MUAY THAI HISTORY
Muay Thai or Thai Boxing is a martial art over 1000 years old. In combat it uses both hand and foot techniques. Old manuscripts describe eight basic tools of Thai Boxing: fists, elbows, knees, and legs. Similar but less known martial arts are practised in other Indochina countries: Laos, Cambodia, Burma (Bando Boxing), while Viet Vo Dao from Vietnam differs a lot, and is more similar to Karate. The history of Thai Boxing is connected with the migrations of the Thai tribe (meaning "free") in the 12th and 13th centuries from Juang-XI, Sichuan and Hubei provinces in the south of China, into the present territory of Thailand. Migrations were particularly intensive in the thirteenth century under the pressures of Mongol hordes from the north. Therefore some sources assume that Thai Boxing has its origin in Chinese Boxing (Kung Fu), but that it has changed considerably. Other sources indicate that it originated during the period of incessant fights between the Thai Kingdom and their neighbouring Burma, Khmer and Cham (Vietnam) states. This hypothesis is quite likely as the need for martial arts was greatest during that time.

 According to one legend from the 14th century, a fight between two boxers decided who would be the future king. It says that after the death of the old king Sen Muang Mu his sons Fang Keng and Ji Kumkam could not agree about the successor. As the conflict threatened to turn into civil war, the followers of each side agreed to stage a fight which would decide the future king. The fighter from the Ji Kumkam side won and Ji Kumkam thus became king.

Some of the most prolific empty hand fighters in the world have come from Thailand. Their training methods alone make for a well conditioned and physically fit fighting machine, offensive in approach, rather than defensive. Their attitude of no surrender in the ring is a legacy from their past. This attitude has of course been shaped by their history, a history chequered by attacks on their culture, their towns and cities. The collective unconscious of the Thai race has been moulded and shaped by their history. A history which is alas, incomplete.  Thailand’s early historical records were lost in 1767 when Burma laid siege to Thailand’s ancient capital Ayuddhaya.

The city was eventually ransacked and put to the torch so all treasures, books, records, works of art, and royal archives were destroyed. All we are left with are the fragments of a society pieced together by anthropologists. Pieces taken from Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese and early European writings.

One of the most popular stories of the past came from sources in Burma. They relate to the great fighter Nat Khanom Dhom, who having been captured by the Burmese regained his freedom by defeating 12 of Burma’s best fighters. In fact, so important was the event, that stadiums around Thailand still honour the hero by dedicating one fight night a year to him.

This method of settling disputes is not uncommon in Thailand. Indeed, the same idea was prevalent in Europe! The Chiang Mai Annals relate a story of King Sen Muang Ma (1411) whose two sons Yi Kumkam and Fang Ken fought for the throne. After a lengthy battle, neither could beat the others army, and so it was suggested by Fang Ken that they fight man to man in single combat. Each side selected a champion fighter from among their army or supporters who would fight till first blood was drawn. Evidently the fight lasted several hours until Yi Kumkam won, and became the new king.

In the time of King Naresuen (1550-1605) Muay Thai became part of the military training regime. It was practised from a manual known as the CHUPASART. This dealt with the use of weaponry as well as the empty hands, and it is likely that the modern practice of Muay Thai developed from the very same book. King Naresuen practised these arts personally, and actually fought in several contests. In 1577 he was declared a national hero.

During the reign of Pra Chao Sua (1703-1709) Thailand was at peace, and the army having little to do, practised Muay Thai, or Dee Muay as it was commonly called. It then worked it’s way into the national education curriculum, and became a national pastime. Every village in Thailand had its fighters, and would stage prize fights on a regular basis. Heavy gambling often led to all or nothing fights, with serious injury, even death as a consequence. Pra Chao Sua himself was said to have taken part in these bouts, defeating many local champions.The oldest historical document mentioning Muay Thai as a warrior art comes from 1560 and describes a single combat between the Thai prince Naresuan (known as the Black Prince) and the successor to the Burmese throne, the son of the king Bayinnuang. The duel lasted several hours and ended with the death of the Burmese crown prince. Without the leader the Burmese decided not to attack Thailand. The reign of the king Pra-Chao Sua at the beginning of the 18th century, who was a very great master of the art himself, was a period of great development of Thai Boxing. It is said that the king, whose nickname was "Tiger", used to leave his palace secretly and attend local tournaments wearing a mask. He was a regular winner. In this period Thai Boxing was taught as a subject in all schools and was a part of military training. At that time fights were very cruel. There were no weight categories and rounds. Fighters were barefoot with their fist wrapped in hemp or cotton bandage. Genital protectors were made of coconut shells. All kinds of kicks and punches were allowed, with few limitations. Among other things training included punching a lemon hitched on a string for focus, kicking and punching palm trees in order to strengthen feet and fists, long distance running, training in water, etc.

Modern day Thai fights are no longer as brutal as these prize fights. Gloves are worn, gumshields, protective boxes and strict rules prevent deaths in the ring. In the age of Pra Chao Sua, and not uncommon up to 1920, boxers would bind their hands in hemp, often applying a sticky resin on which they would stick ground glass. They wore crude groin guards of tree bark or shell, and there was no such thing as weight divisions or timed rounds. They would simply fight until one man dropped.

Muay Thai was being taught in the schools up until 1921 when it became prohibited due to the extent of the injuries being inflicted. The use of hemp rope continued until the 1930’s, when redial changes were made to the sport. The rules of international boxing were adapted adopted. Weight divisions were introduce and timed bouts became the norm, and modern Muay Thai as we know it today was born.

Elements of the traditional system can still be seen in Thailand, particularly in the practise of Krabi Krabong, a weapons system from which Muay Thai eventually developed, and in the Sila and Chaiya fighting systems of which very little is known. In fact Chaiya is only practised in its original form by a very small group of individuals in Bangkok, and was being taught by Acharn (Master) Thonglaw Yarlair, recently deceased. Archarn Thonglaw was quite clear that the practice of Chaiya is not for sport, but is a serious and dangerous self defence system, and so does not attract the number of students like Muay Thai. The practitioners still practice with hands wrapped in bandages, each being over 15 metres long. Traditionally these bandages were made from the winding sheets of the dead (so as to scare the opponent) but the custom has been abandoned. Training the mind plays as important a role in the Chaiya fighters routine as does the physical, where the adage "use 4 ounces to move a thousand pounds" is put into practice, with the emphasis being on using the opponents strength and aggression against them, rather than your own brute force. With only a handful of students left, it looks as if this very important part of Thailand’s martial arts may die out altogether, and be relegated to the history books, or transform itself into a ritual dance akin to Sila, a fighting system indigenous to Thailand, which is more often than not practised as a dance. It bears remarkable similarities to Silat as practised in neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia, and is technically just as destructive.
All of these arts have one thing in common, in that they are not so much defensive systems, as offensive systems. Once attacked, any practitioner of any one of the many arts will immediately go on the offensive, destroying the attacker mentally and then physically, with no onslaught of blows.

Ask anyone who has fought a Thai at his own game, you need more than Chi or some mysterious power to damage a Muay Thai practitioner.