Boxing in Bangkok
The highlight of my time in Bangkok was easily Muay Thai, or better known as Thai boxing, infamous for its flying elbows and knee jabs and probably what most people will recognize from Bloodsport. A chief difference is that we didn't see Van Damme or anyone near his size. instead the line-up featured the pre- and barely pubescent flyweights maxing out at no more than 120 pounds. i guess these are legit fighters here in thailand, but for westerners, most of us haven't been that light since we were 9 and even then probably pudgy and gooey instead of visible ribs and lean muscle.
but let there be no mistake. though young and scrawny as hell, these were some mean little bastards full of all the youthful rage and boiling hormones and willy-nilly untempered fighting that you can detect immediately in the deranged eyes of a teenager. the first two warm-up matches were strictly boxing by slightly older and heavier kids than we would see the rest of the night. but soon we would come to appreciate how civilized and relatively harmless these engagements were compared to the gruesome battles to come. because regular boxing is a war of attrition, an endurance battle where you slowly wear down your opponent with well-timed combos and steady shots to the body and head. these two matches went the distance and ended in a judges' decision after the fifth round.
thai boxing, on the other hand, is both more refined and more brutal. paying homage to the noble beginnings of the sport as a martial art (and also royal entertainment), the fighters enter with a headdress on that resembles a noose with the excess rope lopped off and hanging necklaces of flowers draped over their shoulders. once disrobed, they begin a procession around the ring that is accompanied by the music of several drums and some sort of eastern lute stereotypical of snake charming. during this procession they bow at every corner making a brief prayer, until they return to their original corner then circle to the center to peform a mostly seated dance that appears to mock both the swan and the eagle. this is all done in no particular hurry and seems to be taken very seriously by the contenders and spectators alike and is quite fascinating...at least the first couple times. unfortunately, this ritual is performed before each of the 7 matches and often takes more time than the fights.
once the dance is done the ref reviews the rules with the fighters and they return to their corners for a final pep talk and extremely vigorous rubdown from their many coaches some of which appear to be overinvolved dads and uncles who no doubt were fighters themselves in previous generations and are reliving the glory days vicariously through their sons/nephews. see, things aren't so different here! my favorite part though is when the ref visits each corner to do a last inspection and wails each fighter in the groin to be sure he's wearing a cup.
the match consists of 5 rounds of 3 minutes or is called if there is a serious knockout in which a fighter is knocked on his ass and doesn't get up quickly enough. this part seems to be at the referee's discretion and mostly an obvious decision but occassionally overly protective. anyway, it's the vicious combination of elbows, knees and full-on kicks that make muay thai so interesting. since the fighters do not wear shoes, the first thing you hear is the smart thwack of skin against skin as a fighter delivers a quick kick to the ribs of his opponent. most fighters will use these kicks to keep their opponent at bay or punches to do the same. then once in close proximity there's an exchange of knee jabs to the gut and an occassional elbow to the face until a stalemated headlock/hiplock is achieved and the ref separates the pair.
in the first couple matches, the fighters were really too small to do much damage and their stamina seemed to trump their strength. both ended in a decision that in my estimation really could have gone either way. it should be mentioned however, that fighters are judged not only on how successfully they land and block blows, but also on some vague sense of style and rythym which explains why they appear to be grooving and tapping their feet on the mat in sync to the music that is played continuously throughout the match.
as the fighters started to get a little bigger though, and more importantly a little older, it became evident that it's a seriously rough sport. not only did these mid-teens engage in blatant taunting via gesturing eyebrows and even outright smirks mid-fight, but most of their bouts ended with a pretty stunning finishing blow that had the loser sprawled on the mat in a complete daze. i can't pretend to imagine what a high kick to the side of the head feels like or how much a barrage of 10 sharp knee thrusts to the ribcage hurts, but it looks bad.
coming soon...
Khao San needs bohemians not frat boys
We are Ugly Americans, but deal with it
Khao Lak, from sea lice to tsunami restoration
but let there be no mistake. though young and scrawny as hell, these were some mean little bastards full of all the youthful rage and boiling hormones and willy-nilly untempered fighting that you can detect immediately in the deranged eyes of a teenager. the first two warm-up matches were strictly boxing by slightly older and heavier kids than we would see the rest of the night. but soon we would come to appreciate how civilized and relatively harmless these engagements were compared to the gruesome battles to come. because regular boxing is a war of attrition, an endurance battle where you slowly wear down your opponent with well-timed combos and steady shots to the body and head. these two matches went the distance and ended in a judges' decision after the fifth round.
thai boxing, on the other hand, is both more refined and more brutal. paying homage to the noble beginnings of the sport as a martial art (and also royal entertainment), the fighters enter with a headdress on that resembles a noose with the excess rope lopped off and hanging necklaces of flowers draped over their shoulders. once disrobed, they begin a procession around the ring that is accompanied by the music of several drums and some sort of eastern lute stereotypical of snake charming. during this procession they bow at every corner making a brief prayer, until they return to their original corner then circle to the center to peform a mostly seated dance that appears to mock both the swan and the eagle. this is all done in no particular hurry and seems to be taken very seriously by the contenders and spectators alike and is quite fascinating...at least the first couple times. unfortunately, this ritual is performed before each of the 7 matches and often takes more time than the fights.
once the dance is done the ref reviews the rules with the fighters and they return to their corners for a final pep talk and extremely vigorous rubdown from their many coaches some of which appear to be overinvolved dads and uncles who no doubt were fighters themselves in previous generations and are reliving the glory days vicariously through their sons/nephews. see, things aren't so different here! my favorite part though is when the ref visits each corner to do a last inspection and wails each fighter in the groin to be sure he's wearing a cup.
the match consists of 5 rounds of 3 minutes or is called if there is a serious knockout in which a fighter is knocked on his ass and doesn't get up quickly enough. this part seems to be at the referee's discretion and mostly an obvious decision but occassionally overly protective. anyway, it's the vicious combination of elbows, knees and full-on kicks that make muay thai so interesting. since the fighters do not wear shoes, the first thing you hear is the smart thwack of skin against skin as a fighter delivers a quick kick to the ribs of his opponent. most fighters will use these kicks to keep their opponent at bay or punches to do the same. then once in close proximity there's an exchange of knee jabs to the gut and an occassional elbow to the face until a stalemated headlock/hiplock is achieved and the ref separates the pair.
in the first couple matches, the fighters were really too small to do much damage and their stamina seemed to trump their strength. both ended in a decision that in my estimation really could have gone either way. it should be mentioned however, that fighters are judged not only on how successfully they land and block blows, but also on some vague sense of style and rythym which explains why they appear to be grooving and tapping their feet on the mat in sync to the music that is played continuously throughout the match.
as the fighters started to get a little bigger though, and more importantly a little older, it became evident that it's a seriously rough sport. not only did these mid-teens engage in blatant taunting via gesturing eyebrows and even outright smirks mid-fight, but most of their bouts ended with a pretty stunning finishing blow that had the loser sprawled on the mat in a complete daze. i can't pretend to imagine what a high kick to the side of the head feels like or how much a barrage of 10 sharp knee thrusts to the ribcage hurts, but it looks bad.
coming soon...
Khao San needs bohemians not frat boys
We are Ugly Americans, but deal with it
Khao Lak, from sea lice to tsunami restoration
posted by FJMIII at
7:38 PM
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