To many of us, Thai martial art is known in a form of Thai kickboxing or, as it is more commonly known, Muay Thai.
However, Muay Thai is technically not an authentic martial art. It is a sport that’s been around since 1930, thus its techniques were taken from the more lethal art of Muay boran, which originated from the older fighting style of ling lom (air monkey) via the ancient mother art of krabi krabong (stick and sword fighting).
Although the ancient forms of Muay Thai are Buddhist in nature, ling lom has its foundation in the Hindu legend of Ramayana, specifically the monkey god Hanuman, wherein the Muay Thai fights traditionally re-enacted the battling gods.
Thai fighting arts evolved because of the country’s historical conflicts with Burma. Muay Thai’s ancestral arts were first described in King Ramkamheng’s (1275-1317) Book of War Learning. In 1560, King Nareusan was captured by the Burmese. He was released when he defeated the top Burmese boxers. It was this event that may be considered as a birth of Muay Thai.
But there is a similar story that describes how Nai Khanom Tom took on 10 (12) Burmese fighters while imprisoned in Burma and was released in 1774. Arguably the most important fighter in Muay Thai history is Nai Khanom Tom, whose heroics have gone down in Thai folklore.
We will tell you this story in the next article. Stay tuned!
Interested in Muay Thai training?
MK Boxing has everything you need to obtain a great workout, and help you feel great about yourself while learning some great skills.
We have a Muay Thai class every Tuesday at 6:30pm-7:30pm with our experienced unstructor Joe.
If you are interested in 1-1 training, please reach out to mikeknox@mkboxing.com.
