Dutch Muay Thai vs Traditional Muay Thai

[Eric Holder]

I know in competition's a lot of Thai fighters are more reknown for their clinch work and Dutch for their boxing skills but besides that what are the other main differences between the two styles (aside from the nationality of the practicioners, lol) ?

[Move BRICKS]

Shot in the dark here, but to me it seems like Dutch fighters in general throw every strike with a lot more force but they sacrifice precision.

[jakkups]

Shot in the dark here, but to me it seems like Dutch fighters in general throw every strike with a lot more force but they sacrifice precision.

Spot on. Manhoef is the perfect example in modern times. He's very old school in his style, somewhat like Benny Urquidez. Everything is thrown with power so they're constantly looking for the KO.

[KingOne]

I know in competition's a lot of Thai fighters are more reknown for their clinch work and Dutch for their boxing skills but besides that what are the other main differences between the two styles (aside from the nationality of the practicioners, lol) ?

as you mentioned the main difference is the fact, that the dutch muay thai style is more influenced by western boxing. the traditional muay thai stance (most of all the guard) is more affected to muay boran where you keep your hands very high, while in dutch muay thai you're keeping your hands lower and closer to the head so u can better protect your chin as well as your body (traditional muay thai fighters block the kicks up to their rips by raising their leg, while western muay thai fighters prefer to block the kicks/punches to the body with their arms). another difference is the clinch game. you see it much more often in traditinal muay thai. but the reason why many european mma fighters train in the netherlands and not in thailand is mainly because the huge difference in weight classes in both countries. you just can't find any matching sparring partner in thailand if you weigh over 155lbs.

[Eric Holder]

as you mentioned the main difference is the fact, that the dutch muay thai style is more influenced by western boxing. the traditional muay thai stance (most of all the guard) is more affected to muay boran where you keep your hands very high, while in dutch muay thai you're keeping your hands lower and closer to the head so u can better protect your chin as well as your body (traditional muay thai fighters block the kicks up to their rips by raising their leg, while western muay thai fighters prefer to block the kicks/punches to the body with their arms). another difference is the clinch game. you see it much more often in traditinal muay thai. but the reason why many european mma fighters train in the netherlands and not in thailand is mainly because the huge difference in weight classes in both countries. you just can't find any matching sparring partner in thailand if you weigh over 155lbs.

thanks man, what about the footwork? I know some of the trainers at Golden Glory and Bas Ruetten came from kyokushin backgrounds is that why the Dutch seem to have a slighltly less squared stances?

[Drunken Cat]

It seems to me that the Dutch dominance is in the higher weights. There are of course some very good lower weight Dutch fighters, but as far as the big men are concerned it seems the Dutch are the best. Obviously the average size of Dutchman is larger than that of Thais.

I'm not sure if this addresses the question, but it seems to me like the Dutch are clearly dominant at the higher weight classes, and the Thais at the lower classes. Based on overall skill it would seem the Thais are the best, but it's also very difficult to compare weight classes (which is why I consider p4p completely worthless).

I appreciate the previous comments in this thread though.