MUAYCHAIYA.COM

Pahuyuth, Muay Chaiya and Pichaiyuth

Foreword

…..When I was asked to write about “Ancient Thai Boxing and Muay Chaiya”, I felt it was a difficult task because the society at large has lost interest in the subject. But after thorough consideration, I have come to the decision to do so, in order to honor and show my gratitude to my teachers who have patiently taught me and to my homeland, the Kingdom of Thailand.

…..Please note that the following articles (and the ones that follow) are based on what I have learned from my teachers. So there may be different teachings from different teachers, or different interpretations from the same teacher. The beauty of Muay Thai is that it is a flowing style, open to change as long as the basics are strong.

…..“To my dear young ones. Remember that he who has taught you even only one step, one day, one month, and one year is considered your teacher for life. Be grateful to him. Repay and treat him with respect.”

With this in mind, I would like to pay full respect to all my teachers who have taken their time to share pass their wisdom to me.

…..All living creatures, human in particular, have, since the age of dawn, fight for survival. Each has their own ways of fighting to protect themselves and to hunt for food.

…..Animals fight based purely on instincts and brawn, while human beings used their intelligence and developed their fighting skills with bare body and weapons.

…..If we believe in the theory that mankind evolved from apes, then they should have started fighting approximately one million years ago. With their primitive inheritance, historic man fought similarly to animals. They fought with their natural instinct using biting, kicking, snatching, scratching, punching, kneeing, throwing, breaking, etc. Their fights were purely a means of survival.

Historic Men fought for two reasons:

…..Food and territory

…..Jealousness

…..In the Stone Age, when men still lived in caves, brawls usually occurred because of jealousy and lust. Later on, men formed a more complex social group, starting with small communities and eventually on to nations. In the process of doing so, they also developed more civilized approaches, such as rules and regulations, to resolve their conflicts.

…..However, with each nation having its own set of beliefs and needs, there are inevitably more conflicts and violence. The in individual brawls thus turned into battles and wars.

Birth of Pahuyuth and Ancient Thai Boxing

…..Prior to the Sukhothai era, Thai civilization dated as far back as those of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and the Assyrians. They were established before the Buddhist era in a land called “Aay Loa Kingdom” one the river banks of Huang Ho and Yang Jue rivers, presently known as Schezuan, Hubei, Anhui, and Kiangsi in China. There were later defeated and had to continue migrating south to maintain their freedom.

…..Thais are known to be liberal and great warriors. They have always been an independent nation and have evidently fought to protect their right and loved ones. During those times, villagers along the Thai borders prepared themselves by engaging young men in physical activities like wrestling, boat race, and bull race.

…..For practice of self-defense, many generations of old masters continuously assembled and developed the fighting techniques passed on from their ancestors for thousands of years. They finally established a fighting system for Thais called “Ching Kom” and “Pan Lam”, both well-known.

Master Ketr Sriyapai (the author’s senior teacher) once said that “boxing means punching as taught by your teacher or fighting to survive”.

Thai boxing is “an art that has been developed by our ancestors as a national heritage to their children for thousands of years.” The genuine Thai boxing is best performed by Thais. Unfortunately, the Thai boxing we see today in rings is not the true Thai boxing.  (Grand Master Kert Sriyapai)

By Kru Praeng

(Napapob Pramual)

Muay Chaiya Foundation