Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The History Of Thai Fights

By Wanda Rosner


Thai fights are competition fights carried out as a sport in Thailand and that involves huge stand up striking, and use of different grappling methods. A professional league exists in Thailand controlled by the World Thai Council specifically for the sport. The use of all limbs, that is knees, fists, elbows and feet has earned it the popular title of the art of eight limbs.

In the old days, the technique was traditionally used as an actual fighting combat in warfare, and was only later practiced as a sport. The opponents would meet in a ring in front of spectators gathered to watch the match as entertainment. As time went by, the fights became an integral part of the local traditions and celebrations of the people of Thailand, especially those organized in the temples. Later on, fighters were given hemp rope that they tied around their hands and forearms to protect themselves. This type of match was called the muay khat chueak.

With the rise and advance of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) during the 19th century, many changes were made to the fight. Back then at that time there was peace, and the technique could only be used mostly as recreation, physical exercise, personal advancement, and maybe self-defense. The first boxing ring was introduced in 1921, where referees were brought in and modern gloves and hard groin protectors introduced. These were safety precaution measurements to the fighters.

Later on it was found that, when knots were tied on the ropes on the knuckles, the strikes were more deadly and caused severe injuries to the fighters. This kind of fight was known as muay boran. A fighter was once killed in a ring, thereby leading to the introduction of gloves and cotton coverlets to replace the hemp rope. This was banned and is only available as an exhibition form of art.

Two types of Thai fighting exist; major technique (mae mai) and luk mai (minor techniques). All the techniques require the whole body to move, as well as the hip when taking kicks, punch, elbow and blocking. The fight has changed through years; for instance, a new sport famously called the muay Thai has emerged.

Several techniques are used to prevent attacks. Redirection is used when a defender wades off an attack by changing its direction, making it to miss its designation, or blocking to prevent a strike by stopping it before it reaches him/her. The defender can also use avoidance, in which he/she moves his/her body or part to avoid being hit, and then finds space to counter attack.

The evasion technique is used by the defender by moving the whole body to prevent an attack, and the later moves it back to counter. A combination of the disruption technique, and the anticipation technique can be used when countering an attack, such as a roundhouse kick before it lands. This helps the fighter gain a positive advantage during the fight.

In the past, muay Thai was used to improve body fitness and toughness, which is required when participating in a match. The training can be in the form of running, jumping, shadowboxing, medicine ball exercises, weight training ,abdominal exercises, and bodyweight resistance exercises. These are useful to the health and fitness of the fighter.




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