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The folktale of Nai Kanomtom

the legendary boxer dear to all Thai people

A beautiful, old story related to muay boran is the one of Nai Kanomtom, a real fighter-hero very dear to the heart of all Thais. He was captured after the fall of Ayutaya (1767) and took to Rangoon together with hundreds of Siamese prisoners. Burmese king Mangra was at the time holding seven days of religious festivities to honor the main pagoda. Fight contests were a popular form of entertainment on such jolly occasions. The king wanted to see how his fighters would stand against Ayutaya-style Siamese boxing. Nai Khanomtom volunteered to fight against the Burmese champion. He graciously performed a pre-fight dance, the wai kruu, to pay respect to his teacher. This mesmerized the Burmese, who never saw such ritual performed before. The fight resulted in his quick victory, but the Burmese couldn't accept the verdict, claiming the wai kruu was a sort of magic ritual. The King then asked if he would fight nine Burmese champions to prove that the "muay Ayutaya" was indeed superior to Burmese Let Wei. Nai Kanomtom agreed and defeated all Burmese champions in one day, one after the other. King Mangra was so amazed he granted the unbeatable fighter his freedom, plus the choice between a reward in riches or two beautiful Burmese wives. Nai Kanomtom chose the wives and went back to Ayutaya as a free man. Another version of this story adds that the Burmese king freed all Siamese prisoners too, as a gesture of goodwill among the two countries.



                    history of muay thai, chao sua, ayuttaya, muay boran, burmese fighters, naresuan


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