What Muay Thai is missing (For me at least)

[AshiharaFan]

what exactly? the ineffective techniques, fighting infront of ayutthaya, the stylish shorts? Don't see how anything in the video is more "spiritual" then what you would call modern muay thai.

I can't speak for him but I am assuming he is referring to how the video is showing what many people would consider more of an art form and not as much as a ring sport most people believe MT to be. I thought that was what he was alluding to in his posts which is why I posted it thinking maybe it would catch his interest.

AndyMaBobs, that was an excellent post. I most certainly like how you reiterated what I feel is the proper approach which is to choose a fighting art that fits your self defense needs and taking responsibility to cultivate your own spiritual/philosophical/ethical interests instead of always expecting your chosen Martial Art to do it for you.

 

[Troublesome10]

The contradiction is that has nothing to do with martial arts, that's Hindi or Buddhist or whatever variation of garbage you want to force onto punching people in the face.

Martial arts are not religion. The culture something came from might be religious, but it's not religious when you remove the 12th century context.

Try forcing your average MT school to pray with you and see how many of them kick you out of the school.

This is you just being a zealous Atheist and missing the point. MT has spiritual components, that is a fact. You thinking that spirituality is bullshit doesn't change that fact.

 

[ssullivan80]

Sittichai Sitsongpeenong and Kaew Fairtex are doing this masterfully and looking dominant in KB rules right now. Other Nakmuay have in the past too. There is no ONE style of Muay Thai.

Of course, there is a long list of traditionally trained MT fighters who've been extremely successful in KB outside of traditional MT rules. They've had to ADAPT their styles, but any Nakmuay who's fought and won Lumpini championships is more than capable of winning EU rules championships (k1/glory) and they have many times (Sittichai most recently). Samart Payakaroon, has both Lumpini and WBC boxing championships. So it's not to say that MT fighters can't fight outside of Thai rules and be successful. The TS asked "what's MT missing", nothing if you're fighting traditional MT but what they have difficulty adapting to in other (Western) ring sports is what I was addressing.

However, the opposite is rarely as true. Other than Ramon Dekkers, very few foreigners are highly successful in Thailand (Lumpini or Ratchadamnern titles). IMO, it's far more difficult to adapt as a western trained fighter (Dutch KB, TMA, MMA) to fighting under traditional MT rules than it is the otherwise.

 

[AshiharaFan]

MT has spiritual components, that is a fact.

I completely agree. I currently train in MT and in addition to going to the gym I also take it upon myself to independently study everything to do with MT including the spiritual and cultural beliefs that have made their way into MT culture and I have come to learn that there is a shitload of spiritual components in Traditional Muay Thai; enough to keep me busy for years to come.

 

[fluffball]

missing the point.

Ironic that you posted that isn't it, since you ignored my half of the argument.

We disagree and there is presumably nothing either of us could say to convince the other. So fuck off.

Edit: I read a pretty funny article the other day about a native Indian and her thoughts on the use of "namaste" in America. It's just a greeting you say every time you see an elder (as in old person, not like shaman) in certain parts of India, and in America it's become like a prayer. Misunderstanding/hijacking culture always ends up with weird/hysterical results, like the dojo Japanaphiles you find in strip mall karate schools.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

I can't speak for him but I am assuming he is referring to how the video is showing what many people would consider more of an art form and not as much as a ring sport most people believe MT to be. I thought that was what he was alluding to in his posts which is why I posted it thinking maybe it would catch his interest.

AndyMaBobs, that was an excellent post. I most certainly like how you reiterated what I feel is the proper approach which is to choose a fighting art that fits your self defense needs and taking responsibility to cultivate your own spiritual/philosophical/ethical interests instead of always expecting your chosen Martial Art to do it for you.

Thank you

The way I look at it is, at the end of the day you're learning a system that is designs to hurt another person, so you can't expect everyone to be philosophical and enjoying that side of martial art and practising punching someone in the face to learn about a culture when you could just speak to people of the culture and read about it seems a little funny to me

 

[AshiharaFan]

Thank you

The way I look at it is, at the end of the day you're learning a system that is designs to hurt another person, so you can't expect everyone to be philosophical and enjoying that side of martial art and practising punching someone in the face to learn about a culture when you could just speak to people of the culture and read about it seems a little funny to me

Perhaps some people would like for it to be how it is in The Karate Kid where Sensei Miyagi is teaching Daniel-San Karate while imparting philosophical jewels and pearls of wisdom from the orient at the same time. We can also find this in the Shaolin Kung Fu movies where The Abbot is the fountainhead of both strong Kung Fu and life guiding wisdom.

Thanks for the input and "Buddha Bless You." :icon_chee

 

[Sano]

Perhaps you would find what you're looking for by learning the history of muay Thai, the military/martial aspects of muay Boran and the integration of Thai and Buddhist beliefs and practices with muay Thai practice in Thailand.

Have a look at this for starters:

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And you can click on This Link which you may also find of interest as well as This One.

Thanks! Very interesting videos. There is something about forms. Nevermind the practicality of it, though obviously that's a plus, there is just something relaxing and rewarding about forms. Almost meditating at times. That is what I miss most about Karate.

 

[AndyMaBobs]

Perhaps some people would like for it to be how it is in The Karate Kid where Sensei Miyagi is teaching Daniel-San Karate while imparting philosophical jewels and pearls of wisdom from the orient at the same time. We can also find this in the Shaolin Kung Fu movies where The Abbot is the fountainhead of both strong Kung Fu and life guiding wisdom.

Thanks for the input and "Buddha Bless You." :icon_chee

"Boards don't hit back"
~ Miyagi San
:icon_chee