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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.
Every
year, usually 15-17 March, the legend of Nai Kanomthom is
brought
back to life in Ayuttaya for the Nai Kanomthom Day and International
Festival of Martial Arts, a three-days competition of muay boran and wai kruu
demonstrations and outdoor ceremonies at the Ayuttaya Word
Heritage site, in front of one of the most famous temples, Wat Mahatat.
Teams from all over the world participate. In the evening of the first
day, each
practictioner who has attained a higher level of
proficiency receives his new mongkol, of a different color,
from
the hands of the Senior Grand Master, during a beautiful and elaborate
ceremony.
See pics below
(edition 2009).
history
of muay thai, chao sua, ayuttaya, muay boran, burmese fighters, naresuan
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