Watching a Muay Thai fight is a must-do for every sports fan looking for a real Thai experience.
Muay Thai or Thai boxing is the national sport of Thailand and immensely popular. Muay Thai fights are among the best viewed programs on Thai television.
The biggest fights at Lumpini & Ratchadamnoen
There are numerous stadiums all over the country, but the biggest fights where the Thai champions compete are held in the Lumpini and Ratchadamnoen stadiums in Bangkok.
Nothing comes close to experiencing the real thing in the stadium where you can feel and especially hear the laden electric atmosphere full of yelling, excitement and hypnotic music. Every night a number of fights is held in either of the stadiums, in different age and weight classes.
Muay Thai rituals performed before the fight
Before the fight starts a number of rituals is performed. The fighters start with the “Wai Khru”, a ritual to pay respect to their trainers. Then, the “Ram Muay” is performed to show the skills and fighting techniques, this also servers as a warm up activity. During the rituals, the fighters wear the traditional armbands and headband, called the mongkhon, and loud traditional Thai music is played.
An evening is made up of nine matches, the fights are made up of five rounds lasting three minutes each and can get very immense and brutal. During the fights the hypnotic music keeps playing and the crowds shout to the top of their lungs.
The “art of the eight limbs”
The biggest difference between western style boxing and Muay Thai boxing is that besides the punching, Muay Thai also allows kneeing, kicking and elbowing. Therefore, Muay Thai is also called the “art of the eight limbs”, since there are eight points of contact, where in western style boxing there are only two points of contact, both fists.
Muay Thai boxing in Bangkok