An Introduction To Muay Thai

All across the world, people have heard about it and possibly even witnessed it first hand or on television – the furious punches, bone crushing elbows, lethal and piercing kicks, and the unforgettable knees.  Although watching it on television is great, nothing begins to compare to seeing these moves executed live – with thousands of fans cheering the fighters on.

This is the wonderful world of Muay Thai kickboxing.  Muay Thai is a martial art that is unlike any other, rich in the proud heritage of an entire nation.  The style is interwoven into the well known history of the Thai people.  Even though they are gentle and fun loving people, they’ve had to defend both themselves and their land for many years against the aggressive powers and thieves.

To protect what they had, the Thai people developed a fighting system of close combat techniques that were suited to the type of rough terrain they would be fighting in.  Over the years, it eventually become a rite of passage for all Thai men to train in this amazing martial art.

In the beginning, Muay Thai proved to be a dangerous and deadly art, with the fighters having no safety gear or protection – all they had were lengths of cords in which they would wrap around their fists as gloves.  As the years progressed, rules were written into the equation to establish some protection for the fighters.

Over the years, Muay Thai has progressed as both a martial art and a style, attracting people from all over the world.  There are training facilities in Russia and the United States, with qualified instructors to help teach Muay Thai to interested students.

These days, Muay Thai is one of the most popular sports in the world.  There are a lot of television networks that broadcast Thai bouts on a weekly basis, pleasing avid fighting fans from all over the world.  International boxing is another popular sport, although most successful International boxers got their start in Muay Thai.  This goes to show why Muay Thai training is so popular – and so lethal as well.

Normally, Thai bouts are fought with 5 three minute rounds, with a two minute rest period in between the rounds.  All fights are preceded by a dance, which gives the contestants the opportunity to pay homage to their teachers.  The dance is an excellent exercise to warm up with, with plenty of symbolic meaning towards the style.

During the fights and even with training, you’ll see that each Thai boxers wears armbands and a headband.  The headband that fighters wear is believed to have been blessed by a monk or teacher, and will bestow luck upon the fighter.  Thai boxers take a lot of pride in their training and fighting, with the headband being a source of inspiration and pride for the fighter.

During training, Thai fighters will learn a lot about their spiritual well being, the history of Muay Thai, and the skills they need to survive.  Fighters that plan to compete in Thai fights will need to practice a lot, as the fights can be very demanding.  Thai training can be very brutal, all depending on where you study.  If you are studying the ancient arts of Thai boxing, you can count on the training to be very rigorous and demanding.

Although Muay Thai can be a tough art to practice, it is one of the best Martial Arts that you can study.  The techniques are lethal, the training is tough – yet the competitions make it all worth while!

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Muay Thai is an art of fighting that originates from Thailand. It is sometimes referred to as the science of 8 limbs since it includes the use of punches, kicks, knees and elbows.

The history of Muay Thai is interwoven with the history of the Thai people. A gentle, peace-loving people, for centuries Thais had to defend themselves and their land from aggressive powers. They developed a form of close, hand-to-hand combat best suited for the kind of rough-terrain battle they were fighting. Over time it became a rite of passage for Thai men to take up training in this martial art. King Naresuan the Great (1555-1605), one of the country’s most celebrated warrior-heroes, is believed to have been an excellent boxer himself, and it was he who made Muay Thai a required part of military training. Another milestone in the history of Muay Thai was the triumph of Nai Khanom Tom over 10 Burmese boxers in 1774. Taken captive after the Thai capital fell in 1767, Nai Khanom Tom was picked to fight before the Burmese king. After defeating ten of them in a row, he was freed and returned home a hero.

In the old days, Muay Thai was a dangerous sport, with no safety gear of any kind for the fighters, and only lengths of cords to wrap around the fists in place of gloves. Over the years rules have been written along the line of international boxing regulations. In recent years the sport has attracted a wide following outside of the country, and training facilities have been set up in countries as far as the U.S. and the former Soviet states. In 1995 the World Muay Thai Council was set up by cabinet resolution in 1995 to promote this national heritage at national and international levels. At a conference held that same year, 78 member countries voted for the establishment of a training school where all elements of Muay Thai would be taught. The Muay Thai Institute was founded in 1997 and is now the only training school accredited by the Ministry of Education. Muay Thai is certainly the most passionately followed sport in the country. International boxing is very popular, and the country has produced dozens of world champions, but they all started out as Muay Thai fighters.

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Muay Thai boxing is a sport that has been around for thousands of years, and is still practiced today as a professional sport as well as a hobby. It is the national sport of Thailand, and is practiced by millions of Thai men. It is often compared to Thailand in the way that soccer is compared to Ecuador, or hockey to Canada.

If you’ve ever watched a match on television, you know that it is an extremely brutal sport. If you’re interested in martial arts at all, it is important to become familiar with Muay Thai, since it is a very popular form. Here are some of the basics of the sport.

A Muay Thai match focuses as much on ceremony as it does on beating the spit out of the opponent. Before each match, the two fighters do their opening rituals, which usually reflect the training of their masters, or the schools at which they learned their fighting technique.

Since Muay Thai is often a deeply religious sport, some of the fighers will pray by themselves or with their coaches before getting started, in an effort to increase their ability. Next is the Wai Kru ritual, in which the fighters circle each other around the ring, which signifies sealing it off for the fight.

Muay Thai focuses on 8 parts of the body that act as striking points. These are the hands, shins, elbows and knees. Most Martial Arts use fists and feet primarily, so this alone sets Muay Thai apart. You often see the fighters grapple immediately, locking their heads with each other. Then, they trade blows with their knees, striking each other in the stomach and chest. Sometimes they will trade blows for the entire match, leaving their chests bloody and tender, beaten to a pulp.

Besides keeping the entire Thai world captivated with matches and tournaments, Muay boxing has also provided a good deal of entertainment for the western world. Many matches are broadcasted on channels in the USA, and the movies Ong Bak and The Protector have brought about even more heightened interest in the sport, with the Muay Thai master Tony Jaa.

Like most martial arts, you can find training almost anywhere. But if you want to truly learn the sport and become the next great Muay Thai fighter, you might need to go to Thailand and find an authentic trainer to teach you the fine art!

Adrian Adams

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Thai Boxing
One of the most popular spectator sports in Thailand, and now gaining world renown, is the martial art of Thai Boxing(Muay Thai). Exciting enough on TV – the furious punches, crushing elbow strikes, lethal kicks and artful feints are even more exciting when seen live. Witness the passion and drama of one of Thailand’s historic sports amidst crowds of onlookers whose cheers blend with the strains of Javanese clarinets, drums and cymbals that accompany the fight from beginning to end.
A Thai Boxing ‘Muay Thai’ match formally have no more than 5 rounds, each round take 3 minutes to last, with a two-minute rest period in between. No additional rounds is allowed.
Boxers must regularly wear gloves, each weighing not less than 6 ounces (172 gramm).
The gloves must not be squeezed, kneaded or crushed to change its original shape.

Rules on contestants’ boxing costumes.
- Contestants must wear only trunks (red or blue according to their corners) appropriately fit their bodies.
- Contestants must wear standard supporters or sturdy athletic cups to protect their groin,Gum shield may be used.
Wear no shirts nor shoes, but ankle cap is permitted.
- A sacred cord known as Mongkol can be worn around the head only during the pre-fight ritual of paying homage to ancestral teachers of Thai Boxing (Muay Thai), to be removed before the start of the fight.
- Metal or other equipments that will be harmful to the opponent is prohibited.
The training of a Thai boxer and particularly the relationship between the boxer and teacher is highly ritualized. As the boxers enter the ring, they perform a special pre-fight dance known as the “ram muay”. During the dance, they wear a headband given by their trainer. It is a sacred talisman earned after many years of dedication to the art. The dance starts with “wai khru” — each boxer kneeling and bowing three times, a show of respect to his teacher. With the ceremonies complete, the fight begins. Each fight consists of five rounds of three minutes each. Accompanying the fight is music stimulated by action in the ring, rising and falling as the boxers battle it out. All surfaces of the body are considered fair targets, and any part of the body except the head may be used to strike an opponent. Common blows include high kicks to the neck, elbow thrusts to the face and head, knee hooks to the ribs, and low crescent kicks to the calf. A contestant may even grasp an opponent’s head between his hands and pull it down to meet an upward knee thrust. Punching is considered the weakest of all blows and kicking merely a way to ’soften up’ one’s opponent; most matches end with a knee or elbow strike.
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