Muay Thai: Rule Changes For Lumpinee
Posted by Thomas Hackett on May 26th, 2008
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Festivities at the Hackett household regarding BJ Penn’s latest dominant win were interrupted recently, as some surprising news came in from Lumpinee Stadium, the 50+ year old Bangkok fight venue sometimes called “the Mecca of Muay Thai.” It looks like fighting in the clinch at Lumpinee will take on a look that’s new, and in this fan’s opinion, improved:
The fighters are allowed to grab the opponents above the shoulders while effectively kneeing the opponents. Such effective kneeing must have a target and enough power as well as not violating other rules.
Other types of grappling such as wrapping around the chest or midsection are not allowed and the fighters will be immediately split.
The grappling must be followed by kneeing within about three seconds or the referee will split the fighters. If the kneeing was not effective, the fighters would be split as well.
Big tip of the hat to the best Muay Thai site on the web for this. In addition to summarizing the changes, Mai also points out a post from longtime Muay Thai reporter Rob Cox on the K-1 fans forum:
“There are debates and quotes about judging on webboards all the time about how the Thai way is the best etc… but the reality in Thailand for a long time has been that the judging comes down to the odds on the fight that the gamblers are putting out and they will favor the strong power clincher. Complaints all the time from people in the sport about how certain fighters will do nothing for 3 rounds then march out in the 4th and unload with a big barrage of knees and throw his opponent down once and win, even though his opponent has landed with great kicks and all round technique before hand.”
Purists will say what they will, but it all seems like a good deal to me. K-1 has placed themselves at one extreme by basically not allowing the clinch to develop at all. Meanwhile, most Thai venues are positioned at the other extreme, with loose rules allowing Muay Thai to degenerate into tedious round after round of clinches around the waist and “pitter patter” knees to the legs. In both cases, the diversity of the Muay Thai attack, called the “Science of Eight Limbs” (elbows, fists, knees, shins/feet) is lost.
What’s also lost is that Muay Thai, which seems all but dead in the US, has come upon rough times even in its homeland. By all accounts, TV numbers and attendence at the bouts are down, badly. Let’s hope these needed adjustments spark this great sport to build a comeback that makes its way overseas.
In the meantime, enjoy a visit to FighterZone for weekly uploads of Muay Thai from its homeland… or my favorite Muay Thai highlight video featuring Anuwat Kaewsamrit: