MUAY THAI FOR BEGINNERS AND EXPERTS
Like any other martial art, anyone wishing to become
proficient in Muay Thai must start with the basic: the ready for action stance;
the distinctive Yang Sam Khum or Muay Thai Shuffle and methods of deploying the
art’s distinctive arsenal of weapons- fist, elbow , knee and foot in five
attacking techniques punch elbow strike,knee –kick , kick and foot –thrust. It
is only when these basics have been mastered that fighters can move on to the
exciting and difficult! - Range of mae mai Muay Thai or advanced techniques,
the names of which are thrilling in themselves; the Crocodile Swings it’s Tail,
Break the Elephant’s Neck and Giant Catches the Monkey. Beginners and experts
alike, however, must understand and participate in the rich legacy of rites and
customs which are closely intertwined with the art of Muay Thai..
WAI KHRU
One of the most important Muay Thai Tradition is Wai Khru or
Paying Respect to Teachers. In order to become a fully fledged Muay Thai
fighter, a person has to pass through a series of ceremonies or “rites of
passage”, all of which come under the generic heading of Wai Khru:
a)
Khuen Khru or Yok Khru is the initiation
ceremony in which a teacher accepts a would be fighter as his student who in
return vows to uphold the ethics of the art.
b)
Wai Khru Pracham Pi is the annual ritual which
allows fighters to pay respect not only to their present teachers but also to
the souls of those who have long since passed away.
c)
Wai Khru Ram Muay or the Ritual Dance of Homage
is performed at the conclusion of the Wai Khru Pracham Pi and before the
commencement of every bout.
d)
KHROP KHRU is the final step,reserved for the
few fighters who become teachers in their own right and thus entitled to pass
on the rich Muay Thai legacy to their own students.
Of all the forms of Wai Khru,Wai Khru Ram
Muay is by far the most celebrated. A graceful and aesthetic ritual which has
no specific religious connotations, its origins are lost in the mists of time.
However, it is believed to have evolved as a stylized peace time form of
training in the days when muay was a military art.Over time the Wai Khru Ram
Muay developed to serve several functions:
a)
It enabled the fighter to pay respect to his
teacher and propitiate the spirits.
b)
It mentally and physically prepared him for the
forthcoming contest.
c)
It gave the fighter a chance to assess his
oppenent’s physical sate and pinpoint any possible weaknesses.
d)
It demoralized the opponent of expertly
performed.
e)
In the days when contests were held outdoors and
on the bare earth it allowed the fighter to assess the ground conditions and
the direction of the sun.
Many of these points still hold
true today.
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