Muay Chaiya is a style of traditional
Thai boxing, founded about over 200 years ago. The founder was an army leader of the
Rattanakosin Kingdom in the age of
King Rama V
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
. He taught Muay Chaiya to regular townspeople. The word “Muay” refers to boxing and “Chaiya” refers to the name of the city. The people who made Muay Chaiya famous are Kham Sriyapai and Plong Jumnonthong. Plong Jumnongthong popularized Muay Chaiya by showing Muay Chaiya techniques and winning a fight with the boxer from
Korat
The Korat cat ( th, โคราช, มาเลศ, สีสวาด, ) is a silver-tipped blue-grey, short-haired breed of domestic cat with a small to medium build and a low percentage of body fat. Its body is semi-cobby, and unusually hea ...
(Nakornratchasrima) in front of King Rama V. Then, King Rama V awarded him the title of “muen muay mee cheu” (หมื่นมวยมีชื่อ).
Muay Chaiya has both of offensive and defensive techniques. Offensive techniques are throwing, smashing,
grappling
Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling ...
, and breaking. Defensive techniques are dodging, pushing, and
blocking. Muay Chaiya also has a specific step called Yang Sam Khum.
Baan Changthai: Art and Muay Chaiya “Yang Sam Khum”
Retrieved Oct 27th, 2013, The word “Yang” refers to walk, while the word “Sam” refers to three, and the word “Khum” refers to a point. Yang Sam Khum uses three steps to change the position of the front and back legs. The key advantage of Yang Sam Khum is its speed and precision.
See also
*Krabi Krabong
Krabi ( th, กระบี่, ) is the main town in the province of Krabi (''thesaban mueang'') on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phang Nga Bay. As of 2020, the town had a population of ...
*Lerdrit
Lerdrit, Muay Lert Rit or, Leert Rit (มวย Muay: boxing, fighting เลิศ leert: superior, excellent ฤทธิ์ rit: formidable force, colossal power) is the generic name attributed to the set of principles and fighting techniques ...
* Muay Boran
*Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...
* Tomoi
References
{{Martial arts
Muay Thai