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Muay Thai, pronounced Moo-ay Tie, Moo (as in "mood"), ay (as in "way") and Tie (as in to "tie" a knot) translates into English as Thai style boxing.
The art of Muay Thai has been developed over the centuries from the ancient battlefields to the modern ring where fighters demonstrate daily the effectiveness of the art.
It is the national sport of Thailand, and in its modern form it is a ring sport where, at professional level, two fighters of equal weight compete in a boxing ring over 5 x 3 minute rounds using fists, elbows, feet and knees to both attack and defend.
The fights are accompanied by background music and the fighters perform a pre-fight ritual known as wai kru, which is a way of showing respect to teachers past and present.
There are both professional and amateur level of competition or you can just train for fitness, fun and self defence.
Muay Thai differs from Kickboxing, which was first developed in the 1960's, in that generally in Kickboxing there are no kicks below the waist, no knee and elbow techniques, no accompanying music and no wai kru.
Muay Thai is a true martial art which has many traditions from Thai history and culture. Training in Muay Thai trains both the mind and the body.
Compared to some other martial arts, there are relatively few techniques to learn, which means that proficiency in the art can be achieved in a short period of time.
There aren't any flashy techniques, just very effective ones.
If you aren't familiar with what a Muay Thai fight is all about, here are a few video links to have a look at. Some of the fighters featured in these clips are considered to be the all time greats.
The early history of what is now known as Muay Thai is difficult to trace as Thailand's historical records were destroyed in 1767, when the invading Burmese army laid siege to the then capital city of Ayuthaya. The city was overrun, ransacked and put to the torch. All historical records and manuscripts were destroyed.
Thailand's history, as it is known today, has been pieced together from provincial records, the writings of early European visitors and Burmese, Cambodian and Chinese sources. It is from this amalgamation of information that our little knowledge of early Muay Thai comes.
The oldest historical document mentioning a Thai unarmed fighting art comes from 1560, but it is generally believed that by this time the art was already well developed and is probably more than 1000 years old. Its origins, along with other oriental martial arts, are possibly at the Shaolin Temple in China.
Over the centuries disputes of national importance were often settled by unarmed combat duels, even succession to the royal throne has been settled in this way.
It was in the early 1700's when boxing became the favorite pastime of the population and regular sporting contests were held. These early contests would have looked very different to modern day contests. The bare fisted fighters stalking each other with dance-like steps, waiting for a chance to move in and attack their opponent, then quickly withdrawing to wait for the next opportunity. In later contests the boxers bound their hands with hemp rope. This continued until about 1930 when western style boxing gloves were worn. This was the beginnings of modern day Muay Thai.
Nai Khanom Tom is known as the "father of Muay Thai" and is considered to be the first Thai Boxer to have fought using the art outside of Thailand. He defeated 10 Burmese boxers in succession to earn his freedom from captivity in Burma on March 17th, 1774. This story is taught to children in Thai schools and March 17th is known as Muay Thai day.
