Today, Muay Thai is well known and famous as a kind of professional sport. Most people learn Muay Thai mainly for entering competitions and being a champion, so most of Mauy Thai gyms or training camps need to adjust their lessons. Many of deadly techniques, or we called in Thai "Mae Mai Muay Thai" are not allowed in the competition even in the real practice they are also rarely used.
Therefore, start to learn Muay Thai nowdays is only about to prepare yourself strong "enough" to get further training, it is necessary to apply for a trainng gym or training centre, because learn Muay Thai is not only about learning art of fight, you need to learn its "cultures and norms", which is really important.
There is also concerning about its "ritual" and "superstition" of Muay Thai. You can not be a good Muay Thai boxer without knowing its culture, and the culture of Muay Thai is only taught only by Thai qualified teacher, the cultures could not be taught and learnt by only read books or watching videos.
You might be a bit wrong if you think Muay Thai is only suitable for gentle men who are very strong and has very big muscles. It might be true that in the perspective of being a kind of professional sport, you have to be strong and skillful in order to overcome the opponents. But in terms of learning self-defense art, everyone can learn Muay Thai.
The minimum age to start to learn Muay Thai is probably 7 years. But this age is not the most important thing. That most important thing is that how teacher or "Kru Muay" consider to accept someone to be a student.
Because in the past time, the most important criterias are students must have a clear "objective", "mind" and "good spirit" to learn Muay Thai. This is because in ancient time, Muay Thai were trained for soldiers for protect communities and defense themself in the battle. Today, that objectives of learning Muay Thai is still the same, which is "to learn the self-defense". "Kru Muay" have to make sure that if someone want to learn Muay Thai, they want to learn "the art of defense" not for irritate others.
When the Burmese army sacked and razed
Ayuddhaya to the ground, the archives of
Thai history were lost. With them, much of
the early history of Muay Thai also went.
The
little we do know, comes from the writings
of the Burmese, Cambodian, early European
visitors and some of the chronicles of the
Lanna Kingdom - Chiangmai.
What
all sources agree on, is that Muay Thai
began as a close combat battlefield fighting
skill. More deadly than the weapons it
replaced.
As to where Muay
Thai came from, its evolution, the
sources aren't clear and often
contradict each other. But there are
two main theories.
One says that the
art developed as the Thai people
moved down from China; honed in the
struggle for land. The other theory
says that the Thai people were
already here and that Muay Thai
developed to defend the land and
people from constant invasion
threats.
The second, while controversial,
has considerable academic backing
and archaeological evidence. The
first is, however, possible as the
area opened up to the early
pioneers.What is known is that
Muay Thai was an essential part of
Thai culture right from its dawn.
And in Thailand, it's the sport of
kings.
In
olden days, national issues were decided by
Muay Thai contests. The first great upsurge
of interest in Muay Thai as a sport, as well
as a battlefield skill, was under King
Naresuan in 1584, a time known as the
Ayuddhaya period. During this period, every
soldier trained in Muay Thai and could use
it, as the King himself did. Slowly Muay
Thai moved away from its root in the
'Chupasart' and new fighting techniques were
evolving.
The
change in the art was to continue under
another fighting King - Prachao Sua - the
Tiger King. He loved Muay Thai so much that
he often fought incognito in village
contests, beating the local champions.
During the reign of the Tiger King the
nation was at peace. The King, to keep the
army busy, ordered it to train in Muay Thai.
The interest in the sport was already high
but now it took off yet again.
Thai
Boxing became the favourite sport and
pastime of the people, the army and the
King. Historical sources show that people
from all walks of life flocked to training
camps. Rich, poor, young and old all wanted
some of the action. Every village staged its
prize fights and had its champions. Every
bout became a betting contest as well as a
contest of local pride. The betting
tradition has remained with the sport and
today large sums are wagered on the outcome
of fights.
Thai
boxing has always been popular but like most
sports, there have been times when it was
more in fashion. In the reign of King Rama
V, many Muay Thai matches were Royal Command
fights. These boxers were rewarded with
military titles from the King. Today the
titles, like Muen Muay Mee Chue from Chaiya
or Muen Muay Man Mudh from Lopburi are
virtually untranslatable. They mean
something comparable to Major of Boxing. At
the time they were much prized and respected
titles.
The
Rama V period was another golden age for
Muay Thai. Boxing camps were set up, talent
scouts - at Royal Command - recruited
potential boxers from up country. Match
makers began to make the great matches which
were fought for big prizes and honour. This
thrilled the people then as much as the main
bouts do today at the Bangkok boxing
stadiums.
The
matches then were not fought in a ring as we
know it today - for Muay Thai that is a
recent innovation. Any available space of
the right size was used, a courtyard, a
village clearing.
It wasn't till the reign of King
Rama VI that the standard ring
surrounded by ropes came into use,
as did time keeping by the clock.
Before this period, time keeping
was done by floating a pierced
coconut shell on a boat of water.
When the coconut piece sank, a
drum signalled the end of the
round.
Muay
Thai has always been a sport for the people
as well as a military fighting skill. In all
its golden ages, the people have trained and
practiced the sport whether they were King
or commoner. It was a part of the school
curriculum right up to the 1920's when it
was withdrawn because it was felt that the
injury rate was too high. The people
however, continued to study it in gyms and
clubs just as they do today.
For
centuries the army fostered Muay Thai.
Soldiers have trained and used the
techniques for as long as there has been an
army in Thailand. For the military it has
always been the close combat fighting skill,
the martial art of the battlefield. When a
Thai soldier fights hand to hand he uses
Muay Thai. But then so does every Thai
person, male or female. Watching it,
learning it, copying it is a part of Thai
childhood. It always has been.
The
people have always followed the sport and
have been instrumental in moving it from the
battlefield to the ring. They have been as
much a part of making it a sport as have the
Kings. One of the prime movers in
transforming the sport was the Tiger King,
who not only influenced fighting styles but
also the equipment.
During
the reign of the Tiger King, the hands and
forearms began being bound with strips of
horse hair. This was to serve a dual purpose
- protect the fighter and inflict more
damage on the opponent. Later, these were
replaced by hemp ropes or starched strips of
cotton. For particular challenge matches and
with the fighters agreement, ground glass
was mixed with glue and spread on the
strips.
The
changes that the sport has undergone have
been changes to equipment used rather than
radical change. For example, Thai fighters
have always worn groin guards. A kick or
knee to the groin was a perfectly legal move
up until the 1930's. In the early days, the
protection was made from tree bark or sea
shells held in place with a piece of cloth
tied between the legs and around the waist.
The
groin guard later became a triangular shaped
pillow, red or blue, tied around the waist
with a through strap between the legs.
The
pillow went, after a boxer on a trip to
Malaysia saw a groin box. He came back with
the idea, which is close to the original
idea of the sea shell and since then, Muay
Thai fighters have used them.
The
1930's saw the most radical change in the
sport. It was then that it was codified and
today's rules and regulations were
introduced. Rope bindings of the arms and
hands were abandoned and gloves took their
place.
This innovation
was also in response to the growing
success of Thai Boxers in
international boxing.
Along with the
introduction of gloves, came weight
classes based on the international
boxing divisions. These and other
innovations - such as the
introduction of five rounds -
substantially altered the fighting
techniques that the boxers used
causing some of them to disappear.
Before
the introduction of weight classes, a
fighter could and did fight all comers
regardless of size and weight differences.
However, the introduction of the weight
classes meant that the fighters were more
evenly matched and instead of there being
one champion, there became one for each
weight class.
Most
Muay Thai fighters belong to the lighter
weight classes. Seventy percent of all
fighters belong to the fly and bantam weight
divisions. There are welterweight and
middleweight fights but they are not seen
that often and the heavier categories seldom
fight.
The
establishment of stadiums, instead of
makeshift rings and courtyards, began during
the reign of Rama VII before the Second
World War. During the war, they gradually
disappeared but mushroomed again soon
afterwards - Muay Thai had not lost any of
its appeal. The boxers from up-country once
again headed toward fame and fortune in
Bangkok.
The
glory could be found at stadiums like
Rajdamnern and Lumpinee. Later, they fought
in full colour fury on television.
Thailand's Channel 7 started broadcasting
the fights in colour over 20 years ago.
Today all four Thai television stations
broadcast free to millions of Muay Thai fans
throughout Thailand - four nights a week.
The
battle art has evolved into a popular sport.
Ruled, codified and now with five three
minute rounds, each with a two minute
recovery period between rounds.
Those old timers
around today who fought before the
second world war, lament the changes
bought about by the standardisation
of the sport. The three minute round
and weight classes has, they say,
changed the sport as they remembered
it.
"We had to
fight all comers," one recalls.
"Had to know all the tricks of
the trade. We used strikes and
techniques these fighters haven't
even been taught. We didn't have
these breaks and instead fought
'till one of us dropped."
They
are also right. Muay Thai has changed across
the years. Changed and evolved from a
battlefield close quarters killing ground
technique based on a fighting tradition
passed on from generation to generation up
to the present time.
But despite the changes of history, Muay
Thai has lost none of its exotic appeal and
even mystique. Muay Thai is still the
fighting art to beat. The fighting art that
defeats all challenges from Kung Fu, Karate,
Taekwando and the latest kickboxing
fashions. They have all come to Thailand,
not just once but many times and from many
places to test themselves.
Muay
Thai has lost none of its appeal in
Thailand. The television fight broadcasts
rate among the Kingdom's most popular
programmes. In the provinces, villages
cluster around any available TV to watch. In
the city, people disappear from the streets
while Thailand is watching Muay Thai.
Thai
Boxing is also becoming increasingly popular
outside of Thailand. It has its enthusiasts
and practitioners in the Americas,
Australia, Japan, Europe, as well as in many
other countries around the world. The
illustrious history of Muay Thai will
continue as it receives greater recognition
and gains in international popularity.
