I was just looking through my saved files from school and saw a paper I wrote when I took a class about South East Asia.
It includes some of the history of Muay Thai.
Thailand’s national sport of Muay Thai is not only deeply engraved into their history and culture but has also had a major effect on combative sports around the world. Muay Thai’s deep cultural roots, dating back thousands of years, have grown around the globe. Due to the effectiveness of Muay Thai, it can be found in many facets ranging from modern self-defense training to professional kickboxing and mixed martial arts. It’s influence has inspired similar sports in many countries around the world.
Muay Thai, also known as Thai Boxing, is both a sport and a combat system. Early Chinese migrants developed it as a means of self-defense. Muay Thai utilizes punches, kicks, knee strikes and elbow strikes as a means of attack because they are most effective. What separates Muay Thai from other martial arts such as Karate, Kung Fu or Aikido is that Muay Thai training requires full contact fighting as a means of improving rather than doing forms or katas. Sport Muay Thai is no different from actual hand to hand combat except for the small gloves that fighters wear. Other martial arts require head, face, foot, hand and sometimes even chest protectors to be worn and have long sets of rules limiting techniques that can be used.
The History of Muay Thai dates back roughly 2,000 years. The exact date is unknown due to the fact that all of Thailand’s records were destroyed when the ancient city of Ayuddhaya was sacked and burned by the Burmese King Burengnong in 1569. What is known about the history of Muay Thai derives from Burmese and Cambodian texts. Most Muay Thai historians believe that Chinese that migrated south likely developed the fighting system. These Chinese migrants were often invaded by the Burmese and developed Muay Thai as a means of self-defense. The earliest written texts from Thailand containing Muay Thai are from the reign of King Naresuan (1555-1605) and date back to 1598. During the Ayuddhaya period King Naresuan made Muay Thai the official system used to train the Thai Army in hand to hand combat. Mauy Thai was used to keep the army in good shape during times of peace.
Muay Thai first gained national popularity under the reign of King Prachau Sua (1702-1709). Also known as the Tiger King, Sua was a huge fan of Muay Thai and trained regularly. One problem Sua encountered was the fact that in Thailand the king was considered untouchable and nobody wanted to compete against him. In order to fight, Sua snuck into small villages of his kingdom disguised as a foreigner and entered local tournaments. This made both King Sua and the sport of Muay Thai very popular throughout the country and people began calling it the sport of kings. People from all walks of life began training Muay Thai. The rich, poor and ruling elite all took an interest. Each village had a champion and their champions would compete against each other in the courtyards or city squares.
Early Muay Thai was not for the feint of heart. Fighters wrapped their hands and wrists with braided hemp or cloth in order to protect their bones from breaking. This allowed them to punch with full force and not have to worry about injuries. Sometimes in special matches where both parties agreed, the wraps were dipped into glue and then covered with gravel or glass shards to increase the damage. Kicking plays a major role in Muay Thai as well. The most effective way for a kick to land is for the kickers shin to connect with the opponent. The shin bone is stronger than the bones in the feet and will do a lot more damage without having to worry about possible breaks. To strengthen their shins, fighters hit themselves with bamboo sticks and gradually progress to solid pieces of wood. This creates calcium deposits and kills nerve endings that cause pain while kicking or blocking a kick (with the shin). In early bouts there was no time limit and no rounds. Fighters squared off until one had taken so much punishment that they could no longer get up.
In traditional Muay Thai there were two types of fighters which holds true today as well. Muay lak fighters were said to be cautious and patient waiting for the right opportunity to attack their opponent. Mauy Kiew fighters were very aggressive and used trickery to distract their opponent during the fight. The fighters wore headbands which symbolized Buddha’s wisdom and were considered lucky charms. They also wore armbands which are a symbol of protection. Many fighters have tattoos which are considered armor among Muay Thai enthusiasts.
As wars continued with Burma and Laos Muay Thai began to spread. In 1767 the Burmese military defeated Thailand and took over the Thai Capital of Ayuthya. As prisoners the Burmese took all of the royal guards. One of these guards was a skilled fighter named Nai Khanom Tom. The prisoners were kept until 1774 when Lord Mangra, the Burmese King, decided to have a festival worshipping Buddha. The main attraction of the festival would be a fight between a Muay Thai fighter, Nai Khanom Tom, and a Burmese boxer (traditional western boxing). When Nai Khanom Tom entered the ring he did a ceremonial dance to honor his trainer. Soon after the fight began Nai Khanom Tom knocked his opponent out with vicious kicks to the head and body. The Burmese referee declared the match a draw because he said that Nai Khanom Tom’s dance distracted his Burmese opponent. Nai Khanom Tom went on to defeat nine more Burmese boxers that night until there was nobody left to challenge him. Lord Mangra was so impressed that he granted all of his prisoners freedom and rewarded Nai Khanom Tom with two Burmese women. From this point on each year Thailand and Burma hold an event that pits Burmese fighters against Muay Thai fighters. Since their defeat, the Burmese fighters began training Muay Thai but renamed it Bando.
Under King Rama VI (1910-1925) the ring was introduced as well as time keeping and rounds. Shortly after, six-ounce boxing gloves were introduced for sparring and regulations such as no groin strikes began to appear in sanctioned events. Modeled after boxing, weight classes and rounds were adapted. Most fighters from Thailand fall into the flyweight and bantamweight classes which are the two lightest classes because they are traditionally smaller and leaner than Westerners. King Rama VII built Lumpinee and Rajdamern which are the two largest stadiums in Thailand and are considered the Mecca or Muay Thai. With these new innovations came the emergence of a sport that can be found on every continent of the world.
Muay Thai has influenced combative sports around the world. In many countries there are sports that share their roots with Muay Thai. San Shou shares similar rules to Muay Thai and incorporates Judo throws as well as Greco Roman takedowns and is a well-known sport in China. The French train in a style called Savate that doesn’t allow elbow or knee strikes. In most of Europe full Muay Thai rules are used with the exclusion of elbow strikes. In Malaysia Muay Thai is called Tomoi and and in Burma, Bando. In American we have American rules kickboxing which allows only kicking above the waist and bans elbow and knee strikes. The sport of Muay Thai from the tiny country of Thailand is the root of all these sports.
The largest Muay Thai organization in the world right now is called K-1. K-1 holds several events per year. These events are so large that they have packed out Olympic stadiums containing close to 100,000 spectators and sold millions of pay per views. The events contain fighters from all over the world including many from Europe and the United States.
Overall, this simple sport from a small Asian country has reached to all corners of the globe. Muay Thai is proven to be one of the most effective self-defense and fighting systems to this date and has influenced numerous sports in other countries around the world. As events like K-1 gain popularity in the United States the popularity of Muay Thai will only grow.
Boykin, Chad. 1999. Muay Thai Kickboxing. Boulder: Paladin
Junlakan, L. 2002. Muay Thai: a Living legacy. Illinois: Spry Publishing
Krautus, Panya. 1988. Muay Thai: The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting. Phuket, Thailand: Self-Published
Moore, Tony. 2004. Muay Thai: The Essential Guide to Mastering the Art. New York: Barnes & Noble Books
World Muay Thai Council[online]. Thailand [WMTC][12-6-04]
Available from world wide web: (
http://www.wmtc.nu/)
