"Muay Thai, An ancient martial art style & a popular combat sport"
"Muay Thai, An ancient martial art style & a popular combat sport"
Muay thai (Muay- boxing, thai- thai people; meaning: Thai boxing), also called Pahuyuth , is a form of intermediate & close range hard Martial art, & the national sport of Thailand. It is one of the most popular martial art styles in the world. To an ordinary eye, it is somewhat like ‘concentrated' kickboxing, ‘concentrated' in the sense that elbow, knee strike & below waist kicks along with clinch are allowed here.
Muay thai, although a Thai martial art, is similar or often identical to many other art forms practiced in several south-east Asian countries : Burmese bare knuckle boxing/ Lethwei in Myanmar; Pradal Serey in Combodia; Lao boxing in Laos & Tomoi in Malaysia. This may be partly explained by the below historical event. At around, 200 B.C., Han Dynasty of China invaded and seized the kingdoms of Ai-lao (the name given by Chinese to them). This led to gradual migration of many Ai-lao from west-central Asia to south-east Asia, dividing into three branches in the process: the Shans settled in Burma, the Ahom went east into Vietnam, the Loa-Tai in the present day Laos.
At the end of 19thcentury, the first Thai states were forming into Laos & Siam, & with the capturing of two of Khmers cities (Khmers, the strongest & richest empire in Asia at around 6thcentury, originally from India.) in 1238, Muang thai – land of the free, an embryo nation, was created which ultimately becomes Thailand. From its very birth, it was at constant threat, & at warfare against the Burmese to the west, & the Khmers to the south-east. To deal with it, during the period of Prince Uthong of Ayudhhya (aprox.1350-1750, considered Golden Age of Thailand), a training manual called ‘the Chupasart' was prepared by distilling the vast combat knowledge of the great warriors of the nation, giving rise to a combat battle field art.
Around 1854, called the Ayuddhaya period, under the King Naresuan (also called as the Black Prince), the 1st great upsurge interest in Muay thai occurred. He modified Siamese boxing to supplement & conform to weapon use. He created duets fighting drills, organized boxing competitions & large scale combat exercises, while teaching the war science to his people. One of the duets was for Krabi (the sabre, a long sword with curved tip & oversized hilt made up of teakwood/water buffalo horn) & Krabong (the spear/staff), almost similar to Manipuri Thang-Ta, from which, the name Krabi-Krabong came for the mother art. Because too many soldiers were either injured grievously or killed while training & fighting with weapons, an unarmed art (Muay Boran/Muay Chao Chur), almost equally effective, was created. As it was to be used in battle fields, where there were always multiple attackers, originally they did little use of grappling or submission holds, but instead focused more on crushing kicks, punches or bone shattering elbows & knees, aiming to take down opponents with just one or two shots/blows.
Soon it became the national passion around 17thCentury under the King Pra Chao Sua/the Tiger King. He loved the art so much that he often wandered Siam in disguise, fought in village contests, challenging all the comers & remaining undefeated for 7 years. Many of his personal fighting techniques became the basis of modern Muay thai.
Another famous Muay Boran warrior was a commoner named Nai Khanom Tom. In 1767, he along with some 29,999 Thais were rounded up by the invading Burmese & took to Ungwa, Burma. After remaining imprison for 7 years (some sources say 1 year), he was selected to represent Thais prisoners of war in a boxing contest as a part of a grand festival organized by the Burmese King Mangra, at a Buddhist temple in Rangoon, where a holy relic of Buddha was enshrined. He did Wai Kru to respect the King & the Burmese people, & incredibly defeated 10 Burmese Lethwei champions in succession without any rest. The King was so impressed that he granted him & his fellow Thai prisoners freedom along with two beautiful Burmese wives. Even today, his feat is celebrated as ‘National Muay thai Day' on March 17 every year, where young Thai boxers perform Wai khru ram muay & Wai khru prajam pee.
After the Burmese aggressors were expelled out in late 1767, the series of kings of the free Thailand spared no effort in promoting the art. The Thai boxing became the favorite sport & past time of the people, the army, & the Kings. Around 1920s, during the reign of the King Rama the 7 , the name ‘Muay Thai' was given to this popular sport, referring the older form of the style as Muay Boran.
Muay thai has lost none of its appeal in Thailand. It is loved & enjoyed by people of all sections. The T.V. fight broadcasts rate among the Kingdom's most popular programmes. Even in the most remote village, people cluster around local fights or available T.V. to watch – all the four Thai T.V. stations broadcasts free Muay thai fights four night a week. The glory could also be found at Stadiums like Rajdamnern & Lumpinee (Stadium establishment began during the reign of the King Rama, the 7, before 2nd world war).The two main centers for the Muay thai study are the capital city Bangkok & the northern capital Chiang Mai. Thai military cadet schools also teach a modified Muay thai called Lerd Rit (meaning extreme power), an unarmed combat art used in conjunction with Krabi-Krabong, & incorporates breaking boards, glass bottles with elbows etc.
Contribution of Buddhist monks in the history of Muay thai is huge. Since 14th century, the Buddhist monks in the world famous ‘Buddhai Swan temple' (much like the Chinese ‘Shaolin temple' with similar ancient tradition) have been teaching martial art as a philosophy & as a way of life. The Buddhist monks have been keeping the practice of Muay thai for hundreds of years. Its popularity was spread to the common people by young men who have learnt the art from these monks, since each Thai man is urged to live as a monk at least once in his life.
Muay thai is considered as one of the world most deadliest & brutal combat sports by some. As in other martial art styles, it was originally meant for the battle field – with survival as the only rule. Upto 1920s, it was a part of school curriculum in Thailand, but was withdrawn as the injury rate was too high. In olden days, combatants wore horse hide thongs wrapped around the fists & forearms to slash the opponent's skin. Such thongs were soon replaced by hump rope, wound around the fists & wrists, then layered over the glue soaked cloth strips that hardened into stone gauntlets. Some fighters even used ground glass or pebbles mixed with the glue. There were no weight categories – larger fighters fought smaller ones & the bout went on until a fighter could not stand, with the loser horribly maimed or even killed, or the fight continued as long as a holed coconut shell placed in a water tube immersed completely into it. There were apparently no rules in the ring. After one such death in a ring, the King Rama the 7 codified rules for the Muay thai & were put into place around 1920s. But the matches were still brutal & violent, with head butting, kicks/knee to groin etc, perfectly legal moves. This carnage continued until the late 1930s, when the Thai government intervened & forced to adopt international boxing rules, weight divisions, padded gloves etc, & prohibiting many illegal moves like groin attacks etc.
Thai people have a great respect for the art & its teachers (Kun kru). Thai boxers do this through the ancient tradition of Wai khru/Bucha kru/Ram muay/Wai khru ram muay (Wai: action to show respect/pray/apologize with folded hands in front of the chest, like 'Namaste' in India; Khru: teacher; Ram: traditional Thai style dance; Muay: boxing), a pre-fight ceremonial dance to show respect & gratitude to the Kun kru in submission to his teaching & training, to summon up good, powerful spirits & scare away bad spirits from their corners. The fighter seeks God blessing for himself & for his opponent, & for an honorable fight or victory. Among enchanting traditional Thai music, the fighter, wearing Mongkon on head (said to possess the spiritual power of the Kun kru & all the fighters in their camp) & Krung Rangs on biceps (for extra protection & good luck), does Ram muay, demonstrating control, style & his prowess to the audience, some times taunting or scaring each other by stomping around his opponents etc (but no blow is allowed in anger). This ritual has been developed in different ways, in different regions, under different teachers, so usually no two fighters perform identical Wai khru (preventing fighters trained by the same Kun kru from fighting each other). A Muay thai expert, just by watching the Ram muay, can easily tell about the trainer & the region the fighter belongs, or whether he may lose or dominate in the ring!
The Wai khru is a graceful & aesthetic ritual both spiritual & practical. Dancing & rehearsing ‘Kon Muay' (movements/styles of Muay thai) before a fight, warms up one's body, helping the body & the mind to be ready to get into the battle. It is the most effective aid to limbering up, & marshalling the fighter's concentration, serving to bring to remembrance everything that the fighter has been taught. In order to become a fully-fledged Muay thai fighter, a person must pass through a series of ceremonies of Wai khru:
(a) Kuen khru, teacher's acceptance of students & passing the combat knowledge.
(b) Wai khru prajam pee/Yohk kru, annual homage-praying ceremony to teachers or souls of the teachers long passed away, usually on 17 March or mostly on Thursday, which is believed to be the teachers' day.
(c) Wai khru ram muay, ritual dance of homage to teachers by the fighters.
(d) Khrob khru, initiation as a teacher ceremony, bestowing the rank of Khru muay to the fighter.
Muay thai fighters (nak muay: Muay thai practitoner) make use of any part of their body as a formidable weapon. Muay thai is ‘the art of eight limbs'(originally nine weapons, including head, collectively called ‘na-wa arwud', but now head butting is not allowed in modern Muay thai). The practitioner executes strikes using eight ‘points of contact' (hands, elbows, knees, shins) as opposed to four points, common in other martial art forms. There are about 108 traditional Muay thai techniques, & less then 30 comprise the ring repertoire of the champion Thai boxer. Generally the emphasis of kicks (teh) & knees (tee kao) over elbows (tee sok), punches (chok) is a ratio of 3:1. Muay thai is known specially for its powerful knee & elbow strikes, which account for majority of the knockouts (KO).
Muay thai uses many types of elbow strikes. When thrown from the guard position, elbows are relatively difficult to block. Generally, the hand of the relaxed arm delivering the elbow is kept open to maximize range to increase power, with simultaneous swivel of the feet, waist & hip. Down elbow causes maximum KO in the ring. Mostly elbows are used when the distance between fighters becomes too small & too little space to throw punch to the opponent. The hard bony elbow is also used to block punches, kicks, or elbows etc. Elbow is one of the strongest parts of human body, containing three bones – epicondyles of humerus, olecranon process of ulna & the head-neck of radius, & we all know that human bone is stronger than concrete of same quantity.
Muay thai is well known for its deadly knee techniques. When delivering the knee, the fighter generally pull the lower leg back, toes pointed down – warding off any low, round cut kicks to the rear supporting leg by the instep. The head is protected from the punches by leaning the upper body away at an angle of 45 degree. The clinch version of Kao tone or straight knee strike has been proven scientifically as the strongest leg blow in martial arts. A shuffling stance change is done after each knee strike so that every knee is delivered from the rear power position.
Kicks are important parts of Muay thai fighting. Out of many kicks used, teep (foot-thrust) & teh (angle kick) are the commonest. One of the dangerous Thai techniques is an angle (round house) kick to break the neck. The kicker pivot on the front foot to add power to his kicks & commit the entire body weight to one kick; i.e; Muay thai fighter uses the entire body movement, rotating the hip, & sometimes with counter rotation of the arms, to intensify the power. Same thing is seen in case of punch, block, knee or elbow etc.
The striking part is usually the lower part of tibia (one of the body strongest bones), not the foot or instep which are weaker & contain many fine bones. The shin (strongest yet most sensitive in an ordinary person) is also used to block kicks/knees etc – raising the knee to meet the elbow, creating a formidable defensive shield. Thai boxers usually don't block kicks head-on, instead time the kick & bypass the knee into the softer, inner portion of the thigh. Same is for the knee, elbow or punch, they just stay at long range & wear the opponent down with hard round kicks. In ring, Thai boxer tries to lessen the impact of opponent's strikes by sidestepping, parrying or turning away from them, unless the hardened shin or instep may break his arm!
Before late 1930s, Muay thai hand techniques were mainly swinging, chopping blows or ridged fingers, poking & gouging. Today, the art has become even more ring effective by the use of the boxing jab, straight right/cross, hook, uppercut, shovel & corkscrew punches plus overhand or bolo punches etc. Thai boxer seldom uses international boxing style at long range as it exposes too much of the body to kicks & knees. In extending the arm to punch, it is easier for the elbows to go under & over the arm to hit the head. Favoring too much punch may end up on the wrong end of an offensive clinch. So, when a Thai boxer punch, it is in tandem with elbows & knee strikes at close range.
The primary targets in Muay thai are the midsection, upper body & head; although low leg kicks are frequently used (to distract/distance/off balance the opponent, also are easier to execute, difficult to block, aiming at femoral nerve, leg, knee or thigh or popliteal fossa).
Another important technique is ‘the clinch', a stand up partial grappling, used to strike or bind the opponent for offensive or defensive purposes. Nak muay often uses knee & elbow techniques in clinch. In offensive clinch, the clincher twist & apply pressure on the opponent's neck as he knees, bringing the head down to where it can be hit with a knee. Such pincer's grip works as a chokehold – pressing into the carotid artery in the neck, hampering blood flow to the brain – further weakening & confusing the opponent. Along with the front clinch, they also use arm clinch, side clinch, low clinch & swan neck. Out of many techniques used to escape offensive clinch, one may stand as straight as possible, grabbing the opponent around the waist & pressing the body into him, thereby stopping his knee attack. His natural reaction will be pushing you off, giving enough room to throw your own elbow or knee. The clinch is duplicated in Thai pad drills. The holder crosses the pads at his abdomen to accept the ‘medicine ball training' of multiple knees, while resisting the hitter's downward pull, strengthening his neck against kicks & punches.
Head butts, hip & shoulder throws are prohibited. So are the wrestling, back or arm locks or any similar judo or wrestling holds. The Thai boxers arealso prohibited from bitting, eye gouging, spitting, finger breaking or deliberately striking the groin area.
Like in full contact Karate (kyukushin), Muay thai heavily focus on body conditioning. From early age, nak muays started conditioning their sensitive shin by repeatedly striking banana trees, Thai pads & heavy bags etc. They also use many techniques of ‘iron body training'. They train until they drop. They don't earn belts as a symbol of their progress or skills (as in many Japanese or Korean styles), instead have skills tested in the ring, they are concerned only with the championship belts.
They work hundreds of hard rounds to prepare for a five rounds bout. A professional boxer completes 5 to 7 miles of roadwork & a short shadowboxing session every morning. In the evening, he will hit training camp for heavy bag work & lighter freestyle sparring, moving constantly for 4 to 6 hrs, & resting only at 1 min intervals. Some work out for 4 or more straight hours as a marathon holder or hitter of Thai pads. Boxers rarely do hard contact sparring in training, as a Thai tradition forbids pitting fighters trained by the same kun khru in serious bout.
Due to the effectiveness & efficiency of Muay thai, it is becoming very popular among martial art community, gaining respect from other stylists. As it is the best & most effectively economical way to fight, It has been one of the basic components in MMA (Mixed Martial Art) training & competitions. It is also increasingly being used now in many action films, video games etc with very high success – which were earlier always dominated by Chinese kung fu/acrobatic Taekwondo Kicking styles etc. Recently, films like ‘Ong-Bak, the protector; Tom-Yum-Goong; Born to fight & Beautiful boxer etc' have vigorously popularized Muay thai, specially among youngsters.
As most professional Thai boxers come from the lower socio-economic backgrounds & fight for money (No fight No money), they mostly belong to lighter weight classes (70% - fly & bantam weight divisions), & train very hard. It not uncommon to see such fighters engaging in local Muay kaad chuak fights. In such match, in addition to the elbows, knees, punches, kicks & clinch currently used in Muay thai, head-butts & throws are also allowed. Instead of modern gloves, they wrap their hands with hemp rope, which provide little padding & cause frequent cuts & abrasions. The contests are often wild & bloody, with no point system, so the victory comes by surrender or KO. If both the participants are still standing at the end of the bout, the fight is declared a draw (These brutally simple rules have already been abandoned in 1923). Generally, such contests are held during the Thai Songkran festivals (beginning of the new solar year, on April 13, 14, 15 each year), honoring Nai Khnom Tom, the Thai soldier legend. They are usually paid $25/$26 for every match, which is considered worth the pain. Due to the rigorous fighting & training regimen, most nak muays have relatively short careers in the ring, & they shifted to teaching this deadly art.
Amateur Muay thai, on the other hand, are practiced mostly by higher economic strata Thais, under different international & national organizations. It is also most common (almost all) in India. Amateur Muay thai has grown into a very popular sport, specially over the last 20 years. Thai boxing is becoming more & more increasing popular outside of Thailand. It has its enthusiasts & practitioners all over the world. Most of the credit goes to International federation of Muay thai Amateur (IFMA). Since 1990, IFMA has organized many Prince's/King's Cup World championships. The competitions are growing bigger & tougher every year, inspiring everyone to train even harder for the next event. Another important contribution of IFMA was the introduction of female fights (Muay thai was traditionally a male sport) in 2000 (as a demonstration sport) & in 2002 where 20 countries were represented by females fighters.
Muay thai was a already a demonstration sport at the 1998 Asian Games. It is also on the panel of sports for the SEA Games, & was a full medal sport at the 2005 SEA Games in Manila. It has been included in 2005 Asian Indoor Games. Moves are afoot to include it into the World University Games as well as the Indoor Asian Games. With such fast developments, it may be not far away that we see Muay thai as an Olympic event.
Manipuri players, no doubt, have always been good at martial arts & combat sports, Muay thai is no exception. Many players have fetched good positions, representing Manipur on various national & global stages, bringing glory, fame & respect. This is possible due the selfless dedication, & persistent hard work of many martial artists, Muay thai enthusiasts & trainers. My blessing & support to all the young nak muays of Manipur.
Hence, Muay thai is an amazing & excellent martial art style with equally long & amazing history, effective both in self defense or in ring, growing at a very fast pace, & having tremendous opportunity to earn name & fame for both oneself & more importantly, for the mother country.
Compiled & written by:
Dr.HanjabamCha Barun
MBBS,DSM(sports medicine) std.,
NS NIS,Patiala,Punjab,India,
Martial artist & Thang Ta practitioner.
Chief Instructor & founder,C.G.Thang Ta Association,Raipur,C.G.,India.
Email: dr.barun.hanjabam@gmail.com
About the Author
Dr.HanjabamCha Barun,
MBBS,DSM(sports medicine)std.,
NS NIS, Patiala, Punjab, India,
Martial artist & Thang Ta practitioner,
Email: dr.barun.hanjabam@gmail.com
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