The story of Muay Thai

For teenagers and adults: age 12 and up. Switch to for younger readers.

1. 1Why is Muay Thai called the art of eight limbs?Eight weapons and a clinch, a French envoy's visit of 1687, a king who boxed at a temple fair, a challenge from France, and how to tell records from stories. · 2 min
2. 2Who was Nai Khanom Tom?The official story of a thousand year old art, a prisoner of war who beat 10 champions, the scholars who call it an invented tradition, and the day Thailand keeps in his name. · 2 min
3. 3What was Thai boxing like before gloves?Rope bound fists, King Chulalongkorn's royal tournaments, three fighters honoured at a prince's funeral in 1910, and the regional styles that are now called muay boran. · 2 min
4. 4How did Thai boxing get its ring, its rules and its gloves?A permanent ring at Suan Kulap College, red and blue corners at Suan Sanuk, a reign of referees and timed rounds, a death that brought gloves, two great stadiums, and the women who finally fought in them. · 2 min
5. 5Why do fighters dance before they fight?The wai kru ram muay step by step, what it means to a fighter and a teacher, the ceremonies of a student's life, the mongkhon and the prajied, and two views on whether it is religious. · 2 min
6. 6Who brought Muay Thai to Britain?Master Toddy's Manchester gym, Master Woody and Master Sken, the first British bodies and why their dates disagree, an American association's Glasgow seminar, and grades that Thai camps never had. · 2 min
7. 7How did Muay Thai become a world sport?IFMA's first world championships in 1993, a new spelling, professional councils, the World Games, recognition by the IOC in 2021, a grading system for the world, and two UK bodies with different rules for children. · 3 min

Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters and words are read by a computer voice; a word not yet recorded uses your device's own voice.