Films featuring Muay Boran

Alongside Muay Boran, Jaa performs Chinese and Japanese forms and weapon work. That makes it stylistically scattered — the price of trying to cover a whole region.

Tony Jaa shot without wires, doubles or CGI, which made the film a benchmark for the genre. The techniques are Muay Boran, the older combat form that preceded sport Muay Thai: elbows, knees and jumping strikes to the head.

The four-minute unbroken take of Jaa fighting his way up through a restaurant is among the most demanding action scenes ever filmed. The joint locks come from Muay Boran, not from the sport ring.