PLEAS PLEASE PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! Muay Thai—or Thai Boxing—was born on the battlefields of the 15th century, during the legendary clashes between Thai (or Siamese) armies and their bitter rivals, the Burmese. Trained in the weapons-based fighting method known as Krabi Krabong, these early Thai soldiers also became famous for their toughness in close-quarters weaponless combat, where legs, knees, elbows and hands took the place of swords and sticks. This type of weaponless fighting became Muay Thai, known as the Science of Eight Limbs. Though the Thai army still uses its lethal techniques, Muay Thai has also been the countrys most popular spectator sport for hundreds of years. There are more than 65000 professional Muay Thai fighters in Thailand today. Many of them are poor peasants who begin training when they are as young as six years old, studying with highly respected teachers and risking injury—or worse—for the chance to compete. Up until the 1930s, Muay Thai fighters fought bare-knuckled or with their hands wrapped in hemp rope that left nasty cuts. Because of the high number of deaths in the ring, the Thai government introduced new rules, including weight classes (though the great majority of fighters remain in the lighter weight classes) and mandatory use of gloves, cups and mouth guards. As a result, modern Muay Thai boxers rely less on punches and more on their lethal kicks, elbow and knee strikes and grappling. Speed, accuracy and power are the buzzwords in Muay …