Ask any visitor to bangkok whether he or she has heard of muay thai or thai boxing and the answer will be in affirmative.
a visit to any of the boxing stadiums in bangkok-ratchadamnoen or lumpini-will witness this ancient thai martial art in action.
thai boxing originated in the ayutthaya period. from a self-defensive art, it was transformed into a spectator sport. a curious combination of balletic grace and murderous ferocity accompanied and whipped up by music it a thrilling sport to watch.a fight can use his knees feet elbow and shoulders. that's why it is aptly called eight-armed pugilism. you do not have to watch a fight long before you realize that a small build is no measure of a thai boxer capacity to inflict injury. a well-delivered kick either to the groin or the head can floor an opponent it is open secret in martial arts circles that a good thai boxer is virtually unstoppable.
a thai boxing ring looks like one anywhere in the world but what goes on inside is uniquely thai a mixture of ballet gymnastic and mayhem in which just about anything goes short of biting. the difference is apparent as soon as thee boxers enter the ring. they wear the familiar gloves and boxing trunks but also a coloured cord around their heads and biceps (usually containing a lucky amulet) often a jasmine garland around their necks and they are barefooted.
before the fight begins they go through an odd slow-motion dance designed to show off their talents in stylized form and pay respect to their teachers. to the outsider the dances may look the same but in fact aech boxing camp has its own distinctive version and connoisseurs can tell immediately which camp a boxeer comes from.
a four-piece orchestra composed of a java pipe cymble and a pair of long drums accompanies the dance and also the fight following the action and stoping up the tempo as the blows fly and the excitement rises.
until about forty years ago thai boxers did not wear gloves but bouund their hands with hemp in which ground glass was sometime put for added effect. it was also the custom for the fight to go on for as long as both fighters could stand up. now there are fives rounds of fixed three-minute duration no ground glass and if one fighter appears to be injiured the referee stope the fight.
thai boxing can be seen in bangkok at rachadhamneon stadium starting around 5 p.m. on monday wednesday thursday and sunday and at lumpini stadium on tuesday wednesday friday and saturday althrough programmes include sometime both western-style boxing and muay thai main muay thai both usually takes place around 7 p.m.
ringside seats cost about 500 baht but you can sit in the bleachers for less than half of that.