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 employed by Siamese warriors for centuries on

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n battlefields. This form of Muay has been used primarily by the Royal Thai Army's Palace Guard, the Capital's Defense Corps, war elephants’ Defense Units and Special Infantry Corps. Siamese Lert Rit was based on a clever combination of the Nine Natural Weapons (Nawarthawooth), i.e.,

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "han ...

feet The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...

knees In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

, elbows and

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

, which were used to attack and defend. It was also based on the four ancestral strategies used by Special Infantry Corps: Tum (throwing to the ground), Tap (crush), Chap (grab), Hak (break the joints). Muay of today is a traditional

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

born from the ancestral precepts of Siamese warriors, adapted to the self-defence needs of modern practitioners, regardless of their physical characteristics and the conditions under which its techniques are applied. However, several Western martial arts practitioners have developed modern adaptations that combine elements of

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

with those of other martial arts which they now market as Muay Boran.

Technical features

Leert Rit fighting strategy places great emphasis on close range striking, executed using hard body parts such as: the heel and outside edge of the hands, the legs (heel, shin bone), the knees, the elbows and the skull. The trainee is trained to hit and quickly take the opponent down, so as to efficiently apply a pin or a finishing move. The vital points of the body are identified from the first training sessions, in order to train students to attack with ease and to swiftly defend the weakest areas of one's anatomy. Practice emphasizes powerful short range attacks that employ the Nine Natural Weapons; body conditioning is included in every training session and is designed to increase bone density and muscle and tendon strength, making the trainee's body stronger. Thai style

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

(Muay Pram) is the core practice for every Muay student: working out with non-compliant training partners is mandatory in order to learn how to fight at close range. All Muay students are trained to apply holds, strikes, take downs and finishing moves at a very short distance from the opponent. Psycho-physical stress is generated in a controlled environment, so as to reproduce conditions of real-life aggression.

References

Thai martial arts {{Thailand-stub

Technical features

See also

References