No headbutts are typical of lethwei, which is the ancestor of muay thai, which in turn is the ancestor of thai boxing Thai boxing is essentially a western inspired format for muay thai, there are often removed options, such as some elbows for instance or knees, depends on the country where the tournament is happening I don't think blows are necessarily more violent in thai boxing than in british boxing for instance, at least when it comes to punches with gloves, as a matter of fact british boxing is more dangerous in terms of brain damages, since there a lot more strikes landing in there For olympics boxing you're barred from KOing your adversary if memory serves.... So yeah, it's less "en force", since it doesn't pay, and in savate (french boxing) you can't throw your kicks in one go like in muay thai, you have to "arm and shoot", raise the knee and kick, it's always in two steps, so it gives you a different form in the end, with a less "brutal" approach https://youtu.be/XH20I5GhEH0?t=202 and you have shoes Also, thai boxers strike with the tibia, which isn't necessarily the case for other disciplines such as tae kwon do, and some karate, where you'll strike with the foot mostly in the case of mawashi While in tae kwon do they wear body armors and helmets, you have some brutal KOs too, like you are left wondering if the guy is still alive after that