Muay Thai becomes more popular

Ireland’s pride and joy Bernard Dunne was stripped of his super-bantamweight world title by the feared number one contender Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym of Thailand on Saturday, September 26^th last. It was four months since he had attained the title but Dunne was pushed by the world council into facing the fearsome Buddhist, a fight he was less than comfortable with accepting. Those who watched the fight may have noticed the commentator emphasising Poonsawat’s style, derived from years of extensive training in the martial art ‘Muay Thai’. He cut his Thai fighting career short in order to focus on professional boxing. The devastating results are well known at this stage. However, knowledge of the globally burgeoning Muay Thai, on the other hand, may not be so widespread.

Muay Thai is a competitive martial art and the national sport of Thailand. Not to be mistaken(on pain of death) with kickboxing, Thai boxing (Muay Thai in Thai) is also known as ’the science of 8 limbs’ and it involves hands, legs, knees, elbows and a standing grapple called ‘the clinch’. It is a hugely popular and lucrative pastime in Thailand, but, more importantly, it and its predecessor to which it owes its genesis, Muay Boran, are absolutely integral to their history and culture and it is a huge point of pride for the Thai people.

Bernard Dunne

Muay Boran was originally developed as a form of combat that would allow a disarmed soldier to effectively fight an armed opponent. Focusing on bone-dense body parts, knees, elbows, shins, etc., which would hopefully give the warrior his best chance of dealing with a blade (keeping in mind this is life or death), it promoted short, hard-hitting moves to incapacitate a foe as quickly and efficiently as possible.

At first associated with the nobility, a Thai king was expected to be a great warrior as well as philosopher, leading his people physically and spiritually. Its comprehensive introduction throughout the army saw organised, competitive fights appear, this coupled with a surge in royal interest saw these become commonplace throughout the nation (returning soldiers giving the lower classes access to good training).

However, the vicious nature of the art saw the need to regulate and tone it down as a sport. Injuries could be very serious, sometimes fatal, and fights were short. So, it became what we know today as Muay Thai, with head butts, groundwork and blows to the neck, crotch and spine illegalized forthwith.

Six fighters from NUIG, who joined a further ten from our mother-club Hanuman, fought a novice show last November 15^th. Since then various others have travelled round the country to compete.

The recent popularisation of the sport owes a lot to the rise of the mixed-martial arts (MMA) competition, UFC, and ‘The Octagon’ as the ring is ominously labelled. Many fighters use Muay Thai as the basis of their striking, jiu-jitsu conversely being influential to the groundwork, as the style is seen as being practical, effective and intelligent. Also, many Thai fighters find themselves excelling within MMA competitions on an international level; see the legendary Buakaw Por. Pramuk’s progress this year through the K-1 world MAX championship, the only man to hold the title twice. When it comes to this sport Thais are in a different league, hard as nails after a youth of rigorous conditioning with the art hardwired into their systems, they are natural competitors despite generally being significantly smaller than westerners.

Tony Jaa

Although Muay Thai has found itself being drawn to the world stage by these competitions, it generally suffers none of the meat-headed machismo that often propagates these sports. Thai fighters are known for being extremely easy-going, respectful and humorous. One will often see a stray smile or laugh, displays of showmanship or even dancing from a fighter if you attend a show, particularly if they are Thai. Every fight is preceded by a traditional dance known as the ‘Wai-Kru’ (respect to the teacher), used as a moment’s meditation and an acknowledgement of those who have trained and influenced you. Think of it like a chilled out Hahka. It is extremely important to the Thai people and a good Wai-Kru displays great respect. The Irish Muay Thai council is trying to standardise it in all shows at the moment as it is often neglected by European countries.

Muay Thai training happens every Tuesday and Thursday in the Kingfisher gym, 7pm – 9pm, and caters for people of all experience and ability.

by Emmet Byrne