Hi Mike

As you say the thread is about Muay Thai scoring, Nevertheless, since you asked the question, I am more than happy to talk you through my refereeing decisions if it helps in some way.

Not sure which fight you are refereeing to, but it sounds like you felt I had made a refereeing mistake. Well you may be right, I have certainly made mistakes when refereeing over the years. I have refereed for more than 20 years and have refereed countless fights at all levels and in different countries. I will have made mistakes over that period and hopefully learned from them. That said, I am more likely to be critical of my own refereeing performance than anyone else is likely to be (Muay Thai though really rather than K1). I have rarely, if ever, refereed a bout where I felt I could not have done something better.

If I make a mistake in counting, I hope I always make the mistake of counting too early rather than too late. As for counting or not counting, if I initially think a fighter is ok I may not count them (e.g. they spring back to their feet with eyes clear), but if they then show signs of being hurt or being unsteady I will count them. Irrespective of whether another boxer has hit them again or not. If I think a boxer has gone down as the result of a foul, I would also not count them.

What I will say is that a corner person shouting would not influence my decision to count or not to count. Whatever it may look like to an observer, I can guarantee that that has never been the case. I have made decisions in refereeing and in judging over the year some popular and some not, but they were always my decisions and were made with the best intentions.

James, if you read my post above you will be aware that here in the UK we do not strive to follow the elements of Muay This scoring that have become caricatured in Thailand by gambling. Gambling is not an issue here and it does not influence bouts or the decisions of judges here. The judging in the UK is not dissimilar to that which was used during what some have described in Thailand as Muay Thai's recent golden period (80s and 90s). What we do here in judging in the UK, is do our best to judge fights as Muay This fights rather than as if they were a generic fighting sport such as K1.

To quote a Thai (national) coach resident in the UK, "iMuay Thai should be judged as Muay Thai, the sport is Muay Thai and not Muay farang".