Our Muay Thai directory collects links on this powerful martial art. As the name suggests, Muay Thai was developed in Thailand, and it is that country's national sport. It is a form of kickboxing in which the fighters may use punches and kicks as well as their knees and elbows to attack their opponents. Muay Thai came about through the thousand-year-old tradition of Thai boxing, which was in use in warfare and came to be adapted for entertainment purposes. Modern Muay Thai fighters wear gloves similar to Western boxers as well as cover guards for their feet; these measures add greater security to what can be a dangerous sport. Muay Thai punches are also similar to western boxing, with jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. The use of the elbows, knees, and feet allows fighters to attack from different angles and at different distances. Muay Thai boxers may also lock their opponents in a clinch in order to inflict damage with the knees and elbows at short range. Typically, power from strikes comes through the rotation of the entire body, which generates force at the point of attack. Attacks can be avoided, disrupted, or blocked by the opponent in order to open a counter-strike. The Thai technique appears in mixed-martial arts as a stand-up form of attack, as many fighters who participate in that sport train first as Muay Thai fighters. Of course, traditional Muay Thai bouts are still fought worldwide, where the greatest concentration of practitioners remains in Asia and India.