Running head: MUAY THAI-THE STORY BEHIND THE GOLD 1

Muay Thai-The Story Behind the Gold

Thanh Dinh

Arizona State University

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Abstract

The research is conducted on the Muay Thai community, more specifically Dan’s Gym

located in Gilbert and the trainers along with fighters that are a part of it. The goal of this

research was to find out more about the Muay Thai community and what motivates them to train

so hard for. It was also part of the goal to discuss the optimal qualities, both physically and

mentally, of a Muay Thai fighter along with his/her attitude to other members of the gym. It was

a surprise to find out that the gym trained some of the fighters that were a part of the US team

that went to the IFMA Youth World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. Why did they start

training and what motivates them to train so hard for in such a dangerous, full-contact sport?

Keywords​: cardio, dedication, endurance, motivation, muay thai, IFMA (International

Federation of Muay Thai Amateurs).

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Muay Thai-The Story Behind the Gold

Section 1, Question Bank

The purpose of the inquiry was to learn more about Muay Thai fighters and the reason

why they train so hard to reach their level, especially the ones participating in competitions and

tournaments. It was also to learn more about the traditions and customs of the muay thai world,

along with their explanations of what is crucial for a fighter to have/be. There was some curiosity

in the sport/martial art because of early childhood exposure and the researcher wanted to

determine if that was the case with the people training in the gym.

“Central Research Question”

1. What qualities are important, physically and mentally, are important to become a good

fighter?

“General Inquiry/Observation Questions”

2. How would you describe the relationship and atmosphere between members of the gym?

3. Are members more cooperative or competitive?

4. Are there a specific uniform that you wear to competitions?

5. What are some important exercises?

6. How important is stamina in Muay Thai?

7. What are the equipments used in competitions?

8. Are there specific ranks assigned to members via a certain belt color or something similar

like in karate?

9. How important is the support of the people around him/her to a fighter’s mentality?
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“General Interview Questions”

10. What got you started in Muay Thai?

11. Where did you grow up?

12. How many family members do you have?

13. What are your results from competitions?

14. Do you have jobs that are not Muay Thai related??

“Interview Questions for Specific People”

Danny Brandt

15. Where were you born and raised?

16. How did your childhood affected your decision to train in Muay Thai?

17. Why did you choose Muay Thai specifically?

18. What were your results like when you went pro?

19. How are you doing as a trainer?

Tierra Brandt

20. How old are you?

21. How do you balance between leaving for competitions and school since both collide?

22. When did you start training?

23. How did your childhood affected your decision to train in Muay Thai?

24. Do you have any siblings and if yes do they also train in Muay Thai?

25. When you go out do you get recognized by random strangers?

26. Does your highschool commemorate you winning a gold medal for the country in the

Internationals?
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Section 2, Sites of Inquiry

Sites of Inquiry Contact / Location Dates / Times

Dan’s Gym Danny Brandt (Co-owner and Muay Thai Fundamentals

Head Coach) Class/Training session
Address: 1458 E Main St, Mesa, Monday October 15, 2018
AZ 85203 6:00-7:00 pm
Phone Number: (623) 258-9296
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Section 3, Inquiring into Objects /Artifacts

Part 1, Summarize the experience, including responses and notes (~200 words):

When I was looking around for objects that would be of importance to the Muay Thai

fighters, there were so many training equipments that I couldn’t determine which one was more

important than the last. I definitely noticed that there were a lot of punching bags, jump ropes,

and treadmills to the back. From what I’ve observed it seemed that these fighters take training

their body very seriously and would spend hours disciplining their bodies and stamina. I

questioned my observations and was given a similar reply. Tierra Brandt specifically stated that

she would wake up early in the morning and run for at least two hours worth of miles to train her

stamina when preparing for upcoming competitions. This explained the multiple treadmills that I

saw hidden behind the wall where the ring was. Another object that should be noted is the shorts

that fighters wear. Each pair is unique to the fighter as it is decorated based on their preferences

and there is no uniformed design. I also noted a lot of pictures of the local champions and the

belts that they won from their competitions. Everyone in the gym seemed to take great pride in

their fighters, especially since they have trained so many successful fighters who made a name in

the Muay Thai world. The last object that I deemed as important is a band that is wear on either

the biceps or head. The band worn on the head is called a mongkol while the ones for the arms

are called praijuads. These bands essentially serve as a lucky charm to ward off evil spirits and

bad luck.
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Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

1. Each member in the gym that are competing or have competed wear a certain pair of

shorts that were very short, covering at most two-fifth of the thighs. I noticed that none of

the shorts is the same as the next, each of them had a different colour scheme and

designs. The significance of this is that the fighters are allowed to expressed his/her

views and personal preference as a good luck charm on his/her own shorts. Some people

had the colors of the mexican flag while some had intricate designs of dragons, which I

found awesome.

2. “Insert quote about the blessed praijuads from long ago”. The significance of this is to

show that even though muay thai in the states have became more modernized and the

original beliefs from Thailand are less relevant in this current day and age, the

practitioners still hold to some core values and beliefs. This shows that despite the

cultural differences the practitioners are still able to connect and appreciate these

traditional viewpoints.
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Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):

Trying to find an object that was significant to the community was not as difficult as I

thought it would be, though it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. Before coming in for

the interview, I thought that the most important object would be a band called a praijuad, a band

woven from meaningful or blessed strips of cloth and tied around both biceps. Tierra Brandt told

me that they did have some praijuads that were blessed by monks in Thailand some time ago.

Instead of the praijuads, I noticed that an object, or rather multiple objects, were photos of the

fighters when they won their respective competitions along with the belts that came with those

competitions. I was only able to go to this gym but I would assume at other Muay Thai gyms

there would also be pictures of their past champions to express their pride. Danny and Tierra

certainly showed great pride when they talked about their champions, showing off the results that

their fighters have won not only for themselves but also the people in their journeys. I do not

think that this is a bad trait, rather it seemed more of a familial show of love, like a father proud

of his children becoming successful or a sister bragging about her sibling.

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Section 4, Inquiring into Place

Part 1, Summarize the observation, including responses and notes (~200 words):

The gym where Danny coached and trained the members was an incredible place. When I

first walked in I felt the intense atmosphere that comes from a group of people of all ages

intensely training and drilling moves into their bodies. The place itself was loud, filled with

shouts from students as they repeatedly kick and punch another student. Sierra Brandt told me

that this was the place that the members came to train after going through their daily lives and

held an important meaning to the members. The gym contained many trophy belts that their

students won in the past, releasing an aura full of pride and providing the members training a

purpose. The multitude of punching bags, jump ropes, and big ring in the middle back expressed

the dedication that the members have. Sierra Brandt told me that the training was the hardest

part, as having stamina to last multiple rounds in a row during a competition and being able to

concentrate and prepare themselves mentally is crucial for a good fighter. “It’s not fun at all,

really,..this stuff is really the hard part about this sport”.

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Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

3. The gym trains and prepare members to either move further into advanced classes or to

fine tune their techniques for competitions. This is significant because as with any martial

arts, the gym and its reputation for training champions is crucial to attract more members

and to motivate current members to train harder.

4. “Nationals.” This term was repeated throughout the interview and I would imagine that

the competitions that they send their fighters to would surely be important to the

community as a whole. After all, no matter how or why you started, as a young child one

of the most important things is to be accepted and praised for your achievements. This is

significance because the nationals and internationals are the goals for most of the young

fighters when they discuss what they are training for and serves as their motivation to go

through such harsh training and constantly repeat the same drills everyday.
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Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):
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Section 5, Inquiring into Activities/Events

Part 1, Summarize the observation, including responses and notes (~200 words):
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Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

5.
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Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):
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Section 6, Inquiring into People/Person

Part 1, Summarize the observation, including responses and notes (~200 words):
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Part 2, Principle Quotes or Observations with an explanation of value:

6.
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Part 3, Reflect on the process, occurrences, and results of this research, including inferences
about the significance of your observations and interview responses. (~300 words):
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Section 7, Soundscape Links

Convert your Apple Memo (m4a) into MP3

https://support.apple.com/guide/itunes/convert-music-file-formats-itns2972/mac
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Section 8, WP3 Proposal

In ~500 words, you will (1) summarize the major outcomes and insight of the primary research

you conducted in the above sections, (2) describe how this research leads to or was prompted by

a core question or set of questions about a group (3), demonstrate why these questions need

answering, should be addressed, and are worth a reader's’ attention, and (4) propose an

informative essay, e.g. “Given my research, I propose an essay that will inform its audience

about the role of personal can collection in the recycling industry." This proposal prompts

Writing Project 3.
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References

[Supply bibliographic citations for any secondary sources consulted during your primary

research]