muay Thai has also become known as the “art of eight limbs”.

You might be one of those parents concerned about how safe Muay Thai is for children.

That’s a question we’ll answer below.

Why Muay Thai is Safe for Children

In Thailand, where Muay Thai is the national sport, children as young as 5 years old take up Muay Thai.

Often, this is out of necessity. It’s a way for them to train themselves to fight and earn money.

In other more privileged countries, children don’t need to fight for money, in which case, the safety of children training in Muay Thai becomes a priority.

With that said, children are pretty safe when training in Muay Thai.

As long as the children are enrolled in a gym or school run by an accredited instructor, preferably someone who has actually received certification or even trained in Thailand, they should have no issues.

Respect is a huge part of Muay Thai training.

Because of how heavily influenced Muay Thai is by Buddist teachings, instructors emphasize the importance of respecting people who are older than you. This is especially important for today’s children, who are growing up to become disrespectful to their elders. 

Children are also taught to respect themselves and that of others during training.

They are taught how to keep themselves and their areas clean. At the same time, they are taught how to recognize their own shortcomings in a way that they develop more respect for those who have overcome their own weaknesses in the past as well.

Learning the value of respect can help shape children to grow up to become more responsible adults.

Other Ways Children Benefit from Muay Thai

Low self-confidence and self-esteem can make children a target for bullies.

A student trained in martial art, no matter how young, develops a kind of confidence that they know what to do if something bad happens to them. Like, for example, when they are bullied. Although violence is never the answer, a child feels much more confident to be themselves knowing that they can defend themselves if push comes to shove, or so to speak.

Training children to learn how to defend themselves is something that every martial art does. It’s not just Muay Thai.

In this case, Muay Thai is no different from any martial art.

Most gyms simply want to see children grow up to become confident in themselves and be happier.

Conclusion

As long as you do your due diligence as the parent or guardian, your child is safe training Muay Thai.

In fact, they are made even safer due to their training.

Self-defense training, higher confidence levels, and instilling the importance of fitness in them at an early age are just some of the many benefits that children can get from training in Muay Thai.