weaponThe fist

หมัด · mat

The weapon that scores least.

Gerrit Phil Baumann · CC BY 3.0

What it is

Punches. Historically the thinnest part of the Thai arsenal, and still the part a stadium judge values least.

The long version

The English article is blunt about the starting point: the punches were "originally quite limited" — crosses, and a long lazy circular strike thrown with a straight arm landing on the heel of the palm. Everything else came in later from western boxing, and now the full set is used: jab, cross, hook, uppercut, overhand, back fist.

Two things follow, and both are visible from the seats. Body punching is rare, because dropping your head to dig at the ribs puts it exactly where a knee or an elbow lives. And a punch that does not visibly move the other man is worth nothing on the cards — which is why a foreigner who wins the punching exchanges for five rounds can still lose the fight and leave furious.

The fighter built around the hands has his own name — muay mat — and the best of them, Samart Payakaroon, went and won a world title at western boxing to settle the point.

Connected to

• The eight limbs The count it belongs to.
• How a fight is actually scored Why it is worth so little.
• Samart Payakaroon The fighter who proved the hands could be enough.
• Muay mat The style built on it.

Named here by

• The eight limbs One pair of the eight.
• Muay mat Its weapon.
• Samart Payakaroon What he proved about it.
• How a fight is actually scored The weapon this system punishes.
• chok The weapon.

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