Muay Boran, which translates to "Ancient Boxing", is the predecessor to Muay Thai. The aim of Muay Boran is to help a warrior survive a battle after he has lost his weapons (until this time, he will use a style known as Krabi Krabong); its style is quite efficient, in that it maximizes the amount of damage that every blow can leverage, and effective, in that it can easily lead to the death or serious injury of the opponent.

Lerdrit is a Thai form of martial arts taught, and used by the Royal Thai Army. Without utilizing fists, but instead open hands, it is basically a modified version of Muay Thai. Forward pressure, kicks, knees, locking, grappling and elbows are all major concepts in Lerdrit. With its close combat techniques, it is among the most realistic and effective form of martial arts used in today's militaries.

Krabi Krabong is a Thai martial art which makes use of various weapons and also incorporates the empty-hand techniques of Muay Thai.