The origin of Japan's martial arts is vague, and what we know of it, is more legend than truth. However, the takenouchi-ryu martial art system founded in 1532 is considered the beginning of Japan's jujitsu forms. The system's founder taught jujitsu in a structured and methodical manner.
For the next several hundred years, the martial arts were refined by Samurai who made a lifetime study of some twenty or thirty martial arts. Of these arts only one was based on weaponless self defense -- jujitsu. By the mid-1800's more than 700 different jujitsu systems existed. The most popular were takenouchi-ryu, jikishin-ryu, kyushinryu, yoshin-ryu, mirua-ryu, sekiguchi-ryu, kito-ryu, and tenshin-shinyo-ryu; the last two were instrumental in Judo's development.
It was during this time that Japanese politics disintegrated into disarray. Commodore Perry's visit to Japan in the mid-1850's also changed Japanese civilization by opening up a new world to them. In 1868 Imperial rule was restored (Meiji Restoration) and the decline of the Samurai class started along with a rapid decline in all martial arts. Although the government did not officially ban the martial arts, people were not encouraged to learn or practice them since the state was considered more important than the individual. Jujitsu literally fell into disuse. What was once the glory of the samurai was now looked down on and many well established jujitsu schools began to disappear.
If the budo concept was to survive the Meiji Restoration, it had to change and become a tool to cultivate an individual and make him a better person for the good of all. As a result budo found a home in physical education and sport.
Sport provided teamwork which was good for all and also developed the individual. It was a complete physical education; not just a game. Although self defense techniques were included in the training, emphasis was on using the techniques in a holistic manner. Dr. Jigoro Kano is credited with jujitsu's survival of the Meiji Restoration. He took jujitsu and adapted it to the times. His new methodology was called Judo.
In 1882, Dr. Jigoro Kano (The Father of Judo) made a comprehensive study of these ancient self defense forms and integrated the best of these forms into a sport which is known as Kodokan Judo.
History of Muay Thai
Southeast Asia has enjoyed many forms of kickboxing over the centuries in many different forms. The Thai national sport that has evolved from this love of unarmed combat is called Muay Thai, also known as the Art of Eight Limbs for its extensive use of shins, elbows, knees and hands. Thailand’s martial arts have been influenced through the generations by its neighbors, particularly China and India and the discipline of the Buddhist religion. Muay Thai is but one aspect of Muay Boran, or “ancient boxing”, which is divided into different disciplines and techniques. You can see them practiced throughout the country depending on the region you are in.
Muay Thai is often the centerpiece of festivals and holidays, a spectator sport that is exciting as well as showcasing the beauty of fluid movements mastered during years of training and self-discipline. The sport is as much about the spirit and mind as about physical contact and exhibitions that used to be showcased in Thai royal courts are still welcomed in temples.
Muay Chaiya, practiced in the south, requires great attention to posture and uses the knees and elbows in defensive movements. In the northeast, Muay Korat emphasizes strength; moves such as the “throwing buffalo punch” challenge the fighters’ strength and agility. Supposedly able to bring down a buffalo with one blow, this technique conveys the incredible mastery required in this particular discipline.
In central Thailand the art of Muay Lopburi concentrates more on grace and movements that rely on reacting to aggression with straight counter punches. Northern Thailand’s Muay Pra Nakorn is more concerned with speed kicking and is also known as “Ling Lom”, which means “windy monkey”.
Muay Thai has a long and colorful history, beginning as bare-fisted boxing and becoming a means of advancement as the Thai nobility began to respect the skill and enjoy watching the sport. The best fighters were brought to live in the king’s household to teach the skill to his staff, sons, his guards and his soldiers. Muay Luang was the name given to describe such teachers of royalty, who were highly respected by all classes of society.
During the Ayutthaya Period, the 14th-18th centuries, masters of Muay Thai were tagged to protect the king and their country as royal guards. This platoon was called Grom Nak Muay, or the Muay Fighters’ Regiment. Thailand was relatively peaceful and prosperous during this period and the Grom Nak Muay continued their duties through the reign of Rama VII.
King Rama V, ascending to the throne in 1868, was an enthusiastic supporter of Muay and saw that the art progressed in Thailand, then known as Siam. Muay masters began to teach the art in training camps, providing their students with room and board. Indeed, the camps functioned as a family unit and it became the accepted custom for a graduate to accept their camp’s name in place of their traditional family surname. It was also around this time in the 1920s that the term Muay Thai became commonly used while the older form that it originated it was referred to as Muay Boran.
King Rama VII, like his predecessor, loved the sport but instigated rules after a death occurred during a match. Among them was a requirement for the participants to wear gloves much like modern boxing gloves as well as covers on the ankles and feet.
Like all sports, Muay Thai has had its share of heroes that have gone down in history. When the capital of Siam, Ayutthaya, fell to the Burmese in 1767, the invaders captured a number of Thai boxers and spirited the prisoners back to Burma to entertain their king and be made sport of. However, half a dozen years later one of that number would prove just how superior the sport was to anything Burma could produce! It began with a week long religious festival with entertainment in the form of plays, sword fighting and comedies. King Mangra thought it would be amusing to pit the Muay Thai fighters against his own Lethwei boxers and asked for a ring to be set up in his throne room. Burma’s most skilled boxer was pitted against the Siam boxer, Nai Khanom Tom and the match began with the prisoner engaging in a traditional pre-fight dance to show respect to his captor and the audience. The match began as he finished his dance around his enemy, displaying his agility and prowess to the amazed spectators. Nai Khanom Tom was in fine form as the fight commenced, mercilessly kicking and punching with every part of his body until his opponent collapsed.
The referee, however, excused the fallen Burmese boxer by claiming that the pre-fight dance so distracted Tom’s nemesis that the victory was illegal, prompting the King to propose that the Siam boxer take on Burma’s best boxers to prove his skill. Agreeing, Nai Khanom Tom fought them all, one after the other, with no respite between bouts. After mangling his last opponent, a revered boxing teacher, no one else dared enter the ring with him! King Mangra was so impressed that he granted freedom to the spectacular boxer from Siam, giving him a choice between fabulous riches or two lovely Burmese wives. Nai Khanom Tom, saying that money was easier to find than love, chose his wives and returned home to Siam. Some versions of this legend have him securing the freedom of his fellow prisoners, as well. But to this day, Thailand celebrates National Muay Thai Day each year on March 17 in honor of Nai Khanom Tom and all of the Muay Thai.
The ancient sport of Thai boxing (as Muay Thai is also known) has flourished in Thailand, filtering in from many other countries and becoming an important part of the nation’s history as well as its culture. The art of Muay Thai continues to thrive and inspire generation after generation with its discipline as well as its exquisite demonstration of skill and physical prowess.
