MUAY THAI

Origins of Muay Thai

     Although Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing, is said to be around 2000 years old, it's true origins will probably never be known. The historical records of Thailand were burnt by Thailand's long time

 enemy, the Burmese, in 1769. We do know that Muay Thai was originally a military art that was trained alongside their weapon arts. Spoken history tells us, also that Muay Thai dates back to 1560 when king Naresuen was taken prisoner by the Burmese army and given a chance to regain his freedom if he could beat their champion. Some stories actually have the king-to-be, "Prince" Naresuen, fighting the prince of Burma to decide whether the Burmese should attack Thailand or not. Regardless, Naresuen is said to have won and became a national hero.

The Legends

     About 200-250 years ago, a king named Pra Chao Sua trained religiously in the art of Muay Thai. He was reputed to have trained six hours a day with his soldiers to perfect his art. Every village of that time would have prize matches with everyone competing; young and old, rich and poor. The king would disguise himself as a peasant and sneak out, village to village entering the tournaments and defeating all takers. He would spend hours even by himself perfecting his techniques and then trying them out on the villagers.  His nickname became the Tiger King. So great was his legend that even today his techniques still exist and are known as the Tiger King style.

     Probably the most famous Thai fighter of all time is Nai Khanom Dtom. During the many wars with Burma, Muay Thai fights were still being held and Nai Khanom Dtom was known as the greatest fighter in all of Siam, the previous name of Thailand. The Burmese had heard of how great this fighter was so they captured him to pit him against 12 of Burma's greatest fighters. If he could defeat all 12, he would be allowed to go free. The day of the fight came and a stadium was filled with Burmese people all wanting to see the death of this Siamese fighter. The first fighter came out and was instantly killed by Nai Khanom Dtom's lethal elbows and knees. The next fighter came out and met the same fate. One by one each fighter came out and fought ferociously to their death. As the day wore on, nine fighters had been killed at the bare hands of Nai Khanom Dtom, but something strange had begun to happen. As the Burmese people watched this fighter struggle against the odds and battle each fighter without rest, they soon found themselves cheering for their enemy, Nai Khanom Dtom. At the end of the day, Nai Khanom Dtom stood among twelve lifeless bodies in the middle of the stadium. The crowd cheered and the King of Burma had no choice but to set him free. To this day Thai boxers dedicate on night each year to the memory of Nai Khanom Dtom.

Original Muay Thai

     Originally, Muay Thai was very brutal, even deadly. There were no weight categories, and few rules. There was also no padding or protection. Fighters wrapped their hands in either strips of horse hide or hemp rope to protect their hands and cause their opponent maximum damage. If both fighters agreed, they would sometimes dip their hands in a type of glue and then dip their hands in broken glass to cause severe cuts and bleeding during the fight. Fighters would wrap their ankles with cotton wrap and either wear coconut shells or triangular pillows for groin protection. In those days, many fighters died in the ring, especially from knees and elbows.

Muay Thai Today

     Following WWII, Muay Thai was slightly reformed with a few rules to help protect the fighters. Gloves and groin protection must be worn, weight classes were implemented, fighters must fight in a restricted weight class and bouts are regulated with time limits: amateurs will fight three rounds of three minutes each and pros will fight five rounds. Amateurs and pros alike have two minutes of rest between rounds. A referee is in the ring with two judges on the outside.

     A Thai fighter is allowed to use the "8 deadly limbs" of Muay Thai: the feet, knees, fists and elbows. He may attack nearly any target as long as the opponent is standing except for the groin. He may catch the opponents kick to immediately knock him off of his feet. He may also throw the opponent using limited throwing using twisting or pulling type throws and sweeps. He cannot throw with hip, shoulder or arm throws.

     Today, the student of Thai boxing is immersed into the highly arduous training and colorful experience of Muay Thai. Thai fighters' training includes rope skipping, running up to 10 miles a day, punching and kicking either heavy bags or banana trees, swimming, elbowing, kicking and kneeing in the water, sparring and strength training.

     Thai fighters are also usually handed down many of the rituals and superstitions of the art. A fighter usually wears arm bands around his biceps that either have magical charms written on them or are wrapped within them for good luck and to ward off evil spirits. A type of head band called a mongkon is given by the teacher when he is officially accepted as a member of the training camp. When the fighter enters the ring he shows reverence by bowing before entering and then walking the inside of ring while rubbing the ropes to "seal the ring" against the entering of evil spirits. Before the fight begins, the fighter sits on his knees, bows three times and performs a ritualistic dance that is unique to each camp. This dance is to show respect to ones teacher and his camp as well as to intimidate the opponent. Once the fight begins, a special Thai band plays traditional music during the fight to help the fighters keep up the tempo of the fight.

     In Thailand, Muay Thai is the national sport and is practiced by hundreds of thousands. It has spread over the entire world and is enjoying incredible success. In 1969, Ajarn (master) "Chai" Sirisute brought the art of Muay Thai to the United States. He has also founded the Thai Boxing Association of the United States and is the oldest Muay Thai organization in America. Ajarn Chai is Mr. Elliott's principal Muay Thai Instructor and visits the AFS Academy once a year, usually in August, and it is the only school in the state of KY that he visits.