Young Kids’ kickboxing in Thailand.
= In
Thailand, young kid’s kickboxing is flourishing.
Fights are of extreme violence, similar to the
traditional Thai boxing, a martial art called
Muay Thai.
Young kids, under 10, featherweight are recruited
and trained to fulfil their own dreams and the
ambitions of the parents: to become a champ. And
for a few it can be a springboard out of poverty
without going through prostitution or drug, a way
to help their family to live with dignity.
Kids are sent to live and train in camps, which
become their second family, and every month the
earnings won through the fights are sent back
home.
Training is exhausting. Dream is followed by
sweat, effort and kicks. Everyday after school,
the kids train for hours, with determination,
under the guidance of the elders, former boxers
themselves. In Bangkok where former champs
created a camp inside a slum, or all over the
provinces from the southern islands to the east,
the elder pass their knowledge to the
youngest.