Muaythai, an International Passion

Muay Thai is certainly the most passionately followed sport in the country. Television popular, and the country has produced dozens of world champions, but they all started out as Muay Thai fighters. So it is not surprising that a boy as young as seven or eight would start training to become one—and many do, at stables across the country. Most provincial capitals have a boxing ring, but the ultimate dream of young boxers is to fight at Lumpini or Ratchadamnoen, the biggest and most famous stadiums in the country. Lumpini and Ratchadamnoen alternate, so there is a fight program every night. Tickets on an average evening are 500, 1,000 and 1,500 Baht, but on big nights prices of ringside seats may go up to 2,000 Baht. Ratchadamnoen’s Sunday Special rates are good bargains, with ringside tickets going for 500 Baht each. Fights usually begins around 6:30 p.m., with preliminary bouts featuring younger, less experienced boxers, and build up towards the main event, usually around nine o’clock.

Muay Thai is fought in five three-minute rounds with two-minute breaks in between. The fight is preceded by a wai khru dance, in which each contestant pays homage to his teachers. Besides the symbolic meaning, the dance is a good warm-up exercise. You will notice that each boxer wears a headband and armbands. The headband, called mongkhol, is believed to bestow luck to the wearer since it has been blessed by a monk or the boxer’s own teacher. Since Buddhism and the teacher play important roles in the life of Thais, the headband is both a lucky charm and a spiritual object. It will be removed after the wai khru dance, and only by the boxer’s trainer. The armbands, meanwhile, are believed to offer protection and are only removed when the fight has ended.

A match is decided by a knockout or by points. Three judges decide who carries the round and the one who wins the most rounds, win the fight. The referee plays a very important role, since boxers’ safety depends on his decision.

To one side of the ring is the band section, comprising a Javanese clarinet, drums and cymbals. They accompany the fight from the homage dance to the conclusion. The tempo goes up as the action inside the ring intensifies. The musicians are mostly old-timers who have seen just about anything, yet their music always makes the heart race faster. It is said that the tune is a siren song that the true Muay Thai devotee can never resist.

From Sawadee.com