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By Martin Dean
Having been a student of American style kickboxing for many years
in the west and considering myself to be quite accomplished at the
noble art, I was keen to look deeper into this art form whilst here
in Thailand. The year I spent in Phuket was an active one in terms
of kickboxing enjoyment but I felt that something was missing from
my training. For it occurred to me in self reflection and conversations
with others that I only ever experienced the external power of Muay
Thai rather than the internal traditional Thai sense (my trainer
in Phuket was also from the West) Therefore I set upon a course
of action and investigation to discover what the true nature and
history of Thai kickboxing is to gain an insight and perhaps on
my journey to become a more focused individual.
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The actual history of ancient Thailand or Siam as it was previously
called is a remarkable one and as spellbinding as any you could
choose to come across. There are numerous stories of how brave men
or warrior poets fought for the pride and honour of their country,
how children sang the men into battle on their way to either victory
or defeat. Even historians who have carried out research in to the
art form of Muay Thai have found stories that date back many thousands
of years and perhaps to the birth of the nation itself.
It is thought that the Thai tribes then called the Tai, Phuti,
Puan Chang and Ngeaw - who all spoke the same language, lived close
by the River Yangsima in Southern China. They had to defend themselves
from other warring factions and so gathered together a strong and
well trained force for defence and to expand their own territories
further south. They built their first town called Pharng close by
the side of the Khonge River around 857 AD.
As trade flourished with other villages and towns so did chances
of an armed conflict. They formulated defensive strategies based
on the use of hand held weapons and close combat fighting. The combination
of swords, boxing, use of the shins, feet, knees and elbows proved
to be a very effective and bloody way to fend off an opponent. Muay
Thai had become a very efficient and necessary method of self defence
for these Thai villagers.
As time passed and the 13th and 14th Centuries came into being
Thailand became a place of major social and cultural change. Many
people became stimulated by the nature of the arts, literature,
music, poetry, painting and ceramics much more than in any other
period of time and especially so the art form of Muay Thai. The
warrior at this time became both a fighter and a gentleman; with
arguments being settled rather like a duel would have been in England
of the same period. The gentleman better at his craft would walk
away the winner.
In peacetime as well as in war most of the young men were trained
in this art form. It enabled the country to prepare for a future
conflict and was a useful exercise to test the strength and skills
of the men. Contests, it has been recorded, took place all over
the country and sometimes even with the palaces of the nobility.
The winners would be acclaimed in the most high of places and to
the most rural of villages.
It was King Prajow Sear during the Ayudhaya period that set up
a special band of men supremely trained in the special art of Muay
Thai - rather like a SWAT team in America; these men were set up
as the King's special guard. Through the course of time they became
known as the Tana Luark and they were chosen specifically to defend
the king from any would-be assassins. They also served the purpose
of defending other nobility and their homes, for which the King
showed great generosity.
According to historians, the most famous of all experts was a man
by the name of Nahy Khanom Thom, a man of simple means who became
adored by his people and became the country's hero. It was during
a battle with 12 of Burma's finest boxers that he achieved this
fame, for you see, the Burmese had won a great victory in battle
and taken a number of Muay Thai fighters as prisoners. The head
of the Burmese army decided to pit the fighting abilities of their
soldiers against the unarmed skills of the Thai fighters. Nahy Khanom
Thom was one of these; he was faced with the fight of his life and
at the same time had to prove the worth of a Thai fighter in unarmed
combat.
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If he had lost he would have become a slave to the King of Burma,
if indeed he had been lucky enough to keep his life in battle. He
showed no mercy in battle, defeating each of the 12 combatants in
turn with powering blows that left them reeling and bloodied. For
this feat he was awarded his freedom and the girl of his choice
to marry, along with great riches. To this day the 17th March is
still celebrated in Thailand as national Muay Thai day.
This fighter had achieved the four noble states that can be achieved
only through adherence to the principals and they are essential
to groom a combatant. These are; gratitude, diligence, patience
and solidarity; in more detail they mean having and showing gratitude
for all that he is given, to be both prudent and diligent both in
his labours and art, to be patient with all things so he is in harmony
with life and others and most importantly to have a sense of solidarity,
since his purpose is to shred self interest, as a man should not
be driven by self will alone. These are four aspects that I only
touched upon during my years of training, for I can see clearly
that the majority of my training was externalised, that I was not
at one and in harmony with those around me as they were not with
me. We were in fact driven by self will to improve our outward appearances
and thus became carbon copies of each other, yes most of us were
diligent in our training but of true tradition we knew little or
nothing.
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The rise of the art of kickboxing has by now captured the hearts
and minds of thousands throughout the globe. Perhaps the single
most important development was the introduction of the boxing ring
and timed rounds to bring it into the modern world - for at one
time rounds were timed by a coconut shell with a hole in it placed
in water, when it filled the round was over. In 1914 Thai boxing
was introduced to Europe, causing a major storm of excitement across
the continent which then led to more success in America.
Muay Thai was raging all over the world and people wanted to see
these "kings of the ring" so much that on Dec 23rd 1945
the famous Rajdamnern stadium was built. Respectable dress code
and a short sharp hair cut were the essential requirements of a
spectator; even the nobility dressed elegantly to attend the matches
of the time. The state and status of the sport was such that shortly
afterward it became even more prudent to consider the safety of
each and every fighter. Gloves were introduced and the seeds of
the Amateur Muay Thai Association were sown.
By the advent of the year 2000, the office of the National Cultural
Commission, the people of Thailand and those of the world over were
and still are working together to preserve the national beauty and
traditions of the art form. They work together to keep its place
in the heart of Thai culture and society, that it may grow into
an Olympic sport so that more people the world over can embrace
it .
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As I mentioned earlier my training never really embraced the inner
person or the true art form, as it were. Of the true spirit I knew
little or nothing, it was this that led me to grow almost bored
with the sport as I felt I was not growing as a human being; rather
I was like a flower trapped in shadow. Since my research that I
have felt new vigour flow through me and a reawakening of the desire
to be the best that I can be. Do I feel that I will ever be as natural
an exponent as some of the Thai fighters - no, but what I believe
is that I will be like the seed planted in the good soil and given
a much better chance at vigorous and sustained growth.
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