Thai Kick Boxing at Rajadmnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand

Having decided what to do with the rest of my afternoon and evening I followed the sign as best I could, over a bridge and down a corner to where my map said it should be, but once again the map and reality were a little out of synch.

I have no idea why everything in Bangkok seemed to be spelled differently everywhere you look, I have no idea why some maps totally ignore key tourist attractions while highlighting minor obscurities or why a lot of maps miss out entire roads so navigating by the stars becomes easier than using maps here, but there you go.

I finally arrived, after asking directions from a few locals using the map as a name reference only, to find that I was still too early for the start of the nights entertainment and then I was quoted three prices ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 baht, the first for the standing room at the back to ring side seats, also being front row seats as I was the first there to get them.

As I debated with myself if it would be better to be up close to the action or back with the locals, the ticket seller tried to swing the deal by telling me that up at the back it gets very crowded with lots of shouting and gambling by locals, while up at the front the thai's dont like, which I am sure was only half right but I rationed that as this was likely to be my only chance I didn't want it to be from such a distance away that the action looked like it was between two matchstick men.

Front row seats meant that I had the place to myself for the first few fights, the warm ups so to speak, but well before the main event I was joined by a Danish ex fighter in his early forties who was enjoying his grog a little too much, and a French ex fighter a few years younger than me who decided to switch disciplins to body building instead.

Although no actual money was mentioned or changed hands we always offered each other our thoughts and wagered we knew who would win each fight.

I had heard that the best way to pick a fighter before it all started was to see how well they performed their warm up dance, while the Dane thought that he could tell by looking into the fighters eyes to see which had the most killer instinct and finally the Frenchy went with whoever his girlfriend liked the look of most, which crazy as it sounded worked out as the best system.

Each fight would start with the two fighers climbing over the top rope into the ring wearing their robes, head band and kit on. Then they would have their coach remove the ceremonial garb before each would perform a religious / artistic prayer dance, before finally bowing one last time and then going at each other.

Like normal boxing, there was a referee, time keeper and three scoring judges all at ring side, plus a few musicians a bit further back in the crowd who would start playing their drum and cymbals in an ever incresing tempo til the clockrun out on that round, when the two combatants would go back to their corner, often assisted from the middle of the ring by their coach/  manager to them be doused with cold water and given a thirty second muscle massage.

All in all there were 9 thai boxing fights, with two preliminary fights with normal boxers that had no real crowd or outcome, but by the time that the main event took place around 9:30 there was a thick throng of thais in the grandstands, with plenty of yellow shirted touts or bet takers.

Watching the rounds there must be a scoring system that makes no sense to me, as often I thought that the most aggresive, ring dominant fighter was winning and the ones who slipped, fell or somehow ended up on the floor more than once were losing yet time and time again when the three judges decisions came in I had somehow been missing the points and had been backing the loser.

I say there must be a system though, as in each fight even before the judges verdict were announced one of the fighter would already be claiming victory and accepting praise while the other would have quickly bowed graciously in defeat and began to make his way out of the ring, heading back to his dressing room.

It was a great experience to watch, even though all of the fights were a little too ground and pound for me, and what I really would have loved was to see some Hong Kong movie style fights where they do spinning reverse punches, flying knees to the face and all manner of little deft moves that catch their opponent flat footed, however of course this was real life and not carefully choreographed to loook good in front of a camera.

The last fight finished by 10:15, but by then most of the locals had left the second the main event had finished, and from the matches I had seen three bust up cuts and two knock outs, one serious enough to require a stretcher but as the fighers were only around eleven or twelve years of age I think it was more from shock of going down hard than anything else.

Both knock outs were from punchs and not kicks, elbows or knees which was a relief as those kind of blows come from unpadded sources and if undefended against can split skin and break bone far too easily.

Being so close to my hotel I decided not to bother getting a taxi or tuk tuk back, instead preferring just to walk, catch some fresh air and then get an early nights sleep for tomorrow.