MAKING THE GRADE IN MUAY THAI

By Kru Shaun Boland

‘There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.’
Peter F. Drucker

I have decided to write this article because there is a lot of opinion regarding whether gradings should be used in Muay Thai (Thai boxing). I hope I can be as objective as possible and give both pros and cons towards this subject.

What is important to note is that the Thais do not have a grading system in professional Muay Thai. For the Thai people it is all about achievement through their labours both in training and in the ring.

My good friend Andy Thomson of Lanna Muay Thai camp, in Chiang Mai Thailand, feels strongly about gradings in Muay Thai and has asked me to quote him:

“It would be a great loss to Muay Thai if the authorities here ever try to implement any kind of grading system in Thailand. People who learn Muay Thai here in Thailand should learn to train and study Muay Thai for their own personal improvement and not the falsehood of ‘grading’ levels. Muay Thai is a life long pursuit and for the fighter, though his career in the ring is limited by age and the physical strength of his body, he may also continue as a student, teacher and trainer for the remainder of his active life. The one true master I have met here was 88 years old and still contributing to the advancement and growth of young Muay Thai fighters, and he never had a grading done in his lifetime”

So before I go on let us look at gradings throughout the martial arts.
Most Martial arts can trace their roots back to the battle field where their respective arts were used to kill or maim their enemy. Rank was used to differentiate officers and soldiers but there were no ‘black belts’ or masters back then. Simply, you fought for survival. The status of ‘hero’ may have been given for the many brave warriors and, for some, medals, trophies and sometimes money or land was given as a reward. More often than not these ‘reluctant heroes’ would return to their lives with very little other than their honour. As these battlefield arts became diluted for sport or self-defence a system was devised to recognize achievement and rank. Hence the black belt system was devised. I believe this came from Japan and the various colours of the grades denoted certain attributes, such as white belt for purity etc.

Bruce Lee had quite profound opinions about gradings. In his early formation of Jeet Kune Do he created a grading system that started with a blank circle on the students T-shirts to represent nothingness. As the student progressed through the ranks they were awarded with different coloured grades represented by Yin Yang emblems. There were a total of eight grades and the highest grade was a blank circle, again representing nothingness and returning to the beginning stage. Bruce Lee explained that all the other grades were there to clean up what he described as the ‘classical mess’ He also added that belts were only good for holding your trousers up!

So opinion differs as to whether gradings are of any use. There was a time when to reach a black belt in most systems you would spend a minimum of 5 and sometimes 8 years before you tested. In these ‘want it, want it right now’ times you can get fast tracked to black belt standard over the weekend! You can even do a home study course to achieve your Black belt!

With so many ‘Black belts’ out there, isn’t it any wonder that the traditionalist and purists find the whole grading scene both pretentious and unworthy?

However let us look at the flip-side and let me come back to my original thread regarding gradings in Muay Thai.

To differentiate between the Thai and the westerner regarding Muay Thai I must explain that the Thai lives, breathes, eats and sleeps Muay Thai literally. The Thai Nak rian (student) and Nak Muay (boxer) live on their respective camps and train twice daily. Their chores will include cooking and cleaning and maintenance of their camp. Their income is decided by the fights they win and their desire is driven by simply wanting to be the best.
The singular major difference for our Nak Muay in the west is that on the whole they have full time jobs to maintain to ensure their families and mortgages are kept intact.
In addition most students of Muay Thai here in the West do it for fitness, self-defence and self-confidence and the majority will never fight. It is only the handful of talented and dedicated Nak Muay who achieves their respective moments of glory.

Students in the West rightly or wrongly like to see rewards for their hard labour. The results of their training are simply not enough for most and they want certificates, awards and accolade.

So, how can it benefit us to grade in Muay Thai here in the West? Is it simply enough to say we grade to satisfy our narcistic egocentric personalities?

I have mulled this over for many years and like Bruce Lee and Andy Thomson personally believe that skill or fight records alone should denote your rank and file not fancy coloured belts or sashes.

However what about quality of instruction? Who is to say that an undefeated World champion would make a great instructor? Surely the person who trained that champion is the one you would want to instruct you!

So gradings as a way to qualify towards instructorship, to set a high standard of excellence have their place do you not think?

I decided that a grading system was needed for my academy simply for the following reasons:

• It generates revenue for the academy.
• Through achievement, gradings promote retention of student numbers.
• I want to teach about Thai culture and tradition in addition to the art and our gradings reflect this.
• Each grade is structured so that the student progresses towards becoming an instructor
• During grades, if a particular technique or combination is failed by several students then I can review my teaching methods and look to improve them
• A structured syllabus is in place for other instructors to implement when running their own schools

In Thailand the Prajit (arm band) is worn on the fighters arm and contains the Kruang Ruang which offers symbolic protection for the Nak Muay. This has been adapted in the West so that the Prajit is coloured in respect of each grade.

However there is no formal ruling as to grade colours or grading content and structure in Muay Thai and this is where I believe the problem lies. Any club can form its own syllabus and coloured grade system (I have!). The only continuity that I see is that a red armband denotes instructor in Muay Thai (although a few have black).

I feel that any grading system must encompass the essence of Muay Thai and therefore a requirement for cultural and traditional knowledge should be tested in addition to showing the ability to demonstrate techniques and fighting skills

The grade to instructor should be both comprehensive and developing and in my opinion if the right criteria is achieved then it should take a minimum of 4 years to reach this standard.

the qualities and attributes required to lead the way towards the development in Muay Thai and Thai culture and yet remains humble and subservient to the art. Showing all the attributes from purity, Scholarship, competence, technicality, harmony, fluidity, comprehension, enlightenment, responsibility, development and master, the grand-master remains humble and continues to grow and learn. This is the highest level and through this level purity is once again achieved bringing the life cycle of the student to grandmaster in full circle.

So is it right to grade in Muay Thai? Certainly not in Thailand, it just does not have its place there. The only exceptions are in Muay Boran and Krabi-Krabong but it is about the sport of Muay Thai I am discussing.

In the West the debate will go on, as a professional fighter there is no need to grade, their achievements speak volumes for themselves. As an instructor however, knowledge and experience is essential and a ‘formal’ qualification is necessary to ensure that high standards are kept throughout our art.

Students who do not wish to fight can still acquire achievement, skills and can qualify as instructors or coaches and corner-men.

There lies another dilemma; I have heard people say that how can someone be an instructor if they have never fought? This is a valid point and it brings me back to an earlier paragraph when I said that even the most skilled champions of our sport do not necessarily make great instructors.

Let us also not forget that gradings also bring income and student retention to our respective clubs

So to sum up, gradings in Muay Thai here in the West should provide a readily identifiable level of competency and proficiency and should never be diluted to the fast track level so that it weakens and de-stabilises our art. It is worth remembering that if you travel to Thailand and profess that you are a ‘Kru’ (Instructor) in Muay Thai then you may be asked to live up to ‘their’ expectations!


“The army have ranks. Yet not all those with rank have experienced battle. Yet they are trained for the eventuality”.