Muay (Boxing) is the Thai name for a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Laos. It was developed as part of warriors skills aside from the skills of swordsmanship and archery.

The basic offensive techniques in Muay Thai use fists, elbows, shins, feet, and knees to strike the opponent. To bind the opponent for both offensive and defensive purposes, small amounts of stand-up grappling are used, the clinch.

Muay Thai is often a fighting art of attrition, where opponents exchange blows with one another. This is certainly the case with traditional stylists in Thailand, but is a less popular form of fighting in the contemporary world fighting circuit. With the success of Muay Thai in mixed martial arts fighting, it has become the de facto martial art of choice for competitive stand-up fighters.

Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on "core muscles" (such as abdominal muscles) is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of competitive martial arts.