Beginners
The short answer
You will hear a handful of Thai words in your first week: greetings, the names of your coaches, the commands on the pads and the names of the kit. This page lists 47 of them in the order you will probably meet them. Pronunciations are approximate, and Thai words are spelled in several ways in English. Every entry links to the full glossary, which lists its own sources.
Greetings and respect
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Wai ไหว้ · WHY | The Thai greeting: palms pressed together at chest or face height with a slight bow. Fighters wai the crowd, officials and each other, and IFMA rules accept a wai in place of a handshake. |
| Sawasdee สวัสดี · SA-WUT-DEE | Hello and goodbye, said with a wai and the polite particle khrap (men) or kha (women). |
| Khop khun ขอบคุณ · KORP KOON | Thank you. Add khrap or kha for politeness. |
| Sabai สบาย · SA-BYE | Relaxed, comfortable, easy. Trainers say sabai sabai to take tension out of a movement; in wider Thai life it means take it easy. |
| Mai pen rai ไม่เป็นไร · MY BPEN RYE | No problem, never mind. Heard constantly in Thai gyms when something goes wrong. |
| Jai yen ใจเย็น · JAI YEN | Calm down, keep a cool heart. Said to fighters who rush or lose their temper. |
| Dee ดี · DEE | Good. Dee mak is very good, the padman's highest praise, and mai dee is not good. |
People in the gym
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Kru ครู · KROO | Teacher or trainer. The word descends from the Sanskrit guru and carries real weight in Thai culture; students wai their kru and honour them in the Wai Kru. |
| Ajarn อาจารย์ · AH-JAHN | Master teacher, a step above kru. Used for senior instructors with long lineages, and in wider Thai society for university lecturers and respected monks. |
| Nak Muay นักมวย · NUCK MOO-AY | A Muay Thai fighter or practitioner. In Thailand it implies someone who competes; foreign trainees are often called nak muay farang. |
| Nak Muay Farang นักมวยฝรั่ง · NUCK MOO-AY FA-RUNG | A foreign (Western) Muay Thai fighter. Farang is the everyday Thai word for a white foreigner and carries no insult on its own. |
| Farang ฝรั่ง · FA-RUNG | Westerner. Neutral in most contexts; also the Thai word for guava. |
| Fight camp | The period of focused preparation before a bout. In Thailand it doubles as the word for the gym itself, since fighters live and train on site. |
| Khan ขั้น · KUN | Graded rank levels used by IFMA and Thai teaching bodies to structure a Muay Thai syllabus, similar in purpose to belts in other martial arts. Traditional Thai gyms do not use them; fight records matter instead. |
Ritual and culture
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Wai Kru ไหว้ครู · WHY KROO | Pre-fight ritual of respect to teachers, parents and the lineage. The fighter circles the ring, seals the corners, then kneels and bows three times before rising into the Ram Muay dance. |
| Ram Muay รำมวย · RUM MOO-AY | The danced portion of the pre-fight ritual, performed to sarama music. Movements are stylised and often tell a story; each camp or region has its own sequence. |
| Mongkhon มงคล · MONG-KON | The sacred headband worn during the Wai Kru. It belongs to the camp, is placed on the fighter's head by the kru and removed before the first bell. Under IFMA rules the mongkhon is mandatory for the Wai Kru. |
| Prajiad ประเจียด · PRA-JEE-AT | Armband worn on one or both biceps during the fight, traditionally a strip of cloth carrying a charm or blessing. Rules allow it if the tails are short and it stays secure. |
| Sarama สะระหม่า · SA-RA-MAH | The live music that accompanies the Wai Kru and the fight, played by a small ensemble of pi chawa (oboe), klong khaek (drums) and ching (cymbals). It speeds up as the rounds progress. |
| Muay Boran มวยโบราณ · MOO-AY BO-RAHN | Umbrella term for the pre-modern Thai fighting arts from which ring Muay Thai was codified in the early twentieth century. Includes regional styles such as Muay Chaiya, Muay Korat and Muay Lopburi. |
Training and pads
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Pad work ต่อยเป้า · DTOY BPOW | Rounds spent striking Thai pads held by a trainer who calls combinations, feeds counters and moves. The heart of a Thai camp session; pao is the Thai word for a target or pad. |
| Thai pads เป้า · BPOW | Thick rectangular forearm pads, roughly forearm length, used by the trainer to take full-power kicks, knees, elbows and punches while moving with the fighter. |
| Focus mitts | Small hand-held pads for punching speed and accuracy. Thai camps use them less than Thai pads but reach for them when working boxing. |
| Heavy bag กระสอบทราย · GRA-SORP SAI | Generic hanging bag for power work. Thai gyms hang rows of them outdoors under a roof; the Thai name means sand sack. |
| Sparring | Practice fighting with a partner. Thai sparring is typically light and playful, aiming to sharpen timing rather than win, so fighters can spar most days without damage. |
| Roadwork | English gym term for the conditioning run that opens the training day. In Thailand the morning run is usually the longer of the two. |
| Stance | The upright, fairly square, weight-back posture Thai fighters adopt so both legs can kick, check and teep quickly. Narrower and taller than a boxing stance. |
Kit
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Hand wraps ผ้าพันมือ · PAH PUN MEW | Cloth bandages wound around the hands and wrists under the gloves. WBC Muaythai limits them to six metres per hand; Thai cornermen often add tape over the knuckles for fights. |
| Gloves นวม · NOO-AM | Thai-style gloves are shorter in the cuff than boxing gloves with a more open palm for clinching. Pro bouts use 8 oz up to welterweight and 10 oz above; IFMA amateurs use 10 oz; training gloves run 12 to 16 oz. |
| Shin guards สนับแข้ง · SA-NUP KANG | Padded protectors strapped to the shins for sparring and clinch drills. Mandatory in IFMA amateur competition; not worn in professional bouts. |
| Mouthguard ฟันยาง · FUN YAHNG | Rubber guard over the teeth, mandatory in all competition. Spitting it out deliberately is a foul under IFMA rules. |
| Groin guard กระจับ · GRA-JUP | Protective cup worn under the shorts. Thai fighters favour a hard steel cup held on with cord, tied at the hips, rather than a jockstrap-style cup. |
| Thai shorts กางเกงมวย · GAHNG-GAYNG MOO-AY | Short, wide-legged satin shorts with a high slit for kicking, usually embroidered with the camp name. Rules require them to be worn without shirt or shoes in pro bouts, in the corner colour under IFMA. |
Techniques
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Thip ถีบ · TEEP | The push kick or foot-thrust, delivered with the ball of the foot or heel to the body, thigh or face. It controls distance, breaks an opponent's rhythm and scores when it visibly moves them. |
| Te เตะ · DTEH | To kick. On its own it usually means the roundhouse; qualifiers name the variant (te tat, te chiang, te trong). A kick-heavy fighter is a Muay Tae. |
| Khao เข่า · KOW | Knee, and the knee strike. Knees score heavily in Thai stadium judging, especially from the clinch, and define the Muay Khao archetype. |
| Sok ศอก · SORK | Elbow, and the elbow strike. Elbows are prized for cuts and knockouts at close range; a fighter who specialises in them is a Muay Sok. |
| Low kick | Roundhouse to the thigh or calf. In Thai rules it scores modestly unless it visibly damages or buckles the leg; it is a favourite of pressure fighters and Muay Mat. |
| Check บัง | Lifting the shin to block an incoming roundhouse so it lands shin-on-shin instead of on the thigh or ribs. The basic defence against kicks. |
| Clinch จับคอ | Close-range grappling phase where fighters control the head, neck and arms to land knees, elbows and sweeps. Judges reward the fighter who dominates position; referees break it when it stalls. |
| Plum PLUM | The dominant clinch position: both hands cupped behind the opponent's head, forearms clamped on the collarbones, elbows tight. From here the attacker snaps the head down into knees. |
| Muay Khao มวยเข่า · MOO-AY KOW | The knee fighter: relentless forward pressure into the clinch, then knees to the body and head. Physically the most demanding style and one of the most rewarded by Thai judges. |
Fight night
| Term | Meaning (Atlas glossary) |
|---|---|
| Round ยก · YOK | One timed period of fighting. Stadium and WBC pro bouts run five rounds of three minutes with two-minute rests; IFMA amateurs and ONE non-title bouts run three rounds of three minutes with one-minute rests. |
| Weigh-in ชั่งน้ำหนัก · CHUNG NUM NUCK | Official weight check. WMC requires it no more than 24 hours before the bout with at least three hours' rest afterward; WBC Muaythai 24 to 30 hours; IFMA amateurs weigh in each morning they compete, with a 0.5 kg travel allowance in limited cases. |
| Knockdown | A fighter sent to the canvas by a legal strike, prompting the referee's count. IFMA distinguishes a knockdown (from a scoring strike) from a mere down (slip or push). |
| RSC | IFMA's term for a referee stoppage, equivalent to a TKO. RSCH marks a stoppage due to head strikes and carries a 30-day rest requirement. |
| Referee กรรมการห้าม · GUM-MA-GAHN HAHM | The official inside the ring who starts and stops the action, breaks clinches, counts knockdowns and deducts points. IFMA referees use the Thai commands yut, yaek and chok. |
How to use this list
Learn the greeting, the words for the strikes your coach is calling and the kit names. Everything else will come with repetition. For etiquette, read gym etiquette and the wai kru; for technique, see the teep guide and knees. Prefer to look something up? The full glossary has 305 entries.
Sources and dates
- Muay Thai Atlas glossary (entries linked in the tables) · definitions, Thai script and pronunciation; each entry lists its own sources · read 2 Oct 2026
FAQs
Is it teep or thip?
Both. The Atlas glossary entry is under 'Thip' (Thai: ถีบ, pronounced TEEP) and lists the spellings Teep, Tiip and Teeb. Thai words are transliterated in several ways, so spellings vary between gyms and websites.
Do I need to learn Thai to train Muay Thai?
No. Many UK gyms teach in English. Learning a few words, such as the greeting, thanks and the names of the strikes, helps in Thai camps, where pad commands are often in Thai.
How is 'khao' pronounced?
The Atlas glossary gives KOW for khao (knee). It warns that kao (nine) sounds close to khao, so listen for context on the pads.
What is the difference between kru and ajarn?
The Atlas glossary defines kru as teacher or trainer and ajarn as a master teacher, a step above kru, used for senior instructors with long lineages.
Where can I see the full list?
The Atlas glossary has 305 entries, each with sources, at /guides/glossary/.
ProvenanceWritten by Atlas editorial from the sources listed above; every fact carries the date it was read. Anything we could not confirm is marked unknown. Published 2 Oct 2026 · updated 2 Oct 2026 · next review due 31 Dec 2026 · Suggest a correction