A True Master

[chalambok]

I have a friend. Over 50 years now. That seems like forever. But anyway, my friend knows I love the martial arts. He has pretty consistently over the years hinted at becoming a student. I always say "No." Why, you say? He has a steady job so he could afford classes. He would come regularly, and probably work hard. But still I say "No." In the fifty years I have known him I have never seen him get in a fight. He married the first girl he ever dated. After graduating from college, he went to work the same place he works now. He has lived in the same house since 1976! He has no problems, loves his life. What does he need the martial arts for? They are an active family; now even his grandchildren. He has been living a happy and productive life, and must surely be considered an asset to humanity. I should take classes from him! Somehow he has come to master what we all seek, the art of nonconfrontation.

[skilzkid]

That's definitely true - we could all only hope to live fulfilling lives, and we could all use a lesson from a guy like that...

However, there is a certain inner peace you can get from running yourself to exhaustion, then throwing strikes at the bags and thai pads, only to completely exhaust yourself with sit-ups, push-ups, and more exercise. Most of the people in our Muay Thai classes have never been in a fight and have no intention of going into the ring, but still keep coming back because it is one of the best physical workouts you can get.

Please don't hurt me for slightly disagreeing

PS - Chalambok - Everyone on the forum mentions that you have a lot experience and knowledge of tradition. I posted a question a month or two ago asking if there was any significance to the color of the mongkon/armbands, and got no response (assuming because no one else knew)...do you know if the color of the mongkon/armbands hold any special meaning??

[Scott Kano]

I still dont reckon you are in a place to deny him trainning. If he wants to do it, he should be allowed to do it. Just because hes got a good life for himself, doesnt mean one day if someone gets him hes goign to egt his way out of it. I reckon it should be up to the individual.

[chalambok]

Okay, I was lying.....No, just kidding. Still know the guy. About the color of the armbands, I am not sure there is any significance at all. I have heard numerous times about how they should be made from the hem of your mother's dress, so I just assumed they might be of every color. But I will ask everyone I know, and report back.

[OctaviousBP]

Mongkong

A good question about the significance of the adornments! This should have a thread of its own... but anyhoo.

I too am rather curious about the mongkong, in particular. I remember reading somewhere that it originated from the Muay Cheuk (sp?) days, and it was actually a snake. The fighters would apparently force the snakes tail down its own throat forming a circle. The shape is known as the "Ouroboros". IIRC, if the mongkong was knocked off, the fighters would stop and allow for the re-affixing of the mongkong. As far as the significance... I haven't the fogiest. I am no Buddhist scholar, (though I have lived in a Buddhist society for quite some time now), and I believe it may have something to do with continuity. The ourobors traditionally symbolizes a continuim, or return to center, which would jive well with Buddhist doctrine. The snake bit is from a book, and I unfortunately cannot source it, as for I can't remember... bummer. Maybe "A Living Legacy"???

I have heard many other things about the mongkong, and am wondering how many are true. There seems to be very little written about this kind of thing, and I'm wondering if that is because of how much tradition differs across the country. I would like to go to the University here in Chiang Mai and read up on it, but I doubt there would be anything in english... and learning to read thai is none to easy...

Some of the things I remember is that:

1) The mongkongs are blessed by local monks in an important ceremony. I have heard that the bigger (perhaps read "more traditional camps") would have the priests write little prayers and sutras written on tiny cotton strips, that would be woven into the actual mongkong.

2) The mongkong is to be blessed at 7 different temples. I think one of the trainers mentioned this here, but I have never heard this before... interesting though.

3) Women are not to touch the mongkong. If they do, all the blessings are washed away.

There's more, but this is all I can remember, and I'm paying by the minute.

D

[JIMI]

Hemmed from your mothers dress? I thought they were supposed to be made out of the panties from the chick you slept with the night before the fight. Wierd?

[chalambok]

At The Buddhai Swan

The mongkons from the Buddhai Swan are woven, rather than the solid-looking ones for muay Thai. Also, the women handled them and, indeed, wore them during the ceremony and, like the men, then pushed it down over their head to wear around the neck during the fight. This is to help prevent the head from being cut off. Supposedly if a Thai Buddhist is beheaded he will not reincarnate. The mongkon were freshly blessed before every demonstration. We were also blessed and sprinkled with holy water. Incidentally, another way to tell a krabi-krabong mongkon from a muay Thai mongkon is to look at the 'tail'. If it splits in two it is for krabi-krabong.