Muay Thai Boxing

[CrazyExpat]

Because Thai boxers are allowed kick with their feet and use their elbows, Muay Thai requires a lot more skill than western boxing and can seem to be a much more brutal show.

Yet, there is often a level of respect between the fighters that makes it a more honorable sport than the pugilism you may be used to back home. And, rather than the rap or heavy metal music that plays at many American matches, you will often hear traditional wood winds and chimes at a boxing match in Thailand!

What you may not know is that Muay Thai is part of Thailand’s ancient heritage.

Thai Boxing In History

Traditional Thai boxing goes back hundreds of years and has been an important part of the country’s history.

Many people are surprised that Thais, a notoriously peaceful people, excel at this beautifully brutal sport. The reason they do so is that for hundreds of years the survival of their nation depended on it.

Because the terrain on the Thailand borders is often rough and uneven, it was not in the Thai’s advantage to develop long range weapons to ward off invaders.

Instead they decided to create a close hand to hand style of fighting that would lead to battles that favored the defenders over the invading armies – who would never understand the local terrain as well as the patriots they were fighting.

As long ago as the mid 1500s, the celebrated warrior king Naresuan The Great – a boxing legend – made Muay Thai a mandatory part of his army’s military training.

Perhaps the most famous instance of Thai boxing in the countries history came 200 years later when the warrior Nai Khanom Tom was kidnapped by Burma during a raid on Siam’s capitol.

After he was captured he made a challenge to his Burmese captors. If he could take on 10 of their best fighters at once and win, Burma would free him and his people.

Thinking that they would easily prevail, the Burmese agreed. Nai Khanom then used his Muay Thai skills to defeat all 10 adversaries and return to Thailand as one of the nation’s greatest heroes!

Modern Muay Thai

For much of its history Muay Thai was a brutal dangerous sport. It was raw hand to hand combat – with ropes and cords wrapped around the hands instead of gloves.

As Thailand has entered the modern age, the rules have changed slightly to protect the fighters, who now wear padded gloves and protection for their groins.

While boxers can still use their elbows and feet during the match most of the other rules have been modified to comply with international boxing regulations.

This has allowed the popularity of Muay Thai to spread throughout the world and today you can find Thai Boxing training centers in most of the western world including the United States and Russia.

In Thailand itself Muay Thai is even more popular than soccer and is broadcast on television five to seven nights a week. Many of the fighters begin training when they are only seven or eight years old and some have made the move to western style boxing – and become international stars in their own right!

The best modern Muay Thai combatants fight in the Lumpini or Ratchadamnoen stadiums to a universally packed audience. If you want to see a fight and not have to face very long lines, your best bet is to go to one of the stadiums around 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday – when attendance is at its lowest point for the week.

There are usually several lower ranked fights before the main event – which you can expect to kick off around 9 p.m.

The Rules

Of course, Muay Thai has its own unique set of rules which may be confusing at first to a western spectator.

Before the fight can begin, each fighter must perform a wai khru dance as a way to show respect for his teachers and trainers.

There are only five rounds.

Boxers must wear gloves.

The gloves must weigh at least six ounces.

Gloves can not be squeezed in any way that would alter their original shape.

Each round is three minutes long and there is a two minute break in between rounds.

The winner is decided by knockout or by points. Whoever wins the most rounds wins the fight.

Contestants can only wear red or blue trunks.

Shirts and shoes are not allowed.

Both fighters must wear groin protection.

Before the fight a sacred cloth called the Mongkol may be worn as a headband. It must be removed before the fighting begins. The cloth is worn to pay homage to the fighter’s trainers and heritage. It is also thought to give the fighter good luck.

All equipment must be provided by the stadium. This includes a stopwatch, a signal gong, a warning bell, boxing gloves, water, jock straps and surgical tape.

Learning Muay Thai

Some men, after watching these beautiful guys pummel each other in the ring are tempted to learn the sport themselves.

While that used to be impossible – as local trainers for centuries would only train local Thai men starting from a young age, all that changed in 1997.

That’s when the World Muay Thai Council established the first recognized training academy for the sport.

The Muay Thai Institute in Rangsit, just north of Bangkok was created as a way to make this cherished sport accessible to everyone and preserve its fabled heritage.

All of the teachers at the institute are former champions and they are required to speak English. They will teach anyone and everyone – including women and foreigners.

The course covers most of the historical and cultural background of Muay Thai as well as the physical skills and fitness training. You can take classes to learn how to be a referee or on how to start your own stadium or training program.

Dormitories are available but you might be considerably more comfortable taking a nearby hotel for your 15 day stay.

The first three levels of training cost roughly $160 per course, while the fourth, expert level course is much more rigorous and costs about $1,200.

School management can help you with any student visa issues that may pop up.

Come And Enjoy The Show

Whether you want to just sit back and watch the guys fight, or if you want to lace up your gloves and join in yourself, Thai boxing is something no one should miss on any trip to Thailand.

cc ThailandVisa.com 2009

[WannaGo]

I did some martial arts training growing up and thought I knew a thing or two until I trained a little with a German guy who was a Muay Thai champion in Europe. He kicked me so hard with his shins that I couldn't walk right for a week. His elbow strikes were nearly as bad, even though I was holding up pads. And this wasn't even a guy who'd been training Muay Thai since he was a kid, like the Thai fighters.

That's when I developed a whole new level of respect for Thai boxing. And a few years later, fighters begin to combine Muay Thai and the relatively new Brazilian jiu-jitsu to revolutionize ordinary martial arts into MMA (mixed martial arts). Organizations like the UFC wouldn't be anywhere that they are today without the importation of Muay Thai.

Like I mentioned on another thread, it's awfully tourist-y of me, but I sooo want to go to Lumpini Stadium to see some traditional Thai boxing one of these days.

[Bob]

I've gone to several bouts of muay thai and what fascinates me the most is the ritual surrounding the event. The two fighters enter the ring and, for about 5-6 minutes, each dances/prances around the ring in some ritualistic fashion (which I presume is essentially some prayer to the boxing gods to get them through the bout safely). Actually, it's called the Wai khru ram muay and Wikopedia describes it as follows:

Wai khru ram muay (Thai: ไหว้ครูรำมวย) is an action of respect in Thai culture that is performed by participants in Muay Thai competitions. Wai is an action of Thais to show respect to others by putting the hands together like in prayer. Khru means teacher. Ram means dance in the old Thai traditional style. Muay means boxing. Usually Thais prefer to call it short Ram Muay or Wai Khru. Ram Muay is the way to show respect to the teachers and the trainers. Also, in past muay Thai was usually fought in front of the king, so Ram Muay was also to apologize to the King for the brutality in fighting.

The fighter first performs the Wai Khru, circling the ring three times before kneeling and bowing three times as a sign of respect to God and man. He also bows to Buddha to ask for protection for himself and his opponent and for an honourable fight.

The fighter then performs the Ram Muay, whose simple movements demonstrate a fighter's control and style. Each fighter performs the Ram Muay on each side of the ring to demonstrate his prowess to the audience. The Ram Muay is a personal ritual, ranging from the very complex to the very simple, and often contains clues about who trained the fighter and where the fighter is from.

The practitioner may wear a headband called a Mong Kon and armbands known as Pra Jiad during the ceremony, and the Ram Muay may be accompanied by music. The Mong Kon is unique to Thai boxing and not worn in Cambodia or Burma.

I've only attended the bouts at Lumpini once and it's a great experience for muay thai fans. Besides the higher quality of participants, you also get a chance to see the rather animated betting going on up in the cheap (upper) seats.

[WannaGo]

Bob: I envy you for having that experience. ESPN2 will show Muay Thai from Lumpini once in a great while late at night, and the crowd always looks so electric. What strikes me is the difference between American and Thai fights. In the States, the fighters enter the ring with such arrogance and make it clear the fight is about them and their personalities, but when you watch Thai fighters come in performing the rituals, it's obvious that they are putting themselves second to the fight and the sport.

[Bob]

I attended the Muay Thai fights at the little arena in Hua Hin (it's the place just west of the night market next to Sao Paulo hospital) a couple of times this past winter and rather enjoyed those fights. There usually were about 7 bouts and they started with kids that were maybe 10-11 years old and the progressed with older fighters (the last couple of bouts were by fairly experienced fighters).

Upon completion of a bout, the winner (who always had a 100 baht bill clenched between his teeth) would go through the crowd with his trainer and many people would give him (actually, you gave it to his trainer as the boxer still had his gloves on) 20 baht or so. And the boxer would often pose for photos if you had a camera. Here's a couple of shots:

[Beer Chang]

A shame the cheapest seats are 1000 baht; high for an expat budget.

Free phoney fights on Walking Street are fun as well as the outdoor ring in Lamai and the ring at Chaing Mai Entertainment Plaza.

Think the real fights in CM are only 400 baht.

[Bob]

A shame the cheapest seats are 1000 baht; high for an expat budget.

If I recall right, I once had ringside seats at Lumpini and the ticket cost was 1,000 baht. Except for some really big fight, it's hard for me to believe that the cheapest seats now are 1,000 baht.

[WannaGo]

Upon completion of a bout, the winner (who always had a 100 baht bill clenched between his teeth) would go through the crowd with his trainer and many people would give him (actually, you gave it to his trainer as the boxer still had his gloves on) 20 baht or so.

I love that people tip the fighter, presumably out of appreciation for a great performance. What's the purpose of the 100 baht bill in the teeth? Sort of seeding the tip jar, like bartenders do, or something else?

[Bob]

What's the purpose of the 100 baht bill in the teeth? Sort of seeding the tip jar, like bartenders do, or something else?

Actually, I don't know....but your guess is as good as mine.

[Wino]

If I recall right, I once had ringside seats at Lumpini and the ticket cost was 1,000 baht. Except for some really big fight, it's hard for me to believe that the cheapest seats now are 1,000 baht.

I have been to Lumpini several years ago. I did not have ringside seats but the cost was nowhere near 1,000 baht. I will have to revisit and report back.

[Beer Chang]

Meant to say the cheapest seats at Teppasit in Jomtien is 1000 baht.

When I called they said seats were 1200 and 1000.

Please correct me if I'm wrong cause I'd go for 500 but at 1000 it's too much of a splurge.

[Bob]

Just found Lumpini's website last night. They list tickets from 200 to 1000 baht. Not bad in my view....and a lot less than the cost of tickets to see fights in the US.

[WannaGo]

Just found Lumpini's website last night. They list tickets from 200 to 1000 baht. Not bad in my view....and a lot less than the cost of tickets to see fights in the US.

That sounds more than reasonable, especially given the quality of the fights. If you wanted to see some boxing in the States -- yawn -- you could expect to pay up to $100 for mediocre seats, if there are big names on the card.

[Bob]

Correction. It appears I didn't get the ticket prices from Lumpini's website (the English version is rather spartan) but elsewhere. And it appears the tickets are 200 to 2000 (not 1000) baht. Still, not too bad at all.