First of all let me say that I am not a "politically correct" individual who will say or do things just to please, and/or appease others. So, those of you who get angered when someone writes something "negative" about female participation in any facet of martial arts, prepare yourselves.
Yesterday, Sunday, October 22, 2006, I did a few hours of browsing at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore, and a local Borders bookstore. I wanted to check out the latest books on Muay Thai and martial arts in general. It is great to be able to walk into a bookstore, pick out a stack of brand new books, buy a cup of tea and pastry, and then sit down and peruse the contents of books that interest me.
The first book that I grabbed off the shelf was MUAY THAI: A Living Legacy by Kat Prayukvong and Lesley D. Junlaken. What a magnificent coffee table book on the art of Muay Thai and the Thai culture that it exists within. Beautiful pictures, an artistic layout of the history, evolution, and current state of the Muay Thai art, a comprehensive overview of "everything" Muay Thai, and (in my opinion) a complete success as a book. My advice is simply that if you love Muay Thai, you must have this book in your personal library. It is head and shoulders above all of the other Muay Thai "overview" books that I have read and purchased over the past 35 years. Anyone reading this book will want to run out and find a Muay Thai teacher after even thumbing through it. Worth every penny it will cost you! As a matter of fact, buy a paperback and a hardcover version. A GREAT martial arts publication.
The second title I perused was MUAY THAI UNLEASHED by Erich Krauss. This book is a great book that is filled with a huge amount of information on Muay Thai training, pad training, strategy, tactics, and much, much more. You can't go wrong by buying this book even if you have trained in Thailand and have lots of experience. Well written, well illustrated, and a real learning tool for the dedicated Muay Thai enthusiast, practitioner, trainer, and martial arts afficianado. Buy this book! You won't be disappointed.
There were two more books on Muay Thai that I went through, but was bothered by for two reasons primarily. Therefore I won't reveal the titles or the authors names because that would be a putdown of their considerable efforts. What I am saying is that the other two books were well put together, well written, comprehensive, informative, and well photographed, but they struck a wrong nerve in me because of the aforementioned "two reasons" why I was personally bothered by the books. The "two reasons" are:
1) Both books had quite a few pictures of female Muay Thai practitioners. Nothing wrong with that, but what irked me was that most of the photos of females showed the ladies smiling angelically as they looslely and gracefully posed punching and kicking pads, bags, or a sparring partner. Those pictures are a joke! Hey, I love to look at pictures of beautiful, smiling, athletic looking women. But, I draw the line at "cutesy" pictures of models who give the impression that Muay Thai is "perfect" for "powderpuffs" who want to study Muay Thai in full makeup without mussing up their costly hairdos, or breaking manicured fingernails, or even breaking a sweat.
Ridiculous! Look, I realize that there are "commercial considerations" that go into publishing a successful book of any sort, but there should be some limits. What is wrong with showing some women really going at it in training or in the ring? Or is this the only way that the authors think that females can be drawn into Muay Thai training?
Also, I noted that the authors had very little to say about women in Muay Thai other than to cover their "politically correct" kowtowing to those who feel that all women should be able to engage in Muay Thai even if they are not mentally, physically, or spiritually "geared" to such study. That is precisely the attitude that has created the pathetic "sports" of women's boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai.
The truth is that 90% (at the very least) of women involved in contact / combat sports are NOT WORTH WATCHING or PAYING TO WATCH! That is the bottomline, unadorned truth. The handful of really well trained, skilled, focused, aggressive, and have the physical makeup necessary to become real fighters are few and far between. Since the overwhelming majority of females involved in boxing, kickboxing, or Muay Thai simply don't have "IT," what is the point (other than the fitness conditioning aspect of Muay Thai non-ring exercise...AeroboMuayThai???). I recently viewed a YOUTUBE.COM video clip of a German girl who performed a beautiful Ram Muay, and then was pitted against a young Thai girl who appeared to have no Muay Thai or kickboxing skills whatsoever. Hell, the Thai girl didn't even have "street thug swagger!" Of course the German girl won the match simply because she had a bit of Muay Thai training because she was a "farang (foreigner) with money" who would take this one victorious "match(???)" and her ram muay, and her anklets, her trunks, her tank top, handwraps, and mongkon back home to Germany to impress her girlfriends to the point where some will want to travel to Thailand to emulate her success. Great business for the the Thais' and the local economy, and great for the egos of the "farangs" as well. Money talks! It even talks louder when it allows a great tradition to be besmirched and belittled. It's far beyond, for example, the Japanese tourists who visit "dude / cowboy" ranches in the western USA and get to take home their cowboy outfits, ropes, spurs, ten gallon hats, and "cowboy spirit." Incredible.
I recently came across a photo of a european female who had won a "women's Muay Thai title (??) as a result of her "second" fight. I was appalled. I have never seen this woman in the ring, but I would bet my last dime that the "new caucasian Muay Thai titleholder" would not last one round against real women Muay Thai champions like Ilonka Elmont or Germaine Randamie. The truth is that they train the european women for a few weeks in a Thai camp, then put them in the ring with a pug ugly Thai woman who is as skilled in Muay Thai as I am in rocket science, and I assure you that the poor (literally and figuratively) Thai girl will go down to defeat so that the european woman can go back home with Thai boxing training gear and a shiny new title belt! The whole affair is not much better than the prostitution that goes on 24/7 on Soi Cowboy. Disgusting!
2) The second reason why the other unnamed books bothered me is because the vast majority of the photos in the books were of blond haired, blue eyed, "farang" practitioners and teachers. To be concise, straightforward, and brutally blunt, I must say that when I open a book on Muay Thai I want to primarily see Thai's in the photos. I am a person of color, but I don't want to try and digest a general overview of Muay Thai that features "primarily" individuals of color or caucasians rather than the Thai people and warriors that are the history, heart, and soul of Muay Thai!
I have no problem with, for example, a book on a non-Thai fighter or champion who is presenting an overview of his, or her, career, training, and personal biography. If Ramon Dekker, Rob Kaman, or Ernesto Hoost wanted to put out a book on their "expression" and interpretation of Muay Thai, and they want to use non-Thai models, that is cool by me ( though I would hope that they would at least pay homage in some small way to the Thai culture and warriors that inspired them to learn the art ). Yet, when it comes to a generalized overview of the art of Muay Thai, I just find it hard to have to put up with page after page of illustrations of non-Thai practitioners and teachers that gives the impression that the "farangs" now rule and own" the art of Muay Thai. Such presentations are stomach turning in my opinions. Where is the balance of true respect for an art when the birthplace, teachers, and practitioners, and masters of the art are give short shrift from start to finish of the publication. Ah, but that is the way of the western mind in a nutshell; find an interesting activity in another culture, learn it by paying the "natives" the requisite "wampum (trinkets and cash)," then "creating (???)" a "new and improved western version" of the activity, and then fleecing the local yokels who don't know any better! Think back to all of the europeans and americans who had the gall and audacity to open karate and kung-ful schools (???) in the sixties and seventies with little or no knowledge of real asian martial arts or self defense methods. Think of all the tenth (and beyond) degree american and european masters that were teaching (???) their gullible and ignorant fellow countrymen. Books like the unnamed two that I read DO HAVE VALID AND USEFUL information to share with the world, but the racism that is inherent in their lack of visual or written respect for the indigenous culture (cultures) that their art evolved from is a not so subtle slap in the face to those from whom they learned and their "pretend" to hold the highest respect for. Anything for the almighty buck! Shame on them. Shame, shame, shame on them.
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NOTE: The greatest female warrior I have ever seen remains the magnificent Lucia Rijker (I reccommend that everyone interested in learning more about this magnificent champion visit her website at: . She is a great kickboxer, a great Muay Thai fighter, and a great boxer by any standard, MALE or FEMALE. How many women have you seen or heard of that are anywhere close to her level of achievement in and out of the ring. She is a standard bearer for all women martial artists! Until more females strive to come close to the standards that Lucia has set, I find little reason to champion women in Muay Thai or in boxing. Logically then, it follows that I am not inclined to express enjoyment or interest in reading a book that cries crocodile tears with statements of hypocritical outrage about why most Thais don't even want to think about a woman wanting to step into a Muay Thai ring. I personally think that not only the "spirits" are riled by their presence, but the good taste of the observors (Thai and non-Thai) who have to watch what usually is a disgrace to the concept of fighting. The sad truth is that 98% of all the females who think they are skilled Muay Thai, boxing, or kickboxing are deluding both themselves and the public. I have all the respect in the world for Ilonka Elmont and Germaine Randamie of the Netherlands...they are true warriors by any standard. I would actually pay to see them fight some stiff competition, but the truth is that their competition is probably stiffer in their native Holland than anywhere else in the world. I recommend that everyone, male or female, that reads this blog and has a true interest in the art of Muay Thai in all of it's brutal beauty, should check out Ilonka Elmont's website at: . The videos and clips from her past fights that you will find on her sight will tell you more about her level of skill, ferocity, and warriorhood than my words can. The same goes for the videos of Randamie's fights that can be viewed on YOUTUBE.COM. They are the true female Muay Thai elite of this generation. They actually fight like Thai men fight. No more need be said by me on those two champions of the Muay Thai ring.
Ladies, if you are truly interested in becoming representatives of Muay Thai, get as good as Lucia Rijker, or at least as good as some of Master Toddy's excellent British female fighter stable back in the seventies and eighties. Then I will look you do from a warriors perspective. Until such a time has come to pass the least the average women involved in Muay Thai can do is try to get those who write about them, or publish their pictures worldwide, to show who and what you really are. And forget about wearing the obviously bogus "Thai title" belts unless you have really earned one by going up against the likes of an Elmont or Randamie. Is that too much to ask?
I have seen a handful of females who do display superlative Muay Thai skills, spirit, and fighting ability. I will devote a future post to those "chosen few" in the near future. Sadly for them, there is not much of an arena for them to develop and refine their skills and techniques because most of those they "compete" with are incompetent, poorly skilled, or ineptly taught. Who wants to see even a truly gifted female champion pitted against a female "stiff, or lady bum of the month?" I don't.
One more point I'd like to get across; Whereas for men involved in Muay Thai ring competition in Thailand, there literally thousands of Nak Muayz who can give them hell to deal with in the ring. The same cannot be said for the Thai women who take up Muay Thai for whatever reason. You won't find 9 year old little girls being shuttled off to Muay Thai camps to become future Muay Thai champs like you see within the ranks of the pre-teen and teen males. The reason for this is quite simply that no intelligent Thai girl would want to go through the 8-10 year grind that the males do in attempting to reach the top of the Muay Thai game. And, of course, there is no money in the Muay Thai world for women fighters anyway because the society does not think highly of females getting in the ring, let alone actually fighting. Like it or not, Muay thai is a man's game in Thailand, and always will be. Seeing females beating up on one another is not the average Thai's vision of sport.
Of course, the european female Muay Thai practitioners want to change all that (the same can be said for the north american female kickboxing enthusiasts), but the fact is that there is a cultural wall that prevents that from ever becoming the norm in Thailand...whether caucasian feminists with chips on their shoulders and social axes to grind 24/7 will accept that reality or not. That is not to say that Thai people would not appreciate and enjoy the sight of a Rijker, Elmont, or Randamie demolishing an opponent using pure Muay Thai technique, attitude, and spirit...they most definately would applaud such prowess on display. but would they ever make such prowess financially rewarding on a regular basis in Thailand? Hell, no! Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a fool, an idiot, or someone who doesn't have a clue about how Thai people think as a society. That is why it is really rare to find a thai female who can actually "fight" in Thai style. Ergo, there is no pool of female Muay Thai fighters from which western world female Muay Thai "wannabes" can dip into for true trial by fire in the ring. what you do have is young Thai female "tomboys" who are more than willing to get in the ring and take a dive for a few baht.
Those north american and european females who think they are tough Muay Thai "cookies" should first spend a few weeks training not in Thailand, but in the Dutch schools where Elmont and Randamie cut their Muay Thai teeth. Then, and only the, will they learn that they probably don't have the skill, will, or guts that it takes to be a real champion. So, German, Italian, Spanish, Canadian, and North American female "titleholders," if you are smart you will visit Holland first before you go back homw from Bangkok with your shiny but meaningless title belts. I'm willing to bet that your title belt will never be taken out of storage after a few rounds with Elmont, Randamie, or their Dutch female training peers.
Black Scorpion-10/22/06
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