Muay Thai to “Contend” on a World Stage

Here is article I wrote for the Bangkok Trader. It’s a paper for ex-pat community living in Bangkok. This article should be out in this months issue.

It’s eight o’clock Saturday morning and I’ve just made the trip from Sutthisan to Sukhumvit 63 in about a half hour. Score one for the BTS and MRT. I walk into the Ingram Gym, quickly change into my Muay Thai shorts and wrap my hands. The head trainer, “Bu”, points to the jump ropes hanging off of the rack. I see some stragglers scurrying in as I’m getting warmed up. After a few rounds of skipping rope, Bu motions to me to put on some boxing gloves.

Despite the early hour, the air is already muggy. I’m pouring with sweat and I haven’t even begun to kick the pads yet. “Ow… Sip Tee!” he barks. He wants 10 fast kicks at the beginning of the round to get the blood flowing. He calls out combinations of kicks, knees and punches for me to throw. I try to keep up, but my lungs are beginning to burn; it’s hard work even keeping your hands up to protect your face. Twelve ounces of leather doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, when your lungs are on fire it feels like a ton. The timer sounds, 30 seconds left in the round. “Ow! … lew! lew!” He holds the pads off to the side. He wants me to kick as fast and as hard as I can for the next 30 seconds, which of course feels like two minutes. Ding, ding! Thank God! I walk in circles trying to catch my breath and hold down the vomit I feel creeping up my esophagus. One round down, only four more to go… this is Muay Thai.

 

Muay Thai is called the Science of Eight Limbs because it has eight points of contact. Unlike Western boxing, which only allows the use of your fists, Muay Thai makes full use of hands, elbows, knees and shins.

Many of you reading this have probably caught a glimpse of Muay Thai on Channel 5 or on UBC. You may have even dropped by Lumpini to take in a fight or two. In the next couple of months you’re going to see another side of Muay Thai. At least that’s what the producers of “The Contender – Thailand” are hoping for.

The Contenders are coming

“The Contender”, a sports reality show, is the brainchild of reality television pioneer Mark Burnett. Originally aired on American TV in 2005, it took 16 fighters, divided them into two competing teams, and made them live together under one roof. In each episode the fighters participated in team-based competitions, ranging from dragging a truck through a river bed to puzzle solving. The winning team won the privilege to pick whom their teammate would go up against. The remainder of the show was dedicated to airing an edited-down version of their five-round bouts.

The fighters, all highly skilled boxers, ranged from undefeated fighters on the rise to those looking for their one last shot. The strength of “The Contender” was the producer’s ability to build a story around each of these fighters. When you put 16 fighters under one roof there are bound to be issues and personality conflicts. Each week they would focus our attention on the growing animosity between fighters. In the end you’re sucked into tuning in to see if a certain fighter got the beating that was coming to him. “The Contender – Thailand” will attempt to replicate the original format with Muay Thai fighters.

Muay What?

Two years ago, if you stopped the average American male on the street and asked him what Muay Thai was, you would have gotten a blank stare. A lot has changed in a very short time. One of the fastest growing sports in the US, Europe, and South America is Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), No Hold Barred (NHB) fighting. MMA fighters use a wide range of techniques such as striking, kicking and grappling. Muay Thai and Brazilian Ju-jitsu have become their de facto martial arts.

Today, Muay Thai is in serious demand. It seems like everybody and their mother is a “Certified Muay Thai Instructor”. All of a sudden it appears that every Karate Dojo and Kung Fu school has added “Kick Boxing” to their curriculum. I live in San Francisco, where we have a population of approximately 750,000. I know of five Muay Thai gyms within the city, and I’m not even counting all the other places that offer “Kick Boxing”. At any given time there are about 1,100 Muay Thai Students shadow boxing around San Francisco. Only small number of these people will ever see the inside of a ring. Most train because it’s an incredible full body workout. And this phenomenon is hardly isolated to the Bay Area. It’s happening all over the world.

So what’s the state of Muay Thai in Thailand?

Looking outside

I’ve been training Muay Thai for approximately nine years. I don’t fight professionally or even consider myself good, for that matter. I train for the same reason most other people train: because I love it. I get back to Bangkok several times a year to visit my parents, and when I do, I always drop into Ingram Gym for a workout. I’ve kept my eye on the Muay Thai scene in Bangkok for nearly a decade.

I’ve always wondered to myself, when will Muay Thai finally go mainstream in Thailand? I know this sounds like a ridiculous statement. Thailand is the home of Muay Thai — how could it get anymore mainstream?

Well, we Thais have a habit of looking outside of our own culture, and our love for all things foreign is apparent even in Martial Arts. If you drop into a Tae Kwon Do Academy in Bangkok, you’ll see business is booming. No disrespect intended towards other martial arts disciplines, but I’m amazed why more Thais don’t take advantage of this legendary method of combat that is a living part of our heritage

Ask the average American or Englishmen who Oscar De La Hoya or Lennox Lewis is and I’d be willing to wager that 95% would know. In contrast, ask your Thai co-worker who Anuwat, Samkor, Yodsaenklai, or Buakaw is. I’m fairly certain that they won’t have a clue.

Tipping point

In the United States, it started with the whole cardio kickboxing craze. I was sure it would only be a matter of time until some entrepreneurial Muay Thai gym owner in Thailand created a program targeting the crowd that hangs out at California Wow. I joked with my friends that all it would take is one Thai “Daraa” (TV star) to start training, and the entire country would jump on the bandwagon. I was certain that the international success of the Tony Jaa movies would at least raise the awareness of Muay Thai in Thailand. Yet the only change that I’ve noticed is the amount of farangs who are venturing there to live and train at camps for weeks at a time. These are very motivated people – I’d say that a majority of those who work out and train in Thailand, both Thai and Farang, are experts. My question is: when will the general Thai public, in large numbers, begin to undertake Muay Thai?

Humility

One of the concerns I have with the upcoming show is its ability to create the same controversies and dramas around the Thai fighters. As many of you know, Thai people tend to shy away from confrontation. Thai fighters are often reserved and will rarely talk smack to other fighters. In fact, they are highly respectful to each other. In contrast, the fighters of the original “Contender” were often so polarizing that it was almost impossible not to take a side. As there will be foreign fighters in the Thai line up, it will be interesting to see if nationalism plays a part in any conflicts.

Bringing Muay Thai Home

Will “The Contender” give Muay Thai that last push? As of writing this article I only know of two confirmed fighters, the rest are just rumors. The names that are being tossed around as potential contenders are pretty astounding. They are some of the biggest names in Muay Thai. Hopefully with the success of “The Contender” these champions will be as well known at home as Somluck.

By bringing these fighters into the homes of Thai people, I’m hoping “The Contender – Thailand” will impassion us to be proud of something that is ours. Then these fighters, who are regarded worldwide as Thai heroes, can finally receive some long-overdue recognition in their own country.