Does your Muay Thai gym retain traditions?

[elbows_and_knees]

Doing the Wai Kru after a drill..never seen that in any gym I ever trained in, that would be interesting

not wai kru - wai. the wai is the bow.

certainly not with elbows.

most venues (at least in the US) do not allow elbows. even though we train them (at my club) we can't fight with them.

Anyhoo to make a long story short if you're training at a Muay Thai gym that doesn't keep the traditions of wai kru/ram muay/no bowing/no thai terminology/no prajiat/mongkol wearing in the ring then it's probably not really Muay Thai but more of a "kickboxing" style with some Muay Thai influence.

as far as wearing the mongkon, there is a buddhist meaning to that. Try getting a devout christian to wear one and you will see where problems can come in.

[powerof0ne]

muay thai is NOT a traditional style. It is a modern sportive style created in the 1920's. The tradition you do see in muay thai came not from muay thai, but from previous muay arts.

That said, there are schools outside of thailand today who teach these things. The school I currently teach/train at does not, however, my previous school taught me the wai kru, ram muay and various other things. About the only tradition we use at my current school is to wai before and after class, and to our partner before and after drills.

IMO, a lot of westerners have this fascination with the culture of the east and how it relates to the arts. It's not at all necessary to the learning process and in some instances, can hinder it...

You do know this isn't accurate, right? Unless you're calling krabri krabrong and lerdit muay krabrong and muay lerdit...

Muay Chaya and similar arts did not come before krabri krabrong, enough said.

it wasn't really relevant. my point here was that muay thai is a new sport, not an older traditional style; it's derived from it's predecessors. however, to be technical, muay thai DID get it from muay chaiya. muay chaiya got it from styles that predated it.

Wow, this is splitting hairs, can you not admit when you're incorrect?

You got me with the whole "wai" part because I read through your posts quick and thought I read wai kru.

If a devote Christian can't wear the mongkon/mongkol, bow/wai, do the ram muay, etc. out of traditions sake they probably shouldn't do Muay Thai. Go do another martial art, it's just that easy.

Many fight venues are now starting to allow sawk/elbow in fights in the USA, now. A few years back I would agree with you that hardly any allowed them in the USA. The top of my head I know that elbows are allowed in Las Vegas and here in WA state where I reside. My friend who is a fight promoter allows elbows in his Muay Thai fights...contact me if you want more info on these fight cards.

I don't think your club does Muay Thai and to "wai" and say sawadee krap/kaa and nothing else seems silly. We're all entitled to our opinions but this would be like someone saying they train in Karate but doing everything in English, no kata, but saying "ossu" and doing "rei" after each drill.

While I'm on this topic I by no means think that a kickboxing style is inferior to Muay Thai, or that it's better but it isn't Muay Thai.

[Khun Kao]

I agree that a lot of you are splitting hairs....

Whether or not you maintain the "traditions" of MuayThai is a personal choice. Everyone has their own reasons for maintaining or discarding them. I am on the side of those who feel that through maintaining the traditions you are immersing yourself more deeply into the art and gaining a much richer experience.

I will say from personal experience that through the practicing of the rituals associated with MuayThai, you are able to acheive an advanced state of mind in training and fighting. Performing your Wai Kru/Ram Muay & following the tempo of the music as you fight.... It's integral to truly developing your own fighting in the MuayThai style.

MuayThai is not a just a set of techniques to use in the ring. There is an actual "STYLE" to the fighting.... a rhythm.... a state of mind. I actually got to that point a couple of times. Never in the ring, unfortunately, but performing exhibition matches for Thai Cultural Events. Performing in front of a completely Thai audience to live fight music....

You'd have to do it to understand it.

But as I've already said, it still boils down to a matter of personal choice. If you choose to go the route I have, great! I personally believe it will make you a more complete fighter. But if you choose to pass, thats fine as well. I've trained with some GREAT MuayThai fighters who don't know jack of MuayThai's culture, rituals, and traditions.

[seersin]

^^^ Good post.I agree whole heartedly.It simply boils down to the individual.