However this kind of test won’t involve my level of commitment or my cardiovascular strength.
This is a test of the mind.
Every three to four months my teacher gives us a series of examinations to determine if we’re ready for the next “level” of Muay Thai knowledge and training.
I currently exist in the space known as level 4, as indicated by the green Pra Jiad I wear with pride on my arm.
(A Pra Jiad is a traditional “good luck” armband)
I will be testing to enter level 5, a great honor in my gym as there are only 6 levels.
Our evaluation consists of a test of the mind, a test of skill, a test of application and a test of our Wai Kru Ram Muay skill.
Wai Kru Ram Muay (mostly called Wai Kru or Ram Muay by Thai people) is a traditional Thai dance that is performed before a fighter engages in combat.
Wai Kru translates directly from Thai as “bow to teacher.”
It is a dance to warm up the fighter, pay respects to one’s teacher and ancestors as well as showing one’s physical prowess.
A beautiful and complicated dance in nature, it shares a likeness to traditional Thai dance.
With each level we learn a new Wai Kru dance.
We are expected to perform it with grace, precision and style.
In Thailand, onlookers can determine what gym a fighter is from based on what dance he performs.
Some are meant to emulate animals in nature such as a swan.
Others emulate the motions of people such as an archer.
My current Wai Kru is affectionately known as “The Gravedigger.”
It is as advertised.
In my dance I pretend to dig a hole, fling my opponent over my shoulder, toss them in a shallow grave, kick dirt on them and pound down the dirt on top of their lifeless corpse.
It is more straight forward than graceful, but effective nonetheless.
There’s such a juxtaposition of brutality and beauty in this sport.
One that makes it so much more than two guys beating each other’s brains out.
We are not dumb brutes.
We are skilled tacticians.
We care about so much more than the ability to inflict more damage than the opponent.
When a Thai fighter enters the ring it is a test of his own courage and skill, not of his machismo.
So the next time you jump at the chance to call all fighting senseless and infantile take a closer look.
Not all fighting is made the same.
-Drew
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