2004 saw the
biggest IFMA World championships ever held with 70
countries participating in Thailand which saw an increase
of 40% from the previous year showing how quickly
the sport is growing.
This gathering has become regular for MUAYTHAI
enthusiasts. They come to battle it out for the
Princes or King’s Cup over 10 days of competition.
IFMA has organized these tournaments since 1990
and the competition grows bigger every year, from
12 in the first year to 70 countries last year and
hopefully close to the 100 mark at the next championships
10-17th of March 2006.
2002 saw the introduction of Female Fights, a section
entered by 14 countries with 20 sending fighters
to the 2003 Cup and 2005 saw nearly 50 countries
entering full female teams. 2003 also saw the movement
of the Cup from its home in Thailand to the city
of Almaty in Kazakhstan. This move shows the strength
of popularity and feeling there is for Amateur MUAYTHAI
around the world.
Countries have sent junior fighters, aged 15 and
under to compete and show the future strength of
the sport. In the early years Thailand dominated
the medal-tally but as time goes on this is changing.
The 2001 Cup was won by France with Thailand in
2nd place. 2002 saw Thailand coming back but only
taking the Cup by a narrow margin. 2003 saw a head
to head between Thailand and Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan
winning by a one-point margin. 2004 saw a head to
head clash between Thailand, Ukraine, Russia, Australia,
France and Ukraine upsetting Thailand by a one-point
margin. Team Thailand won the Female championship
in 2002, 2003 saw Australia winning the trophy and
2004 was a head to head between Finland, Thailand,
Australia and USA with Finland winning the competition
slight ahead of USA. Traditional powerhouses for
professional MUAYTHAI are now training Amateur fighters
also – Australia, France, England, Holland and so
many others.
Sport has always been a great way to unite people
in every country, a time to forget differences of
race, politics and nationality. The IFMA World Cup
is certainly that with all nations coming together
for love of MUAYTHAI and the sportsmanship is just
unbelievable.
Where to go from here? For Asian athletes, the
lure of the SEA Games and the Asian Games is strong.
MuayThai was already a demonstration sport at the
1998 Asian Games and hopes are strong that it will
soon become a full sport as it is now listed on
the panel of sports. It is also on the panel of
sports for the SEA Games and thanks to the hard
work and dedication of our Philippine friends MUAY
is a full medal at the 2005 Sea games in Manila.
MUAY also have been included in the 2005 Asian Indoor
Games.
Of course, the pinnacle for amateur sports is the
Olympic Games. Since 1896, receiving an Olympic
medal for your country is every athletes dream and
this is no less true for MUAYTHAI boxers than anyone
else.
How did the games come about? Myths passed down
through time say that Zeus, King of the Gods held
the first games to commemorate his victory over
his father (not quite in the Olympic spirit of today!)
or that Hercules began the tradition with a race
against all comers.
The first official record dates from 776 BC when
King Ifitos established the tradition of holding
a tourney every 4 years. All battles and wars between
Greek states were suspended during this time. Sadly,
this is not something which modern states can bring
themselves to do.
The Games were banned in 393AD by the newly Christianised
Emperor Theodosis - he found the sports to be against
the Christian spirit! The Olympics languished in
memory for centuries until the end of the 1800s.
This was when the energy and vision of Pierre de
Courbertin brought them to life again. It is he
who is credited with the Olympic slogan that it’s
the taking part which counts. This spirit of inclusiveness
still pervades the Games today, in spite of the
ever-growing commercialism.
Those 1896 games saw a mere 9 sports with 14 nations
competing. Martial arts on the list include Amateur
Boxing, Taekwondo, Judo and wrestling. The spirit
of the games has certainly changed from the original
days, when the sports were all directly related
to military prowess, sports such as javelin throwing,
boxing and wrestling for example. Today, people
compete in disciplines such as gymnastics, trampoline
and figure skating as well as the more “mainstream”
sports with the Track and Field events clearly dominating
the stage.
While wars are not halted for today’s Games they
are a focus for national pride and unity in a unique
manner with those of all races and religions coming
together to compete for the Gold medals.
Fans of Amateur MUAYTHAI have felt for a long time
that this is a sport which deserves to be included
on the Olympic panel. There are many coherent arguments
for this case, amongst them are:
- That MUAYTHAI is more than a sport, but is an
ancient art practiced in Thailand for centuries
- That MUAYTHAI is not a sport just for Thais
but loved and practiced all over the world, on
all 5 continents.
- That as a martial art, MUAYTHAI has no equal
- the dynamic techniques involved in using all
8 weapons are unparalleled in any other sport.
- That Amateur MUAYTHAI is a clearly regulated
sport. IFMA have laid out clear rules, safety
guidelines and strict regulations to ensure that
it is a safe sport for all to practice.
- That the specially designed Amateur equipment
ensures the physical safety of competitors.
- That Amateur MUAYTHAI is a sport in which both
men and women can compete in safety.
- That Amateur MUAYTHAI is a fantastic spectator
sport and would be a vibrant addition to any games.
|
Support for
these arguments comes from the huge levels
of support and participation at the IFMA World
Cups. The stadiums, whether in Thailand or
Kazakhstan or at the National Qualifiers are
always packed with enthusiastic fans to witness
a high standard of competition in both the
male and female sections. |
We are certainly aware that the Olympics are a far
away dream but IFMA and MUAYTHAI will be hopefully
included into the all-important GAISF in the near
future. This could open up many games for the sport
like the World games by example. MUAYTHAI friends
around the world are working hard to make MUAYTHAI
more recognized but sadly there are other MUAYTHAI
groups which misinform and work in their own interest
instead of the sport.
Young Athletes don’t care about the politics like
they do MUAYTHAI because they love the sport and
they want to compete in big international competition
where the best of the best meet. MUAYTHAI is not
about a personal agenda and the sport belongs to
the world and only a combined effort from all countries
can take it to the highest level.
As standards continue to rise and as more people
make the decision to become an Amateur MUAYTHAI
fighter, it can only be a matter of time before
these athletes get their chance to compete at a
high international level.
70 countries at the last IFMA World championships
have woken up many as they have seen that MUAY THAI
is a truly international sport and it will get bigger
and bigger.
One World One MUAYTHAI
BY STEPHAN
FOX (WMC International Coordinator))
