No trip to Thailand is complete without watching a traditional muay thai bout.  Two opponents circle in the ring.  A blistering heat upon the crowd.  The punishing sound of flesh upon flesh—bone upon bone.  “Oy! Oy!”  Another arching elbow has found its mark.

Thailand lives and breathes muay thai, and it’s simply a must experience if you ever step onto this land.  But what about experiencing it from the other side?  What about LEARNING muay thai?

Known as “The Art of Eight Limbs,” muay thai kickboxing was once used in warfare to crush enemies in hand to hand combat.  This dangerous sport uses legs, knees, elbows, and fists.  Traditionally, head-butting was also allowed, but in modern matches it has been banned.  Now this ancient form of combat has evolved into a sport that grips a large portion of the collective Thai heart.

It could easily be said that the way Americans feel about baseball is nothing compared to the Thai love of boxing.  People come from all over the world to learn this style of kickboxing from the source, and if you want to find the ultimate gym, muay thai must be learned in Thailand.

MMA has caught on worldwide, especially throughout the Western world, and there is a consensus among the men and women who live the lifestyle—the two most lethal fighting styles are muay thai kickboxing and Brazilian jujitsu.  Together they are an irrefutable force.  But even with this brutal sport finding a home all over the world, there are no fighters like the ones here in Thailand.

Thus, more and more people come to this country for this one reason alone—training with the best.  None expect to become champions, at least not here.  There are Westerners rising in the ranks, but only in the heavier weight classes where the competition is scarce because they are less populated by Thais.

Thais are tough—make no mistake about it.  Behind their enthusiastic smile is an indomnitable strength.  Many have trained in the sport since they were ten years old, and what they lack in power they make up for in speed, endurance, and sheer durability.

The best muay thai is in Bangkok, where all the champions train, but if you want to train in more peaceful settings, camps are sprinkled across the country.  No town, no matter how small, is without a place to train, and sometimes the best way is to learn where no English is spoken.  Chiang Mai also has great camps, and there is even a well-known one on Koh Samui—WMC muay thai camp, which is known for its record of producing female champions.

The training is extremely intense, and Thais bring a whole new meaning to what that means.  If you really want to experience another side of Thailand, consider staying for a month or so and getting shape.  Get up early in the morning, go for a jog on a palm-lined beach, and then train for a couple hours.  Afterwards, sit by the water and drink a coconut shake while you rest up for the evening session.  Before you know it, you’ll see why some Thais seem to have zero percent body fat.

Learning a sport like muay thai not only gets you in amazing shape and teaches you how to protect yourself, it’s also a great confidence builder.  And by stepping into the heart of Thailand, you can catch a closer glimpse of why “The Land of Smiles” has such a brutal national pastime.  There is more to the life than the surface suggests, and by becoming a part of it you cannot help but be exposed to true Thai culture, no matter how Westernized your surroundings.