Kard Chuek (Rope-Bound Muay)
คาดเชือกA form of Thai fighting in which fighters wrapped their hands instead of wearing gloves. According to Green, wrapped hands were used until 1929.
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Organisation & Competition
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Catalogs & Databases for Kard Chuek (Rope-Bound Muay)
About Kard Chuek (Rope-Bound Muay)
Kard chuek, in Thai คาดเชือก, means fighting with hands wrapped in rope or cloth instead of gloves. Sources describe it as a form of equipment in muay boran and in earlier muay thai, not as a separate school. The Chulalongkorn University repository states that in the late Ayutthaya period muay thai was fought with wrapped hands and a bout could end in death. Green writes that cotton cloth wraps were used instead of gloves until 1929, while elsewhere in the same book he gives the switch to gloves as the 1930s. According to the Chulalongkorn University repository, the change happened in the Lak Mueang Tha Chang stadium period, in 2466 to 2472 of the Buddhist Era. The material differs among sources. Green gives cotton cloth, while the Rajadamnern stadium website and English Wikipedia give hemp rope. The muaythai.com website states that the Thai Fight promoter reintroduced rope bouts in 2013 with modified rules.
History
The Chulalongkorn University repository states that gloves came into use after a bout in which nai Phae Liang Prasert beat nai Chia, a Khmer, to death with a wrapped fist. The muaythai.com website states that after this bout gloves became common in 1928 and the Thai Ministry of the Interior banned rope fighting. A 1979 master's thesis by Phothisawat Saengsawang of Chulalongkorn University states that the oldest bouts were fought with wrapped hands. Green writes that under traditional rules boxers wrapped their hands in cotton cloth soaked in glue and sprinkled with crushed glass, but the glue and glass were abandoned earlier.
Technique
A peer-reviewed 2019 article by Gumpanad Ek-chai states that muay lineages differed in how they wrapped the hands. According to it, traditional Nakhon Ratchasima muay wrapped them up to the elbows, Lopburi lineages with a shorter wrap. The Rajadamnern stadium website describes kard chuek as hemp rope or cord wound tightly around the hands and forearms, which protects the hands and also increases strike force.
Competition
According to the Chulalongkorn University repository, the Rajadamnern stadium began holding bouts on 23 December 2488 of the Buddhist Era and Lumpinee on 8 December 2499. Green states that in modern Thailand both stadiums hold fights every day over five rounds of three minutes each. We have not found the rules of these stadiums for bouts with wrapped hands.
Today
The Rajadamnern stadium website states that kard chuek apparently is not part of regular muay thai competition and appears in cultural demonstrations, at special events and in traditionally oriented gyms. According to muaythai.com, the Thai Fight promoter reintroduced rope bouts in 2013, with softer ropes made of rattan or cloth. Muay Thai Citizen states that such bouts are occasionally held at temple festivals as well.
Did you know
Green states that in Burmese lethwei wrapped hands are still used today and that the Kachin traditionally wrapped their hands in hemp bandages used to wrap deceased relatives. The Thai name คาดเชือก is written in Latin letters variously, for example Kard Chuek or Khat Chueak.
Frequently asked questions
When did Thailand switch from wrapped hands to gloves?
Green gives 1929, muaythai.com 1928, and the Chulalongkorn University repository the period 2466 to 2472 of the Buddhist Era.
What was the wrapping made of?
Green gives cotton cloth, while the Rajadamnern stadium website and English Wikipedia give hemp rope.
Do fighters still fight with wrapped hands today?
According to muaythai.com, the Thai Fight promoter reintroduced them in 2013 with modified rules and softer ropes.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.