Erin Michelson, author of Nomad Life, shares her experience and thoughts abut danger in the ring after attending a Children's Muay Thai event in Thailand.
Given how generally peaceful Thai society is, Muay Thai is a strange anomaly. One cannot deny how wildly popular it is. I would note that many tournaments include boxers from Myanmar. This appears to be one way that they can 'make their fortune' in Thailand, since employment opportunities across the border are not nearly as good.
Good point about the juxtaposition between an generally gentle culture and the ferocity in the ring. An absolute pillar of society. I think the gambling is a big part of it's popularity.
Hi Erin - great essay. I'd never heard of Muay Thai, and I'd have given the opportunity to go to a fight a wide berth as well. I'm not a fan of fighting sports of any kind, for children, adults, or animals. There is far too much violence in our world, it doesn't need to be a spectator sport.
Interesting article and issue, Erin. I actually first came across Muay Thai here in the UK when I was looking for a martial arts class for my son, and at the time I didn’t think it was necessarily any worse than sports like boxing or rugby, which also carry risks and are widely accepted in many countries. That said, I do understand the moral dilemma when children are fighting not just as a sport but to support their families financially. It’s clearly a very complex issue with a lot of aspects all intertwined, and I don’t think there are easy answers.
Thanks for your note, Ibitssam. I agree, that the prevalence / necessity of child labor in many countries is a complex issue. And acknowledge that we (or more specifically, I) can't begin to understand the level of poverty that creates these economic conditions.
That said, I don't see the issue of protecting children who engage in dangerous sports (inclusive of football, etc.) as much of a condondrum. I think we, as a society, are responsible for ensuring children are safe and mandate child protective gear in the ring (at the very least).
Beautiful and informative piece here. Thank you for sharing. I agree that headgear for children could be a significant improvement. And forced child labor is always heartbreaking.
To rebuttal a little..
As mentioned in your final note, all contact sports have a risk of serious injury. And yes — all fighters choose to go in the ring and be subject to the inevitable injuries. Including children.
That said, here's how I see it..
When parents force kids into any non-combat sports, whether for financial gain, personal gain, pride, or otherwise, those kids end up in situations I view as potentially worse. This is due to the imbalance of risks unseeable from the surface.
We all know the physical risks of non-combat sports, especially when we look at things like American football and rugby. But even moreso, the real danger is hidden. And much more commonly found in non-combat sports. Children can easily get hurt during sport (and they often do), but I would argue that more children are forced into non-combat sports they don’t want to be in, and since the repercussions are not as obvious. They are only found when real injuries are sustained, but not due to violence in the sport but due to the broken down psyche.
Kids in non-combat sports who don’t feel like they have a choice to be there, can often continue in the sport for much longer than necessary sustaining more injuries both mentally and physically due to the lack of physical repercussions by doing a mediocre job.
They show up without their heart, maybe working hard because of the emotional pressures, but can somewhat hand off responsibilities to their teammates who can pick up the slack from their half-hearted approach. They can try hard and push their bodies (despite the internal conflict), but if they don't, the only guaranteed consequence is the external judgement (from their parents or spectators); a force as invisibly dangerous as carbon monoxide, slowly and effectively suffocating the child’s true self and leading to a higher risk of injury.
In Muay Thai, everything is different.
In the ring, you are as alone as you are the day you are born and the day that you die. It’s just you, in the most intense expression of living in the present moment, fighting for your life.
Any old kid can be forced into soccer. But to get anyone — especially a kid — in the ring, they must possess the warrior spirit. They need the intrinsic motivation to show up to the gym every single day; the mental fortitude to push themselves through every kilometer of running and sprinting; to bounce back up after taking a punch to the liver; to meticulously care for your body outside the gym enough to sustain peak performance inside the gym. And they face these battles daily.
There are no words you can speak to a person (children included) that grant them the warrior spirit or the ability to get inside the ring.
And so when you do see these children in the ring, sacrificing their bodies for the thrill of the fight to prove their mental fortitude just as much as their strength, you can trust that they want to be there and that they understand and agree to the risks.
I believe there is nothing you can do when faced with this but bow in respect.
To bring it back to the point — non-combat sports can justify the pain and potential injury because of the beneficial life lessons that they teach: things like discipline, positive reinforcement (more effort equals more reward), team spirit, self-confidence, fitness, etc.
And I think we are unjustly condemning combat sports because of the misinterpretation of violence. I’m not saying it’s void of it, but having been in a fight I can confidently say that violence is only a small slice of martial arts. In such a controlled environment, it’s about skill, technique, speed, and IQ. Notice how I didn’t mention strength or ability to tap into anger…
Do the negative powers at play like the act of gambling, intense parental control, death and serious injury taint my rose-colored view? Absolutely.
In the end, everything in life comes with both negative and positive characteristics and you are entitled to your subject perception — I’m not here to try and change that nor dis-respect your care for children and their health.
It’s just that for me — someone who also condemned any and all acts of violence before Muay Thai captivated me — I choose to recognize that the benefits gained outweigh the injuries that can be sustained.
After all, we are mere primates with an instinct to fight for survival.
And as we say in Muay Thai: you have to be able to receive and punch in order to give a punch (or in other terms: no pain, no muay thai). As a fighter, you connect with that, or you go home.
Thanks for the restack, Bailey, and thoughtful reply. If I’m reading correctly, you're contending that the children are in the ring because they want to be.
In my view, children at this age are not able to make informed decisions about their own health and welfare. And even if they appear to be willing to engage, they simply don't have the developmental capacity to make appropriate decisions, especially when outside factors like parental, peer, and cultural pressures exist and there is a financial incentive.
It is the parents’ job and the responsibility of society to protect children. I believe that by not taking adequate safety precautions, the sport of Muay Thai is harmful to children.
Absolutely fair. However, I'd still argue that Thai kids aren't built the same as kids in the West ;) but from an objective view, your assessment is fair -- Muay Thai can be harmful to children without adequate safety precautions.
Given how generally peaceful Thai society is, Muay Thai is a strange anomaly. One cannot deny how wildly popular it is. I would note that many tournaments include boxers from Myanmar. This appears to be one way that they can 'make their fortune' in Thailand, since employment opportunities across the border are not nearly as good.
Good point about the juxtaposition between an generally gentle culture and the ferocity in the ring. An absolute pillar of society. I think the gambling is a big part of it's popularity.
Hi Erin - great essay. I'd never heard of Muay Thai, and I'd have given the opportunity to go to a fight a wide berth as well. I'm not a fan of fighting sports of any kind, for children, adults, or animals. There is far too much violence in our world, it doesn't need to be a spectator sport.
💯 I no longer attend events that involve / use animals for sport, such as horse racing & polo matches, either.
I actually saw a horse die of a heart attack on a polo field -- horrific. And so gratuitous. It was vulgar.
OMG, that would be awful.
And I forgot to include birds in the of living creatures I don't want to see fight. And fish. All the creatures. 🐓🐠
Interesting article and issue, Erin. I actually first came across Muay Thai here in the UK when I was looking for a martial arts class for my son, and at the time I didn’t think it was necessarily any worse than sports like boxing or rugby, which also carry risks and are widely accepted in many countries. That said, I do understand the moral dilemma when children are fighting not just as a sport but to support their families financially. It’s clearly a very complex issue with a lot of aspects all intertwined, and I don’t think there are easy answers.
Thanks for your note, Ibitssam. I agree, that the prevalence / necessity of child labor in many countries is a complex issue. And acknowledge that we (or more specifically, I) can't begin to understand the level of poverty that creates these economic conditions.
That said, I don't see the issue of protecting children who engage in dangerous sports (inclusive of football, etc.) as much of a condondrum. I think we, as a society, are responsible for ensuring children are safe and mandate child protective gear in the ring (at the very least).
Beautiful and informative piece here. Thank you for sharing. I agree that headgear for children could be a significant improvement. And forced child labor is always heartbreaking.
To rebuttal a little..
As mentioned in your final note, all contact sports have a risk of serious injury. And yes — all fighters choose to go in the ring and be subject to the inevitable injuries. Including children.
That said, here's how I see it..
When parents force kids into any non-combat sports, whether for financial gain, personal gain, pride, or otherwise, those kids end up in situations I view as potentially worse. This is due to the imbalance of risks unseeable from the surface.
We all know the physical risks of non-combat sports, especially when we look at things like American football and rugby. But even moreso, the real danger is hidden. And much more commonly found in non-combat sports. Children can easily get hurt during sport (and they often do), but I would argue that more children are forced into non-combat sports they don’t want to be in, and since the repercussions are not as obvious. They are only found when real injuries are sustained, but not due to violence in the sport but due to the broken down psyche.
Kids in non-combat sports who don’t feel like they have a choice to be there, can often continue in the sport for much longer than necessary sustaining more injuries both mentally and physically due to the lack of physical repercussions by doing a mediocre job.
They show up without their heart, maybe working hard because of the emotional pressures, but can somewhat hand off responsibilities to their teammates who can pick up the slack from their half-hearted approach. They can try hard and push their bodies (despite the internal conflict), but if they don't, the only guaranteed consequence is the external judgement (from their parents or spectators); a force as invisibly dangerous as carbon monoxide, slowly and effectively suffocating the child’s true self and leading to a higher risk of injury.
In Muay Thai, everything is different.
In the ring, you are as alone as you are the day you are born and the day that you die. It’s just you, in the most intense expression of living in the present moment, fighting for your life.
Any old kid can be forced into soccer. But to get anyone — especially a kid — in the ring, they must possess the warrior spirit. They need the intrinsic motivation to show up to the gym every single day; the mental fortitude to push themselves through every kilometer of running and sprinting; to bounce back up after taking a punch to the liver; to meticulously care for your body outside the gym enough to sustain peak performance inside the gym. And they face these battles daily.
There are no words you can speak to a person (children included) that grant them the warrior spirit or the ability to get inside the ring.
And so when you do see these children in the ring, sacrificing their bodies for the thrill of the fight to prove their mental fortitude just as much as their strength, you can trust that they want to be there and that they understand and agree to the risks.
I believe there is nothing you can do when faced with this but bow in respect.
To bring it back to the point — non-combat sports can justify the pain and potential injury because of the beneficial life lessons that they teach: things like discipline, positive reinforcement (more effort equals more reward), team spirit, self-confidence, fitness, etc.
And I think we are unjustly condemning combat sports because of the misinterpretation of violence. I’m not saying it’s void of it, but having been in a fight I can confidently say that violence is only a small slice of martial arts. In such a controlled environment, it’s about skill, technique, speed, and IQ. Notice how I didn’t mention strength or ability to tap into anger…
Do the negative powers at play like the act of gambling, intense parental control, death and serious injury taint my rose-colored view? Absolutely.
In the end, everything in life comes with both negative and positive characteristics and you are entitled to your subject perception — I’m not here to try and change that nor dis-respect your care for children and their health.
It’s just that for me — someone who also condemned any and all acts of violence before Muay Thai captivated me — I choose to recognize that the benefits gained outweigh the injuries that can be sustained.
After all, we are mere primates with an instinct to fight for survival.
And as we say in Muay Thai: you have to be able to receive and punch in order to give a punch (or in other terms: no pain, no muay thai). As a fighter, you connect with that, or you go home.
Thanks for the restack, Bailey, and thoughtful reply. If I’m reading correctly, you're contending that the children are in the ring because they want to be.
In my view, children at this age are not able to make informed decisions about their own health and welfare. And even if they appear to be willing to engage, they simply don't have the developmental capacity to make appropriate decisions, especially when outside factors like parental, peer, and cultural pressures exist and there is a financial incentive.
It is the parents’ job and the responsibility of society to protect children. I believe that by not taking adequate safety precautions, the sport of Muay Thai is harmful to children.
*Cross-post from restack.
Absolutely fair. However, I'd still argue that Thai kids aren't built the same as kids in the West ;) but from an objective view, your assessment is fair -- Muay Thai can be harmful to children without adequate safety precautions.