From Thailand to North America

by Scott Hirano

Professional Muay Thai fighter Thanit "Boom" Whattanaya of Canada recently did an excellent interview with milkbltzstreetbomb.com that gave insight into his life, both as a fighter and family man. I wanted to continue in that line of inquiry, as Boom proved to be an excellent archetype, as well as being articulate on his experience, of the Thai fighter in Thailand, now in North America.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE HOW YOUR UPBRINGING AFFECTS YOUR WILL TO SUCCEED IN MUAY THAI?

My will to succeed comes from my upbringing. I owe my family a better life. I saw my mom and dad live a difficult life -- no money, not enough food, and the clothing we wore were hand-me-downs. All my brothers drank and had been arrested. We sold our land to pay to get them out of jail. Our parents, nevertheless, still were loving with us. My mom always worried about my brothers, never knowing if they would come home safe. I felt bad for my parents and decided to be a very good kid and help them. I wanted to make money so my parents could eat good food, wear new clothes, and build them a house.

The first time I saw my brother fight for money I was very young. I saw the other kids fighting too and they were able to make money. I wanted to do this too, but my dad didn't want this life for me. There was no gym, trainer, or equipment in my village so I had to work even harder to get the few fights I had while at home.

I eventually made my way to Bangkok where I was able to both work and fight full-time. It was exciting to be able to provide for my family and make them as proud as possible, while hoping to become a Muay Thai champion.

Two of my brothers work in factories, one on a farm, and one is dead. I'm the youngest and the people in the village say I am the last hope for my family to have a proud name.

DO YOUR CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES -- FAMILY LIFE, WORKING A JOB NOT RELATED TO MUAY THAI -- AFFECT YOUR MOTIVATION IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN YOUR UPBRINING HAS?

Having a child has given me more responsibilities and has increased my motivation to train even harder; I want to provide my daughter a better life than I've had. Muay Thai for me is about family and my wife allows me to focus on my goals in the sport because of this. She's the most supportive person to me. When I was little my parents never wanted me to fight, but now my whole family supports me, which has increased my motivation and desire for success.

Training as a professional fighter and working full-time in manual labor is hard, but I can and have done it for years. In Bangkok, the owner of the gym was my employment boss and my fight manager. I stayed busy mainly making and installing windows. He understood Muay Thai. Sometimes I would work and train from 5am to 11pm, daily; but when a fight was close, he would give me just enough rest. In Canada where I live now, people don't understand Muay Thai or the culture behind it. My current boss always worries I won't make it back to work after a fight. This has me putting in overtime before I leave to compete. I need to work, yet it's difficult to find a boss that understands what I have going on.

Here in Canada I feel more motivated. I'm lucky to be here. In Thailand there are so many fighters it can be difficult to be picked up by a good gym. I'm determined to use this situation to become successful.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES THAT YOU SEE IN THE CULTURE AND LIFESTYLE OF FIGHTERS HERE IN NORTH AMERICA AND THOSE IN THAILAND?

In Thailand many fighters fight because they want to, while others have no other option. It's a full time job that offers more opportunity than farming or working in the factories. Fighters come from villages, or poor neighborhoods; they aren't educated; and don't have other options. Fighting allows them to send money home to their family and dream about the big time. For Thais, the sport is like playing the lottery; you have a real chance to make something of yourself.

In Thailand fighters respect the owner of the gym and their trainers like family. They sleep, eat, and train at their gym like it's their home. All fighters are friends and everyone respects each other. Nobody trash talks and all fighters are treated equal and are grateful for their opponents. This is part of Muay Thai culture in Thailand. In America, people want to advertise the fights well, so you'll often see "trash talk" as a part of this. I understand why this happens, but it's not a part of Muay Thai culture.

Fighters in America can chose to fight and do so out of love for the sport. Many of them are very educated and have degrees. In Thailand, this is rarely the case; after being a successful fighter people will help you get a career, but all fighters come from poverty.

I feel here in North America retired fighters have a better future than those in Thailand. They can work in gyms, help with promotions, or just go back to work. In Thailand, trainers make very little money and a lot of retired fighters have drinking problems. Because of the lack of education, fighters who are finished fighting don't know what to do. Many go back home to farm or end up in the factories.

Politics in fighting is common in both of these regions, but in Thailand it affects the fighters less. There are always fights, which allows for steady income even if you don't become champion. If you train hard and fight good, you'll always be able to fight. This is because of how active gamblers are in the sport; gamblers keep the sport alive. In North America, I feel the fighters are very affected by politics, which can make it difficult to get fights. Getting fights is all about selling tickets here, but with more television exposure, the sport will grow.

In Thailand, every fighter can do the Wai Kru and do so before they fight. When I perform mine, I do it for my family and my teachers. Many promotions here in North America don't allow time for it due to time constraints, but it feels incomplete not to have it. It's a very important part of the sport.

It's difficult to compare the two regions, because Thailand and North America are so different - different culture, lifestyle, and economics, but if everyone involved in the sport loves Muay Thai, we will see it grow.