Happy Nai Khanom Tom day from all of us here at Tiger Muay Thai!
Nai Khanom Tom is a legendary figure in Thai history, and widely regarded as the father of Muay Thai.
Nai Khanom Tom was one of the thousands of prisoners being held by the Burmese following the fall of the old Thai capital of Ayutthaya in 1767. The Burmese king heard that he was a renowned fighter and organized a competition between Nai Khanom Tom and a Burmese boxinng champion, offering Nai Khanom Tom and the rest of the Siamese (Thai) prisoners freedom if he could win.
Nai Khanom Tom quickly knocked out the Burmese champion, leading the Burmese king to send in 9 more of his fighters, one after the other, to try and beat Nai Khanom Tom.
After knocking them all out, Nai Khanom Tom and the rest of the Thai prisoners were freed and he was then enlisted by the Siamese king to teach his fighting style to the Siamese army, eventually leading to the Muay Thai we know and love today. Every year on March 17th, all of Thailand pays respect to this great warrior