Films featuring Muay Thai

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.

JeeJa Yanin trained for four years to play the role without a double. The closing credits show injuries sustained during filming — this is among the most punishing shoots in the genre.

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.

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 bouts were performed by a working Muay Thai fighter and come closer than anything in the genre to a real competitive match — including the clinch and corner work that action films usually skip.

The film that introduced Muay Thai to Western audiences. The training scenes — kicking palm trees, the ram muay dance — are exaggerated, but the elbow and knee techniques themselves are accurate.

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.

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.