Techniques and styles
Knee
Khao in Thai
What it means
A strike with the point of the knee, thrown straight up the middle or driven in from the clinch. It is the scoring weapon Thai judges have traditionally rewarded most.
Knees are why the clinch matters. Control the head and the arms and the knee is available; lose that control and it is not.
They also punish the hip flexors of anyone who arrives unconditioned, which is a large part of why the first week hurts where you did not expect it to.
Related
Words that go with it
Clinch
Close-range grappling with the arms and neck, used to control an opponent so you can land knees and elbows or throw them off balance. Thai gyms treat it as core, not as an extra.
Muay khao
The knee fighter: someone who closes distance, gets to the clinch and works with knees until the other person breaks. Physically the most demanding style to fight and to fight against.