Hi Sandy

I am not sure if you got my e-mail or not mate as you haven't managed to reply yet and not really sure if the address I have for you is redundant or not. I wanted to make sure you knew what I had said in a interview for the ITV debate re Muay Thai. I was contacted last Monday after they had spoken to Pete Crooke and he gave them my number, I was interviewed at home last Tuesday. I did speak to a couple of people who I know are involved with teaching children to get their views before doing the interview. I thought it might be useful before the actual debate for you to have an idea what I had said.


The interview was about 30 minutes long but they definitely won't show all of it and will edit it considerably. So I don't know exactly what bits will be shown. I know Ellis Cashmore (Sociologist/psychologist) from Staffordshire University was also interviewed, as was someone from Melton Mowbray so perhaps Mark and Thai again. I am not sure what Ellis will have said, but I presume it may not be that supportive (as far as I am aware he thinks competition for children in any sport can be damaging...which would not harm our case if he makes that point as it is an extreme view suggesting all junior sport not just MuayThai could be damaging). I was quite guarded in my responses but tried to be realistic and honest.

I responded to a all questions asked this involved giving some background to the sport and highlighting some differences in the socio-economic status between Thailand and here. I was asked about aggression and told them that the sport didn’t promote aggression in my opinion, as along with a general philosophy of respect and self discipline it was unproductive in competition. I pointed out that some of the very best champions in the sport were unassuming and not aggressive and provided positive role models. I did say I currently had a student conducting research into aggression in different sports and her conclusions had been that the tennis player felt aggression was more a more important part of their sport than did the martial artist (who happened to be a cage fighter but I omitted to mention that bit). I avoided giving any firm answer on the age for head contact and suggested it was currently being debated within the community. I conceded that some young men enjoy aggression and physical contact and said like in other sports such as Rugby and football MuayThai could provide an outlet for this as long as it was done in a controlled and disciplined way. I was asked if it was possible for competitors to get knocked out, I said yes in senior competition but that it was not that common in well matched bouts. I also pointed out that the predominant target area in MuayThai is the body and that knees and kicks to the body are generally the technique of choice for scoring.

I highlighted the results of two studies one on the impact of Muay Thai on teenage Thai Nak Muay which suggested there were no negative physical impacts of MuayThai compared to a control group but some positive ones in terms of fitness and lower body fat. I pointed out that the second study conducted here in the UK on professional and amateur participants suggested similar injuries and incident rates as karate and Taekwondo.

On the issue of children I said there were many positive benefits to training but in my opinion as a sport psychologist, skill development rather than winning should be emphasised (something that is healthy for all ages). On the question of age I said my own view was that competition can be appropriate to motivate children but they shouldn’t be pressured into it by anyone. I did say my view again as a sport psychologist was that children should not compete on adults shows but it should be more of an activity with other competitors, supportive friends and family members watching rather than being a spectator sport for adults. However, I pointed out there was currently a debate within the community on a number of these issues. I also explained that people within the community were concerned by the programme and keen as a whole to address the issues raised.

I told the interviewer that the within the MuayThai community there were many responsible and professional people involved from all walks of life. I hope the interview comes over as professional and considered but we will have to see. They may not even choose to use it or use very little of it, it depends on their agenda I suppose.

Hope the information helps mate

Good Luck

I am sure you will do a good job