Video: Child "Muay Thai" has netizens asking: Child abuse or sport?

 

Picture: Sanook

 

A Facebook video of two five year olds fighting in a ring has caused widespread comment online.

 

The combatants in the 17 kilo division were shown battering each other's heads and occasionally kicking as a huge crowd of baying adults screamed out.

 

 

 

As one boy is repeatedly forced into a corner the referee makes no attempt to seriously intervene. He merely lets the boys continue flailing at each other in the center of the ring.

 

Neither child is wearing head protection.

 

The video - posted by "Yuthaphoom Khunseuk Tragoonyang" - goes on for a full two minutes.

 

Sanook said that netizens fell into two camps in their comments: one group were praising this as an expression of Thai culture though the national sport of Muay Thai.

 

Others condemned it as nothing more than child abuse for the pleasure of adults that violated the rights of children.

 

Sanook said that doctors at Mahidol university have stated that 100,000 children under the age of 15 are competing in Muay Thai prize fights in Thailand.

 

They have pointed out that children of this age should not be fighting due to potential damage to the brain.

 

Sanook said that moves are currently being made to seek a change in the law that allows such "sport".

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-08-20

No problem! They are allready 5 years old, and beyond all possibilities of a normal life.

Good or not (it's a budhist country btw) i think it's very boring to watch...they don't box but punch like a windmill..

 

Poor kids, why not go fishing with grandpa?

That picture just reminds me why i have never been to a Muay fight

for 18 years.

I see this in a large complex in Pattaya beach road 18 years ago.

A sort of interval fight entertainment !!!!!!!!!!!!

one kid had tears streaming down his little face, and  dad or coach were trying to get him to fight on,  with the crowd cheering !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I felt so ashamed of myself for even being  in there.

I finished my beer and me and my lady left,

I Left  Muay Thai fighting for ever that night. 

They will do anything for money,  

 

Dysfunctional parents hoping to make a few baht...

Dysfunctional promoters hoping to make a few baht...

End of story.....But wait....

A hospital will be hoping to make a few baht from brain damage to the kids...

1 hour ago, webfact said:

They (doctors at Mahidol university) have pointed out that children of this age should not be fighting due to potential damage to the brain.

It's child abuse and insanity!

More child abuse in  country riddled with it.

Parents push their kids into fighting as a way to make money. So yeah, exploitation and child abuse all the way.

2 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

That picture just reminds me why i have never been to a Muay fight

for 18 years.

I see this in a large complex in Pattaya beach road 18 years ago.

A sort of interval fight entertainment !!!!!!!!!!!!

one kid had tears streaming down his little face, and  dad or coach were trying to get him to fight on,  with the crowd cheering !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I felt so ashamed of myself for even being  in there.

I finished my beer and me and my lady left,

I Left  Muay Thai fighting for ever that night. 

They will do anything for money,  

 

it is a the human version ofcock fighting

 

total abuse. Seen it. Parents standing over their children trying to force them to really hurt each other. 

10 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

it is a the human version ofcock fighting

 

what are you on about,  this is about children and there retarded parents, who will most likely sell grandma for money as well. 

2 hours ago, transam said:

Dysfunctional parents hoping to make a few baht...

Dysfunctional promoters hoping to make a few baht...

End of story.....But wait....

A hospital will be hoping to make a few baht from brain damage to the kids...

Brain damage here is far wider spread than imagined. However, in most cases it stays undetected until the patient gets a knife, parang, a gun, or behind a steering wheel.

30 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

it is a the human version ofcock fighting

 

May I suggest a male chicken (Cock) was actually a chick when young, these kids are human chicks.....

Naaaah, forget it, maybe over your head......

This is a very difficult subect to discuss with foreigners who have diferent standard fo thinking. You have to think like local and have compassion.  Instead of condemning children muaythai, may be the know bests should make constructive recommendation how to make it safe for participants.

Most of these child fighters have fighting heridity, a breed similar to Siamese fighting fish or fighting cocks. They live in their environment which outsiders will not easily comprehend.  Some of these even cry when the promoter cannot find a suitable match.  Of course crying child before a fight should not coerced to climb into the ring.

3 hours ago, transam said:

Dysfunctional parents hoping to make a few baht...

Dysfunctional promoters hoping to make a few baht...

End of story.....But wait....

A hospital will be hoping to make a few baht from brain damage to the kids...

And woefully unaware and uninformed parents who have attended very poor education and just don't know the possible dangers and negative consequences of many things. 

 

Basic example, most of the outer circle members of my Thai family don't wear crash helmets, and if they occasionally do they don't adjust and/or engage the buckle. 

 

My Thai son has tried for years to carefully explain about brain damage, they stubbornly refuse to listen.

 

When he spots tm about to leave and the helmet is in the front basket etc., he says 'please put on the helmet. Their response: 'Never mind, I'll put it on when i'm going to have an accident''.

 

My Thai son and his wife occasionally take their kids to school on their motorcycle (only 5 minutes trip) all wear helmets, all chin straps are adjusted and fastened. 

 

Other family members, if they come to the house, are totally forbidden to take son's kids on the motorcycle because they deliberately tell the kids to not wear their helmets. Unaware, uniformed, and braindead relatives.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, wheelin said:

This is a very difficult subect to discuss with foreigners who have diferent standard fo thinking. You have to think like local and have compassion.  Instead of condemning children muaythai, may be the know bests should make constructive recommendation how to make it safe for participants.

Most of these child fighters have fighting heridity, a breed similar to Siamese fighting fish or fighting cocks. They live in their environment which outsiders will not easily comprehend.  Some of these even cry when the promoter cannot find a suitable match.  Of course crying child before a fight should not coerced to climb into the ring.

True, every school has a Muay Thai team and all students male and female are encouraged to take part! Head protection and 1 minute rounds would go a long way to ensure minimal damage?

That is very sickening.

 

Absolutely ridiculous!

1 hour ago, wheelin said:

This is a very difficult subect to discuss with foreigners who have diferent standard fo thinking. You have to think like local and have compassion.  Instead of condemning children muaythai, may be the know bests should make constructive recommendation how to make it safe for participants.

Most of these child fighters have fighting heridity, a breed similar to Siamese fighting fish or fighting cocks. They live in their environment which outsiders will not easily comprehend.  Some of these even cry when the promoter cannot find a suitable match.  Of course crying child before a fight should not coerced to climb into the ring.

"This is a very difficult subect to discuss with foreigners who have diferent standard fo thinking."

Sorry but I don't agree. As a long time martial artist I have been in contact with eastern ideas of fighting. Don't forget, practically every country in the west has its own form of martial art too...and as for making a show of it that goes back a long long way. Even today we have full contact martial art sport...and how about the boxing matches where one sees blood often. No I think western foreigners have just as good idea about what's going on as Thais do. What is wrong with the Thai match that it is uncontrolled fist throwing which is as dangerous as it is boring. Compare with the Taekwondo video with 5 year old boys where the emphasis is on safety. However another difference is that while the parents want their children to be good at sport they also want their children to be able to go to school the next day. I will agree that the parents of the Thai boys would seem to be unconcerned for their child's safety.

(The only criticism against modern contact sports is that they are far removed from the original ancient idea of self defense and unarmed combat. To learn the latter one must go the classes that teach it or join the forces. There are no rules in a street attack/fight.)

7 hours ago, webfact said:

They have pointed out that children of this age should not be fighting due to potential damage to the brain.

 

As that is the sole aim and result of the education system here.......way to go, dudes!

 They could throw a farang tourists kid in the ring and let

the muay thai fighters attack en masse. Good preparation

for the real world. 

It is abhorrent!

Child exploitation, no different than employing children at garment factories in India or Bangladesh. Parents utilize their children for personal enrichment.... makes me sick in my stomach. Sad so very sad !

Too young to drink? ✅

Too young to drive? ✅

Too young to marry? ✅

Too young to enlist? ✅

How ‘bout bashing each other in the head for adult entertainment and profit? Sure, why not?

 

This the ultimate money number one thread.

is there any lower ?

 

9 hours ago, Get Real said:

No problem! They are allready 5 years old, and beyond all possibilities of a normal life.

Its abuse

These kids are having fun it is better to fight with gloves than using machete

 

neither child abuse nor sports.....just the normal Thai stupidity...!

A couple of years ago I saw kids this age-fighting at the Chiang Mai Muay Thai Arena and it was a very sad sight since it was obvious that some of the kids didn't want to be there and were being forced to fight.

Many years ago I bought some videos or DVDs of Muay Thai for friends in OZ. It was only when I watched them first I realised most of them were kids not much older than these kids. It was filmed in a small villages (perhaps Issan but I am not 100% sure) and for most of them, it looked like fighting in a shed with just a roof. Some of the videos showed  boxing rings and others were just a square drawn on the ground. None of the kids had head protection like amateur boxing has in most places in the west and quite a few had no gloves, just lightly bandaged fists - much like Muay Thai fighters 100 years ago. Time moves slowly up country at times.

I bought these videos in various Thai DVD shops thinking they were adult Muay Thai events. I would not have bought them if I knew they were so young. I could not watch them all the way through - somehow it had a tinge of paedophilia/pornography to it but without sex, (if you can understand what I mean using paedophilia/pornography as an illustration) just violence making these kids perform. 

Don't get me wrong I love watching international rules boxing, Muay Thai and mixed martial Arts but kids this young is perverse.

Old school abusive sport.