By the way, section SonntagsBlick: Passion for Muay Thai.

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In Switzerland, children want to join a football club when they turn eight. Thailand wants to get its first boxing gloves. And I dream of a great career in the big stadiums of Bangkok.

Dubbed the world’s most complex and versatile martial art, Muay Thai is the Asian country’s ubiquitous national sport and part of its cultural heritage. In Muay Thai, almost everything is allowed, including knees and elbows, and sometimes punches when the opponent is already on the ground. Instead of the coconut shells that people used to wrap around their lower back a hundred years ago, today there is at least a modern “groin guard.”

The tragedy sparked controversy

A successful career is also the dream of 13-year-old Anucho Tasako, who five years ago competed against Nitrikon Sonde, the same age, in the 41-kilogram weight class in the outskirts of Bangkok. After a series of severe blows to the head, Tasako suffers a cerebral hemorrhage. And he dies.

His death sparked a fundamental debate in Thailand. Is it irresponsible to fight without head protection in this brutal martial art? At what age are children allowed to enter the ring? The criticism is loud and furious. But given the cultural and national significance of the national sport, it is quickly disappearing into thin air.

Because business, including the bookmaking business for underage fighters, is booming and has become a major industry. Thais bet on everything, including cockfights and fish fights.

Muay Thai as a tourist attraction?

For many young athletes, Muay Thai is a chance to escape social misery. For a fight fee of 1,000 baht (less than 40 francs), they fight in front of whispering audiences, especially in tourist regions. Also in Khao Lak, where three gyms and several training centers and boxing schools are located in a very small area. And tourists on the streets and beaches are escorted into the hall with cheap “VIP tickets”.

And this is more than just random and staged sparring, backed by kitschy pathos for the pleasure of the public. Let’s get down to business. Joint decisions are the norm. “It’s not a show at all,” says Diana Campillo, who has run a Muay Thai training center in Rawai for twenty years with her husband, a former Muay Thai champion. “This is a tough martial art. But more fatalities occur while riding, and more concussions occur while playing hockey or football,” Campillo says.

Young locals she picks up on the streets can train with her for free. It gives them perspective. This cross-subsidization is carried out by many young adventurers from Europe who, captivated by the martial arts and rituals of Muay Thai, stay in the gym for weeks and months at a time.

Workouts seven days a week

The region’s biggest hope is 17-year-old Anat Petsongle. His father can no longer work after a serious gas explosion accident, and the nine children are forced to take their fate into their own hands. He runs seven days a week at 6am, then goes to school and trains at the gym from 4pm to 6pm.

Anat competes in the category up to 58 kilograms, he is already performing in Bangkok and receives fees of more than a thousand francs, which is a proud amount, considering the average monthly income of 400 francs. “Teaching young fighters how to be smart with money and making sure they don’t end up with nothing when they retire is also part of what we do,” Campillo says.

Strength, endurance, coordination, body control, discipline. The passion for Muay Thai has long spread to Europe and Switzerland. There are Thai boxing centers in every region. And Dani Rodriguez from Zurich now lives in Thailand and is one of the best fighters in the world.

He made his dream come true.

Source: Blick