In my personal experience, I've found Muay Thai to be more of a competition fighting style rather than a more traditionally "combative" one. One thing which impresses me about MT fighters that I've sparred with has been the incredible power of their kicks, however my criticisms would be:
+ Groin defence is practically non-existent. A lot of their postures and moves actually open the groin up. They might as well have worn shorts/pants with a target painted on their crotch.
+ While their kicks are very strong as because they start from the ground, they lack the control offered from kicks that start from the knee; a lot of other MAs such as Karate, Kung Fu, Tai Chi etc. lift the knee first. While this sacrifices power, I find that it offers greater manoeuvrability and control.
+ Some MT fighters adopt modern boxing style ducking and weaving, which potentially leaves the neck and upper spine vulnerable -- i.e. it makes it easier to trap a forward leaning head and attack, break or snap the neck or upper vertebrae. This is why all traditional martial arts, including Victorian Era Queensberry Rules Boxing, Bartitsu etc., always have fighters holding their spine in an erect posture, and rarely (if ever) leaning their head and/or neck towards an opponent.
This is only from my own personal experience with Muay Thai fighters. Hopefully you guys have found better schools.
Did you ever come across Muay Boran when you were in Thailand? I've only seen very little of it, but apparently it's the more traditional martial art of Thailand, whereas Muay Thai feels to me to be more of a competitive sport variation.Originally Posted by Tfiguy
From what I've seen and heard, it's more similar to other traditional martial arts in that they have more solid upright stances, lower attacks, tighter defences etc. It lacks the more flashy looking (and IMO less effectual) moves, jumps etc. of Muay Thai, but would basically be what Thai warriors would have actually used in combat where personal survival was the key, and not scoring points, impressing judges or winning competitions. When I look at Muay Boran, it looks a lot more similar to other traditional martial arts, and it's something I'd like to have a better look at if I ever get the chance.
http://www.guidetothailand.com/trave.../muay-thai.jpg
http://www.krumark.com/wp-content/ga...-boran-009.jpg
http://www.muaythaifactory.com/muay-...ompetition.jpg
http://www.krumark.com/wp-content/ga...oran-032_1.jpg
http://www.best-muaythai-equipment.c...muayboran5.jpg
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Unfortunately none of the MT guys I've ever trained with had good groin defence. But as we know, individual results can vary greatly between different schools, even if they teach the same martial art. 
I've been to Karate Dojos that practice excellent groin defence, while others are just really bad.
The opponent is supposed to be in front of you, and quite frankly, if they manouevre themselves to your inside, then you should have already changed your stance so that your vulnerable side isn't facing them! It's almost as if they're expecting you to fight like a statue rather than these stances merely being momentary. So I wouldn't say that the traditional stances are inherently flawed, per se, but often just not taught or applied correctly, IMHO. And most likely, the Muay Thai guys that I trained with were probably taught incorrectly too. 
