Martial Arts as a Lifelong Practice: Muay Thai

I’ve just returned from a four month trip to Thailand, where I had the opportunity to train with some excellent ‘Kru’s’ or trainers in the martial art, Muay Thai or Thai Boxing. Muay Thai is sometimes referred to as the art of eight limbs, which is a full contact sport that uses stand up striking, sweeps and various clinching techniques. The name, ‘art of eight limbs’ refers to the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. In Thailand, Muay Thai is the national sport, regularly watched by millions of people across the country, just as football is in the UK.

The purpose of this blog is to share some of my experiences, through discussing five key central aspects that arise when we embark on the journey of martial arts, at home or abroad. These are research, connecting, learning, growth and sharing.

In this first of a two part blog I will focus on the first two aspects, research and connection.

RESEARCH

The first step when researching martial arts is deciding which style you want to study. Over the past three decades I have sought out schools in the traditional martial of the country I was visiting. Many of my trips have been guided by my curiosity of exploring particular martial arts in their country of origin, but also traditional medicine, meditation and religious/spiritual traditions. I’d been to Thailand a couple of times before and had practiced Muay Thai back in 2010 at the Tiger Muay Thai gym in Phuket, so I had an idea of what the training was like and how practical it was. Anyone who has watched a UFC or mixed martial arts tournament will see that many of the fighters practice Muay Thai. It’s commonly viewed as the most effective method of stand up fighting due to its comprehensive use of using the eight limbs to strike different parts of the body, and the power they can generate, particularly with their kicking techniques.

When looking at martial arts clubs or trainers, we are fortunate now to have access to lots of reviews online, left by people who have trained at the gym. If you’re considering training abroad t’s a good start to get an idea of other people’s experiences and feel for the club. However, it’s good to be aware that some requests for reviews are generated automatically by commercial gyms, that send out emails after a visit asking you to click on links to give a five star review. Other more traditional gyms are not so up to date with these marketing strategies and are more interested in building a community and passing on traditional values. The national religion of Thailand is Buddhism, so many of the values shared by the local at these gyms are based on their precepts or moral codes, including honesty, self discipline and mindfulness.

During this trip I trained at two gyms in Chiang Mai for one month, and one gym in Koh Phangnan for 3 months. In Chiang Mai, ‘Dang Muay Thai’ was situated in the centre of the old city and had a commercial feel to it with queues of foreigners lining up waiting to work with a trainer whom they had booked with in advance. ‘JR Muay Thai’ in Chiang Mai had a traditional feel to it, with more locals training there and the trainers living on site, many of whom were active fighters. They would get up at 5am to start their training with a morning run and bag work before the morning classes started.

Most gyms offer two public classes per day, one at 8 am and another at 4pm, each lasting two hours. In between classes you can have a private lesson with a trainer, for a one hour session, where you can receive personal instruction to develop your technique in particular areas.

For me, it was important to get the balance between excellent training and a good location. In Koh Phangnan I decided to train for three months at Rittisak Muay Thai, a gym ran by Kru Chok Rittisak, a former Rajadamnern Stadium Champion with over 30 years experience as a fighter and trainer. This gym had a host of excellent trainers who were former champions and it was located at a beautiful spot on the north of the island close to Chaloklum beach.

With the trainers and students at JR Muay Thai, Chiang Mai

CONNECTION

It’s worthwhile looking around when you are deciding on what gym to train at. I have always enjoyed meeting and spending time with communities where traditional values are at the centre of their lives. When I first arrived at JR Muay Thai in Chiangmai, ‘Kru Big’ a retired fighter was sitting tenderly focused on treating a dog who needed medical attention. Once, he had treated the dog (there were lots of animals and kids hanging around the gym), he met me with a big infectious smile, which rarely left his face during the time I trained there. He was a deeply passionate and inspiring trainer who was enthusiastic in sharing his art. He spoke good English, which makes a big difference in following instructions and building rapport, and puts me and other Westerners to shame at our lack of effort in learning the Thai language. At the end of every lesson Big would teach me some key Thai phrases. The gym felt very homely to me, a lovely community of warm hearted (and extremely tough) men, women and children devoted to their life long practice of Muay Thai.

I believe it’s important to exercise humility when entering a new gym. Many of the people you meet have devoted their lives to the practice of their art. I see it as an honour and a privilege to enter into their environment where you are warmly welcomed into their community. When you are humble and respectful, the trainers will mirror this back to you. It’s regularly been my experience that Thai people and those fighters and trainers I met are warm and friendly. I see a humility that not only comes from their Buddhist beliefs, but also through hardship., whether it be the poverty that some have grown up with, the self discipline developed through the daily training practiced from a very young age and the natural disasters that some have experienced throughout their lives. We had three devastating floods on the island during the short time I was there.

Muay Thai gyms commonly have a mix of active and retired fighters. This was the case at Rittisak, where the community work together towards supporting their young fighters to prepare them to compete in the ring. There are fighting events on at the local stadiums every week, and everyone goes along to support their fighter, sharing their experiences and helping them overcome the doubts and fears they face as combatants. There is a lot standing on their performances – the more winning fighters a gym has, the higher status the gym (and fighter) has within the region, and with this the financial rewards and the accolades of gaining new students who want to train there.

In my next blog I will speak more about some of the practices I learned and invite you to reflect on your own relationship to learning. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear from you about your own experience of learning a new practice, whether it be a martial art, dance, movement or meditation. How did you get into it? And what was it like for you to join a new community?