MMA Banned in Thailand

Muay Thai - Illustration from Flickr.com

Really, MMA banned in Thailand? It definitely appears to be the case, somethings which appears kind of odd in a country where the hard hitting fighters of Muay Thai are national heroes and the martial art - considered brutal by many - is the national sport.

Apparently mixed martial arts has been deemed to be 'too brutal' by the governing Thai sports authorities.

Makes me wonder if there isn't some form of political pressure behind this decision.

MMA banned in Thailand

Here's a small excerpt of what bangkokpost.com has to say about this kind of strange move.

SAT officials met this week to discuss whether holding an MMA event was lawful or not following a request from a private company and they finally agreed that under the 1999 boxing law, it is unlawful to stage an MMA event in Thailand.
"Organising a MMA event here would hurt the image of Muay Thai," Sakol said.
There have been two MMA events held in Bangkok and neither were approved by the SAT, according to Sakol. He said the SAT was asking the Interior Ministry's legal advisors to consider action against any MMA organisers.
"If you want to do this kind of business, you should do it in another country," Sakol said. "Organising MMA here could mislead the public into believing that Muay Thai is brutal."

So there you have it - apparently MMA is too brutal, but Muay Thai is OK. Weird logic if you ask me. What's your opinion?

Inexperienced Fighter Dies

Thailand -- An inexperienced, 48-year-old Muay Thai boxer and farmer died after collapsing in a fight for which he was set to be paid just 400 baht (approximately US $13).

The father-of-two had reportedly agreed to the fight, even though he had fought only two times before. The man struggled to with the expenses of his daughters' education while caring for his wife's elderly parents and disabled brother, according to bangkokpost.com.

My heart goes out to these poor, hard-working people. How utterly meaningless and sad.

Jaa Ordained as Monk?

It is being reported that Tony Jaa of "Ong Bak" Muay Thai fame has withdrawn from the movie industry to become a Buddhist monk in the North-Eastern Surin province of his native Thailand, according to pattayadailynews.com

He has reportedly shaved off his locks, taken his Buddhist monk vows and has been officially ordained by the abbot at a local temple.

Kung Foolish in Thailand

Thailand -- A New Zealand expatriate who reportedly owns several businesses and is a noted kung fu master, was arrested in Pattaya, according to stuff.co.nz.

The man was allegedly dressed in full SWAT gear carrying a live automatic weapon in public, according to police.

When being approached by police, the "kung-fool" reportedly claimed he had been contracted by local police to train them on several occasions. He also produced several forms of identification, some of which was conflicting.

WTF Politics Again

The South Korean government is reportedly denying rumors that it is covertly backing a candidate for the upcoming presidential election in the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) , claiming such accusations are groundless.

"The Korean government has nothing to do with the WTF election,'' an official of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.

One of four applicants for the WTF top job, Vice President Nat Indrapana of Thailand, stirred up controversy at the British International Taekwondo Tournament in Manchester, which ended on August 29.

Mr Indrapana allegedly said that he and the South Korean culture, sports and tourism minister, had reached an agreement that the main office of the WTF would be built in Seoul if Indrapana, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was to be selected as President of WKF.

He Intervened

In Bangkok (Thailand), a former Muay Thai boxer has been jailed along with a woman he saved from a rape attempt, according to bangkokpost.com.

The 27-year-old man intervened to prevent the 40-year-old woman being raped on August 29, 2005.

The incident was viewed by the Criminal Court as an attempt to bludgeon a person to death. The man admitted he "lightly kicked" the would-be rapist. The woman admitted she had used a knife to slash the attacker's face several times after he collapsed after a series of blows from the Thai boxer.

Having a Smashing Time

These ladies are truly something else!

Story:
The 22 members of the South Korean 'Grandma Taekwondo Federation demonstration team', are aged between 58 and 78. Part of the daily training routine for the formidably tough grannies is to shatter stacks of roof tiles with a single powerful punch.

They exercise at least two hours a day and six days a week under the guidance of taekwondo master Yoon Yeo-Ho.

According to Mr Yoon, it started as an idea that the martial art could help these grannies improve their health and that "uniforms would look good on them".

Now, the team of TKD grannies now performs several times a year at home and abroad - in China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Source

A fighting chance

The end of the school day marks the beginning of an even tougher class for 12-year-old Thai twin sisters Phannipa and Sawinee Chaithes.

When other students at Suksawittaya school in the N N Maprang district of Phitsanulok province head out to play, the twins swap their books for muay thai boxing gloves.

Many like Phannipa and Sawinee have to help earn a living and school director Chuchart Khumpuang acknowledges the difficulties they face. He, too, boxed for a living when young and now hopes combining education and sports in school will give the children a fighting chance at life.

It's a physically punishing jab at success -- the children chalk up five hours of physical exercise each day that includes two daily runs totalling 11 kilometres and rigorous circuit training.

Source

Read more martial arts news at: Your Martial Arts Resources

Sumo Thai

A Thai sumo girl...? Again: Sure, why not - whatever makes you happy!

Story:
Nicha Wittisirichai, a 14-year-old girl from Suwan Sutharam Wittaya School, has been attending the Sunday class for three years.

Her "love" of the sport began accidentally.

"I was introduced to this Japanese sport at one of the Thai-Japanese cultural exhibitions," the resident of Nonthaburi province said.

"My friend was interested in doing sumo, so I went along with her, and then I fell in love with it myself."

Source