PASSPORT WORLD TOUR - Summer 2024 Thailand
Posted: July 09, 2024
This Summer we talk about and learn about the martial arts style of each of the countries listed below.
- THAILAND
- PHILLIPPINES
- CHINA
- JAPAN
- SOUTH KOREA
- BRAZIL
We are so excited to share a little history and how their martial arts came to be.
This week we will learn about THAILAND.
WHERE IN THE WORLD
Thailand formerly known as Siam, is a country located at the center of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It’s bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime
boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
WHAT KIND OF KARATE? MUAY THAI
Muay Thai is a combat sport from the country of Thailand. It utilizes stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques for control of an opponent. Muay Thai, like boxing and various forms of kickboxing, is recognized as a very effective striking base within MMA, and is very widely trained among MMA fighters.
The word “Muay” derives from the Sandscrit “mavya” which means “to bind together”. Muay Thai is referred to as the “Art of Eight Limbs” or “Science of Eight Limbs” because it makes use of punches, kicks, elbows and knee strikes, thus using eight “points of contact”, as opposed to two points (fists) in boxing and four points (hands and feet) used in other more regulated combat sports, such as kickboxing or boxing. Muay Thai techniques can be found in our Fitness Kickboxing program as well as in our traditional martial arts program. We incorporate the basics of the system to provide all students with a well rounded and complete system of striking at the different ranges of distance.
ORIGIN
Various forms of kickboxing have long been practiced throughout Southeast Asia. Based on Chinese and Indian martial arts, practitioners claim that these systems can be traced back to a thousand years.
Muay Thai evolved from the older Muay Boran (ancient boxing), an unarmed combat method which would have been used by Siamese soldiers after losing their weapons in battle. Some believe that the ancient Siamese military created muay boran from the weapon-based art, krabi krabong but others contend that both systems were developed at the same time.
Muay boran, and therefore Muay Thai, was originally called Dhoi Muay or simply Muay. As well as being a practical fighting technique for use in actual warfare, Muay became a sport in which the opponents fought in front of spectators who went to watch for entertainment. These Muay contests gradually became an integral part of local festivals and celebrations, especially those held at temples. Eventually, the previously bare-fisted fighters started wearing lengths of hemp rope around their hands and forearms.