Muay Boran: The Predecessor

Meaning “Ancient Boxing”, it is a martial art that warriors use in the past whenever he loses his weapon and have to recourse to hand-to-hand combat. It is also the direct ancestor of modern Muay Thai which developed into a popular martial art wherein fights are held in rings. Muay Boran, however, utilizes raw and brutal moves, hence it is only used during war. It is also a more complete fighting system compared to Muay Thai and includes throws, takedowns, holds and striking blows from the feet, knees, elbows, hands, and the head.

I was originally going to post about Muay Thai but a thought hit me. Why not divert from the modern forms  of martial arts for now? So after a bit of search, I learned that Muay Thai was derived from Muay Boran. The main difference of Muay Thai and its predecessor is that Muay Boran lacks rules and regulations. Its use has absolutely no limitations since, in the battlefield itself, rules are ignored and only the codes of conducts during warfare are observed. The techniques used are unlimited since the goal is to either kill or cripple your opponents with whatever means available.

The main focus of Muay Boran techniques is to efficiently create the maximum amount of damage possible using extremely powerful blows with the elbow, knee, punches, and kicks. You should be able to quickly neutralize your opponent quickly since there is a possibility that there might be another one that is ready to strike.

Here is the list of different regional styles of Muay Boran:

Muay Thasao (North Thailand) – focuses on speed, especially on swift kicks. It is dubbed “Ling Lom” or Windy Monkey

Muay Korat (East Thailand) – focuses of power. “Throwing Buffalo Punch” is a technique unique to this style and is named as such since it is supposed to take out a buffalo with one blow.

Muay Lopburi (Central Thailand) – emphasizes the use of crafty and technical movements and favours straight punches and hooks.

Muay Chaiya (South Thailand) – focuses on the use of a good posture and defence and favours elbow and knee strikes.

Each style has its own strength, so a complete fighter has to “Punch Korat, Wit Lopburi, Posture Chaiya, Kick Thasao”

My friend who took Muay Thai lessons described the intensity of the training with one word: HELL. She said that out of all the martial arts she experienced, Muay Thai is the most intense. One needs full force concentration and determination to keep on going. So imagine the intensity its predecessor (Muay Boran) offers. In an online article titled "Fighting into the night", dedicated martial artists train at night near a lake to learn the ancient form of kickboxing. "Sheer mental strength" is required in this martial art to absorb the pain inflicted by the attacks of your opponent and to keep on fighting.

Unlike Muay Thai with the goal of scoring more points than your opponent inside a ring governed by rules and regulations, Muay Boran is a much purer form of martial art, carrying with it the simple aim that all ancient martial arts carry, to survive life or death situations with minimal injury.

Here is a video from youtube showing some techniques:

Sources:

Jones, M. (n.d.). Fear and Loathing in Pattaya. Thailand: Booksmango.

Murugappan, R. (2010, June 19). Fighting into the night. The Star Online. Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=lifefocus&file=/2010/6/19/lifefocus/6483023

http://www.mastersken.com/the-ancient-art-of-muay-boran-i-145.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpd6pDHldSY