Boxing in Thailand has never been a standalone art; it has always been practiced together with kicks, knees, elbows, headbutts, and wrestling under the early name of Muay, Dtoi Muay, Dti Muay, or Chok Muay. The arm strikes of the early Muay followed the mechanics of fighting with swords to be easily transferred to it, making training one beneficial to the other as well, allowing soldiers to reach greater proficiency in both.
Muay fights in Ancient Siam were fought with bare hands until the introduction of rope wraps sometime before 1659; however, bare-knuckle fights remained marginal in a few regions and in the military. Western Boxing influenced Muay in the 19th century. The chapter "Folk games in Siam" of the work "The book for everyone: illustrated sheets for entertainment and instruction for the family and everyone." explains that in 1899 the King visited the West for the first time and started adopting some of its customs, the same happened for the Siamese people, who occasionally adopted the use of gloves for Muay matches.
In 1913 British Boxing was added to the curriculum of the Suan Kulap School, and in 1919 it was taught together with Muay as a single art, marking the definitive assimilation of the punches and tactics of Western Boxing (Thai: Muay Sakon) into Thai Boxing. The event that started the transformation of Muay Boran into Sports Muay Thai happened in 1928 in Bangkok; the Muay Thasao (Muay Boran style from North Thailand) fighter Phae Liangpraset accidentally killed the Khmer boxer Chia Khaek Khamen in a Kard Chuek fight. The incident prompted the King to implement the use of gloves like in British Boxing. The decree, however, didn’t affect the outermost regions; for example, the Korat region adopted the use of gloves for all the fights only in 1942.
The Fragments of Thai Bare-knuckle Boxing
1975 Grand Master Chakrabhop Charoenrat performed an exhibition of his Muay Boran style, Thaiyuth, in front of King Rama IX and the Queen, which ordered him to collect the textbooks of Thai martial arts and the Thai art of war to preserve them as national treasures since the ancient Thai martial arts have been lost over time and are not as complete or reasonable as they should be. Similarly, Grand Master Chaisawat Tienviboon compares the art he learned to a damaged picture that needs to be restored; according to him, various elements of Thai martial arts got lost or were never passed on.
Thai Bare-Knuckle Boxing is one of the partially lost areas of Muay Boran; this happened partly due to the use of rope wraps, which increased the damage with knots but also protected and stabilized the hand, and mainly due to the implementation of gloves and the hybridization with British Boxing in the 20th century. Fragments of Thai bare-knuckle boxing are scattered all over the Muay Boran styles, what is missing is a coherent system that encloses all the tools, separates them from those working only with gloves, and explains when, where, and how you should use them logically and effectively.
In recent years, I worked to reconstruct the art by enclosing the fragments found in the following Muay Boran styles; Muay Phranakorn, Muay Korat, Muay Chaiya, Muay Lopburi, Muay Thasao, Muay Phraya Pichai, Muay Thalengphol, Muay Chaisawat, Muay Nawarach, Muay Lertrit, Thaiyuth, Muay Phra Chao Seua. Then I filled in the missing pieces by researching Bare-Knuckle Boxing from all over the world, and the more I deepened the topic, the more things clicked; the fragments of Thai Bare-Knuckle Boxing started linking together like a puzzle, and the missing pieces were primarily found in British Bare-Knuckle Boxing. Lastly, I reorganized the repertoire, and this reconstructed system was coherent and effective; it became part of the hybrid style of Muay Boran that I founded called Muay Nam.
If you want to know more about Thai Bare-Knuckle Boxing check out my book "Bare-Knuckle Boxing in Muay Boran Nam".
You will find an approach that mediates between the technicality of traditional martial arts with their no-hold-barred system, without regulations and protections, and the practicality of Combat Sports with their rational and scientific approach in a controlled environment. I combined the best of both with the sole purpose of creating a system that can make you the most effective as possible in Bare-Knuckle Fighting.
sources:
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