Muay Thai, otherwise known as the “art of eight limbs”, is regarded as a key tool in the national government’s soft power strategy designed to help enhance the country’s image internationally while attracting tourists to its shores.
As part of the promotional drive the Sports Association of Phuket has partnered with local company T&Y Group and embarked on a trip to Beijing, China on Mar 7-10 to meet with thousands of Muay Thai students and gym owners in an effort to encourage them to visit Phuket to hone their skills as part of a program known as “TY Training The Trainer @Phuket Thailand.”
The first group of approximately 100 students and instructors from China registered to take the course landed at Phuket International Airport on Apr 3 and were met by Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat and Sports Association of Phuket President Thammawat Wongcharoenyot as part of an official welcoming ceremony.
Other key officials present to welcome the Chinese delegation included Paitoon Chutimakornkul, National Sports Advisor to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, Damrong Chaisena, Director of the Phuket office of the Sports Authority of Thailand.
As part of the welcome all the Chinese vistors were given a toy version of “Nong Joong”, a gender-neutral child spiny lobster without claws which serves as Phuket’s official mascot.
The “TY Training The Trainer @Phuket Thailand” took place between Apr 7-17 at the T&Y Muay Thai gym on Soi ta-iad in Chalong.
Soft power push
The promotion of Thailand’s national sport has been high on the agenda under Prime Minister Srettha with Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the deputy chairperson of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, confirming in January that she is pushing to have Muay Thai become an Olympic sport.
Ms Paetongtarn is seeking to make Muay Thai more popular among foreigners through a range of initiatives, such as incorporating a ranking system similar to Taekwondo’s belt ranking system, aiding Muay Thai teachers in becoming more professional and fostering more Muay Thai competitions at all levels.
As part of this initiative, Thailand sent eight Muay Thai experts to Saudi Arabia earlier this month to train the country’s military and national boxers.
In February the chairperson of the Sports Sub-Committee in the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, Pimol Srivikorn, who also serves as an official advisor to PM Srettha, confirmed plans for a Muay Thai masterclass to be conducted in England in the near future where foreigners would learn the martial art from internationally recognised Muay Thai masters, such as Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Buakaw Banchamek and Superbon Singha Mawynn.
It is hoped such inititaives will inspire such foreigners to visit Thailand to further their studies while also encouraging friends to do likewise, which could significantly boost Thai tourism, Mr Pimol said. The Thai government has been contemplating granting a special 90-day visa for foreigners who want to visit Thailand to practise Muay Thai, he added.
Internationally renowned
Phuket is internationally renowned for training and developing local and international talent with 43 officially registered Muay Thai camps across the island, including the famous Tiger Muay Thai and Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA gyms, while the island also boasts two top-class standard boxing stadiums in Patong Beach Boxing Stadium and Bangla Boxing Stadium.
A raft of local and international talent has either been based in Phuket or graced the various Muay Thai gyms here at some stage on their way to starring on the global stage through promotions such as the UFC and ONE Championship; Alexander Volkanovski, Anatoly Malykhin, Loma Lookboonmee, Rafael Fiziev, Petr Yan, Valentina Shevchenko, Celest Hansen and Israel Adesanya are just a handful of such examples.
Of note, Phuket hosted the sixth edition of the International and Thai Martial Arts (ITMA) Games between Mar 10-17 at the indoor stadium in Saphan Hin where over 1,200 athletes from 50 countries contested a variety of martial arts disciplines including competitions in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate and Jiu Jitsu.