I waited until I could actually turn my hips over before I bought my first pair of Muay Thai shorts. Not because anyone told me to. Not because there is a rule. I just had this idea that I needed to earn them first, that wearing the proper kit before I had the technique to go with it would feel like showing up to a match in a belt you had not yet earned.
Looking back, that was completely unnecessary. You do not need to earn your shorts. Buying a pair on your first day is fine. Wearing them before you can throw a proper roundhouse is fine. The shorts do not care. The gym does not care. You are allowed to look the part before you are the part.
But I am glad I waited. There was something about putting them on for the first time when I could actually use them that felt like a small ceremony. This is the guide I wish I had before I walked into that shop in Bangkok.
How Many Do You Actually Need
The honest answer is more than you think and fewer than you want. Three pairs is the functional minimum if you train regularly. Two in rotation while one is in the wash, with a third for when life gets in the way of laundry. Three is a floor, not a target.
Five is comfortable. Five gives you variety, covers all your training days without repetition, and means you always have a clean pair ready without having to think about it. Beyond five you are buying for the love of it rather than the need. Which is also completely fine. There is no upper limit on Muay Thai shorts and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.
Do not buy them all at once. Your body is going to change during your first year of training. The shape that fits you now is probably not the shape that will fit you in twelve months. Buy two or three to start, train for a while, and let your body tell you what it needs before you commit to a full collection.
The Brands Worth Knowing
The following brands are listed in no particular order. Every one of them produces legitimate Muay Thai shorts and every one of them has fighters who would defend their choice until the final bell. Buy what speaks to you.
Fairtex is one of the most recognised names in the sport globally, and for good reason. Consistent quality, a huge range of designs, and available almost everywhere. A safe first pair for anyone who does not know where to start.
Twins Special has been around for decades and carries the kind of credibility you cannot manufacture. Classic Thai construction, reliable fit, and the sort of shorts you will still be training in years from now.
Raja is the old guard. You will see Raja shorts on fighters in photographs from the 1980s and you will see them on fighters training today. They are classic, durable, and carry a history that the newer brands are still building towards.
Arwut has been making equipment since the 1950s and the shorts reflect that experience. Traditional construction, honest materials, and a Thai gym aesthetic that has not been updated for Western tastes. That last part is a compliment.
SKS is where you go if you want the authentic Thai gym experience. Simple, functional, and priced for fighters rather than tourists.
Mongkol is another classic Thai brand with deep roots in the sport. No gimmicks, no crossover appeal. Just proper Muay Thai shorts built the way they have always been built.
Tuff offers solid value and is popular in Thai gyms for exactly that reason. Good quality at a price point that makes buying multiple pairs a realistic decision rather than a financial one.
Blegend is a Thai brand that punches above its price point. Well made, well priced, and worth more attention than it often gets outside of Thailand.
Boon Sport produces quality shorts with a clean aesthetic and has built a loyal following among serious practitioners. Reliable materials and good construction throughout the range.
Top King is a solid mid-range option with global availability. Popular for a reason, consistent in quality, and a good choice if you want something dependable without overthinking it.
Banchamek is Buakaw's brand. If you have watched Buakaw fight and thought you wanted to move like that, this is as close as a pair of shorts will get you. Modern aesthetic and the credibility of the name behind it.
Yokkao occupies the fashion end of the spectrum and makes no apologies for it. An Italian-Thai brand that has brought high design to Muay Thai kit. If you care about how you look in the gym and on Instagram, Yokkao has done the work for you.
Primo sits in a similar space, with clean prints and a modern cut that works inside and outside the gym. A strong choice for people who want aesthetics and performance in equal measure.
Fudoshin sits in the premium tier and earns its place there. The materials are excellent, the waistband construction is among the best available, and the brand has a devoted animé theme running through its designs that makes them immediately recognisable. If you are going to spend more on one pair, Fudoshin is worth it.
Sandee is a UK-Thai brand with a strong reputation for quality and fit. Popular among British fighters and worth seeking out if you struggle to find good sizing through Thai-cut brands.
8Weapons is a German brand with a strong European following and genuinely good product. Well made, thoughtfully designed, and a good option if you want something that performs well and is built to last.
Venum has a broader MMA and combat sports presence which means wider availability, but check the cut carefully. Some Venum shorts are designed with MMA in mind and the leg opening reflects that. The Muay Thai specific styles are solid.
Hayabusa is a Canadian premium brand known for excellent construction. Like Venum, it straddles MMA and Muay Thai, so check the cut. When it is right, it is very right.
InFightStyle is worth knowing both as a retailer and for its own range of shorts. The house brand is well made and the site carries a broad selection of other brands, making it a useful one-stop option for online shopping.
Pryde is a newer brand building a strong reputation quickly. Good quality, clean designs, and the kind of brand that serious practitioners are discovering and staying loyal to.
Where to Buy in Bangkok
If you are going to Bangkok, go to the streets around the major stadiums first. The area near Lumpinee is the best place to start. SKS Empire at Lumpinee stadium is a proper shop with a good selection, and there are a couple of other outlets in and around the stadium worth looking at. The last time I went, they were running a sale — gloves for 1,000 baht, shorts for 800. For the quality, that is seriously underpriced. Bargains are available if you look hard enough and are willing to browse.
Action Zone is worth a visit. It is run by a lovely old Thai-Chinese lady who has been in the business long enough to know everything about Muay Thai kit. If you speak even a little Thai with her, she will look after you. Genuinely one of the better shopping experiences you will have in Bangkok if you approach it right.
Muay Thai Outlet is another solid option with good stock and fair prices. Between Action Zone, Muay Thai Outlet, and the shops around Lumpinee, you can cover a lot of ground in a single afternoon and come away with exactly what you need.
If you are heading to Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, or Phuket, all three have good Muay Thai shops worth seeking out. The gear is legitimate, the selection is reasonable, and you will generally pay fair prices. Do not assume Bangkok is the only option.
What to Avoid
Shopee and Lazada are Thailand's answer to Amazon. You can buy literally anything on these platforms, and that includes knock-off Muay Thai gear. The vast majority of shorts listed by third-party sellers are counterfeit, poorly made, or both. The prices look attractive until the shorts arrive and fall apart after three sessions.
That said, not all gear on these platforms is fake. You can usually tell from the price. Shopee Mall, the verified brand section of Shopee, sells the real thing. Fairtex and Raja both have genuine gear listed there. If the price looks right and the seller is verified, it is probably legitimate. If it looks too good to be true, it is.
In MBK and parts of Chatuchak, you will find shorts that look like Muay Thai shorts but are not. They exist for one purpose.
The rule is simple. If you found them at a tourist market and they cost less than a pad thai, they are not training shorts. Buy from fighters, not from souvenir stalls.
Try Before You Buy
Muay Thai shorts vary enormously in ways that photographs and product descriptions do not show. The material of a satin short moves completely differently to a nylon one. A wide elastic waistband sits differently on the body to a drawstring. A retro cut that sits at the hip is a different experience to a modern cut that sits at the waist.
Some shorts are designed primarily for MMA and BJJ. They look like Muay Thai shorts but the cut is different, usually longer and less open at the leg, which restricts the hip movement you need to throw a proper roundhouse. Check what you are buying before you commit.
If you can try them before you commit, try them. Move in them. Check that the leg opening is wide enough to turn your hip over without restriction. A short that looks perfect on a hanger might work against you in sparring.
Short Shorts and What They Actually Do
The traditional Thai cut is short. Not gym-shorts short. Shorter than that. There is a practical reason for this that has nothing to do with aesthetics.
The more of your leg that is exposed, the more freedom you have at the hip. Short shorts are not a style choice. They are a functional one. A fighter who has been training for years instinctively reaches for the shortest cut because they know what it does for their movement. The guy in your gym with the shortest shorts is probably the best kicker you have ever seen. Pay attention to that.
They also make you feel legitimate in a way that is hard to explain until you put a pair on. There is something about wearing the proper kit that changes how you carry yourself in the gym. Buy the short cut.
Roll the Waistband
If your shorts are sitting slightly high on the waist and you want more hip freedom, roll the waistband outward once or twice before you train. It drops the shorts slightly on the body, opens up the hip, and according to gym wisdom that has been passed around long enough to be treated as fact, gives you about twenty percent more power in your kicks. Whether you believe that number or not, the hip freedom is real and the difference in your roundhouse will be noticeable.
Thai fighters have done this for as long as the shorts have existed. It is not a hack. It is how the kit is supposed to be used.
Gym Shorts
Not every gym does this, but some sell their own branded shorts and they are worth picking up when you find them. You will not see it at every gym, but if you are travelling around Thailand, keep an eye out. The shorts are usually simple, well made, and priced fairly because the gym is not trying to run a retail business.
I bought a pair from Underdog Gym in Chiang Rai and they are one of the best pairs in my current rotation. The quality was better than I expected, the fit was right, and the fact that they say "Underdog" across the waistband made them even more appealing. Who does not love an underdog? There is something about wearing a gym's shorts that connects you to the place and the people who trained there. If you find a gym you love on your travels, check whether they sell kit. It is worth asking.
When to Go Custom
The answer to when is: whenever you want. You do not need to reach a certain level or have fought a certain number of fights. Custom shorts are a product, not a reward, and the experience of wearing something made specifically for you, with your design, your colours, your name on it, is worth having at any stage of your training. We will be publishing a full guide to going custom, including a list of the best makers in Thailand across different budgets, so keep an eye on The Clinch.
How Many is Enough
At the end of the day, you know how much you train, how often you are comfortable doing laundry, and how many pairs you have space for in your luggage. If you want twenty pairs, you do you. For those who train daily, the sweet spot is somewhere between seven and ten. Enough variety to keep it interesting, enough rotation to stay on top of the washing, and enough pairs that losing one to a waistband disaster is not a crisis.