Nai Khanom Tom
Legendary figureNai Khanom Tom is, according to tradition, a Siamese fighter who defeated ten Burmese boxers in Burmese captivity; Muay Thai Day is celebrated in Thailand in his honour.
Quick Facts
ThailandBiography
Nai Khanom Tom is a figure of Thai tradition associated with Muay Thai and Muay Boran. According to the traditional account, he was a Siamese fighter captured by the Burmese after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.
According to legend, after capturing thousands of Siamese, the Burmese held a seven-day, seven-night festival in honour of the Buddha's relics, which also included bouts. King Hsinbyushin had Nai Khanom Tom face the royal champion in a ring built in front of the throne. Nai Khanom Tom defeated the champion with punches, kicks, elbows and knees, and then, without rest, defeated nine other Burmese boxers; the last was a great boxing teacher from Rakhine, whom he overcame with kicks. According to the story, the king rewarded him, remarking that the Siamese had been able to face ten opponents without weapons.
Historians regard the story as a legend. Contemporary sources for the event of 1767 are missing, and the tale was largely derived from scant mentions in written accounts. It rests on one of four episodes of the 18th-century royal chronicles, which also include the bout of King Sanphet VIII at a temple festival in 1702. According to researchers, the legend in its present form probably arose only in the 20th century, among other things thanks to the Thai nationalist Luang Wichitwathakan. The historian Peter Vail states in his book Muay Thai: Inventing Tradition for a National Symbol that the story serves more as a symbol of building Thai national identity than as a verifiable account.
In his honour, Muay Thai Day, linked to the wai khru ceremony, is celebrated in Thailand every year on 17 March.
Associated Martial Arts
A collective term for Thai boxing before the sports reform of the twenties and thirties of the 20th century. Today mainly an exhibition art with Chaiya, Korat and Lopburi styles.
Muay ThaiNotable figure→Thai boxing, the art of eight limbs — fists, elbows, knees and shins, complemented by clinch work. It moved into the ring in the early twentieth century.