Muay Boran

About

Muay boran is an umbrella term for the unarmed martial arts of Thailand prior to the introduction of modern equipment and rules in the 1930s.

History

In the ancient empire of Siam “Thailand”, each region had their own “regional unique style” of guard, stance, footwork and striking techniques, be they “Muay Jerng” of the north, “Muay Korat” of the Northeast, “Muay Chaiya” of the south, etc. Their uniquely different ways of guards, stance, footwork, striking techniques and hand wraps (kard chuakคาดเชือก) clearly represent their own unique regional style. For example Muay Chaiya had low stances which always bend their knees and wrap their hands to their wrist, whereas Muay Korat originally used straighten legs stance and wrap their hand to elbow,due to their different ways to delivered and blocked strikes.These top notch fighters from every region of Siam were gathered to fight, later on their styles started to merge and blend together in the Rattanakosin Era. which Their empty-handed fighting system was variously referred to as pahuyuth (from the Sanskrit bahuyuddha meaning unarmed combat), dhoi muay “ต่อย มวย” The teaching of muay was kept up largely by Buddhist monks who in former times also served as the community’s educators.

Although originally bare-knuckle, Siamese boxers at some point began binding their fists and forearms in hemp rope. This type of match was called muay kaad cheuk (คาดเชือก). Many believe that, if both agreed beforehand, boxers would glue glass shards or broken shells on their hemp gloves to ensure a bloody event, but this is debatable. It is generally concurred that if this practice ever existed, it was definitely not common. Some have suggested that fighters would only apply glass to their gloves during war but not in regular matches.