Sports : Muay Thai

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Muay Thai Contender must do sport justice

By JULIAN TURNER

I'll be watching the premiere of the Muay Thai version of boxing reality show The Contender tonight with real trepidation. The show is called The Contender Asia and will be aired on TrueVisions' AXN channel (D25, A19) at 10pm.

It features the same format as the boxing version, with 16 Muay Thai fighters living together and then battling it out to win the overall title.

The series was filmed in Singapore and there are two Thais on the show, as well as Europeans and Australians.

Looking at the line-up, Lumpini Stadium and WBC champion Yodsaenklai Fairtex is my bet to win the title and 7.4 million baht prize money.

Team challenges will play a part in the show and plenty of air-time will be devoted to the fighters' personalities.

This is one aspect which I fear could exploit the competitors, especially the Thais on the programme.

While some of the American boxers on the The Contender were quick to shoot off their mouths and generally make fools of themselves, this is thankfully not a part of Muay Thai culture in this country.

The vast majority of Muay Thai fighters are quiet, considered individuals with a great respect for the history of the sport.

They may be ferocious fighters inside the ring but they are also gentlemen outside the ropes.

Trash-talking is unheard of between fighters in Thailand and the wish to avoid unnecessary confrontation is paramount.

I wonder whether the producers of The Contender Asia will have been prepared to accept this cultural difference while filming the show.

I hope they haven't tried to spice things up for the sake of it while dragging Muay Thai down into the gutter in the process.

The American boxing version of The Contender often makes for sickly viewing with the pugilists filmed in staged meetings with their families while they make sentimental statements about what they are fighting for.

Do we really need to hear every boxer say that they are doing it for their family and the future?
I'm sure you would get the same statement from most people who work, whether they beat people up or flip burgers to get a salary.

However, my biggest gripe with The Contender has always been that the actual fights at the end of the show are edited into a movie-like montage peppered with replays and enhanced sound effects.

Seemingly, the producers felt viewers were incapable of watching and appreciating a fight in its entirety after building up the matches throughout the show.

This practice totally devalues the fights, as though they aren't good enough without being changed into some grotesque homage to a Rocky film.

It is impossible to know if the scoring rings true without being able to see every second of the action.

It is also easy for the producers to create a false impression if they show the same punch landing over and over from different angles accompanied with loud sound effects.

This is one reason why I hope The Contender Asia is modelled more on the mixed martial arts reality show called The Ultimate Fighter (which is also shown on AXN).

The Ultimate Fighter screens the full fights at the end of each episode, no matter what happens in them.

Some of the matches are exciting while some are tedious but we need to see the whole thing to make an informed judgement on what is going on.

The Contender Asia has the potential to be a great international platform to boost the popularity of Muay Thai.

But it needs to hit the right balance between entertainment and respect for the sport.

If it doesn't come up to scratch then you might be better off at Lumpini or Ratchadamnoen stadium watching the real thing.

Source : Bangkokpost ; Wednesday January 16, 2008