Muay Thai (Thai Boxing)
WHAT IS MUAY THAI?
Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand.
The art includes various punches, elbows, knees, and shin
kicks in its arsenal. It has sometimes been referred to
as "the science of the eight limbs." One of
the signature Muay Thai techniques is called “the
prum.” The prum is a type of clinch where the Muay
Thai practitioner cradles his/her opponent’s head
in his/her hands. While holding an opponent in the prum,
the Muay Thai practitioner is able to execute knee strikes,
elbow strikes, and takedowns.
Though there are many legends about the art's creation,
much is speculation, it is believed that Muay Thai was
developed over a thousand years ago, and it was practiced
by warriors from Siam. The earliest account of Muay Thai
actually comes from Burma, and it describes a devastating
form of hand to hand fighting employed by the Thais.
HISTORY
Modern Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) originated from Krabi Krabong
(a Thai weapons art roughly meaning "stick and sword").
When the Thais lost their weapons or fought close quarters
with weapons they used knees, elbows, feet, fists and
headbutting. They became famous for their toughness on
the battle field with constant wars with their Burmese
rivals. King Ramkamheng (1275 - 1317) wrote the "Tamrab-Pichei-Songkram"
- the Book of War Learning, about the Thai war art, the
basis of which was weaponless fighting.
The biggest Thaiboxing hero of Thailand is the 'Black
Prince' Nai Khanom Dtom, who was camtured by the Burmese
and had to fight against 12 of the best Burmese fighters
before he was released (in 1560). The Thais are still
having annual Muay Thai tournaments in order to salute
him.
In the old days the fights lasted until one of the fighters
was dead or seriously injured. There were no rounds and
the fights could have lasted for several hours. No protective
gear was used and sometimes they wore rope over their
knuckles and glued some broken glass on top of it.
Before the 1940's, Thai fighters fought bare-knuckled.
After World War II, the Thai government became concerned,
due to the high number of fatalities in the ring, and
forced some rules to be used: they gave up groin shots,
eye pokes, started using weight classes and boxing gloves,
and rounds. The Thais felt that this watered down their
sport. As a result, Thais place more emphasis on kicks,
particularly to the legs; knee strikes; and grappling.
These skills score higher points than hand strikes in
Thai matches.
Pre-fight rituals
During a competition, the participants perform a lengthy
ritual and ceremony before the fight (wai khru ram muay).
The ritual is both for religious reasons and as a stretching
warm-up. Some use this ritual to attempt to scare their
opponents, commonly by stomping around the opponent.
HOW TO COMPETE
The complete boxer must always remember that the winner
of a Muay Thai bout is decided according to rules. He
must know and strictly follow the rules of the Muay Thai
competition.
To produce a good score, the technique should have a visible
effect on the opponent. It is not the number or variety
of Muay Thai techniques, but their effectiveness that
the judges are looking for, so it is possible to win using
one Muay Thai technique exclusively. Judges are looking
to award the fight to the strongest fighter. They are
looking for evidence of the effect of Muay Thai techniques.
And they are looking for mental and physical strength,
and technical ability.
A panel of three judges decide at the end of each round
if the round resulted in a draw (scores 10:10), a win
by significant margin (score 10:9) or a win by undisputed
margin (10:8). At the end of the match the score judges
add up the points scored and nominate a winner to the
referee. If there are three different votes (win, defeat,
draw) at the end of the match the verdict is a draw.
Contestants must wear no shirt or shoes. The sacred headband
(Mongkon) must be removed on completion of Ram Muay ritual
dance, before the start of the bout. The application of
any ointment or herb that may be repugnant to your opponent
is prohibited. Hands should be wrapped with soft tape
not longer than 12 yards and not wider than 2 inches.
This can be taped into place.
Why Train Muay Thai?
Arguably, the most popular and competitive stand-up
fighting competition in the world is known as K-1, which
is supposed to incorporate all of the best stand-up
fighting techniques in the world. Karate, Kempo, Taekwondo,
Western Kickboxing, Boxing, Kung Fu, and Muay Thai artists
represent their style in this competition. Since its
conception in 1993, all but two of the Grand Prix Champions
have been Muay Thai fighters. Muay Thai has also become
one of the favored styles in Mixed Martial Arts competitions.
An advantage of Muay Thai is its effectiveness against
grapplers. A martial artist skilled in clinching and
grappling will control the limbs of his/her opponent.
While in a clinch or grappling situation, there is little
or no space between the competitors. This environment
makes punching and kicking difficult, neutralizing many
stand-up martial arts. Elbow and knee strikes, however,
can still be effectively executed at close range. Many
stand-up martial artists have turned to Muay Thai, as
its techniques allow the stand-up fighter to strike
a grappler.
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