| Muay Boran, which translates to "Ancient Boxing" | | | | fighting techniques. It is the total amount of the |
| ( Boran is a Thai loan word taken from the | | | | knowledge and experience of the Thai combat |
| Khmer slang ), is the predecessor to Muay Thai. | | | | arts masters through the centuries. Its recent |
| While often misunderstood among the Thais | | | | evolution gave birth to today's Muay Thai. |
| themselves, this word is highly used, granted | | | | These types of traditional techniques are a |
| incorrectly, in the West to refer to the ancient | | | | precious cultural asset. In order to save them |
| beginings of the empty hand part of the Thai | | | | from oblivion, the Thai National Culture |
| fighting style. | | | | Commission was issued by the Thai Ministry of |
| The ambition of Muay Boran is to let a warrior | | | | Education in the early 1990's the job to gather |
| survive a battle once he has lost his weapons | | | | and classify the technical repertoire of Muay |
| (until that point, he will utilize a style reffered to | | | | Boran. This duty was completed by the leading |
| as Krabi Krabong); its style is quite efficient, in | | | | living Thai martial arts masters, under the |
| that it maximizes the quantity of damage that | | | | supervision of the Honorary Chairman of |
| every blow serves to leverage, and works well, in | | | | International Muay Boran Academy (IMBA) : M. |
| that it can easily make for the death or severe | | | | Payungsak Jantrasurin. |
| injury of the opponent. | | | | A thorough official technical progression was |
| Most prominently, Muay Boran supports the use | | | | devised, permitting critical study and practice of |
| of dreadfully powerful elbow and knee techniques, | | | | Muay Boran by students from every where in |
| and combinations thereof, regularly thrown at | | | | the earth. The technical progression classifies the |
| thorough force and quickness, with the intent to | | | | techniques of Muay Boran in four categories : |
| defeat one's adversary as fast as possible, due to | | | | 1. CHERNG MUAY : the principles of usage of the |
| the fact that a different one would by now, be | | | | inherent human weapons (hands, feet, shins, |
| coming near or attacking. | | | | knees, elbows, head) and their diverse |
| A good amount of techniques in Muay Boran are | | | | combinations, to strike the critical spots of the |
| forbidden in present-day Muay Thai tournaments | | | | opponent's body |
| and competitions. Even in Thailand it is getting | | | | 2. KON MUAY KEE : the ways and techniques to |
| more and more difficult to find a school keen to | | | | defend (by evading, blocking, deflecting, |
| teach it; they prefer to focus more on | | | | anticipating) and counter the attacks of the fist |
| "contemporary" Muay Thai, as this is more easily | | | | category |
| exploitable as a form of profit. Today many | | | | 3. CHAP KO : stand up grappling and close quarter |
| schools who claim to offer Muay Boran merely | | | | fighting using particularly elbows, knees, the head, |
| teach Muay Thai and sell it under the name of | | | | joint locks, throws and take downs |
| Muay Boran. | | | | 4. MAE MAI - LUK MAI : the essential forms of |
| For the most part, Muay Boran was not | | | | Muay Boran. Practicing these forms develops four |
| well-known in the West beyond a little circle of | | | | key fighting notions : timing, distance, targeting the |
| practitioners. The art was featured in the 2003 | | | | critical facets of the opponent's body and utilizing |
| Thai film Ong Bak featuring Tony Jaa. Muay Boran | | | | ones inherent weapons with maximum efficiency. |
| recombines all the Thai traditional bare hand | | | | |