Country Article / Postcards
Fists (and Feet) of Fury
Date: 04/13/2004Dear International Living Reader,
What can a travel writer do at night on the tropical Thai island of Koh Samui? Well, this one couldn't resist a few jars of beer and two-and-half hours of full-blooded violence. No, I'm not rampaging around with English soccer thugs...I've got a ringside seat in Chaweng's boxing stadium.
Fights--eight bouts in total--normally take place Tuesdays and Fridays at 9 p.m. This isn't normal boxing, though. This is Muay Thai--traditional Thai kick-boxing. It's gratifyingly vicious: flying feet and fists as well as elbows and knees crunching into tender parts. Each bout consists of five three-minute rounds. Not all bouts last that long. One poor devil gets kicked in the face and is knocked out stone cold.
Muay Thai is a martial art and much ritual takes place before each fight. Boxers climb into the ring wearing an elaborate headband called a mongkhol. These headbands have been blessed by Buddhist monks: each fighter believes his to be a sacred object bestowing good luck. The contestants then perform a slow dance called the wai khru which essentially is to pay homage to their teachers. After this is over, the trainers remove the fighters' headbands and the action starts.
No "Rocky" music here! But there is a band whose instruments are made up of a type of wailing wind pipe, drums, and cymbals. The music accompanies each fight from the start of the homage dance to the final kick or blow.
Thailand starts its fighters off early, often as young as seven. One of tonight's early bouts is between two little guys who both look about 10 years old. I wouldn't dream of getting into an argument with either of them...
The place to see top Muay Thai fighters is Bangkok, but Koh Samui offers a great chance to discover what it's all about. Tickets start at 300 baht ($7.80), but it only costs 800 baht ($20.80) for a ringside seat.
Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living
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