The Great Muay Thai Boxing is Back
Sitting inside one of Thailand’s stadiums, you get a surreal boxing experience like something out of an action-packed movie. Nothing gets a combat sports fan adrenaline going like cheering amid a charged crowd as the relentless fighters go toe to toe. In Thailand, the experience is standardized for all level ticket holders. Whether you like to view fights upfront or from an angling distant view, good tickets have always been easy to access at the biggest Muay Thai stadiums. This was the rousing boxing environment before the Coronavirus. Even though the action-packed brawls are back, no audience will be allowed to the stadiums due to Thailand’s strict containment measures.
Now and then, you will see people from different sides of the ring gesturing wagers on combats. This can be confusing for newcomers who might have little to no knowledge of the gambling landscape. Cheers and boos dominate the atmosphere giving amateurs a thrilling experience combined with the swift fatal attacks from opponents whose kicks can strike a regular Joe out cold. Four-limb combat makes these fights unique from other martial arts forms such as Karate and Kung-Fu.
After several months of sports lockdown in Thailand, the country’s Covid19 regulations are starting to feel like the new normal. The boxing matches are back but under strict reopening measures to avoid further spread of infections. Such includes not allowing fans to attend the tournaments. Muay Thai has been the people’s culture in Thailand for centuries and is now transforming into an internationally recognized professional sport. In the country, it remains a common pass-through for many males and a few females who master the skills perhaps better than their masculine counterparts do.
Thailand Boxing Tradition is a Major Tourist Attraction
To foreigners, the combat sport is a major tourist attraction and contributes a considerable share to the country’s revenue. Thailand’s central bank foresees an 8.1% drop in national revenue after the pandemic, mainly due to the drop in tourism. Anyone willing to experience the muscle soaring training could sign up for beginners’ classes taught by professionals in spans of either one hour or one and a half. Choices are, however, not limited as you may choose a single session, a week, a month, or whatever works for you best.
On a normal day, to witness the premiere of the fights, you either visit the Rajademnern Stadium on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when matches are held, or the Lumpinee Stadium on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Interestingly, the two stadiums uphold Muay Thai’s original rules, like not allowing women into the ring. However, you may see women fight on smaller events such as those held in the MBK each month. MBK fight-night tournaments are free hence attract a considerable crowd. Thailand’s predictions about boxing are also accessible on major platforms and could prove worthwhile for sports betting fans.
Evidently, the significance of this form of boxing to the economy is immense as it provides a steady income to thousands of residents. Referees and fighters with a full-time engagement in the sport have been hit hard by the pandemic and are more than eager to return to work. However, their biggest cry remains for the government to allow audiences back to the events since selling tickets is their main source of revenue for such contests.
The government has also incurred huge losses from the economic disruption, considering that experts predict a 4/5 decrease in tourism level. To a country with records of over 20 million annual visitors, an 80% decrease is a huge loss. The lockdown that blocked tourists from attending the tournaments has significantly affected the previously surging popularity of Muay Thai in leading sports markets like the United States and Europe.
Although fighters are back in the rings, the lack of an electrifying audience is a great loss of motivation. Their passion for sport, however, cannot be easily stripped from them. Muay Thai boxing is a cultural identity practiced long before automated weaponry was discovered. Muay Thai is known as the fight of eight limbs, including elbows and tibias. The severity of injuries that could be caused by this technique could be fatal, and hence the fighting should be left to the professionals.
Nevertheless, sports tournaments have returned to normal in other parts of the world, and Thailand is following suit. Whether Muay Thai combat will once become an international sport remains a question of time. As much as it may be an interesting skill to learn, mastering the art requires unrelenting dedication and patience. Luckily, there are more than enough instructors all around Thailand.
