มวยไทย: the art of eight limbs

Muay Thai is called the art of eight limbs: two fists, two elbows, two knees, two shins and feet, plus the clinch that ties them together. It grew from มวยโบราณ, Muay Boran, the old styles once used on the battlefield and later fought at temple fairs with rope-bound hands; regions had their own, like มวยไชยา from the south and มวยโคราช from the northeast. Gloves, rounds and rings came in the 1920s and 30s. Today it is Thailand's national sport and a source of real pride: when Thais see a foreigner who trains seriously and respects the kru, it says something good about both. Learn a little of the history and you will be asked about it.