Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing or Siam boxing, is the national sport of Thailand. Every country has its own style of combat. As Chinese people have Kung-Fu, Thai people have Muay Thai as their form of mixed martial arts. The rich history of Thailand includes various combat arts; the one of which is Muay Thai. The history of Muay Thai dates back to several hundred years ago. Although, there is a clash in the acknowledgment of its origin but it is widely accepted that Muay Thai originated from Thailand. Thai people have been using Muay Thai since long in battlefields and fights.
Thai people used to write war scripts during the time of peace which were followed during the times of war. One such script is known as “Chupasart” which has all the necessary instructions about the art of Muay Thai. This script or manual of Chupasart focuses on the use of combined action of body, soul and mind.
The use of Muay Thai apart from battlefields was seen in the time of King Prachao Sua during the 17th century before the invasion of Burmese. King Prachao was fond of combat arts and was a professional of combat skills himself. He used to disguise himself as a common man and fight the local champions. History shows that he often used to beat them. He used to arrange special Muay Thai training sessions for his army. These training sessions had competitions afterwards which gave rise to the sport of Muay Thai. The first ring for Muay Thai sport was created in 1920s.
Muay Thai is a little different from simple boxing. The specialty of Muay Thai lies in the use of full body. It personifies the weapons used for combat purposes. The main essentials during a combat are weapon and shield. The part of body used as weapon to introduce damage is the hand in case of Muay Thai. Hands become the sword or dagger during the combat; elbows act like heavy weapons e.g. mace or hammer which is used to imply force on the opponent. The lower part of the body namely legs and knees act as axe or staff. The shields of human body are the shins and forearms while fighting in Muay Thai style. All of these weapons and shields combine to make a complete fit for combat.
Muay Thai has a very high significance when it comes to fitness and strength. The art of Muay Thai needs a lot of training if one wishes to achieve perfection. Due to extensive training and the use of full body, it’s quite helpful in weight loss. Muay Thai fighters start practicing the art in early age of 10 years. With practice come the actual fights, too. Before they could spend a decade more of their life, Muay Thai fighters have already fought in hundreds of competitions. Muay Thai demands a rigorous health. The skin adapts itself to bruises and cuts thus making the fighters physically strong. Not only this art affects the body for good but it also ripens the mind since it involves the combination of both, the mind and body. Many trainers upload their training sessions on internet now-a-days thus making this whole body combat art available online.