Muay Thai is originally a national form of martial arts in which fighting is done with bare hands. It is a tradition to organize various Muay Thai competitions during festivals. Today it is a worldwide sport that is practiced by thousands of people. In Thailand it is a very popular sport and in all provinces there are large stadiums where competitions are held.
A Muay Thai match is held in an almost square ring that is no more than 120 cm above the ground. Each side of the ring must be between 5.70 and 8.20 meters. The ring must be closed with 4 ropes that may be between 4.90 and 7.30 meters long on each side of the ring. The ropes must be supported by 4 corner posts and the diameter must not exceed 2 cm. The ropes should be wrapped in leather or soft linen to protect the fighters. Outside the ring the ground must be provided with soft mats. No one is allowed within a radius of 1 meter outside the ring except the caretakers, judges and doctor.
Thai boxing equipment:
If a match is held in a stadium, the following items must be present:
- stopwatch
- gong
- alarm bell
- boxing gloves of different sizes that meet the guidelines
- water bottles
- pants, bandages, bits and head cords
Rules of Muay Thai competitions:
- Competitions in Thailand must always have government permission
- A Muay Thai match lasts no longer than 5 rounds and a round lasts a maximum of 3 minutes
- There is a 2 minute break between rounds
- Fighters must wear boxing gloves and they must not weigh more than 6 ounces (172 grams) - Exceptions:
- Fighters must have a doctor's note
- Fighters must be weighed naked and based on this they are classified into a class
- Fighters are not allowed to use Vaseline
- Fighters are not allowed to wear shoes or a t-shirt, but the use of a toque is mandatory
Each fighter may have 2 guardians in his corner
Decision of a Muay Thai match:
The outcome of a match can be determined in five ways:
- KO (when a fighter falls down on a punch from his opponent and is unable to get up within 10 seconds)
- TKO (a decision by the referee when a fighter is no longer able to continue fighting)
- Surrender (when a fighter abandons the match)
- Disqualification (if a fighter commits a serious foul)
- The judges give their points and the fighter with the most points wins
Counting points in Thai boxing:
Judges have the tough job of awarding points for punches and kicks. Awarding a point depends on the effectiveness, purpose, power and impact of the punch or kick. Points are also given for defensive strength but also for offensive strength. If both fighters have the same number of points, the most attacking fighter wins.
Awarding fouls in Thai boxing:
There are a large number of things prohibited in the ring:
- talking or behaving inappropriately
- deliberately using the head to hit the opponent
- attacks on the eyes, hair pulling and spitting
- deliberately knocking down the opponent and kicking him in the process
- deliberately kicking a downed opponent
- hitting an opponent when he or she is hanging on the ropes
- avoid the attacks by taking shelter behind the referee
- deliberately kicking the opponent in the crotch
Thai boxing weight classes (Thailand):
- Mini Flyweight not heavier than 105 Ibs. (47.6kg)
- Junior Flyweight not heavier than 108 Ibs. (49kg)
- Flyweight not heavier than 112 Ibs. (50.8kg)
- Junior Bantamweight not heavier than 115 Ibs. (52.2kg)
- Bantamweight heavier than 118 Ibs. (53.5kg)
- Junior Featherweight not heavier than 122 Ibs. (55.3kg)
- Featherweight not heavier than 126 Ibs. (57.2kg)
- Junior Lightweight not heavier than 130 Ibs. (59kg)
- Lightweight not heavier than 135 Ibs. (61.2kg)
- Junior Welterweight not heavier than 140 Ibs. (63.5kg)
- Welterweight not heavier than 147 Ibs. (66.7kg)
- Junior Middleweight not heavier than 154 Ibs. (69.9kg)
- Middleweight not heavier than 160 Ibs. (72.6kg)
- Light Heavyweight not heavier than 175 Ibs. (79.4kg)
- Heavy weight heavier than 175 Ibs. (+79.4kg)
