What is Temple Tactic (Muai Wat)?

The Temple Tactic (Muai Wat) is a MUAI combat tactic that relies on offensive combat and sham attacks to confuse the enemy. In earlier times, this offensive strategy was also called the Weang-Haeh (net throw).

How to

The fighter starts using close-range techniques (Wong-Nai) to push the opponent into the defensive through continuous attacking.

The techniques used have no particular order, precision or impact, but rather the concept of unsettling the opponent and, at best, panicking. The fighter continues his attacks continuously, only to suddenly suspend at a certain moment and to observe the opponents reaction and attitude.

The fighter can then suspend the tactic first and continue the normal action or repeat the same tactic within a short time.

It is rare for this tactic immediately end of the fight. After repeatedly using this tactic, the fighter will perform a precise technique that in most cases leads to the enemy’s inability to defend.

This strategy is dominated by sham attacks aimed at carrying out a decisive attack favored by the opponent’s misresponse. If it turns out that the opponent has enough experience, the fighter will suspend the strategy due to the excessive risk and switch to another.

Fighters use this tactic more or less to test the opponent’s combat ability or as a prelude and enforce it only with a certain chance of success until the end.

Historical significance

In earlier times bets were placed on the successful implementation or thwarting of techniques. The outcome of a fight was secondary, because the real fascination was to see whether a fighter could successfully enforce his techniques and tactics or not. It was only through the industrialization of Muay Thai that the focus shifted to points, victories and defeats that were easy for the masses to understand.

For connoisseurs the question may have been interesting whether a temple tactician would succeed in confusing his opponent with his sham attacks or whether he would again be able to keep a cool head and lure the temple fighter into a trap.

Recommended glossary entries

  1. Quicksand Tactic (Muai Torranee Suub)
  2. Tactic of the old teacher (Muai Kru Tau)
  3. Cobra tactic (Muai Ngu Hao)
  4. Hidden Tactic (Muai Sumt)
  5. Mongkon

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