Six fascinating facts about Thai boxing
1. THAILAND'S NATIONAL SPORT
Thai boxing, also known as "Muay Thai", is Thailand's NATIONAL SPORT, with an estimated 65,000 professional fighters. This legendary martial art is known to be one of the most violent and most beautiful combat sports in the world.
A person who trains in Muay Thai is known as a "Nak Muay" in thai. Professional bouts in Thailand do not pay very much and so fighters have matches at least once a month. Many fighters have well over 100 fights before they are even in their prime and could accumulate more than 3 or 400 fights during their career.
2. FIGHTERS START TO TRAIN AS KIDS
Often times, Muay Thai becomes an avenue for young children to add to their family’s income, especially for sons of poor rural families.
Sometimes, it is the child’s parents who make the decision for their child to become a fighter. The life of a Muay Thai fighter, especially as a child, is never easy. On top of attending school, he has to adhere to a strict training schedule and supplement it with strength and conditioning exercises. Ask any Muay Thai fighter about his childhood and he will tell you that it was one of the toughest times of his life.
3. ALSO KNOWN AS "THE ART OF 8 LIMBS"
Muay Thai is known as the ‘Art of Eight Limbs’ because of its focus on 8 particular types of strikes. These eight weapons are: the hands, the elbows, the knees, and the legs and feet.
Muay Thai has elements of many older martial arts from Southeast Asia. These older combat styles have been grouped together under the name Muay Boran meaning "Ancient Boxing".
4. THAI BOXING IS THE MOST POPULAR STRIKING MARTIAL ART IN WESTERN COUNTRIES
It is the most common striking style used by MMA Fighters.
Many westerners go to Thailand to train in one of the many famous Thai gyms in Bangkok or the Thai countryside. As a testament to their commitment, they often get traditional Thai tattoos called Sak Yant. You often see these tattoos on American, Canadian and other Western fighters in promotions such as the UFC or One Championship.
5. WHAT'S WITH THE FUNNY HEADBAND?
Before a match fighters will often participate in a small pre-fight ritual called a Wai Kru in order to pay respects to their teacher, their gym, and to all those who have helped them along their journey. The Wai Kru is performed wearing a traditional headband called a mongkon. These headpieces are made from rope, thread, and silk materials woven together and are often blessed by Buddhist monks. Fighters are given a mongkon by their trainer when the trainer recognizes their effort and skill.
6. GAMBLING
Gambling has a great deal of influence in the Muay Thai community in Thailand. At times it has even been known to influence the outcome of a fight. Gamblers could pay off a fighter to throw a fight or they could tip a fighter if a fight was going to be won in their favor. However, throwing a fight is considered a serious offense in Thailand and can be punished as such. Not only that, but it is probably the worst thing you can do as a fighter. If a referee suspects a fighter of throwing a fight, he will stop the fight and disqualify the fighter. The fighter could be banned for months to years and is usually banned from the community.
The next time you attend a Muay Thai fight in Thailand, pay close attention to your surroundings. Chances are you'll see players throwing hand signals to communicate with each other during the fight.