Muay,Thai,Boxing,and,Children, travel,insurance Muay Thai - Thai Boxing and Children

Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chile’s national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}Known by many as Thai Boxing, Muay Thai is the nationalsport of Thailand and is avidly watched and followed by much of the populationof the country. This form of 'hard martial art' is not only a sport but isconsidered to be a form of entertainment, and makes for a fun night out for manyvisitors to Thailand who have never seen a Muay Thai fight before. What is Muay Thai? Muay Thai is an ancient martial art that has its originshundreds of years ago. Throughout the centuries the sport has changed andevolved somewhat; different forms of the sport have developed over the yearsfrom the origins of Muay Boran (ancient boxing) into the form of Thai boxingthat we see today. As well as being a sport, Thai boxing has been a form ofwarfare as well. Armies were trained in the art of Muay Thai in order toprotect kings, and with a history like this you can easily see how it hasbecome such a highly regarded sport in Thailand! How does Muay Thai differ from Western boxing? Nowadays boxers do not use their bare hands as they used to,but have gloves very similar to those used in Western boxing. Obviouslypunching is utilized, though the gloves and the punching are where thesimilarities between these two types of boxing end! Muay Thai is often referred to as 'The Art of Eight Limbs'because eight parts of the body are used by Muay Thai boxers - both hands,elbows, knees and shins are all used. This contrasts to Western boxing wherethere are just two limbs, or two points of contact - the fists. For each point of contact there are many different movesthat the Thai boxer can use, making this an interesting and quite technicalsport, and one that is often learnt from an early age. Children regularlycompete for titles and while it is often the children who draw the largercrowds, some Western visitors may find that watching such young childrenfighting goes against their values and beliefs. Child Muay Thai Boxers There's no doubt that watching an evening of Muay Thai isgreat entertainment and if there's a competition on while you're visiting Thailandyou should try to get along and watch a couple of rounds at least, after all,this is the country's national sport! Despite the entertainment value some tourists may find itjust a little too controversial when young children, including girls, take tothe ring and start punching and kicking each other! This isn't something youwould expect to see in the Western world after all, and can leave some touristsa little shocked. Why would their parents push them into a dangerous sport atsuch a young age? Are they being exploited so that parents and trainers canmake money out of them? These are the kind of questions that run through manyvisitors' minds, but there are both pros and cons to children competing in MuayThai. Arguments in favor of children competing in Muay Thai Though it may be controversial, there are actually manyadvantages to children competing in Muay Thai. Here are just a few... Although Thailand is an emerging economy there are stillmany people here who struggle to make ends meet, working long hours for littlemoney. By starting training at a young age and becoming successful, childrencan win competitions that can help pay for their upbringing, providing food,clothes, books and more which might otherwise be difficult to obtain. Education is compulsory up to and including Grade 9 so youngchildren should not be missing any school to train and fight, however, if theybecome successful at the sport they can continue competing into their teens andadulthood, providing them with a reasonable income. Child boxers train extensively for their matches. Rarely doinjuries occur when the children are so well trained in defense and agility. With all the training they do, child boxers are kept veryfit and healthy, probably much more so than other Thai children. Arguments against children competing in Muay Thai The advantages sound good, but opponents will argue thatthere are many disadvantages too, such as that the children are being exploitedby greedy parents; it is dangerous; they should be enjoying their childhood etcetc, and while these are valid points they don't necessarily apply to all childThai boxers. Some children may be being exploited, but others are merelybeing encouraged because a parent or a trainer could see the potential in them.It might be wrong to encourage competition at such a young age, but this isn'tunique to Thailand - the beauty pageants for young girls in North America thatare very popular with some, could be argued as exploitation by others, so is Thaiboxing really all that different?