Muay Thai is the science of 8 limbs.  In ancient times they allowed head butting.  In modern times that move is illegal.

The clinch is used to strike and bind the opponent while standing.  Many refer to this as stand up grappling.  Muay Thai techniques are divided into two groups: Mae Mai or major techniques and Luk Mai or minor techniques. Traditional Muay Thai is often a fighting art of attrition.  Opponents exchange blows with one another gradually wearing the other out. In more modern sport Muay Thai the action is faster and more and more fights are won by KO. Muay Thai has been very successful in MMA fighting.  Many of the best fighters train Muay Thai to help their striking in the cage.  In most recent times many Muay Thai fighters are cross training in western boxing.  As a result, it has evolved and incorporated much more powerful hand striking techniques used in western style boxing.  Almost all techniques in Muay Thai use the entire body movement, rotating the hip with each kick, punch, elbow and block. The rotation of the hips in Muay Thai techniques, and intensive focus on "core muscles" is very distinctive and is what sets Muay Thai apart from other styles of martial arts.

Punching (Chok)
The punching techninques of Muay Thai have evolved greatly in recent years with the cross training in western boxing.  Many Muay Thai fighters use all of the punching techniques from western boxing to the head.  Due to the danger of knees and elbows punches to the body are minimal.

Elbow (Tee sok)
The elbow can be used in several ways as a striking weapon: horizontal, diagonal-upwards, diagonal-downwards, uppercut, downward, backward-spinning and flying. From the side it can be used as either a finishing move or as a way to cut the opponent's eyebrow so that blood might block his vision. The blood also raises the opponent's awareness of being hurt which could affect his performance. This is the most common way of using the elbow. The diagonal elbows are faster than the other forms, but are less powerful. The uppercut and flying elbows are the most powerful, but are slower and easier to avoid or block. The downward elbow is usually used as a finishing move.

Kicking (Teh)
The two most common kicks in Muay Thai are known as the teep, and the Teh chiang (kicking upwards in the shape of a triangle cutting under the arm and ribs) or angle kick. The Muay Thai angle kick has been widely adopted by fighters from other martial arts and is considered one of or the most powerful kicks in martial arts.  Most MMA fighters use this kick as their primary offensive kick.  The angle kick uses a rotational movement of the entire body. The kick draws its power entirely from the rotational movement of the body. Many Muay Thai fighters use a counter rotation of the arms to intensify the power of this kick. Muay Thai has a style of kicking unique to the martial art.  Thai boxers are trained to kick with the shin. While sensitive in an unconditioned practitioner, the shin is the strongest part of the leg for experienced Muay Thai fighters. The foot contains many fine bones and is much weaker. A fighter may end up hurting himself if he tries to strike with his foot or instep.
Muay Thai also includes other varieties of kicking, such as the axe kick, side kick or spinning back kick etc. These kicks are only used in bouts by some fighters. It is worth noting that a side kick is performed differently in Muay Thai than the traditional side kick of other martial arts. In Muay Thai, a side kick is executed by first raising the knee of the leg that is going to kick in order to convince the opponent that the executor is going to perform a teep or front kick. The hips are then shifted to the side to the more traditional side kick position for the kick itself.

Knee (Tee kao)
•    Kao Dode (Jumping knee strike) – the Thai boxer jumps up on one leg and strikes with that leg's knee.
•    Kao Loi (Flying knee strike) – the Thai boxer takes step(s), jumps forward and off one leg and strikes with that leg's knee.
•    Kao Tone (Straight knee strike) – the Thai boxer simply thrusts it forward (not upwards, unless he is holding an opponents head down in a clinch and intend to knee upwards into the face).

Clinch (Djab-ko)
In Western Boxing the two fighters are separated when they clinch; in Muay Thai, however, they are not. It is often in the clinch where knee and elbow techniques are used.  A correct clinch also involves the fighter's forearms pressing against the opponent's collar bone while the hands are around the opponent's head rather than the opponent's neck. The general way to get out of a clinch is to push the opponent's head backwards or elbow him or her, as the clinch requires both participants to be very close to one another. Additionally, the non-dominant clincher can try to "swim" his or her arm underneath and inside the opponent's clinch, establishing the previously non-dominant clincher as the dominant clincher.