To not be keen on DH taking DS (8) to watch Thai boxing tomorrow?

[jgjgjg]

We're on holiday in Thailand near Bangkok and DH wants to take DS aged 8 to watch professional Thai boxing tomorrow evening.

It would start at 9pm which is fine since we're on holiday.

Don't know a huge amount about Thai boxing but I gather they go at it pretty hard? Don't object to him seeing fighting as such but I'm not sure it's appropriate for him to see broken noses, lots of blood, etc.

Has anyone been before who could offer an opinion?

It is tough and brutal. No way would i take an 8 year old. I couldn't even watch myself.

I have to admit I don't know much about 8-year olds, but I have practiced Thai boxing for some years.

It's not any more violent than regular boxing, and certainly not any more bloody than you'd find in an average boxing movie! Don't boys get into these, round about your son's age?

Fwiw, boxing and martial arts are generally big on self restraint and discipline. They are, broadly speaking, very positive practices to introduce to young people - this is why you often find boxing gyms and projects targeting "unruly youth". I was always one of the nerdy, rather than unruly types, and I got into boxing as a teen, and found it enormously helpful for my self esteem, discipline and respect towards others. Seems a bit counter intuitive, I know, but this is the basis of many martial arts!

Hope that helps!

Ah, sorry, meant to add, perhaps your DH could explain a bit about Thai boxing to DS? Eg. That in Thailand, it's seen as a very esteemed practice, it's not about attacking people randomly but about teaching restraint etc.

I'm sorry but the thai boxing practised in the UK is a sanitised version of what crowds pay to see in Bangkok. It's brutal over there, the crowds pay to see blood. I watched part of a match in Bangkok and had to leave.

Let him take him would be my advice. I do thai boxing and have taken my 3 year old son to several fights. I also hold pads for him and he is learning himself little by little. He went to his first at the age of 16 months where he was breastfed ringside! As a previous poster has said, there is huge emphasis on discipline and honour in muay thai.

The result is that if my son sees any fighting other than thai he repeats the mantra that has been drummed into him as part of a thai boxing community which is

"Its only ok to fight at the gym with gloves on

!"

This only failed once when aged 26 months he went to hit me in a temper and I stopped him and said " its not ok to hit mummy with no gloves on" at which point he tootled off, gloved up and came back and socked me in the jaw.

We had a talk. Reinforced the AT THE GYM part abd no issues since!

All in all I would say that an 8 year old will be fine. He may decide he wants to start training. ..brilliant I say....fantastic fitness, amazing for both physical and mental strength, great community, boundaries set early on and a huge confidence builder.

OOOOOOAAAAYYY!

I agree with atthestrokeoftwelve I was in Bangkok a few years ago and went to see Thai boxing, it was awful and nothing like I had been led to believe.
No way I would go again let alone take any of my children.

Fine if you want to see young men being pulverised, broken noses, blood everywhere, being punched into unconciousness,

THat's the brutal reality of Thai boxing in bangkok, The crowd would feel cheated if they didn't see a bloody fight.

Totally unsuitable for a child- and respectable adults.

coffee and caramel- have you ever seen Thai boxing in Thailand?

All this talk of discipline and honour- bullshit.
It's a public spectacle similar to watching a flogging or execution. It's a blood sport in Thailand.

Although I have never been to fights in Thailand I have been to workshop s on the UK delivered by thai fighters and also have watched videos of thai fights in Thailand. ...I would not call them "brutal" nor is that the idea. It is a combat sport with strict rules and steeped in history. Very technical indeed...and fascinating.

To compare it to a flogging or execution os extremely disrespectful to the hours of training and dedication put in by thai fighters. It is nit remotely the same it is a combat aport. If you feel the same way about straight boxing in the UK theb I say fair enough...perhaps you just dp not like combat sports.

I left after about 15 mins- hundreds of old fat Thai men braying at small Thai boys kicking each other. Horrendous.

Please excuse typos I am using my phone!

It wasn't what I expected.

I think your dh will change his mind once he is there. I would leave it up to him.

I also find it interesting that ob the basis of having attended one fight you ate saying that the honour and discipline is "bullshit". To two women who train the sport personally. ..week in week out and have done for some years.

Sounds like a NO then?

For what it's worth, he's been learning Kung Fu since he was 5 so he understands the discipline side of things and that skills learnt are only for use for self defence purposes as an absolute last resort, etc.

I just don't have any idea of what he might see in terms of damage to fighters?

If he already trains a martial art it can ve assumed tgat he understands the context and it will simply broaden his knowledge of martial arts as a whole.

I have a huge amount of respect for the sport one of my exes was a martial arts teacher and taught Thai boxing. But wow was it nothing like the actual fight I went to see, that in reality was horrific.

Sure, two small children beating the shit out of each other for the enjoyment of a crowd of old men will broaden his education.

I'd let dh take him. Unless its a special training demo or a show for tourists I reckon they will be back early.

caramel I lived in Thailand for a year, in the village I lived there was a Thai boxing training school, and many of the young men in the village were involved, many as young as 12. The school was respected and many of the fighter were competing at international level.
The injuries I saw were horrific.

I don't care if it's disrepsectful, I hate blood sports, whether its hare coursing or watching young men turn each other to pulp.

Although I have never been to fights in Thailand I have been to workshop s on the UK delivered by thai fighters and also have watched videos of thai fights in Thailand. ...I would not call them "brutal" nor is that the idea. It is a combat sport with strict rules and steeped in history. Very technical indeed...and fascinating.

I love a bit of (regulated) pugilism. Great sport and indeed art form. But no way would I go, let alone let an 8 year old go to that. As said before, it's not the same as over here, unless possibly it's a good quality showcase for tourists. Even then I'd probably still not take a child.

I know kids of 8 that are fighting and competing and are quite frankly bloody amazing to watch. I would let him go, see how he takes it all in, and IF he likes it, encourage him.

The four of us (me, DH and the two DDs) train in Thai. DH used to fight and dd1 is a national gold medallist. Our friend is a world champion at two different weight categories, other friends hold British, european or Scottish titles.

I don't know if I would take the kids over there.

I would love to go train in a Thai gym, my friend is fighting for a British title end of next month and she's just back from that, but I'm not sure whether the westernised version really prepares you for the brutality. I also have some reservations about the way the sport operates - the gyms basically buy promising boys and they are renamed after the gym they fight for, it smacks of slavery to me.

Where in Thailand are you? The "Thai Boxing" in the holiday resorts is generally theatrical, like wrestling. Not to say they don't hit each other but it's a show put on for the tourists.