Mark Jacobs 
February 6, celebrated as Muay Thai Day in Thailand, was marked by a Guinness world record as 3,660 participants joined together to perform the world’s largest mass wai kru ceremony. The wai kru is the traditional pre-fight dance Thai boxers execute prior to their bouts and Monday thousands of Thai military cadets, university students and other volunteers, clad in traditional muay Thai regalia, gathered en masse for the record-breaking performance at Rajabhakti Park in the Hua Hin district.
Lead by the renowned fighter, Buakaw Banchamek, the performance was witnessed by the Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who’s ruled the country since seizing power in a 2014 military coup. Muay Thai Day coincides with the celebration of the coronation of King Sanphet VIII of Ayutthaya in 1703. Known as “the Tiger King,” Sanphet is popularly considered the father of muay Thai.
The record-breaking performance culminated the three-day “Amazing Muay Thai Festival 2023” staged under the auspices of the Royal Thai Army. It also comes at a time when Thailand has been engaged in a controversial spat with neighbor Cambodia over the use of the Cambodian term “kun Khmer,” rather than “muay Thai,” at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games.
News, Muay boran, Muay thai kickboxing, Muay thai
Black Belt Magazine
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