“MUAI THAI”

Muay Thai (Thai: มวยไทย, RTGS: Muai Thai, IPA: [mūaj tʰāj]) is a hard martial
art from Thailand. It is similar to other Indochinese styles of kickboxing, namely pradal
serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei fromMyanmar and Muay Lao from Laos.
Descended frommuay boran, Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport.[1][2]

The word muay derives from the Sanskrit mavya and Thai comes from the word Tai. Muay Thai is
referred to as the "Art of Eight Limbs" or the "Science Of Eight Limbs" because it makes use of
punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight "points of contact", as opposed to "two
points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (hands and feet) used in sport-oriented martial
arts.[3] A practitioner of Muay Thai is known as anak muay. Western practitioners are sometimes
callednak muay farang meaning foreign boxer.[4]

Thai boxing has been around for over a thousand years.[5] However, it can be traced back using
records to 400 years ago in the former capital of Thailand known as Ayuthaya. Various forms of
kickboxing have long been practiced throughout mainland Southeast Asia. Based on a
combination of Chinese and Indian martial arts,[6] practitioners claim they date back two thousand
years. In Thailand, Muay Thai evolved frommuay boran (ancient boxing), an unarmed combat
method which would probably have been used bySiamese soldiers after losing their weapons in
battle. Some believe that the ancient Siamese military created Muay Boran from the weapon-
based art of krabi krabong but others contend that the two were merely developed alongside
each other. Krabi krabong nevertheless was an important influence on Muay Boran and so Muay
Thai as can be seen in several kicks, holds and the movements in the wai khru which have their
origins in armed combat.

Muay Boran, and therefore Muay Thai, was originally called toi muay or simply muay. As well as
being a practical fighting technique for use in actual warfare, muay became a sport in which the
opponents fought in front of spectators who went to watch for entertainment. These muay
contests gradually became an integral part of local festivals and celebrations, especially those
held at temples. It was even used as entertainment for kings. Eventually, the previously bare-
fisted fighters started wearing lengths of hemp rope around their hands and forearms. This type
of match was called muay khat chueak (มวยคาดเชือก).

Muay gradually became a possible means of personal advancement as the nobility increasingly
esteemed skillful practitioners of the art and invited selected fighters to come to live in the royal
palace to teach muay to the staff of the royal household, soldiers, princes or the king's personal
guards.[citation needed] This "royal muay" was called muay luang (มวยหลวง). Some time during
theAyutthaya period, a platoon of royal guards was established, whose duty was to protect king
and the country. They were known as Krom Nak Muay ("Muay Kick-Fighters' Regiment"). This
royal patronage of kick-muay continued through the reigns of Rama V and VII.

Modernization

Ascension of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) to the throne in 1868 ushered in a golden age not
only for muay but for the whole country of Thailand. Muay progressed greatly during the reign of
Rama V as a direct result of the king's personal interest in the art. The country was at peace and
muay functioned as a means of physical exercise, self-defense, recreation, and personal
advancement.[citation needed]Masters of the art began teaching muay in training camps where students
were provided with food and shelter. Trainees would be treated as one family and it was
customary for students to adopt the camp's name as their own surname. Scouts would be sent by
the royal family to organise matches between different camps.

King Rama the VII pushed for codified rules for Muay Thai, and they were put into place.
Thailand's first boxing ring was built in 1921 at Suan Kularp. Referees were introduced and
rounds were now timed by kick. Fighters at the Lumpinee Kickboxing Stadium began wearing
modern gloves during training and in boxing matches against foreigners. Rope-binding was still
used in fights between Thais but after the occurrence of a death in the ring, it was decided that
fighters should wear gloves and cotton coverlets over the feet and ankles. It was also around this
time that the term Muay Thai became commonly used while the older form of the style was
referred to as muay boran. With the success of Muay Thai in the mixed martial arts, it has
become the de facto style of choice for competitive stand-up fighters. As a result, western
practitioners have incorporated much more powerful hand strikingtechniques
from boxing although some Thai purists accuse them of diluting the art.

[edit]Nai Khanomtom

The most popular folklore regarding muay boran is that of Nai Khanomtom.

At the time of the fall of the ancient Siam capital of Ayutthaya in 1767, the
invading Burmese troops rounded up thousands of Thais and took them to Burma as prisoners.
Among them were a large number of Thai kickboxers, who were taken to the city of Ava.

In 1774, in the Burmese city of Rangoon, the Burmese King Hsinbyushin (known in Thai as "King
Mangra") decided to organize a seven-day, seven-night religious festival in honor of Buddha's
relics. The festivities included many forms of entertainment, such as the costume plays
called likay, comedies and farces, and sword-fighting matches. At one point, King Hsinbyushin
wanted to see how muay boran would compare to the Burmese art Lethwei[citation needed]. Nai
Khanomtom was selected to fight against the Burmese champion. The boxing ring was set up in
front of the throne and Nai Khanomtom did a traditional Wai Kru pre-fight dance, to pay his
respects to his teachers and ancestors, as well as the spectators, dancing around his opponent.
This amazed and perplexed the Burmese people, who thought it was black magic. When the fight
began, Nai Khanomtom charged out, using punches, kicks, elbows, and knees to pummel his
opponent until he collapsed.

However the Burmese referee said the Burmese champion was too distracted by the kick, and
declared the knockout invalid. The King then asked if Nai Khanomtom would fight nine other
Burmese champions to prove himself. He agreed and fought them all, one after the other with no
rest periods in between. His last opponent was a great kickboxing teacher from Rakhine. Nai
Khanomtom mangled him by his kicks and no one else dared to challenge him.

King Mangra was so impressed that he allegedly remarked, "Every part of the Thai is blessed
withvenom. Even with his bare hands, he can fell nine or ten opponents. But his Lord was
incompetent and lost the country to the enemy. If he would have been any good, there was no
way the City of Ayutthaya would ever have fallen."[citation needed]

King Mangra granted Nai Khanomtom freedom along with either riches or two beautiful Burmese
wives. Nai Khanomtom chose the wives as he said that money was easier to find. He then
departed with his wives for Siam. Other variations of this story had him also winning the release
of his fellow Thai prisoners. His feat is celebrated every March 17 as Boxer's Day or National
Muay Boran Day in his honor and that of muay boran's.
Today, some have wrongly attributed the legend of Nai Khanomtom to King Naresuan, who was
once taken by the Burmese. However, Nai Khanomtom and King Naresuan were almost two
centuries apart.