Most of what is known about the early history of Thai Boxers comes from Burmese accounts of warfare between Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and Thailand during the 15th and 16th centuries. The earliest reference (1411 AD) mentions a ferocious style of unarmed combat that decided the fate of the Thai kings. A later description tells how Nai Khanom Tom, Thailand's first famous boxer and a prisoner of war in Myanmar, gained his freedom by roundly defeating a dozen Burmese warriors before a Burmese court. To this day, many martial art aficionados consider the Thai style the ultimate in hand to hand fighting. Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, USA, Germany and France have all sent their best and none of the challengers have been able to defeat top-ranked Thai Boxers. On one famous occasion, Hong Kong's top five Kung Fu masters were dispatched in less than 6 and a half minutes cumulative total, all knockouts. (note: the previous statement can be disputed at present. A check of recent history would show many USA fighters have beaten Thai fighters in title fights at Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium. At the recent annual King's Cup 2000 inThailand, several USA fighters from San Francisco's Fairtex Muay Thai gym beat Thai fighters. Also of note, many of the current Muay Thai world champions are not Thai fighters, e.g., Alex Gong, Jean Claude Leuyer, and George Tsutsui.)
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King Naresuan the Great (1555-1605) was a great Thai boxer himself, and he made Muay Thai a required part of military training for all Thai soldiers. Later another Thai king, Phra Chao Seua ( the 'tiger king), further promoted Thai Boxing as a national sport by encouraging prize fights and the development of training camps in the early 18th century. These are accounts of massive wagers and bouts to the death during this time. Phra Chao Seua himself is said to have been an incognito participant in many of the matches during the early part of his reign. Contestants fists were wrapped in thick horsehide for maximum impact with minimum knuckle damage. They also used cotton soaked in glue and ground glass and later hemp bindings. Tree bark and seashells were used to protect the groin from lethal kicks.