One day in Koh Panghan, Lewis the Lion spotted a poster advertising some Thai Boxing (Muay Thai) at the Kobra Club and Stadium.
Lewis the Lion sees a poster for some Muay Thai Boxing Matches
He’d heard that Thai boxing was the most popular sport in Thailand and was quite intrigued. However, for all he was a lion he was a bit squeamish at the thought of seeing people fighting in a ring so was rather relieved when he realised it was way past his bedtime anyway and for once, he was glad not to be joining the adults.
Sinead and Johannes prepare to watch the fight
So, Helen and Sinead together with their diving friend, Johannes, went instead and reported back.
Helen and Sinead pretend to be boxers outside the Kobra Club Stadium!
The competing fighters (ten in all) were representing their own clubs and so were fighting for the honour of their club. Some of them were first timers, even foreigners taking on native Thai competitors. However, there were also trainer experts taking on other trainer experts so it was set to be an exciting evening.
The boxers throw punches at each other
Helen thought that Muay Thai boxing seemed a bit like dancing on the spot to some unique, plinky-plonky music (Thai piphet music) which sped up as the fight intensified, with a few kicks and punches thrown in. The more expert they were the more spins they seemed to manage and to the untrained eye, it looked much more like ‘the karate kid!’ Click here to get a flavour of the evening.
However, more than the boxing itself, Helen and Sinead enjoyed the spiritual and ritualistic side of the sport as the whole evening kicked off with great dignity as everybody stood up respectfully to listen to the national anthem.
The ritualistic start: the boxers dance around the ring
When the boxers entered the ring in their blue or red shorts with their sacred rope headbands (mongkhon) and ritualistic pieces of cloth tied around their biceps, they bowed and prayed in the direction of their birthplace and then at each corner post (north, south, east and west). Thus, they honoured their teachers and the spirit of the ring. It was as if they were psyching themselves up or mentally preparing themselves for the impending fight. They then did a slow dance to prove to the audience that they were performers as well as boxers. Helen thought that this was entertaining, even if some of the foreign boxers looked a little bit awkward with it!
The competing teams wear blue or red
A bit like Lewis the Lion, Helen felt a bit of a wimp at times as struggled to watch the violence of the fight, as Thai boxing can be quite brutal. (Any part of the body, except the head, can be used as an offensive weapon in Muay Thai). She wanted to watch but simultaneously didn’t, so lots of times she watched behind her fingers! This was particularly true when one of the more elderly Thai competitors had clearly taken a bad blow to his ankle which put him at an unfair advantage even if he was clearly the stronger and more technical fighter. Some of the fights came to rapid conclusions with knock-out blows but sometimes it wasn’t obvious until right at the end who had won the fight. With the cheers from the crowd and the ever-increasingly fast music, tensions really rose especially with the final fight between the two club trainers.
The final fight of the evening: two of the trainers
It was nail-biting stuff, right until the last blow when contrary to the fight, the competing blue club managed to win the fight. Helen was secretly glad when it was over as didn’t think she could take any more of seeing people get hurt, even if it was for entertainment value!
In Thailand, Lewis the Lion realised that many children learn Thai boxing or a martial art from a young age. Do you think it is good to learn a martial art? Why or why not?
