| The
following history of Muay Thai is re-printed with permission from a hand-out
distributed by Ajarn Chai Sirisute at the 2000 Oregon Muay Thai Camp.
Muay Thai started
way back in the medieval ages when wars were fought with bows and arrows,
swords, and pikes. And in hand-to-hand combat arms, legs, knees,
and elbows were also used as weapons. This sport which was included
in military training was made famous by King Nareusan 1560 A.D.
During one of the many battles between Burma and Siam he was captured.
The Burmese knew of his prowess as the best unarmed fighter in the realm
and gave him a chance to fight with their best for his freedom.
Upon his return to Siam he was hailed as a hero and Siamese-style boxing,
as it was called then, was soon recognized as a national sport.
Boxing in this style reached its zenith of popularity about two hundred
years ago, i.e., in the reign of Prachao Sua (King Tiger), when it was
indulged in by all classes of the population.
From those days up until the early part of
this century, the fighters, particularly those in provinces, used horsehide
strips and later help in lieu of gloves. It was also a practice
at one time to grind pieces of glass into the help if both contestants
agreed. Since these practices were obviously dangerous to the fighters'
health, regular boxing gloves were introduced about 50 years ago and have
been used ever since.
To the Thais, Muay Thai is regarded as a
prestigious national sport. Thai boys will in one or another way,
intentionally or unintentionally, learn how to box Thai style. Even
Thai girls will know enough of the basic principles and to be able to
use it for self-defense when necessary.
Muay Thai, called Thai Boxing by foreigners,
is our national sport and is now getting more popular in many countries,
especially in Japan where a large numer of young Japanese are now being
trained to fight professionally. But in Japan this fighting is called
"Kick Boxing." At present "Kick Boxing" is internationally
known as a Japanese martial art. Surely the true name, "Muay
Thai" should be retained internationally as the Japanese terms Kendo,
Judo, or Karate have been.
There is no [clear] evidence to show the
time of origin of Thai-Style boxing. It can only be assumed that
Thai boxing existed since the Thai emigrated from the South of China.
[Further archaeological work needs to be done in this area, both in the
Thai and English languages.]
The [Tai tribe] immigrants had to hide from
attackers and met with resistance from local people. In short, they
had to fight endlessly for their survival. By the time they managed
to settle in the "Gold Promontory", the Thais had gone through
to countless battles and many lives had been lost. The ancient weapons
consisted only of spears, swords, pikes or bows and arrows. But
in hand-to-hand combat weapons become clumsy, and elbows, knees, feet
and fists became more practical. This must have been extremely successful,
as it was then developed into a form of martial arts used in battle, and
this was the origin of Muay Thai.
When the Thais finally settled down and built
a city, and extended their territory to become a large country, there
was a need for an army to defend the country. Soldiers in those
days had to learn Muay Thai along with the use of traditional weapons.
Thus there was also the need for Kru Muay, or teacher of Thai boxing.
Various tactics for attack and defense were developed, called "boxing
tactics". Later, laymen began to take up this form of fighting,
as a form of self-defense, and as a handy qualification to become a soldier,
which would also lead to further advancement depending on their ability
and talent.
During the Ayudhya period, which was a period
of consecutive fighting against the neighboring countries of Burma, Cambodia
and Vietnam, history records state that King Sri San Petch or Khun Luang
Sorasak known as Phra Chao Sua (The Tiger King) often boxed incognito
in various up-country temple fairs. He is said to have been a skilled
boxer, and enjoyed the sport so much that he often disguised himself thus
in order to test his skill against villagers and thus became quite a legend
in his own time.
When Ayudhya fell in 1767 A.D. many Thais
became prisoners of War. In 1774 the King of Burma held a festival
to celebrate the Chedi containing the Bhuddha's relics in Rangoon, with
various forms of entertainment and festivities. This included a
boxing display for the King by a Boxer named "Nai Khanom Tom"
a prisoner of war from Ayudhya. Pit against Burmese boxers, Nai
Khanom Tom defeated 10 Burmese opponents in a row, and also became quite
a legend.
During the reign of King Tak Sin the Great,
the King had a close aid-de-amp named "Phraya Pihai Dab Hak"
who had studied the art of Muay Thai with many famous teachers and displayed
his talent for the King. As a result, he was chosen to become a
soldier, and was later promoted to the position of Chao Muang (governor)
with his name recorded in history.
In the Ratanakosin Period, Muay Thai was
still a national art form, with competitions in annual national festivities.
Time-keeping was done by floating a pierced coconut shell. When
the coconut sank, a drum would be beaten to signal the end of a round.
In 1788, during the reign of King Rama I,
two french brothers arrived in Thailand by boat, having defeated many
boxers across the Indo-China Penninsula. King Rama I consulted the
Crown Prince, his brother, who offered to find boxers to fight against
the Frenchmen. Phraya Phra Klang would accept the challenge, settling
the bet at 50 chang (4,000 bhat). The Crown Prince chose a boxer
named Muen Plan of the Royal Guards. The match was held in the grounds
of the Grand Palace. Muen Plan wore full battle regalia--bare-chested,
seeped in magic charms, cabalistic writing and oils to ensure invulnerability.
When the fight began, the large French fighter tried to attack, aiming
for the neck and collar-bone. Muen Plan defended himself with Muay
Thai. The other Frenchman, seeing his brother making no progress
became frustrated, and pushed Muen Plan's back to stop him from backing
away. Members of the Royal Guards saw this break of boxing etiquette
and proceeded to help Muen Plan tackle the two Frenchmen until they had
to be carried back to the boat. They set sail the next day, with
no thought of ever challenging a Thai Boxer again.
During the reign of King Rama V, Thai boxing
matches were widely popular, boxing matches were held for the King's pleasure,
ad skilled boxers received titles from the King, for example Muen
Muay Mee Chue from Chaiya, Muen Muay Man Mudh from Lopburi, Muen Cha-ngad
Cherng Chok from Korat. Also in this period boxing camps were established.
Members of the royal family sent out talent scouts to recruit potential
boxers from up-country and arranged matches between camps. Winners
would receive money and valuable prizes. This period could be called
the Golden Age of Muay Thai. |
| Although
many improvements or changes were applied from the type of ring, breaking
each bout into rounds, using the minute-system of time-keeping, and using
gloves, one aspect of Thai-style boxing remained the same--the jock strap.
Originally, the jock-strap consisted of a triangular-shaped pillow tied
to the waist, with a strap tied behind from between the legs. The
pillows were red or blue color according to the boxer's corner.
These pillows were used until one boxer went to Malaysia and saw foreign
boxers use jock-straps. He brought the idea back to Thailand, and
since then jock-straps have replaced the triangular pillows.
During the reign of King Rama VII, in the
revolutionary period, permanent boxing stadiums were established both
in Bangkok and in the provinces. They gradually disappeared in 1942
during World War II. After the war, boxing stadiums sprang up like
mushrooms overnight. Skilled boxers from up-country flocked to Bangkok
to take part in tournaments. Finally the first standard boxing stadium
was established--the Rajdamnern Stadium, in 1945. Rules were set,
and later on regular bouts were set at 5 rounds of 3 minutes each, with
a two-minute interval between rounds. The weight was taken down
in stones like race-horses, and later converted into kilograms.
In the early days, the match-maker system
was used; the stadium officials would organize matches providing
cup or talent jackets as prizes. Matches were not classified into
weight groups until many years later when the pound system replaced stones
and kilograms. International names were given for each weight group,
such as flyweight and bantamweight. Matches were arranged to select
a champion for each class, following the international style.
Muay Thai is still developing, but what remains
unchanged is the use of the pipe and drums as musical accompaniments for
the matches, and is considered a unique characteristic of Muay Thai.
Muay Thai has been initiated under many names, which have not received
prolonged interest because the original has already became known world-wide.
Many additions have been made to the regulations
of Muay Thai. It is forbidden now to hit the private parts since
this technique has become quite infamous as a form of attack and is considered
debasing for the fine art of Thai boxing. Muay Thai remains a national
art form. If all parties concerned help to uplift and conserve this
form of martial arts, and pass it onto following generations, it will
remain a valuable possession of the Thai nation. |
