The combat sport of Muay Thai has been featured in media, including film, television, manga, anime and video games.[1] It gained international attention when Yodtong Senanan led the Nak Muay Team against Osamu Noguchi's Kickboxer Team on October 16, 1972.[2] It has heavily influenced the sport of kickboxing, and is used in mixed martial arts (MMA), where athletes train in its techniques.
Muay Thai has been featured in the following films:
| Movie | Year | Description | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel of Fists | 1971 | A Hong Kong engineer (David Chiang) goes to Thailand to find his long-lost half-brother (Ti Lung), who is a Muay Thai boxer. | [3] | |
| The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | Later in the film, James Bond (Roger Moore) goes to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, where he meets the main antagonist Scaramanga (Christopher Lee). | [4] [5] | |
| Bloodsport | 1988 | Martial arts movie about an underground fighting tournament, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme in his break-through role. The film features a formidable Muay Thai Fighter named Paco, played by a career Thaiboxer Paulo Tocha, who serves Van Damme's opponent in the tournament's semi-finals. | [6] | |
| Kickboxer | 1989 | After his brother, an American heavyweight kickboxing champion, is crippled by a vicious Thaiboxer Tong Po (Michel Qissi) in the ring, Kurt Sloane (Jean-Claude Van Damme) seeks out an elusive Muay Thai Kru to teach him the art to avenge his brother. | [7] | |
| Death Cage (Zhan Long) | 1989 | While primarily a kung fu movie, the movie takes place in Thailand, where various scenes featuring Thaiboxers are present. | [8] | |
| The Quest | 1996 | Taking place in 1920s, Christopher Dubois (Jean-Claude Van Damme) ends up stowing way on a boat and ends up being imprisoned by the boat's men. He is later acquired by a mercenary Englishman, Lord Edgar Dobbs (Roger Moore), who sells Dubois into slavery on an island off the coast of Siam, where Dubois is trained in Muay Thai fighting. After six months, Dobbs and his partner Harry Smythe find Dubois fighting in a Muay Thai match and see that Dubois has become a skilled fighter. Thus, he is subsequently chosen by Lord Dobbs to participate in a grand martial arts tournament, held in the Lost City of Tibet. | [9] [10] | |
| A Fighter's Blues (A Fu) | 2000 | Mong Fu (Andy Lau), a former Muay Thai boxer, returns to Thailand from Hong Kong and challenges the champion to a match. | [11] [12] | |
| Beautiful Boxer | 2003 | The life story of Parinya Charoenphol (Asanee Suwan), who masters Muay Thai in order to realize her dream of becoming a woman. | [13] | |
| 2003 | The series popularized Muay Thai, and featured some Muay Boran techniques. The film had two sequels: Ong Bak 2 (2008) and Ong Bak 3 (2010) | [14] | ||
| Born to Fight | 2004 | Dan Chupong stars in the film. | ||
| Chok-Dee: The Kickboxer | 2005 | The film is based on the life of Algerian-French Muay Thai boxer Dida Diafat, who stars as himself. | [15] | |
| Tom-Yum-Goong | 2005 | Tony Jaa, who starred in the movie and was also the fight choreographer, incorporates a Muay Thai style (มวยคชสาร, "muaykodchasarn", roughly translated as "Elephant Boxing"), which emphasizes grappling moves. The movie also showcased "Jaturongkabaht", which was used by the Royal Thai Bodyguards. | ||
| Mercury Man | 2006 | |||
| 2006 | ||||
| Muay Thai Chaiya | 2007 | Is a film about two talented muay Thai boxers, boyhood friends whose lives take divergent paths after they arrive in Bangkok. | ||
| Master KIMs | 2007 | The Nak Muay team appears in the final scene. | ||
| Chocolate | 2008 | Muay Thai fighters Yanin Vismitananda and Lim Su-Jeong star in this film. | [16] [17] | |
| Down for the Count (Aukmen) | 2009 | Muay Thai boxer Ahmad Al-Sulaiti appears as himself. | ||
| Raging Phoenix | 2009 | Starring Yanin "Jeeja" Vismistananda, that movie is centered around the style of "Druken Muay Thai" | [18] | |
| The Kick | 2011 | A Korean family of Taekwondo experts immigrate to Thailand and are exposed to Muay Thai fighting. | [19] | |
| 2011 | [20] | |||
| Only God Forgives | 2013 | A Bangkok policeman and a gangster settle their differences in a Muay Thai match. | ||
| 2015 | ||||
| A Prayer Before Dawn | 2017 | The film is based on the true life experience of Billy Moore who survived his Thai prison ordeal by becoming a Muay Thai boxing champion. | [21] [22] | |
| 2018 | A Thai 3D computer-animated action-fantasy film. | |||
| Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | 2021 | Muay Thai was included in the fighting style of Shang Chi, the title character. | ||
| Raya and the Last Dragon | 2021 | Namaari (Gemma Chan) uses a style based on muay Thai and krabi krabong. |
| Movie | Year | Description | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fight or Flight | 2007 | A documentary on Thailand's ring fighting circuit. | [23] | |
| Blessed With Venom | 2011 | A feature-length documentary chronicling the life and career of Australian Muay Thai superstar and 10 time World Champion, John Wayne Parr | [24] | |
| Lumpini | 2018 | A documentary that follows Kwankhao Mor.Ratanabandit and Saenchai, who fights at the final event at historic old Lumpinee stadium, also at the grand opening of the new Lumpinee stadium. Narrated by Stephen Haynes. | ||
| Torn Cloth | 2020 | A documentary that follows a group of orphans in northern Thailand that take refuge in a Muay Thai boxing camp managed by Jawee Sukantha, and the improvements it makes to their lives. Narrated by Stephen Haynes. With a special guest appearance by Tony Jaa |
Muay Thai has been featured in television series from reality show contests to documentary episodes.
| Television Show | Episode | Description | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departures (TV series) | Justin Lukach enters a Muay Thai fight in one episode. | |||
| The Contender Asia | series | A reality-based television series that follows 16 aspiring Muay Thai middleweight fighters from 12 countries as they compete in a series of outdoor challenges and sanctioned matches. | [25] | |
| Human Weapon | "Muay Thai" | The episode featured the history and fighting techniques of Muay Thai. | ||
| True Life | "I'm a Muay Thai Fighter" | Kit Cope and Ben Garcia travel overseas to make their mark in the brutal world of Muay Thai ring fighting. They are scheduled to compete in bare-knuckle fights that will be broadcast on Thailand television. | ||
| Fight Girls | series | A reality show similar to The Ultimate Fighter, where ten female fighters live together and train with a Muay Thai instructor in Las Vegas for six weeks in an effort to fight for a Muay Thai championship in Thailand. | ||
| Fight Quest | "Thailand" | Jimmy Smith and Doug Anderson learn Muay Thai. | ||
| Dhani Tackles the Globe | "Thailand" | Dhani Jones learns Muay Thai. | ||
| Babylon 5 | "TKO" | Michael Garibaldi and his friend Walker Smith participate in an alien-run tournament called the "Mutai". | ||
| Gaki no Tsukai | – | The variety show features a "Thai Kick" punishment game where a boxer delivers a kick to the loser's backside. | ||
| Real World/Road Rules Challenge | "The Ruins" | featured a "Muay Thai challenge" where contestants kicked bamboo sticks in an elimination round. | ||
| Ring Girls | series | A reality show similar to The Ultimate Fighter, where ten female fighters live together and train with a Muay Thai instructor in Las Vegas for six weeks in an effort to fight for a Muay Thai championship in Thailand. | ||
| Power Rangers/Juken Sentai Gekiranger | Power Rangers Jungle Fury season | Robert "R.J." James, the Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger who wears violet, is a Muay Thai practitioner. He wears prajed (dual elbow bands) uses elbow and knee attacks, including a flying knee strike. | ||
| An Idiot Abroad | "Swim With Dolphins" | Karl Pilkington trains with a Muay Thai kickboxing group and later participates in a blindfolded match.[26] | ||
| Amphibia | Ivy on the Run | The show's protagonist, Thai-American Anne Boonchuy, is a Muay Thai practitioner. She states she was enrolled in lessons by her mother to fit her "spirited" personality (and get her out of her kitchen), and offers to teach her amphibian friends the martial art. | ||
| Hurts Like Hell (TV series) | series | A four-part series based on corruption in the Muay Thai industry, released on Netflix. |
Manga and anime shows occasionally feature characters who use Muay Thai techniques:
| Manga or Animation | Character(s) | Description | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick no Oni | Tadashi Sawamura, others | Fictionalized retelling of real-life Tadashi Sawamura's kickboxing career. Features Sawamura's fights against various kickboxers, including the fight against Thaiboxer Samarn Sor Adisorn. | [27] [28] | |
| Tatakae!! Ramenman | Muay Thai Chūchai | |||
| Dragon Ball | Draculaman, Pamput | |||
| Attack on Titan | Female titan, Annie Leonhart | |||
| Captain Tsubasa World Youth | Bunnaak Singprasert | |||
| Karate Shokoshi Kohinata Minoru[29] | Samart Sarindu, Charndech Nham Sae Gym Thanakorn Ammarath, Changnoi Jakkapong Singsak, Thongchai[30] Junny Skeandelaki SHIN "TEMUR" SHIRATO | |||
| TOUGH: High School Iron Fist Legend | Kreangarg Suwanpakdee | |||
| Apachai Hopachai, Tirawit Kōkin Agaard Jum Sai | ||||
| Beyblade | Yothin | |||
| Hajime No Ippo | Jimmy Sispher | |||
| Katekyo Hitman Reborn! | Lussuria | |||
| All Rounder Meguru | Maki Kamiya | Manga about Women's MMA. One of the key characters is Maki Kamiya, a high school girl-age kickboxer who transitioned to Women's Shooto, after she was unable to find adequate challengers in her Kickboxing weight class. | [31] | |
| Treasure hunting in Thailand[32] | Thani Sor.Silachai | [33] [34] | ||
| Kamen Rider Ryuki | Kamen Rider Impaler | |||
| Kengan Ashura | Gaolang Wongsawat, Cosmo Imai |
The following games feature characters that use Muay Thai as their fighting style,
| Series | Game characters | Description | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Fighter | Sagat | Debuting in the original Street Fighter, Sagat is depicted as a renowned Muay Thai expert known for his incredible power and height. He is often called the "Emperor of Muay Thai" in his home country. He was possibly named after Sagat Petchyindee. | [35] [36] [37] | ||
| Adon | Muay Thai warrior and a disciple of Sagat. He appears in the original Street Fighter game as the second-to-last opponent before the final match against Sagat. In later games, he is characterized as a former pupil of Sagat, seeking to surpass his disgraced master. | [38] | |||
| Gou Hibiki and other minor characters | Muay Thai fighters from sometimes appear in Elena's stage during the 2nd round. | [39] [40] | |||
| SNK Fighting Games | Joe Higashi | Debuting in | [41] [42] [43] | ||
| Hwa Jai | Debuting in , initially appearing as a computer-controlled opponent, unavailable for the player. He would be introduced as a playable character in The King of Fighters XIII. | [44] | |||
| King | Debuting in Art of Fighting, a French female Muay Thai fighter who dresses in masculine manner. Her design was inspired by Saskia van Rijswijk and Grace Jones. | [45] [46] | |||
| Payak Sitipitak | Debuted in Buriki One | ||||
| Mortal Kombat | Jax Briggs | Uses Muay Thai in and . | |||
| Jacqui Briggs | Daughter of Jax Briggs, she utilizes a more Muay Thai-oriented fighting style in Mortal Kombat 11. | [47] [48] | |||
| Virtua Fighter | Vanessa Lewis | In Virtua Fighter 4, Vanessa Lewis used both Vale Tudo and Muay Thai move sets until Brad Burns was added in , making her solely a Vale Tudo fighter. | [49] | ||
| Brad Burns | Italian Thaiboxer who debuted in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. | [50] | |||
| Tekken | Bruce Irvin | Debuted in Tekken 2. | [51] [52] | ||
| Bryan Fury | Debuted in Tekken 3. Kickboxer who utilizes trademark Muay Thai moves in his arsenal. | ||||
| Debuted in Tekken 7 as DLC. Massive Muay Thai fighter. Upon his unveiling in 2019, he was compared to Street Fighter's Sagat. | [53] [54] | ||||
| Josie Rizal | Debuted in Tekken 7. Spiritual successor to Bruce Irvin, who fights with a Filipino variant of Muay Thai known as Yaw-Yan, combined with elements of Arnis. | [55] [56] | |||
| Mimics, like Mokujin and Unknown | Unknown in the Tekken series can use any of the techniques of the other players, including the Muay Thai moves of Bruce Irvin and Mokujin. | ||||
| Dead or Alive | Zack | Introduced in Dead Or Alive. Zack uses self-learnt Muay Thai style. | [57] [58] | ||
| World Heroes | Shura (Naikanom Tom) | Debuted in World Heroes 2, he is based on the Nai Khanom Tom, a legendary figure in the historicity of Muay Thai. | |||
| Fighter's History, Karnov's Revenge | Samchay Tomyamgun | ||||
| Ehrgeiz | Prince Naseem/Doza | ||||
| Eternal Champions | R.A.X. Coswell | R.A.X. Coswell is an American cyber-kickboxer from 2345 AD. His trainer programmed a virus into his R.A.X. exoskeleton software to ensure he lost an important match. Coswell died during the match as a result. | [59] | ||
| Battle K-Road | Shinsaku Maekawa and John Anderson | [60] | |||
| League of Legends | Lee Sin | ||||
| Granado Espada | Irawan | ||||
| The Bouncer | PD-4 | ||||
| World of Fighting (freeware) | Ananda | ||||
| Battle Arena Toshinden | Chaos[61] | ||||
| Shaolin vs Wutang (1 & 2) | Muay Thai is one of the 30 available fighting styles in the game. | ||||
| Sleeping Dogs (video game) | Wei Shen | In the Zodiac Tournament Pack DLC the game introduces 12 Fire Opal Statue collectibles. Collection of all 12 statues unlocks two outfits, one of which is a traditional Muay Thai outfit. When equipped, Wei's fighting style then switches to Muay Thai. | |||
| Judgment (video game) and its sequel Lost Judgment | Toru Higashi | Higashi is one of the protagonist's companions who fight by his side in several instances, most notably during the Long Battle sequences towards the end of the games. His moveset features elements from both Muay Thai and Tae Kwon Do. |