During the early seventies the American martial arts world was shaken to its foundations by the demands made on it by a fresh young new generation of practitioners.
Fighters started looking for a competitive format in which they could use their skills to the full effect, full power punches and kicks in bouts fought to the knockout.
The development of specialised protective equipment speeded up the evolution of this new sport, which became known as kickboxing.
Between 1970 and 1973 a handful of kickboxing promotions were staged across the USA. In the early days the rules were never clear, one of the first tournaments had no weight divisions and all the competitors fought off until one was left.
A very young Benny Urquidez reached the final. Weighing in at 10 stones Urquidez faced the 14 stones Dana Goodson. Urquidez won the tournament by pinning Goodson to the floor for more than 10 seconds, which was part of the rules.
Various forms of kickboxing have long been practiced throughout Southeast Asia. As with the most countries in the region, Thai culture is highly influenced by ancient civilizations within Southeast Asia, India, China and Theravada buddhism.
Muay Thai's origin in Thailand can be traced back to its ancestor Muay Boran ("ancient boxing"), an unarmed combat used by Siamese soldiers in conjunction with Krabi Krabong, the weapon-based style, and may be traced back to Bokator, the martial art of the Khmer Empire. Eventually Muay Boran was divided to:
- Muay Korat (Northeast) emphasized strength. A technique like "Throwing Buffalo Punch" was used. It could supposedly defeat a buffalo in one blow.
- Muay Lopburi (Center region) emphasized movements. Its strong points were straight and counter punches.
- Muay Chaiya (South) emphasized posture and defense, as well as elbows and knees.
- Muay Pra Nakorn (North) emphasized speed, particularly in kicking. Because of its faster speed, it was called as well "Ling Lom" (windy monkey or Loris).
As well as continuing to function as a practical fighting technique for use in actual warfare, Muay Thai became a sport in which the opponents fought in front of spectators who went to watch for entertainment. This kind of muay contests gradually became an integral part of local festivals and celebrations, especially those held at temples. It was even used as entertainment to kings.
Eventually, the previously bare-fisted fighters started wearing lengths of rope wrapped around their hands and forearms. This type of match was called muay kaad chuek (มวยคาดเชือก).
Royal Muay
Muay gradually became a possible means of personal advancement as the nobility increasingly esteemed skillful practitioners of the art and invited selected fighters to come to live in the Royal palace to teach muay to the staff of the royal household, soldiers, princes or the king's personal guards. This "royal muay" was called muay luang (มวยหลวง).Some time during the Ayutthaya Period, a platoon of royal guards was established, whose duty was to protect king and the country. They were known as Grom Nak Muay (Muay Fighters' Regiment). This royal patronage of muay continued through the reigns of Rama V and VII.
Muay Renaissance
The ascension of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) to the throne in 1868 ushered in a Golden Age not only for muay but for the whole country of Thailand. Muay progressed greatly during the reign of Rama V as a direct result of the king's personal interest in the art. The country was at peace and muay functioned as a means of physical exercise, self-defense, recreation, and personal advancement. Masters of the art such as former fighters or soldiers began teaching muay in training camps where students were provided with food and shelter. Trainees would be treated as one family and it was customary for students to adopt the camp's name as their own surname.
After the occurrence of a death in the ring, King Rama the VII pushed for codified rules for Muay Thai, and they were put into place. These included the rules that the fighters should wear modern gloves and cotton coverlets over the feet and ankles. It was also around this time in the 1920s that the term Muay Thai became commonly used while the older form of the style was referred to as Muay Boran.