When we look at films like ‘OngBak’ and ‘Nai Khanom Thom’, the Muaythai of old doesn’t seem like the same sport we see today - Where did the Muaythai ring-sport we know and love today come from? We all know that Muaythai originated as a martial-art style used as a defensive and offensive weapon of war (as did most of the “games” we see at the Olympics and other tournaments) but how and why did it change?

Since the 11th Century, Muaythai has been practiced as part of military training in Thailand. For most of it’s history Muay training was often conducted in temples as well as camps set up for that specific purpose - trainees fetched heavy buckets of water to strengthen their necks, worked in the fields for overall body strength went into the forests to swing on creepers and vines to gain physical agility and timing - all this as a prerequisite to being allowed to begin training.  We know the stories of the use of banana trees to practice on but they also punched folded wet cloth, which was draped over a solid tree-branch and, of course as the situation allowed, sparring and grappling. Sessions ended with a swim in any body of water nearby to clean the body and relax – must have been nice back then!  

Does kicking a banana tree instead of a pad make you a better boxer? Who knows?  The thought is painful indeed!  What’s more pertinent for that time is to remember that these men were training for battle, were training to kill or be killed.  Even Kings were trained in Muaythai – to avoid assassination and prepare for wars. King Ramkhamheang included Muaythai in the manuals he wrote when modernizing his army in the 1300s and certainly trained hard himself. But comparing their training to ours is rather like comparing an SAS course to a cross-country race; same-same but different! At that MUAYTHAI was the martial art of the battlefield and to look at MUAYTHAI you need to have a deep look into Thai history as well.

The first time the outside world heard of Muaythai was during the reign of King Naresuan the Great, in the 1500s when Muay was used as a form of guerrilla warfare by the Thais against the Burmese – the “ Green Berets’ if you like of the 1500s. This turbulent time was followed by the peace of King Narai, of the Ayudhaya period. The Thai art of fighting was feared and respected by other neighbouring countries.

It really wasn’t until the 1600s that Thais had time to stop and think that Muaythai could also be a sport. So, some began to create little ‘stadiums’ of a very crude sort; there was a ring – a square marked out on the ground with cotton. Gloves were worn – cloth dipped into tar to make it nice and hard when it connects with your face! The weight and age of the boxers was irrelevant as long as they wanted to fight. Boxers were often draped in amulets and medallions, as the risk of serious or permanent injury was very, very high! No doctors at the side back then ready to rush you off for stitching. Rounds? Go until someone goes down and can’t get up anymore was the general rule.  Again, in the context of the time this was not so shocking – for example, some semblance of rules were created for Boxing in England quite late, in 1743 by that periods boxing-master, Jack Broughton, only after the shock of having killed a man in a 24 round fight. A report on a match in London in 1681 referred to the “mix of street fighting and wrestling which was on show before us… “So, this was the history of most fighting for entertainment and glory up until the 20th Century.

Under the Tiger King (King Sua), boxing continued as an elite part of the military, with the best boxers being selected as the King’s Guard with all the privileges that entailed. After 1767, when the Burmese defeated the Ayudhaya Kings, boxing as a sport went into decline and became ever more prominent in military circles. Certain camps were then gaining renown for producing boxers talented in specific areas of the art and fights were sometimes arranged between soldiers from various regions – all for the glory of the battalion, of course!

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Thai society began to become less martial in nature as the need declined substantially and peace became commonplace, there were less wars for soldiers to prove their mettle in and as a result, Muaythai began to take more prominence as the national sport.

It was a slow and painful evolution but finally, timed ‘Rounds’ were introduced – but not as we know it with the timekeeper hovering anxiously over the clock; A coconut shell with a hole was placed in a bowl of water – the round lasted until the shell sank!  We can but wonder whether or not fights were rigged (was the coconut shell replaced with a rotting one which would sink faster or was the hole plugged with fibers to delay the end of the round?) but the fights still went until one boxer yielded, so no limit was placed on how many rounds a fight could go (which isn’t very long if the fighters have any skill at all!) Fights were moved from barracks and other grounds to Temples and loosely organized as ‘festivals’ of a sort – a system that continues to today where Muaythai fights are an integral part of every festival in Thailand, including the King’s Birthday on the 5th of December and the Queen’s Birthday on the 12th of August.

In 1788 there was an infamous incident with French boxers, starting an international Muaythai rivalry, which still exists today! Records of the time state that a ring of 20m squared was used with a pole at each corner to hold it together. This first international bout ended in a riot when the younger French boxer appeared to jump in to save his older brother from injury. The crowd was not impressed and made their feelings clear; a tradition that continues today in such circumstances. Rajdamnern and Lumpinee Stadiums have both seen crowds rushing the ring, showers of paper, food, etc. coming down on unpopular decisions. This volatility extends to gambling also, with Rajdamnern having had a tradition of putting non-paying betters on a wooden swing suspended from the rafters – to be left there until his friends paid his bills!

The name Muaythai (meaning simply, ‘Thai Boxing’) was first coined around this time, when the old name of ‘Ram Mut Ram Muay’ was dropped in favor of developments taking place. However, it was under, Rama V, King Chulalongkorn, that the ‘Muaythai’ as we know it today really began to take shape. This King, known as the Father of Modern Thailand, saw that this sport needed some serious guidance and work on the rules and standards of practice - Boxing coaches were sent out from Bangkok to the provinces to train everyone in the same fashion thus spreading the standards mandated by the King.

Fights were now organized on an inter-provincial level. Of course, with town pride at stake, it wasn’t long before town purses followed and the glorious betting tradition was born. Referees were resplendent in full traditional Thai costume! For the first time Muaythai was included in the syllabus of the Physical Education College as well as in the military syllabus - Students all over Thailand, boys and girls, continue to study Muaythai as part of their schooling and Inter-school competitions are often the first place a budding Rajdamnern champion will be seen.

Muaythai and Europe met again in France (always with the French!) during World War 1 when Thai soldiers stationed there put on shows for – and surely K.O.’ed many of - the European soldiers.

But it wasn’t really until 1921 that the major changes took place – the building of the first permanent stadium in Bangkok for example. Before this, fights were staged in a rather informal manner – much as fights in Europe and elsewhere today continue to be - promoters had to chase a ring, chase the boxers, but could always rely on the crowd to show up and cheer and criticize!  Spectators could stand or sit ringside, as everyone pushed and shoved their way in and out.

With all this action happening around the ring, some bright lad decided that they should raise the ring and so the “stage-ring” was born.  There was a break in the ropes for boxers to enter at one side and another gate for the referees. And what outfit was inflicted on the referees now? Only a full Scout uniform (one wonders did they blow the whistle when things got badly out of control) - The Chief Scout was the National Matchmaker with the boxers staying at the Scout Hall in Bangkok when they came to fight… Still, at least they were prepared - And how many rounds now? Well, in recognition of the fact that things were becoming more sportsmanlike and less an imitation of the battlefield; rounds were set at a gentlemanly limit of 11 (!!!) with a loud gong booming out to end the round.

During the 1920s a new stadium was built near Sanam Luang, where the National Theatre now stands. Due to boxers falling out of the ropes on a regular basis, they sealed off the ropes completely – setting the stage for the flying leaps we have today (and for the slowly-dying tradition of having women fighters go under the ropes instead of over - if only they had kept the gates). The rock-hard cotton was still being wrapped carefully around the boxers’ fists, with a huge number of injuries as a result, but thankfully this dangerous tradition finally came to an end in 1929, replaced by the use of the padded, boxing-style gloves we see today – the final parting with the ways of old.  This invention also changed the style of boxing with less need for caution now – and the style known as “muay lak “ began a slow decline with boxers beginning to move in closer, to fight more on the inside.

What was next? Well, continuing the military-boxing connection, a stadium was run by the army for a number of years in the 1930s – closing due to the Japanese invasion in 1941, which gave the army something else to think about.  The WMC president today is General Chetta Thanajaro and everyone at the council has fond memories of General Vorayuth Messommta, who was the fire behind the internationalizing of Muaythai in recent times.

Having a lot of time to think about the future of Muaythai over the next few years, Rajdamnern stadium was opened in 1945, with Lumpinee Stadium following suit in 1953 (Rajdamnern, being a Royal Stadium and with the Lumpinee under the banner of the Thai military). However, unlike today, shows were only held on Sundays and initially there was no roof, so the wet season was very quiet - this is still the case outside of Bangkok where very few fights take place from July to September, so take note if you are traveling here to see fights outside Bangkok during that time!)

Finally, Rounds were cut down to 5 – opening the way for Muaythai to develop as a contest of skill over stamina (though there are those today who say that the modern-day emphasis on grappling is taking it away again). The colorful shorts and “pi liang” (corner-men) outfits have come to be issued – creating a huge business in Muay gear and designing -And the referees were liberated from their scouting outfits… Piece by piece over the last 60 years the addition of modern rules such as stipulating age and weight standards, ring and fighting regulations, etc. have all brought us to the sport we see before us today. 

But what of the ancient rituals surrounding and providing the mystique of the ‘Muay of old’ – Well, some of the more cultural elements are still present today to the benefit of the Muaythai atmosphere - The often live music which echoes round every stadium is a direct descendant of the drums and pipes to which the ancient armies of Thailand marched to war. The ‘Mongkhon’ and wearing of amulets have also survived the cynicism of the ‘TV age’ and no doubt will continue to inspire future generations of boxers to believe that they alone are invincible (at least until proven otherwise!)

Now, Foreigners have been seen taking a serious interest in Muaythai since the late 1970’s and throughout the 80’s, with ever-greater numbers traveling to Thailand to train and compete here. This raises the question ‘Has this trend had an influence on Muay?’ Well, there is certainly a distinct difference in style between West and East and possibly always be and the influence is clear in some areas – the weight divisions, the shorts, the gloves but in others aspects there seems no difference at all.

In the late 80s Amateur MUAYTHAI was born to make MUAYTHAI a safe sport to international sporting rules .Safety equipment was introduced , headguard , chestguard shin guards ,elbow guards ,Amateur MUAYTHAI was born and countries united to form a world amateur federation the International Federation of MUAYTHAI Amateur (IFMA)which organized many international events and has over 100 member countries .

1995 saw another historic date, the WMC World MUAYTHAI Council under approval and the directive of the Thai government was born to regulate and foster MUAYTHAI especially on a professional level..IFMA and WMC decided to work together for the good of international sport.The rest is history or future!

Muaythai has evolved and changed much over the past few centuries, changing along with the ‘new world’ Asia is quickly becoming. From the defense of home and King to the Sport of Kings, Muaythai’s ‘journey’ has been a long one and no doubt it will continue – Muaythai Forever!