Follow up from the earlier post for Muay Thai Holiday; for those who missed that post about the various gyms and schools you can visit to learn Muay Thai on your holiday, this post is about the entertainment aspect of the holiday.
If you are looking at Muay Thai as entertainment, here is a low down on the activities you can plan for in Bangkok, Thailand. In Bangkok, you can visit two major Boxing stadiums if you want to catch some all-out Muay Thai fights.
The 1st one is the Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium, which 1st opened to the public back in December 1945 and is located at Pom Prap Sattru Phai district; the stadium is one of the two significant stadiums for modern Muay Thai.
With its own ranking system and championship title up to Middleweight, the stadium draws a steady flow of fans every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. It was such an honour for me to be behind the scene on one such fight when I was in Bangkok that the experience will forever stay with me.
Muay Thai in Thailand
Entering the venue via the fighter’s entrance, I felt like I was a gladiator walking into the centre of the ring for a fight with fans cheering loudly for blood.
The venue itself gave off a very gritty atmosphere where the battles felt rawer as the fighters went all out in putting on a show to the crowd and attacked their opponents intending to kill.
I get the chills just thinking back at the few hours I spend in the stadium. If I were a fighter entering into the ring in that stadium, the energy from the gamblers shouting and cheering at the warriors definitely pumped up the amount of adrenaline that is already coursing through the system.
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| Muay Thai fighters at Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok |
After their fights, the fighters I talked to confirm it; as they prepare for their battles, they first get nervous, and when they strip down and get into their gears, they get pumped up for the fight.
And when they stepped into the ring and performed the Wai Khru, that’s when the adrenaline level in the body shoots through the roof, and they basically go on instinct and training in their fights.
They finish their battles, which usually last between a K.O. to either fighter to the end of the 5th round. They would be so drained of energy that it took some time before they could cool down enough to wash up and go home.
What interested me throughout the fight was the gambling at the 2nd level of the stadium, where bettings are placed using hand signals, just like the way it is in the Stock exchange.
Because occasional fights will break out among the gamblers, the foreigners are advised to occupy the more expensive ringside seats.
Even though the stadium’s security is managed by the Military Police officers, there will be times when the fights get so out of hand that it’s hard for the M.P.s to do anything if a travelling fan is caught in the middle of it all.
If you like such ‘Blood Sports’ kind of environment, this is the place to go for your Muay Thai entertainment.
The other major Muay Thai stadium is the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, located at Ram Intra Road; since February 2014, the stadium moved to the present venue from its original location at Rama IV Road. They needed a bigger venue to accommodate the growing interest in sports.
With a capacity of 9,500, the new Lumpinee Boxing Stadium is quite a testament to the Royal Thai Army’s aim to modernise sports even more.
I think the stadium is still very new so for tourists, it’s advisable to get a Muay Thai tour package so that transport will be arranged as the only constant public transport available in the taxi service. The planned train station will only be ready soon.
Bus wise, I’m not too familiar with the bus service in the area, so the best mode of transport I know of getting from your accommodation to Lumpinee Stadium is by taxi.
Fights at Lumpinee Stadium is only Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so if you plan to visit the place to catch some of the fights, you can plan your trips around those days.
Just like Rajadamnern Stadium, Lumpinee Stadium has its own ranking system as well, with championship titles from mini flyweight (105 lb) up to the super welterweight (154 lb). I’m pretty proud to say that I got to train with Sam-A, one of the reigning Lumpinee titleholders, during my stay in Bangkok.
Only 3 farangs (foreigners) have been awarded the most prestigious belts in Muay Thai, which is Lumpinee Champions. The 1st of which is French-Algerian fighter Morad Sari, French fighter Damien Alamos and Ramon Dekkers.
Unlike the Rajadamnern stadium, though, walking into the Lumpinee stadium felt just like walking into any other regular sports stadium. Even though it is as noisy and packed as the other stadium, the atmosphere felt a bit tamer and controlled.
The various rooms (management office, medical, weight-in room and changing rooms) are appropriately segregated and spread across the rear of the stadium, with plenty of modern facilities for the fighters to utilise.
You can visit a massive shop for fans attending the match to buy boxing gear, and ringside seats are nicely spread out. Check out the entrance below the VIP seating area as you can catch a glimpse of the next fighter coming out to fight.
Unlike Rajadamnern, where the fighters stand on a platform before their fight, the soldiers in Lumpinee get a nice sitting area to relax and get into the zone before entering the ring.
Unlike Rajadamnern, where the fighters stand on a platform before their fight, the soldiers in Lumpinee get a nice sitting area to relax and get into the zone before entering the ring.
It’s quite a different environment, and to compare both stadiums, the Lumpinee is much more structured and much more civilised in terms of atmosphere while Rajadamnern is much rawer.
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| Muay Thai Live cast in Bangkok |
A 90-minute spectacle, you’d be in awe at the flexibility of the performers on stage as they leap and perform impossible moves that you never know is possible. Created and Directed by Ekachai Eukrongtham, there’s plenty of action as he brings the story of Muay Thai to live.
It took the fighters 5 months to train and rehearse all the necessary scenes, and all the hits and kicks that they execute are real. The only way these guys are still alive and kicking is because they rehearsed the moves so well that they could easily pull off those banned moves.
Yes, you read it right; a lot of the moves in the show is classic Muay Thai moves, but because the movements are so deadly, the Promoters and Governing Bodies for Muay Thai competitions have banned them from competitions.
When you catch the performance, don’t think the fighters choreograph their moves to the sound effects they seem to hit on cue. Truth be told, a lot of the sound effects, stage effects are all keyed in as it goes.
So the magic not only appears on stage, but a man or a team is sitting high up on a stage with concrete control panels working the magic in making sure all the sound and stage effects appear and happen as the performers hit their mark.
After the show, I got the chance to speak to the performers and the director and found out that these guys and ladies are so well trained that they can switch roles easily when it is their turn to take the leading roles.
One of the biggest stars at the show is none other than Asante Suwan, the very actor who portrayed the Kathoey fighter, Nong Thoom, in the Beautiful Boxer. Of course, fans of his would know that he has also acted in many other movies, but in terms of popularity-wise, Beautiful Boxer is it. Like all fighters, he’s pretty shy, but when I got him to talk about how trained to get the shape, he is in for this role, his eyes just light up.
The main similarity all the actors in this show have in maintaining their bodies for the Muay Thai LIVE! is eating clean, training well, and staying away from alcohol and cigarettes. For great abs, be consistent in doing 500 ab crunches, and you will get the 6 or 8 packs you want.
As for the future plans for Muay Thai LIVE!, Ekachai mentioned that he has some plans for Christmas, so if you’re visiting Bangkok, check out Muay Thai LIVE! Definitely a performance you should not miss.
If you plan to visit Thailand for the Muay Thai Holiday minus the training, check out the above activities.
And now, for the contest to win some goodies that I brought back from Thailand. All you need is to answer some simple questions, and 5 lucky people with the correct answers will walk away with a pair of exclusive Muay Thai shorts.
Win 5 Pairs of Muay Thai Shorts Contest
The contest starts on 11th Nov till 17th Nov 2014. Participants should follow the instructions for the contest giveaway and email the answers as instructed in the widget.
And now, for the contest to win some goodies that I brought back from Thailand. All you need is to answer some simple questions, and 5 lucky people with the correct answers will walk away with a pair of exclusive Muay Thai shorts.
Win 5 Pairs of Muay Thai Shorts Contest
The contest starts on 11th Nov till 17th Nov 2014. Participants should follow the instructions for the contest giveaway and email the answers as instructed in the widget.
For those into Muay Thai, this article was written by Mike Yip, who enjoys this sport and attends the first-ever Muay Thai blogger Tour in Bangkok, Thailand. He spent five days there exploring the sport and the entertainment side of Muay Thai.