In this blog, we’ve talked a lot about the history and bases of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and why it is one of the most complete and versatile grappling martial arts. However, in this article, let’s take a look at its punching contrapart: Muay Thai, and discover how this ancient martial art – born 2000 years ago in Thailand – became one of the hardest and most effective self-defense techniques in the world.So, put your gloves on and let’s travel to ancient China, where an exiled army conquered a kingdom with their fists, instead of swords, and an errant prince became a national Boxing champion.
The origins of Muay Thai
Like many martial arts and self-defense techniques, Muay Thai was born out of necessity. According to the legends – and some historical records that survived through the ages – the first Muay Boran masters were actually natives from southeast China, like the ancestral Thai peoples.
Thousands of years ago, politics and climate forced these people to travel south, looking for fertile land where they could live more freely. Durgin all that journey, the thai were harassed by wild animals, bandits and enemy feudal lords.
So, in order to survive this migration, they formed militias and trained their new soldiers in a technique called chupasart, mixing the military practices of dozens of tribes and using many, many kinds of weapons. This training routine was so rigorous and brutal that the number of wounded during practice became a problem.
That’s when Muay Boran was created, based on the Chinese wushu (or Kung Fu), but with the roughness required by the circumstances: a martial art so versatile and rough as the chupasarat, but fought with bare hands. Hard enough to instill in the recruits the warrior spirit, but still safer than sparring with sharp swords.
There’s no coincidence that, many centuries later, Muay Boran’s successor, Muay Thai, would also be referred to as “the art of eight limbs” or “the art of eight weapons”, considering that each point of contact in the body mimics an specific weapon of the chupasarat technique.
So, where the soldiers would fight with sword and dagger, the hands took their place. Hardened by constant training, the shins and forearms could be used like a shield against the enemy’s blows. With their length and reach, the legs and knees replaced the staff and the axe. And, if you’ve ever been hitted by an opponent’s elbow, it takes no imagination to connect it with the hammer and the heavy mace.
Now, you can have hours of heated debates about “which is the most efficient martial art”, enough to fill a panel with MMA commentators for a whole year. But bear in mind: the army trained with the combination of Chupasart and Muay Boran actually managed to conquer a large chunk of South Asia, pretty much forming what we know today as Thailand. Some hard evidence for you, right?
With their conquests, the Thai peoples built the ancient Kingdom of Siam and, in the centuries that followed, Muay Boran remained as a central part of their culture and military doctrine. When the Siamese Army was first created, in the 13th century, to protect the kingdom against the invading tribes coming from the lowlands, Muay Boran was already an indispensable part of their training.
Around that same time, many training centers began to emerge all over the kingdom. Thousands of young men would seek these places, called “camps”, in order to learn how to defend themselves and learn discipline. Even Thai Buddhist temples would adopt the Muay Boran as part of their teachings.
With Muay Boran becoming so popular amongst the commoners, it was only a matter of time until it reached royalty, with many kings and siamese noblemen sending their children to the training camps as part of their formation as future rulers and generals.
In the earlier days of Muay Boran, the martial art still resembled much of the Chinese Kung Fu, with a lot of moves using the palm instead of fists, strikes with the fingertips and using the hands like claws in order to grab the opponent. Slowly but surely, however, Muay Goran evolved to become the “Thai Boxing” that we know today.
Get to know the origins of Jiu Jitsu.
How Muay Thai becomes a national sport
Like all respectable members of the Thai nobility, King Narai was a regular practitioner and inveterate fan of Muay Thai. During his reign in the 17th century, Muay Thai left the battlefields to become a national sport. Most of the rules and traditions that would guide Muay Thai for the next 400 years were created during Narai’s rule, and many arenas were built all over Thailand.
The “ring”, made with hemp ropes and used as a fighting area, for instance, dates back to his time. And so does the Mongkong (headband) and pa-pra-jiad (armband) used by fighters until today.
And, talking about rules, the ones of ancient Muay Thai were refreshingly simple in comparison with the ones in effect today: no blows at the groin, no gouging eyes, no beating up the adversary when he’s down and… no pulling hair.
In the first Muay Thai competitions, there wasn’t’ no division of fighters in any category, such as weight or height, experience or age. They all compete against each other, with no limit of fighting time. The fight would end only when one of the competitors was knocked-out or so tired or beaten that it could fight no more.
However, the level of professionalism in these ancient competitions was quite sophisticated. First of all, there was a lot of money to be made in the ring. A professional fighter – whose main occupation was to train and compete – could represent their training camp, their village or get paid to serve as a “champion” to a nobleman’s interest in order to settle a dispute, for instance.
These professional fighters would usually join a camp still as children, living and training with all the other fighters. The camp’s master would pay for their food and clothes, their medical care and education. In return, when the fighters would eventually win the competitions, the prize and the winnings would be shared with the master.
One of the biggest fans of this rising sport was a prince called Pra Chao Sua, who used to disguise himself to enter competitions in small villages around the country. And actually win a lot of them. So, you won’t be surprised to know that, when this guy rose to power in 1703, Muay Thai entered the required curriculum of Thailand’s public schools.
And if you think that the schools had any special rule or equipment to soften up the fight for the kids, well… you’re not following the story.
It was only in the 1920th that the gentler spirit of modern times reached the Muay Thai ring. With the number of serious injuries reaching a concerning level (at schools and stadiums), some of the English Boxing rules were adapted to Muay Thai.
The fighters would now use boxing gloves and be divided into categories of weight. The system of rounds was established, with a time limit for the duration of fights, and winning by points was now possible. Referees both in the center and the sides of the ring were also included.
The fundament of Muay Thai
Despite its recent… gentrification, so to speak, Muay Thai is still one of the most aggressive and versatile modalities of punching martial arts. Like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can prepare you for any scenario of grappling struggle on the ground, Muay Thai covers pretty much all possibilities of a standing fight.
It’s no wonder why many UFC professional fighters (like Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya) have Muay Thai in their curriculum, and most self-defense specialists will place Thai Boxing in their top five “must-train lists”.
But no need to worry: in professional competitions cenarius – such as UFC – there’re many rules that limit the kinds of blows you can strike. The same cannot be said about real life cenarius. As a self-defense technique, Muay Thai is pretty straightforward in its goals: to hurt the aggressor badly, preferably from a leg length of distance.
Something needs to be said, however. Being such a central part of Thai culture, deeply rooted in the country’s history and formative years – mostly spent on the battlefield -, Muay Thai is surely a hard form of fighting. There’s no room for indiscipline and lack of control in it.
As sport practice, it’s a highly demanding exercise that will level with boxing and workout styles like crossfit, offering quick results if you’re looking to get in shape. As a martial art and self-defense technique, it’s efficiency and versatility is remarkable. But for all those things, discipline and focus are indispensable.
The process required to develop your skills in Muay Thai will harden not only your shins and forearms, but also your sense of purpose and respect for your teammates, testing your limits and pushing you forward in order to surpass them.
And, speaking from experience, the after training feels like an energy stream hard to describe, a lot like swimming below a cold waterfall.
Want to know more about this ancient Martial Art that became the darling of UFC fighters? Schedule a Free Trial class at School of Jiu Jitsu!