History of Muay Thai
Before anyone learns Muay Thai it might be a good idea to have a general understanding of this fighting art and of the Thai culture.
The Fighting Kingdom of Siam. Wherever one may wander in the Orient among the many schools of fighting arts one will not find a deadlier group of combatants than the Kick boxers of Thailand. Many great master's in the martial arts accept that the Thai Boxer is lethal, because he is a professional and lives just to fight.
Many people look upon Muay Thai (correct term for Thai boxing) as a sport. This may be partly true, but the legacy of this 800 year old art lives on today in the hearts of the Thai people. One visit to Thailand will confirm this. Down any street one can see young children going through the rudiments of this ancient Siamese fighting art.
The old Kingdom of Siam, as Thailand was once known, has from ancient times always seen trouble from its neighbors. Occupying the Southeast Asia peninsula, it has Burma on the west, Laos on the north and east, Cambodia to the southeast, and the Gulf of Siam and Malaysia on the south.
Yet amazingly this "Land of the Free" has resisted all attempts to conquer it. One can only put this down to the fierce fighting spirit of the people. Muay Thai techniques were part of the military training system, which was greatly influenced by Chinese fighting methods in the beginning. It later underwent a marked change and developed independently,
losing many of the Chinese boxing methods along the way. It is somewhat of a mystery how and why this happened, and for that matter why many of Muay Thai's special fighting techniques are not seen anywhere else outside of Thailand.
With No Rules or Regulations In 1930, Muay Thai underwent a transformation. A number of rules and regulations were introduced including the wearing of boxing gloves and groin guards.
Certain weight divisions were stipulated. Until that time, virtually anything was allowed in the ring. One favorite Device used by the boxers was hemp rope bound around the fist to act as a form of glove. Then dipped in glue and rolled in finely ground glass.
The Growth of the Art Today With the spread of contact sports among martial Artists throughout the world, Muay Thai has burgeoned all over the world. In Japan, Europe, and North America, Muay Thai has reached epic proportions in recent years. Followers of many other martial art disciplines will on most occasions refuse to fight a Thai Boxer because they regard him or her as a complete fighting machine.