So here's some old rare footage
that we have acquired since 2007 from the Thai archives and finally just decided
to share it with everyone out there. This is from Esso a Thai oil company responsible for sponsoring
these types of cultural shows back in the 1960s. And I know that there's at least another
link out there providing similar footage, but it would be completely silent
and have missing subtitles. And so i just wanted to provide footage with
narration to give you guys some guidance in terms of what it is you're watching and hopefully
for this episode which is about Muay Boran, it would provide you guys with a general
sense of how training used to be.
This is part one of the old vintage footage that
we have acquired and in this particular episode we see Kru Bua Wat Im as he was known. A retired Muay
Korat fighter perform a wai kru. And a wai kru is a pre-fight ritual performed before competition
and is meant to show respect to your teacher, as well as showcasing your distinct style
of Muay Boran. Because, back then, each Muay Boran system performed wai kru in different
ways based on their stance, their footwork and how they throw techniques. And it's also
important to note that wai kru of the old is based more on what they actually use in terms
of fighting. And so it was less fancy ,whereas the wai kru that you see in modern Muay Thai could
be very fancy based on bow and arrows, animals and so on, you know. And so it's very different
from how wai kru was performed back in the days. So here's a typical Muay Boran training
session back in the days.
And as you can see even working on basic stances and basic
strikes such as jabs, cross, uppercuts, hooks, basic elbows is very different from how modern
Muay Thai is trained where the focus is more on the cardio training whether it's jump ropes, pad
training, clinching, light sparring and so on. Because the emphasis now is more on pro
training, competing in the ring. Back then, it's more of a martial arts training where
you focus more on getting the foundation down, working on your basic strikes ,footwork,
blocking and protecting yourself, defenses and so on. And so, it's very different from the
training nowadays in terms of modern Muay Thai. Here we see Kru Bua Wat Im showing the fish elbow
as it's known in certain types of Muay Boran. Well each system again has their own name for it,
but the execution of techniques are very similar. So each system of Muay Boran will have their
own version of stance and footwork.
And it's interesting to note ,that with Muay Korat, the
stance is more natural high stance which is very similar to modern Muay Thai. And so, in that
aspect we could say that the transition from old to new is very similar in terms of Muay Korat
transitioning their stance to modern Muay Thai. Because Muay Boran is the ancient fighting
style that existed prior to Muay Thai, there is a relationship between the two. However,
there is a lot of differences as well. And so, if you would like to get more information
about how Muay Boran relates to Muay Thai, its similarities as well as its differences, then
click to this link and find out more information.
But here we could see some blocking and striking
techniques again is more of martial arts training as opposed to the cardio type sport training that
you will see in 90 percent of the Muay Thai camps in all over Thailand. Again, the emphasis here
is on self-defense and so we work on blocking and striking the same time. Footwork, in this case,
the Muay Korat footwork is the more natural stance very similar to that of modern Muay Thai stance.
Blocking and striking is a very common feature in Muay Boran because many of the Muay Boran styles
will incorporate that concept where you block and strike at the same time. Self-defense is something
that is always worked on in terms of knowing how to cover up, knowing how to defend against a kick,
a punch and then being able to counter right away. And these are basics that we apply in many of
the Muay Boran techniques. And here's a drill in terms of blocking- kicking, parrying-kicking,
redirect-kicking. And this is something that we do in many of the Muay Boran styles as well.
Right
here, the technique of pushing as you move in. That's why it's important not to kick open
because when you do you leave yourself open for a counter strike or a counter push.
In this situation, you're working on the defense of attacking the attack, really.
The concept here is attacking the attack. And grabbing the leg is something very common
in many Muay Boran styles not just Muay Korat, but in many other styles as well.
Grab the leg, usually, we use it to to sweep people ,to hit people and take them
down. And so, this is a common concept in many of the Muay Boran styles, not just
Muay Korat. Here, interestingly enough, here you knee the crotch area. Obviously, it's
illegal in modern Muay Thai. But in Muay Boran, anything goes so it doesn't really matter where
you hit the person. The more dangerous parts, the more dangerous the area of striking is
actually the better area to hit.
And so, in Muay Boran we're working techniques that are
more for self-defense and more from martial arts rather than sport aspect. Because back then ,you
know, Muay Boran is more of a fighting system The training equipment back in the days is very
different from the type of material we have today. Because nothing was manufactured back then.
And so, everything was gathered from nature, from the trees, branches, leaves, fruits. Here's
an example of a striking ball that's created from natural materials. This is very typical of
how training was back in the days because everything is gathered from nature, whether
it's kicking banana trees, creating these punching balls and everything else. Another common
training method that was applied back in the days was splashing water. And the splashing water is
really a way to train your eyes so that you won't blink, especially in the heat of the moment or if
you're getting hit by a punch or a strike. And so, one of the ways to do that is to splash
water in your eyes constantly until your eyes get trained to sort of to not blink
too much when you're in the heat of battle. After a hard day's training, usually fighters
would go for a swim.
And this is also a good post workout to enhance natural strength, as
well as, cool down and even relax the body. if you would like to dig deeper
into Muay Boran and find out more about the training methodologies
of the past, the fighting concepts, as well as, how Muay Boran is trained in today's
environment then go ahead and click this link. Back in the days all the training equipment was
rudimentary and had to be created from scratch. It's not like nowadays where you
could just order something online, whether it's a plastic or a metal groin cup,
because those didn't even exist yet. And so, this is just a perfect example of the type of material
that was used to create this groin protection. Also, back then Muay Boran
fighters had to be bound in rope. And that really served two purposes: one the rope
protected the hands and the wrist and two it was easier for you to hurt your opponent because when
the rope gets wet and dries up it gets brittle, making it easier to cut the skin. So everything
that has to do with getting the fighter ready is part of a pre-fight ritual that still
exists today.
And you can see that in modern Muay Thai when trainers getting
their fighters ready with the hand wraps and wearing the mong kong and doing the prayer.
These are all pre-fight rituals that existed even back in the day. And so, another difference
between Muay Boran and Muay Thai fighters is that, back in the days even though you started
training at a young age you didn't start competing until later in life. And this is
because you still had to master the basics, the transitions and all the different techniques.
Because fighting back then is different from fighting nowadays where there's
more rules and regulations. Back then, fights could result in severe
injuries or even death. And so, fighters really had to know their stuff. They had to know
how to defend right.
They needed to know how to attack. And they just had to be on top of their
game because there's so much more to lose. Nowadays, it's not hard to see kids
start fighting even at the pro level. And this is part of the reason why modern muay
thai fighters can have 200 to 300 fights easy. Although this vintage film only shows a few
aspects of Muay Korat techniques. This is still a good visual example of how Muay Boran in
general was trained before everything evolved into modern Muay Thai. So, go ahead and follow this
link if you would like to get more information about the origins of Muay Boran and how it
evolved from ancient to modern Muay Thai..
