Muay Lopburi
มวยลพบุรีA central Thai line of traditional boxing from Lopburi. A proverb credits it with cleverness. It has the longest wai khru, with eleven movements, red shorts and wrapped ankles.
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About Muay Lopburi
Muay Lopburi is a line of traditional Thai boxing from central Thailand, named after the city of Lopburi. It is one of four surviving regional lines alongside Korat, Chaiya and Tha Sao, and a proverb about them says: the heavy fist of Korat, the cleverness of Lopburi, the good execution of Chaiya, the speed of Tha Sao. According to Ekchai, the Lopburi line probably has the oldest origin legend, which places it in the Lavo kingdom and the school of the sage Sukhathanta on Khao Samo Khon mountain, but it cannot be proved. Phothipanya, by contrast, considers Chaiya the oldest. We have not found a founder or a time of origin. According to Ekchai, Lopburi boxers fought at the funeral of Prince Urupong Ratsomphot and received noble titles, and according to Vat the winner before the king bore the title Muen Mue Maen Mat.
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Ekchai lists Erawan soei nga, Khun yak pha nang, Phra Ram nao son, Kwang liao lang, Hiran muan phaen din and Hanuman thawai waen as Lopburi mae mai. According to Thailand Foundation, which cites no sources, the line is also called clever strikes: the boxer moves constantly and throws fast straight punches to the chin with the palm turned up. According to Phothipanya, the Lopburi wai khru is the longest of the four lines, with eleven movements, eight of which no other line has, and the Lopburi boxer is the only one who wears red shorts and wraps the ankles. He binds the ropes shorter than Korat but longer than Chaiya. Today Lopburi is the least documented of the four lines: Phothipanya worked with a single wai khru teacher with no school given, it was missing among the lines presented at the Amazing Muaythai Festival 2023, and IFMA lists it as one of five muay boran disciplines. We have not found ranks or sashes in the sources.
History
Ekchai writes that the Lopburi line probably has the oldest origin legend of the four regional lines: he places it in the Lavo kingdom, the predecessor of Lopburi, and in the school of the sage Sukhathanta on Khao Samo Khon mountain, whose last pupils were said to be Phra Ruang, that is Ramkhamhaeng, and Ngam Mueang. In his view the legend cannot be proved, but it fits the long development of the city, and Lopburi boxing kept its own character until the reforms of Rama V and was handed down more continuously than the other lines. Phothipanya, by contrast, names Chaiya as the oldest. Ekchai adds that four lines survive, Lopburi in the center, Tha Sao in the north, Chaiya in the south and Korat in the northeast, but others exist that are less well known, and not even these four are fully documented.
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According to Ekchai, Lopburi boxers fought at the funeral of Prince Urupong Ratsomphot and later received noble titles. Vat states that the Lopburi winner before the king received the title Muen Mue Maen Mat, together with the winners from Chaiya and Korat, and gives no year. Thai Wikipedia and Thailand Foundation name the holder of the title as Klueng Tosa-at from the time of Rama V, but the reviewed sources give no name. In one place Meekudwean and colleagues list Lopburi and Phra Nakhon as two lines of central Thailand and in another they equate them, while IFMA lists Pala Sueksa, that is Phra Nakhon, as a separate fifth discipline.
How it differs
The proverb quoted by Phothipanya credits Lopburi with cleverness, Korat with a heavy fist, Chaiya with good execution, Tha Sao with speed. According to Phothipanya, Lopburi is the only line whose boxers wear red shorts and wrap the ankles, the other three have black shorts. It has the longest wai khru, with eleven movements, eight of which no other line has, and only krap benchangkhapradit is shared by all four, but performed differently. According to Ekchai, it binds the ropes shorter than Korat, which takes them to the elbow, and longer than Chaiya, barely past the wrist. Ekchai claims Lopburi boxing was handed down longer and more continuously than the other lines.
Technique
Ekchai lists Erawan soei nga, Khun yak pha nang, Phra Ram nao son, Kwang liao lang, Hiran muan phaen din and Hanuman thawai waen as Lopburi mae mai. The reviewed sources describe the technique no further. Thailand Foundation, a popularizing website with no source references, lists sixteen mae mai, five elephant ones, five monkey ones and six based on characters from the Ramayana, the basic stance Phra Kan poet lok, three leg stances that differ in spread and weight transfer, fast straight punches to the chin and face with the palm turned up, and Erawan soei nga as the culminating counter, in which the fist rises to the chin like the tusk of the elephant Erawan. According to the same website the line is called clever strikes or muay kiao, and the boxer must keep moving in both attack and defense to distract the opponent. According to Phothipanya, the Lopburi wai khru movements sod soi mala, sao noi pra paeng and rap hok mokkhasak serve to show grace and to train arm strength.
Training
According to Phothipanya, the Lopburi wai khru has eleven movements: thep phanom, krap benchangkhapradit, thawai bangkhom, thawai mat khru, sod soi mala, sao noi pra paeng, rap hok mokkhasak, nok yung fon hang, narai khwang chak, phra ram plaeng son and khum choeng khru. The last three serve for walking around the ring, watching the opponent and intimidation. The boxer wears red shorts, a mongkhon on his head and prajiad on both arms, and he is the only one of the four lines who wraps the ankles, with pi chawa, klong khaek and ching played for him. Thailand Foundation adds that the hands are wrapped with cotton cloth or thread up to the middle of the forearm and that boxers wear three-quarter trousers and a triangular pha khao ma to protect the groin. The on-site teacher of the wai khru in Phothipanya's research was Chonthat Mongkhonsin, with no school given, and we have not found any other institution that teaches the line.
Ranks and progression
In the sources found, muay Lopburi uses no ranks, belts or sashes, and the mongkhon and prajiad are amulets, not grades. The title Muen Mue Maen Mat was a royal distinction for the winner before the king, not a school rank.
Today
Today Lopburi is the least documented of the four lines. For her research on the wai khru, Phothipanya worked with a single teacher with no school given, and in her assessment by five criteria the Lopburi wai khru received two marks out of five, Chaiya and Korat four and Tha Sao five. In connection with the Amazing Muaythai Festival 2023, Bangkok Biznews presented three regional lines, Tha Sao, Korat and Chaiya, and Lopburi was not among them. Thailand Foundation writes that the line still thrives and has been in its fourth era since 1945, but it names neither bearers nor schools. IFMA lists muay Lopburi as one of five muay boran disciplines distinguished by stances and techniques. We have not found an inscription of the line on the Thai list of intangible heritage, and MGR Online mentions from Lopburi only the inscription of a legend about the city.
Did you know
Phothipanya also includes a fifth line, muay tap chak, in her research but does not elaborate. Thailand Foundation links the fast, cunning style with the monkeys Lopburi is known for, but this is a popularizing interpretation with no source. In the abstract Phothipanya lists the movement thawai mat khru for Lopburi too, while her comparison table assigns it only to Chaiya.
Frequently asked questions
How does muay Lopburi differ from the other lines?
A proverb credits it with cleverness. According to Phothipanya it has the longest wai khru, with eleven movements, eight of which no other line has, and it is the only one that wears red shorts and wraps the ankles. It binds the ropes shorter than Korat and longer than Chaiya.
Is muay Lopburi the oldest Thai boxing?
According to Ekchai it probably has the oldest origin legend, placed in the Lavo kingdom and with the sage Sukhathanta on Khao Samo Khon mountain, but it cannot be proved. Phothipanya considers Chaiya the oldest.
Who teaches muay Lopburi today?
We have not found an institution that carries the line in the sources. Phothipanya worked with a single wai khru teacher in Lopburi, and IFMA lists Lopburi as one of five muay boran disciplines.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.