Muay Thai, known worldwide as "Thai Kick Boxing," is the Kingdom's national sport and one of the fastest growing martial arts in the world. Forget Jean-Claude Van Damme.  Forget Steven Seagal. Forget Jackie Chan. Forget Chuck Norris and all the rest. When it comes to self-defense, Muay Thai is called "the most ferocious and deadly martial art in the world" and "the hardest ring sport on earth" and it has been the winner for hundreds of years.

The early Muay Thai bouts pitted different companies within the Siamese army against each other with few rules and no weight divisions or time limits.  They became quite popular and eventually were shown in stadia across the country.  In the early 20th century, time limits, boxing gloves as well as a uniform set of rules were introduced.  During the latter half of the 20th century Muay Thai was exported to many countries and is now practiced by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.