4. In the old days, when he fought he would fight on grounds made of pure dirt. They would call it something akin to a “temple fare” with a 4-cornered boxing ring surrounded by rope and all. There would be a referee in each of the 4 corners. They would refer to each round as one “UN” as opposed to one “YOHK”. With regards to counting each round… they would use a one-eyed hard coconut shell, puncture a hole, and place it above water. As soon as the hard coconut shell sunk into the water… the round (or “YOHK” or “UN”) would end and none of the referees inside the ring would have authority to make them fight or anything. In the past… they would honor the fighters and respect their ability to think for themselves by allowing them to choose when to fight, how much they wanted to play deceptively with each other, and to choose how long they wanted to do the “WAI KRU” (or “Teacher Respect Pre-Fight Dance”) ceremony. Suppose that… with regards to the losing side… there were 5 matches and the first match ended with a knockout, they would place the fighter who got knocked out in the second match, third match, fourth match, and fifth match. After fighting for all five matches was completed… the fighter would go back to the first match. They would be asked if they plan to continue to fight or not. A knockout does not mean that the fighter has lost. Back then, the meaning of the word “defeat” means admitting defeat. If a fighter got knocked out and manages to get back up and still wants to continue fighting, then it is possible to do so. This was how boxing competitions were run back in ancient days.
USEFUL TIPS FROM THE TV PROGRAM, “Revealing the Secrets of Muay Chaiya” other episodes