Thai Boxing for Kids
I had a chance to watch a Muay Thai Boxing match one late night when I was flipping through my television channels and got caught by one intense fight between a huge American and a medium-built Japanese. They sure got a lot of pressure physically and mentally with those reddened thighs and bruised cheeks.
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I am a big fan of Manny Pacquaio, the famed Filipino boxer, and I musingly wondered if he will do as well inside a ring of a Thai Boxing competition with a taller, well-built, muscular opponent.
I decided with a preoccupied mind that he can win with sufficient practice. But Thai Boxing for kids? That would be tragic!
However, some Muay Thai Boxing gym matches really have kids as their players. There are also championship matches that develop the kids’ sportsmanship and vital fighting skills.
To voice one obvious repercussion, many critics have opposed to this. Well, it must be expected, kids are kids. They are too young for Thai Boxing, which might be thought of teaching kids violence at a young age.
Moreover, they must be learning some manners and letters at school and not inside a gym full of sweaty and expectant viewers with bets on the table. But this is not the whole picture. These kids are not taught violence. They are taught a sport.
They are learning manners too! They learn how to fight and defend themselves and do this under strict rules of Muay Thai Boxing which indisputably include rules of equal protection for the safety of the players before, during and after the match. Yes, there are people who put bets on each match. Yes, this might sound disturbing because people are making money from a simple Thai Boxing game of two young fighters. It sounds fun to watch if grown-ups do it and they are doing it.
In this case, does age matter? I bet not. The kids also gain a sum of money from Thai Boxing match with bets placed. With the money they earn, they are able to help their families to have better lives.
Along each win and every loss, there is a win-win situation that has more positive results than those that the critics feared. Thai Boxing for kids then is good. Muay Thai Boxing is Thailand’s national sport, a pride.
