Roughly two months ago today, I can vividly remember sitting in this very same corner of my humble apartment here in sleepy Shibata, Japan. The cultivator of much mildew northern Japans rainy season was particularly aggravating an ugly case of cabin fever from which I was suffering. I knew that it was high time that I blew this joint. It was time for a change of both scenery and pace. But not just anywhere would do.

Now, I consider myself a man of varied interests and hobbies. But honestly, very few of my interests are of a nature that I would ever want to center a vacation around them (for example, reading or cooking). I wasnt looking for much, really. All I asked was that I could kick back on a beach somewhere, soak-up some rays, and hopefully sip some cheap cocktails at least for a few days. The idea of catching some exciting martial arts action for a change, that didnt involve massive men in loin clothes smashing-into each other and throwing salt, seemed particularly appealing as well. What was the best solution I could think of? Thailand home to some of the worlds most beautiful beaches, and, better yet, the birthplace and domain of the worlds finest Muay Thai martial artists.

A month later, after some serious research and preparation, I found myself at Bangkoks Don Muang International Airport gateway to Southeast Asia. A warm mixture of diesel fumes, blended with the smell of rain, seeped in through the terminal entrance, greeting me with a foretaste of things to come. A few minor annoyances later, I had my things and was taxi-bound for the heart of Bangkok and the beginning of my adventure.

I checked-into my hotel in central Bangkok that night, and the next morning a Saturday I began my mission. I knew that the finest Muay Thai competitors in all of Thailand flocked to Bangkok for their chance to compete in one of the countrys two biggest boxing stadiums Lumphini or Ratchadamnoen. Now, mostly due to matters of proximity (yes, I am guilty of being lazy in these cases), I decided I would catch the action at Ratchadamnoen stadium that day. It was only a quick canal boat ride from my residence. Unfortunately, I soon learned from my hotels desk clerk a young Thai woman that Ratchadamnoen stadium wasnt open on Saturdays, but would be open on Sunday. Of course she knew this in Thailand, both males and females alike are insane about Muay Thai! Its no accident that its the national sport.

I found myself suddenly in need of a change of plans. No matter being that it was my first time in Bangkok and Thailand, I saw no harm in making the most of my newfound free time to check out some of the citys other fine sites. So I made my way to another one of Bangkoks local treasures the expansive Weekend Market.

Without going into great detail about the abundance of sites, smells, and souvenirs that the Weekend Market has to offer, I will say this, especially about its male patrons. They love their cockfighting! For some reason, when I first began perusing the many parts of the market, I was naïve enough to believe that the abundance of roosters being sold was for breeding or culinary purposes. What I failed to notice initially, was the fact that these roosters were endowed with massive sets of hooked claws, ideal for turning their unlucky opponents into assorted edible poultry. Sure enough, as soon as I butted my way into one of many tightly-knit crowds of outward facing male backs, I discovered that the true point of interest for so many at the Weekend Market was, indeed, cockfighting. Once I thoroughly had my fill of the killer rooster championships which didnt take long I spent a few more hours exploring the dusty recesses of the market, and then decided to head-out. I had a big day of Muay Thai ahead of me, and needed my rest.

The next day, not so bright and early, I made my way by canal boat to the west side of Bangkok home of Ratchadamnoen Stadium. After erroneously wandering the badly labeled streets for an hour or so, I finally stumbled upon the famous stadium in appearance, a less than impressive, mildew-covered, plaster palace. Indeed, for those of you who have been to Ratchadamnoen Stadium yourselves, you probably did the same thing that I did when I first arrived double checked the name to make sure youd come to the right place! Of course, I quickly chalked this up to being part of the authentic Muay Thai experience. What did I really expect, after all the MGM Grand?

After grabbing some stomach-churning, spicy Thai curry from a nearby street vendor, my stomach and I slowly made our way to the entrance of the stadium. Now, if there had been any doubt in my mind as to where I should go next, it was quickly alleviated by one of the local stadium touts who came to my aid. Okay, okay, sir. You come in. Big, big, man fight today. Good seats big fight, she said as she began to take my hand and lead me to a nearby ticket window labeled foreigner.

Uh, oh! Experience has always taught me this much about anything labeled foreigner in a developing country you can be sure its more expensive for you than it is for the locals. Fortunately, the price for the cheapest foreigner seats was still only about 20 dollars a lot of dough by Thai standards. But afterward I felt that it was well worth it to avoid the hassle. No long lines and, once inside the stadium, a convenient cage to keep you away from those excitable and often somewhat rabid local Muay Thai fans.

Once I entered the heart of Ratchadamnoen Stadium, its hard for me to say whether or not it was everything that I had expected it to be. For so many of us, the images that we conjure-up in our minds when we think of Muay Thai competitions in Thailand are those images which Hollywood has given us since our younger days. For example, images of Jean-Claude Van Damme in his Kickboxer role, fighting in cramped quarters, surrounded by hordes of spectators, literally throwing their money around in a crazed frenzy of betting. Myself, the first thing that I noticed as I entered the stadium was that it was quite dark, and that there werent many foreigners present to say the least! The massive area designated for foreigners seemed ridiculously empty and oversized I practically owned the concrete steps that they called bleachers! I can only imagine that the reason for this spectator segregation probably began as some means by which to keep the stadiums oblivious foreign visitors from getting hurt in the mayhem that would all too often ensue.

Soon, the stadium (but sadly, not the foreigner section) began to slowly fill-up. Before I knew it, the evenings first match was underway. I could feel the excitement mounting I was going to witness my first taste of authentic national Muay Thai competition the real deal.

As the first two combatants made their way into the ring, I also got my first experience of the ceremony that takes place before each fight begins. Usually, heres what would happen. Both fighters (one fighter always clothed in red, and the other in blue) begin their entrance into the ring with a dramatic ceremonial dance routine, intended to pay homage to their fighting school and to their trainers. Although difficult to describe, this dance is an interesting blend of several things. First, the fighters would repeatedly kneel on the ground, stand up partially, and then repeat this process again, with their arms swinging at their sides, and their hands rolling one over another like an old 70s disco move. This part of the dance continues for no amount of time in particular, it seems. But after the fighter is done with this part of the dance routine, they stand up, and walk back and forth in a staggered pattern, while lifting their knees individually. All of these careful dance moves are done to the accompaniment of Javanese clarinets (something like the high pitched and harsh sound of the snake charmers nagaswaram in India), bongo-like drums, and cymbals.

After this ceremonial dance routine is finished, the fighters would then proceed to quickly embrace arms with one another, and then return to their corners where they would remove their headbands and costumes. Then, after the voice from Street Fighter 2 (well something like that) announces, fight! the two fighters proceed to work their magic one step at a time.

That evening, I had the pleasure of watching eight high quality matches, each of which lasted about half an hour. During that time, there were several things in general which I was able to conclude about both Muay Thai kickboxing and the fans at Ratchadamnoen Stadium. I apologize in advance to any of you diehard Muay Thai aficionados to whom this information may seem old:

1. What Muay Thai lacks in artistic finesse, it makes up for in brutal efficiency a true marriage of grappling and striking arts at their lethal best.
2. In every match that I watched, knees and elbows, far more than kicks and punches, decided the outcome. Several of the matches were ended in a matter of seconds as one of the contenders was able to quickly slip in a crushing elbow, or a flying knee, that sent their opponent into la-la land.
3. As the intensity of the fighting increases, so does the volume and tempo of the accompanying music. This, of course, adds to the overall excitement of the match, and, for those people who arent sure who has the upper hand at any given point, helps to clarify this issue rather well.
4. As expected, the fans at Ratchadamnoen Stadium take a rather active role in supporting their favorite competitors. For example, whenever a fighter manages to grab a hold of their opponent, and begins to deliver punishing knee-blow after knee-blow to their ribs, their fans would always echo their support by simultaneously counting-off each blow in Thai as it lands. Another obvious way in which they show their support, of course, is the ubiquitous betting which takes place throughout the stadium. However, if you were to ask me how one can tell what betting is taking place, Id have to say that I saw no rhyme or reason to it. But after all I was stuck in the foreigners cage, right?
5. Finally, although Im new to the Thai circuit, Id have to say that from a physical standpoint, guessing the outcome of a Ratchadamnoen match without any prior knowledge of the competitors is extremely difficult. Most of the matches involve two people who are almost exactly the same height and weight. Despite this, I noticed that you could do a pretty fair job of predicting the outcome of most matches based on these two things: 1. Leg-to-torso ratio and 2. Dancing abilities. Im serious the guys with the longer legs almost always won their matches, and the guys who werent moving around like arthritic storks during their dance routines almost always won their matches as well. Of course, this isnt necessarily a perfect formula for predicting the outcome of a Muay Thai match, but hey who really has one?

That night, as I left Ratchadamnoen Stadium, dodging taxis and tuk-tuks all the way, there were two things on my mind. First, I pondered the life span, in fighters years, of a Muay Thai kickboxer. Surely they couldnt compete much more than into their late 20s not with the rate at which their bodies absorb abuse! A good number of that nights competitors left the ring reduced to little more than a bloody pulp. I also found myself pondering this fundamental question how is it that such peaceful and nonviolent folks as the people of Thailand find such violent and chaotic sports as cockfighting and Muay Thai to be their idea of quality entertainment? It seems almost contradicting to me. But I never came to any real conclusions about that passing thought except for the fact that I consider myself to be a regular, fun-loving, guy what was I doing here? Aw, what the heck wheres the beach?

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