Kickboxer: A Cinematic Insight into Muay Thai

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An overview of Kickboxer and its relevance to Kickboxing Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Kickboxer portrays the story of a kickboxer who learns Muay Thai because of a vendetta. The movie starts with Jean’s character- Kurt watching over his older brother as he wins the heavyweight title in kickboxing. After having won the title, his brother yearns for more recognition which leads him to join a competition in Thailand. Upon arrival, the brothers are quickly faced with the fact that they aren’t facing their routine kickboxing partners but rather the Martial art of the area that is Muay Thai. Kurt’s older brother steps into the ring against a contender by the name Tong Po, who is named the champion of Thailand. The fight ends abruptly, after the brother …show more content…

Many schools turn him down until he comes across a retired American veteran that was witness to what happened at the fight between his brother and Tong, who also knows someone that could train him. During the time they are heading to the trainer’s house. It’s discovered that the veteran used to be only ever on the offense, causing him to have one of his great friends perish due to his carelessness. This can be attributed to the stances of kickboxing and Muay Thai, both having great offensive moves and combos but requires you to be in a position as to defend yourself without leaving yourself …show more content…

The trainer takes Kurt to a local bar to “relax” which essentially entitles drinking until he is properly drunk. At this point, the trainer asks if Kurt dances, to which he responds that he does well. Pushed into dancing by his trainer, inspected to see if he can keep his balance while being intoxicated and dancing could be compared to a workout exercise, albeit a farfetched one. Following his dancing, some ladies join in with him, causing his trainer to go around the bar and entice the crowd to begin fighting with him. Kurt easily takes out these opponents with little to no effort, stumbling but never falling, showing accuracy in his round houses and jabs. Though he was chemically relaxed, it is fair to assess that the trainer did this for the sake of: sharpening his focus, allowing the utility of how loose he is, and finally applying his stances against multiple opponents. Following the night of drinking is Kurt’s first fight. Fighting against another underdog, they quickly test their brawn rather than speed as they both begin round house kicking one after another. Leaving themselves open to hits is rather faulty in any martial arts, but in this situation, it was to prove that each could withstand the amount of force the other could exert. Breathing and retaining balance all the while, the two fight with vigor and expertise but Kurt finishes the battle with a final kick

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