Your Eyes Will Refuse to Blink...

I could hear the crowd at the Thai boxing arena long before I could see it as I wandered through the night market. The cheers from the crowd seemed to roll over the market like waves and I would later learn were perfectly in rhythm to the punches and kicks being delivered by the fighters. Upon arriving at the entrance, I was immediately engulfed by the bettors, ticket sellers and gawkers. A woman in a boxing jacket easily spotted me under the bright lights and had an easy to follow chart in English that allowed me to pick my seat. I had read that the 2nd class seats were the best but as the woman convincingly remarked, "only the 1st class tickets actually have seats." After paying and receiving a sticker, ticket, DVD, and brochure I was escorted to my seat a few rows from the ring. I had missed the first of the 12 fights that night but the break gave me a chance to take in the activities around me before focusing on the ring. High in the rafters were men wearing sweat-soaked shirts screaming about different odds for the next fight and making hand gestures to communicate to their colleagues across the arena.

The brochure claimed that the action at the Thai boxing stadium would make your eyes refuse to blink and it was easy to keep my eyes glued to the spectacle around you and in the ring. Each fight begins with a sacred dance that I thought gave new meaning to the adage "float like a butterfly." Music played, bets were made and the fighters' family and friends took their seats near the corner of the ring. After a last minute prayer the first of the five rounds would start. Inevitably, the fighters would feel each other out until someone landed a solid punch or kick. By the third round the cheering was deafening and the fighters fed off the adrenaline of the crowd. By the fifth round, although exhausted and often times bleeding, the fighters continued to attack each other. All but one of the fights ended in decisions that even a layman like myself could predict. The fighters, who had danced together before the fight, would not display any of the rage from the fight as they congratulated or consoled each other. The victor would receive his flower necklace and pose for pictures before retiring to the dressing room for more accolades.

The pre-fight dancing

The glory