Another fad to hit the West?

Muay Chaiya, or Pahuyuth Muay Thai Chaiya, is a form of muay boran developed about 250 years ago in the town of Chaiya, in the South of Thailand (Surat Thani province). The historical record links this peculiar style of combat to a great soldier, Poh Tan Mah, who developed it by himself as a variation of the existing fighting styles. Poh Tan Mah fought so ferociously on the battlefields that he got his "nomme de guerre", bestowed by the King, as Mhng Muay, or "ten thousands figtgers". As it was not uncommon for retiring soldiers to enter the monkshood in a temple, Poh Tan Mah chose Wat Tung Jab Chang, in the town of Chaiya, and spent the rest of his life meditating, following the Buddhist precepts and also teaching his fighting style to others.

One of his disciples was Phraya Wajeesatayarak, the Governor of the province, who, as many other aristocratics of the time, had his education taught by the monks. But it was his son, Ajaarn Kriet Sriyapai, who become one of the greatest Thai fighters of all times and a living legend, respected and admired by all Thais. Ajaarn Kriet passed his teachings to many pupils, including Panya Kraitus, who wrote one of the most comprehensive books about muaythai  "Muaythai the art of fighting".

But it's Kruu Tonglor Yalae, knows as Kruu Tong, another disciple of Kriet Sriyapai, who continued teaching and practicing muay chaiya in its truest form up to the present, aided by his most famous disciple Kruu Preng who took over the academy after he passed away in 1996. Kruu Preng is at the moment the most advanced master of muay chaiya in the world.

At the moment muay chaiya is taught by a few schools, the most true to its origin is the one founded by Kruu Tong himself.

Surely there are great differences between modern muaythai and its original form called muay boran, but how muay chaiya differs from the latter is the basic question. Muay chaiya was invented by a skilled warrior, himself trained in the art of muay boran and krabi krabong at the Royal Palace in Bangkok; it was then transplanted in the South due to his preference for a monastry; therefore it is not an indigenous style of the people of Southern Thailand as commonly believed.

The most noticeable differences, for whoever is not deep into such obsolete forms of combats, are:

• Posture: Muay Chaiya fighters keep the limbs constantly bent, with joint facing out, as shields,

• Attack: Often carried by springing forward, using one leg as spring,

• Guard: Kept higher than usual, with one fist higher; one leg is often raised.

I'm sure the interest for muay chaiya will increase esponentially after the release of the movie "Muay Thai Chaiya" in the West. So far "Chaiya" (its Thai title) has been a moderate, expected success in Bangkok theaters (premiere on 30 Agust 2007). The plot is a classic tale of friendship and betrayal, with plenty of action fights which resemble previous muay boran movies. The most interesting part is the portrayal of the underworld connected to muaythai gambling rings. The movie starts well with some enlighting techniques proper of muay chaiya, but becomes an average action movie with plenty of shootings and drama, loosely connected with muay chaiya. Personally, I regret good old Panom was not in this movie. Golf, the main actor, is a Thai moviestar who obviously trained hard for this move, but Tony Jaa, who practices martial arts and stunts for 10 hours a day, is of another breed.

The promotion machine is alreday in full speed and Fairtex has smartly assured the rights to sell t-shirts and gadgets related to this movie in Europe and USA.

Rajaboxing also has updated his t-shirt catalogue with the words "Chaiya" appearing everywhere.

I forecast it's only a matter of months before young Westerners will fly to Thailand looking for muay chaiya training camps, which surely will pop-up overnight to fulfill the demand.