Most of what is known about the early history of Thai Boxers comes from Burmese accounts of warfare between Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and Thailand during the 15th and 16th centuries. The earliest reference (1411 AD) mentions a ferocious style of unarmed combat that decided the fate of the Thai kings. A later description tells how Nai Khanom Tom, Thailand's first famous boxer and a prisoner of war in Myanmar, gained his freedom by roundly defeating a dozen Burmese warriors before a Burmese court. To this day, many martial art aficionados consider the Thai style the ultimate in hand to hand fighting. Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, USA, Germany and France have all sent their best and none of the challengers have been able to defeat top-ranked Thai Boxers. On one famous occasion, Hong Kong's top five Kung Fu masters were dispatched in less than 6 and a half minutes cumulative total, all knockouts. (note: the previous statement can be disputed at present. A check of recent history would show many USA fighters have beaten Thai fighters in title fights at Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium. At the recent annual King's Cup 2000 in Thailand, several USA fighters from San Francisco's Fairtex Muay Thai gym beat Thai fighters. Also of note, many of the current Muay Thai world champions are not Thai fighters, e.g., Alex Gong, Jean Claude Leuyer, and George Tsutsui.)
King Naresuan the Great (1555-1605) was a great Thai boxer himself, and he made Muay Thai a required part of military training for all Thai soldiers. Later another Thai king, Phra Chao Seua ( the 'tiger king), further promoted Thai Boxing as a national sport by encouraging prize fights and the development of training camps in the early 18th century. These are accounts of massive wagers and bouts to the death during this time. Phra Chao Seua himself is said to have been an incognito participant in many of the matches during the early part of his reign. Contestants fists were wrapped in thick horsehide for maximum impact with minimum knuckle damage. They also used cotton soaked in glue and ground glass and later hemp bindings. Tree bark and seashells were used to protect the groin from lethal kicks.
F.A.Q.
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What is MUAY THAI and is it pronounced Moo-Thai?
The correct pronunciation is not Moo-Thai or even Mai-Thai it is pronounced Moo-aye-Thai. Muay Thai is a martial art that dates back thousands of years to ancient Siam or Thailand, as it is known today. Muay Thai is th national sport of Thailand and infuses all aspects of Thai culture. It is taught in the schools and universities and is an integral part of Thailand's military training. The arsenals of this fierce martial art include punches, elbows, knees and kicks. The sport of Muay Thai is an internationally recognized ring sport and in recent years has gained recognition for its contribution to full contact sports.
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What is the difference between MUAY THAI and KICKBOXING?
The Shin Thai Kickboxing Program taught here at the CombatGym, Focuses on the fitness and conditioning aspect of Muay Thai. Muay Thai is an extreme ring sport dating back thousands of years. By and large, General Kickboxing originated in the 1970's and evolved from Full Contact Karate and Boxing. European Kickboxing or Savate originated in France. Today, the sport of Kickboxing has adapted elements and training methods of Muay Thai including kicking with the shin and Thai pads drills. The main difference between Kickboxing and Muay Thai is that Kickboxers do not train using elbows and/or clinching and kneeing.
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I've never trained in MUAY THAI and I'm not in very good shape, would that be an issue?
It doesn't matter if you're inexperienced, out of shape or not very coordinated. As long as you have “heart”, which means you're not a quitter and you're consistent with your training, you'll get into shape, you'll develop valuable self-defense skills and you'll improve strength, agility, coordination plus so much more.
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Since MUAY THAI is an extreme Combat Sport, what kind of injuries could I expect to sustain?
In general, none except for some moderate to intense muscle soreness depending on your physical condition. However, like other contact sports such as basketball or even soccer accidents can happen. Students are encouraged to train with proper form to minimize chances of injury. Training to fight in an aggressive and demanding sport like Muay Thai is a different story; fighters have the highest risk of injury because the mere nature of the sport is to win by knocking out or disabling an opponent. Training for competition is serious business and requires extreme mental and physical fortitude. Plus, the better prepared a fighter is for the bout, the less chance they have of sustaining injuries.
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Being the #1 Fighter's Gym in the South of the United Kingdom is training to fight mandatory?
Of course not, in fact, most students train to improve their physical condition and/or to learn realistic self-defense. Training for competition is not for everyone, fighters are a rare breed. The fight game is physically and mentally demanding and not something anyone can make you do. “You” have to want it, “You” have to train for it and “You” have to do the work!
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I've trained in traditional martial arts for a number of years, will that help me or hinder me?
Muay Thai is unlike traditional martial arts, because although an ancient martial art, it is a “Fighting Art”, so the concepts and training methods will be very different from what you are use to. If you've trained in other martial arts, that's great, but, it'll be very important to “Empty Your Cup” first or it will be a long, hard and painful journey.
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My child is only six years old will training in YOUTH MUAY THAI make him/her too aggressive?
Absolutely not and although Muay Thai is a fighting art it is still a martial art and like most martial arts training will develop discipline and respect, while improving confidence and self-esteem. Plus, one of the many benefits of training in a Fighting Art such as Muay Thai is that it teaches realistic and street proven self-defense.
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What is the youngest and/or oldest age a person can start training?
We accept students as young as 5 years of age and how “old” depends on the individual. We have students who are in there 40's, 50's and even 60's. They're not working on a fight career, but they train hard and get into great shape. Some choose to spar and some don't.
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Starting out, what type of equipment will I need?
To start, you'll need hand wraps, bag gloves or boxing gloves and prior to purchasing any equipment, we suggest you try a class first and if you don't have boxing gloves, we can lend you a pair. Hand wraps and all other equipment are for sale at the gym. For a complete list of uniform and equipment requirements, refer to the Class Descriptions located on the reverse side of the Class Schedule.
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What is the minimum and/or maximum days that I can train?
The minimum is 2 days per week. If you can't commit to training at least twice a week, then unfortunately you will not get the results i am sure you will want for yourself.. In the Student Enrollment Program you can train “6 Days Per Week”.
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How long will it take me to get into shape and/or if training to fight, how soon would I be ready for my first bout?
How long it'll take to “get into shape“ is difficult to say because results vary and like anything else, “you will get out what you put in.” We have a student that lost close to sixty pounds in two years training consistently three times a week. Another student weighed 170 lbs. when he started and in three and a half months he fought at 145 lbs. If training to fight, “when” will be determined on an individual basis and is the sole decision of your Kru (coach).
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Do a lot of women train in MUAY THAI?
Like most contact sports, Muay Thai is definitely a male dominated sport. Most of our women students train in Kickboxing where contact is limited to punching and kicking heavy bags, focus mitts and Thai pads. Some of the women continue into Muay Thai, some don't, some do both and maybe some will choose to fight, but at least they have choices.
