When I started Thai, in 1983, there were not many Thai Shows around, and also not many people fighting Thai. In order to get fights we were often fighting on Kick boxing shows with kick boxing judges. Master Sken said himself that at the time had we done Thai Boxing then as they did in Thailand he did not believe the UK would have taken to it (you could argue they still haven't). As a result styles were modified to suit the judges of the time.

Nowadays a lot more people go to Thailand and more and more people come back wanting to do Muay Thai. Tony Myers once told me that the whole reason he got in to judging was because he was taking his fighters to Thailand to train and they were still loosing over here, he couldn't understand why until he realised it was because they were not being judged as they would be in Thailand. So he did his research and started trying to educate on the way fights were scored in Thailand.

This has been covered before, but to win fights under Muay Thai criteria is means you have to change the way you train to adopt those rules. At the moment there is a split in the UK between those who are willing and able to do that and those who are not willing, able or both. These people often disguise the reasons complaining that is is to complicated, the public will never accept it. etc etc

I have written about this before, in my view, not using the rules as they are in Thailand and still calling it the same sport is cheating, simple as. If you don't like it either lobby the governing bodies to change it, or do another sport. But don't change the rules to suit you. We are not the only country scoring Muay Thai as it should be outside of Thailand, contrary to what some people would have you believe.

Even when I first read Tony's article I didn't take it as a given he was right. I watched fights I hadn't understood the decisions of before and suddenly got them right using that criteria. I then looked back at fights in the UK when Thais did not get the decision and had complained afterwards and realised we had basically cheated.

Most people who don't agree with this scoring have not done the course. Do the course and more importantly look at the depth of investigation and evidence that Tony has. It is not something the, or the majority of people training in Thailand have made up.

So, whilst I have been in the sport for nearly thirty years, I do sometimes feel it has been a lot shorter, but I hope I have been able to adept to change as I have become more educated

Certainly having Sanchi and several other Thai's say to be that UK official's are as good as Thailand to my face makes me think we are going in the right direction

James I will be in Cornwall in August, if you like we could always meet up over a pint and I can discuss this in person with you if you like