MuayThai

The Art of Eight Limbs

2 fists - 2 feet - 2 elbows - 2 knees

Few martial arts capture the imagination as does MuayThai. Even with all the recent media exposure to this fighting style through events such as K-1, Pride, and the UFC, an aura of mysticism still surrounds this combat art.

Two gladiators... one traditionally dressed in red, the other in blue... meet in an area roughly 20 feet square. Prior to battle, each performs a warriors ceremonial dance to an eerie, outlandish tune played on a flute, drum, and cymbals. The warriors wear religious and mystic talismans to bring them luck and ward off danger. Tassled headbands, woven armbands, wreaths of flowers.... these harken back to the days when this mysterious fighting system was a battlefield art used in conjunction with a Thai soldiers weapons: the sword, the spear, the bow & arrow.... As these ceremonies come to an end, the headband and wreaths are removed and the battle ensues.

The match itself is often a furious paced array of bodys and limbs, difficult for the untrained eye to follow. In the stands, a furious blur of activity wages as gamblers communicate with an intricate array of hand signals as the odds change each round, or even by the minute. For 5 rounds, this deadly dance continues until either one fighter falls, or prevails with the decision of the ringside judges and his hand is raised. The combatants then quickly exit as the next pair of fighters make their way to the ring for the next match.