Muay Thai History

The earliest origin of Muay Thai dates back to the 657 AD. A hermit named Sukatanata established his school (The Samo Khon school) of liberal and martial arts consisting of Muay Thai according to The Institute of the Art of Muay Thai, Department of Physical Education National Stadium of Thailand (DPE). The subjects he taught were called Maiya Shastra consisting of boxing (Muay), sword fighting, archery, elephant, and horse control.
From 738 AD Muay Thai had been trained from variant movements of dancing and included weapons and bare hands, showing the art of men’s fighting due to the war engagement with China for a long time.
In 947 AD, after the foundation of Singhanavati Kingdom by Thai people under the leadership of Phu Chao Lavachakkaraj they conquested ethnic minorities in the Chao Phraya River basin and established the Sukhothai Kingdom.
In the folklore, Legend of Singhanavati was the first mention of Muay Thai from palm-leaf manuscripts.
In 1238–68 AD during Sukhothai Kingdom, Muay Thai had been treated as high art, which was included in the curriculum for the royal family members to be trained as brave warriors with top physical fitness and kings of capable rule and war engagement with its neighboring kingdom.

According to history, Muay Thai has been developed by the Siamese army as a form of self-defense and has been mentioned in various war strategy manuals by various kings over the centuries.

Modern Muay Thai became recognized as a distinct martial art form in the early 20th century, when the term Muay Thai (‘Siamese boxing’ in English) was introduced in physical education curricular documents to distinguish it from international boxing (muay sakon).
The officially recognized history of Muay Thai was largely codified in the late 20th century, when the sport gained widespread popularity and became recognized as a national sport and cultural heritage. The term Muay Boran was coined to describe the pre-modern historical martial art form of Muay Thai, and they came to symbolize a warrior spirit seen as a core component of Thainess.

1923: Suan Sanuk Stadium. First international style three-rope ring with red and blue padded corners, near Lumpinee Park.

Muay Thai was at the height of its popularity in the 1980-s and 1990-s.

1993: the International Federation of Muay Thai Amateur, or IFMA was inaugurated. It became the governing body of amateur Muay Thai consisting of 128 member countries worldwide and is recognised by the Olympic Council of Asia.

1995: the World Muay Thai Council, the oldest and largest professional sanctioning organisations of muay Thai, was established by the Thai government and sanctioned by the Sports Authority of Thailand.

1995: the World Muay Thai Federation was founded by the merger of two existing organisations, and established in Bangkok, becoming the federation governing international Muay Thai. In August 2012, it had over 70 member countries. Its president is elected at the World Muay Thai Congress.

2006: Muay Thai was included in SportAccord with IFMA. One of the requirements of SportAccord was that no sport can have a name of a country in its name. As a result, an amendment was made in the IFMA constitution to change the name of the sport from “Muay Thai” to “Muaythai” – written as one word in accordance with Olympic requirements.

Source: Wikipedia

There`s more to read about the history of Muay Thai here.

History of Muay Thai in the UK

1975: Thohsaphon Sitiwatjana (Master Toddy), known as the “Father of English Muay Thai”, introduced the sport to England after filming The Man with the Golden Gun. He opened a Muay Thai gym in Manchester.

We also have to mention Sken Kaewpadung (Grand Master Sken) and Chinawut Sirisompan (Grand Master Woody) who both had an essential part in establishing and promoting Muay Thai in the UK, Europe and world wide.