Muay Thai Teaches More Than Just to Fight

Muay Thai teaches more than just to fight…

What is life…?

Is it something that you go with the flow of every day…? Where you run behind something that you don’t wanna do but still do it just to keep up with your demanding life. Well, it is life and you aren’t living it but just surviving it if you agree with this.

Life is all about living and loving what you do, with whom you do and how you do it. But life isn’t as sweet as it sounds in everyone’s book, is it…?

Life tries to knock you down, wear you out and ground you most of the time, but the same life offers you an opportunity too to get back on your feet and do something to fulfill the actual meaning of your life. To be someone that you never were before, to live a life you never lived before. Unfortunately, many fail to recognize it. 

Also Check: Opportunity, Never Say Never to an Opportunity…

But the choice is purely yours to pick it or leave it to the air.

Muay Thai is an awesome combat sport of Thailand and is a well-known sport all around the world. The history of Muay Thai teaches how important ‘grasping a chance’ can change your life.

Birth of a True Warrior :

It was during the middle of the 18th century. In the great battle between the Burmese of the Konbaung dynasty and Ayutthaya dynasty of Siam, Ayutthaya kingdom fell in the ancient Siamese capital in 1767.

The Burmese troops invaded and captured 1000s of Siamese as prisoners and moved them to Burma, among the prisoners included the traditional Thai fighters.

In 1774, in the Burmese city of Rangoon, ‘Hsinbyushin’ the Burmese king (known in Thai as “King Mangra”) had organized a 7 day religious festival in honor of Buddha relics.

The festivities included many forms of entertainment like Likay (the costume play) or dramas, comedies and farces, sword-fights, and combat events.

Once king Hsinbyushin was curious to find out if Muay Boran (Thai fighting technique) could compete with ‘Lethwei’ (Burmese Boxing).

So, asked the prisoners if anybody could challenge against the Burmese champions. And among the prisoners “Nai Khanomtom”, the famous fighter of Siam stood out to accept the challenge.

The ring was set up in front of the throne and Nai Khanomtom performed a traditional Wai-Kru (a pre-fight dance to pay respect to his teachers, ancestors, and spectators). This dance amazed and completely baffled Burmese people as they weren’t familiar with it. They thought it was some kind of a black magic performance.

When the fight began Nai Khanomtom just charged at his opponent using his knees, elbows, and punches and knocked him down. But the Burmese referee said that the Burmese champion was distracted by the dance and considered the knockout invalid.

So the king then asked if ‘Nai Khanomtom’ would fight 9 other Burmese champions to win his so longing freedom.

Nai Khanomtom accepted the challenge and fought them all one after the other using his Muay Thai technique (famously known as the sport of 8 limbs) without any break. His final opponent was ‘Rakhine’ (the great Burmese kickboxing teacher).

He knocked him down too, and no one else dared to challenge him. The king was so impressed with him and his Muay Thai technique and even praised that “every part of the Siamese is blessed with venom”.

He could defeat 10 warriors with nothing but his bare hands, but his king was incapable and lost to his enemy and if the Siamese king was any good, there was no way the city of Ayutthaya would ever have fallen.”

Later king Mangra granted Nai Khanomtom his so longing freedom with a choice of either riches (or) 2 beautiful Burmese wives. He chose the wives and said that money was easier to find. He also won the freedom of fellow Thai prisoners and returned to Siam with his wives for a better life.

Nai Khanomtom was clever and brave enough to seize an opportunity that changed his life forever. Even in the toughest of times, life offers an opportunity to get back up but the choice is purely yours to either grab it or watch it vanish in the air.

You see, the history of Muay Thai teaches more than just to fight, it teaches us that we can change our lives by utilizing every single opportunity we get.

You can survive your life when you get a chance to be in the wild but right now live your life by striking at the right opportunities that cross your path.