Muay Boran

As Muay Thai became standardised and internationalised absorbing many elements of Western Boxing many looked back fondly to the days of Muay Kaad chuek. Muay Boran is a traditional form of Muay Thai still taught in Thailand and never was real fight in the ring.

It is highly ritualised and training is a very long and involved process. Muay Boran students practice techniques for a long time before being allowed to progress to the next step. At the heart of Muay Boran is the Yaang Sam Khun (three strides). Muay Boran is both highly entertaining and effective. Pairings are done in the traditional style, not by weight, and all parts of the body are potential targets.

Muay Kaad Chuek

During the Ayuthaya era came the introduction of Muay Kaad Chuek. That is the use of unrefined hemp wrappings to protect the fingers and wrists. A length of around 20 metres was enough to bind one hand. The use of Muay Kaad Chuek quickly spread, as a bound fist is tougher, stronger and better protected against injury than an unbound one. It is said that before a contest fighters immersed their fists in water. This would cause the binding to harden when it dried, making it capable of producing serious injury. Some people go further and claim that fighters dipped their hands in glue and ground glass. Such a contest would certainly have made a gory sight! To this day an annual Muay Kaad Chuek contest with Laos is held in Nong Khai near the NE border with Laos, on the Thai side of the Mekong River. A Muay Kaad Chuek contest with Burma is staged in the Mae Sot, western Thailand, during the Sonkran festivities (April 12-14). Matches are fought in a circular ring and go for five rounds. The first four rounds last three minutes. The fifth round has no time limit; boxers fight until first blood or knockout.

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