The Mystery of Muay Thai Boxing
Muay Thai Boxing is a much favored sport in the whole of Thailand, and a well loved entertainment in most parts of the world. It is in fact more popular than any other sport in Thailand. Muay Thai Boxing is a very rigorous art that requires a lot more energy, concentration, and intelligence as compared to western style boxing. This much revered sport is embedded in the history of Thailand, and dates back over hundreds of years.
Though the people of Thai are peaceful people, they are the experts at this albeit brutal but beautiful sport, because the art has been an indispensable part of their ancient history. More so, it is the most advantageous and major form of defense for them considering the nature of their borders, which is basically rough and uneven, making it almost impossible to employ the use of long range weapons in warding off invaders to their land. This particular hand to hand style of fighting usually favors them against the invaders.
One may ask then, that how did the people of Thai come by this unique art of boxing? As far back as the 1500, the famous warrior king, who also doubled as the greatest legend in boxing in Thailand, Naresuan the Great took the initiative to make the art a mandatory aspect of the training of his military army, though little is known of where he got knowledge of the art. However, the most cited incidence that finally broke the ice occurred about some 250 years after this initial introduction, when the much acclaimed warrior, Nai Khanom was kidnapped by the Burmese during a raid on the capital of Siam. He won his freedom only after winning a challenge where he defeated ten of the best fighters of the Burmese at a go using the Muay Thai boxing technique. Since then, Muay Thai boxing has been a favorite of the people of Thai.
Today, very little has changed about the enthusiasm for Muay Thai Boxing, though there have been a few changes concerning the rules of the art. This is evident in the amazingly high number of boxing camps in Thailand that has been set up to officially train individuals in the art. These Muay Thai camps, spread all over Thailand offer a unique opportunity to all people to become masters in the art, as opposed to formerly when only local Thai young men were trained. Instructors in these Muay Thai camps in Thailand are required to be conversant with the English language, in an attempt to create an enabling environment for foreign students, including women. Characteristically, most Muay Thai camps in Thailand include in their training course an in-depth study of the cultural and historical background of the art, as well as the required fitness training. Aside these, a lot of moral discipline and self confidence are instilled in the trainees. This makes the training not only physical, but very total in nature.