Traditional and Modern Sports in Thailand

Temple Fairs and Festivals

The Thai calendar is packed with national holidays and local festivals. These festivals may be religious or in honor of a local hero, to promote seasonal produce, or dedicated to other activities like boat racing and kite flying.

As well as often hosting other events, most wats stage temple fairs. But apart from scheduled major fairs such as the Golden Mount Temple Fair in Bangkok at Loy Krathong, it’s usually a matter of chance whether you encounter one. The sideshows are often as entertaining as the ceremonies with vendors selling food and trinkets, colorful characters like the cross-dressing katoeys, folk music such as likay and lam wong, beauty contests, and who-can-eat-the-hottest-som-tam competitions. Other activities might include cock fighting or Siamese fighting fish contests.

Staged spectaculars aimed at tourists include the sound-and-light, fireworks, and other festivities at the Sukhothai ruins during Loy Krathong in November and during the Khwae River Bridge Week at Kanchanaburi.

Muay Thai and Krabi-Krabong

Thai kick boxing, muay thai, is a national passion. Most provinces have a boxing arena, but the nation’s top two venues are in the capital. Lumpini Stadium has bouts on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and boxing can be seen at Ratchadamnoen Boxing Stadium on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. If you are interested in learning, rather than simply watching, the skills involved in muay thai, then contact the International Amateur Muay Thai Federation, who should be able to recommend suitable gyms and instructors.

Another revered, long-established Thai martial art is krabi-krabong, named “sword-staff” after some of the hand weaponry used. The techniques are taught to ancient standards, although skill and stamina rather than injuries inflicted are now the measures of an accomplished fighter. Demonstrations are often included in tourist cultural shows, and you can learn the intricacies of krabi-krabong at the Buddhai Sawan Fencing School of Thailand.

Trakraw

The acrobatic Southeast Asian sport of takraw is played by young males at seemingly any clear patch of ground in Thailand. The idea is to keep a woven rattan ball in the air using any part of your body except your hands. The players’ extraordinary agility, balletic leaps, and speed of reactions are a revelation to visitors reared on more ponderous sports.

There are elaborate versions emphasizing individual skill, but the classic original style has a team trying to get the ball into a basketball-like net more times in a set period than their rivals. Despite the competitive version, sepak takraw, which resembles volleyball, now being incorporated into the Olympics and Asian Games, professional games are played surprisingly rarely.

Soccer, Rugby, and Snooker

In recent years Thais have developed a feverish enthusiasm for soccer. In 1996 a professional soccer league was introduced. Rugby has also sparked remarkable interest, with established clubs competing in a league and the Hong Kong Sevens. Games are mostly held in Bangkok at the Pathumwan Stadium, Hua Mark Stadiums, Army Stadium, and Royal Bangkok Sports Club.

Thailand is the most successful non-Anglophone country to adopt snooker, which has become hugely popular. Its dangerous association with underground gambling makes it hard for players to emulate champions like James Wattana, though there are some safe clubs around. Thailand hosts world ranking tournaments in March and September.