Thailand’s latest ‘soft power’ move- Muay Thai

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Thailand’s tourism authorities are promoting a new Muay Thai campaign to promote the famous Thai sport to the world. Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is world renowned as a uniquely Thai sport. People come from all over the world like to give it a try, whether they want to take it up seriously as a sport or just for fun.

Now, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is teaming up with the World Boxing Council Muay Thai in Thailand’s latest ‘soft power’ move. TAT will support the WBC’s Muay Thai campaigns abroad and produce Muay Thai tourism guides. The goal is to make Thailand a global destination for the sport. This will generate income and growth in the Thai boxing industry.

A number of WBC Muay Thai diamond champions plan to join the campaign as well. These include Petchmorakot Petchyindee and Mehdi Zatout. The Campaign is titled ‘Amazing Muay Thai’.

Muay Thai, a crucial aspect of mixed martial arts training, is coached by some of the world’s most successful fighters. Pads are used during training sessions to keep competitors safe.

In the Sukhothai Dynasty, the first Thai army was trained in Muay Thai to defend the country. The men were trained in both armed and unarmed defense. The increasing awareness of danger between Thailand and its neighboring countries, including Burma and Cambodia, saw the first Muay Thai camps surface at around the same time.

Today, people from across the world compete in the sport.

In the ‘soft power’ scheme, Thai authorities aim to promote the ‘5 Fs’ to the rest of the world. The 5 Fs are. food, films, fashion, fighting (as in Muay Thai), and festivals. The scheme promotes the idea of soft promotion or indirect promotion.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News