Interview with Panya Kraitus (May 2001)

In April and May 2001, Acharn Panya Kraitus came to Canada and conducted seminars across Canada on Muay Thai. In the first 26 days of his visit, Acharn Panya performed an astounding 20 seminars in 4 provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba). Requests were received to have him perform seminars in Ontario and Quebec. "The small amount of time Acharn Panya had was not enough to satisfy the demand for workshops from him here in Canada. He will be back again soon, (and is coming back at the end of October through November 2001)" said student and representative Mike Miles. The remaining 10 days of his visit was spent working strictly with the competitive athletes who fight out of Mike Miles National Kickboxing & Muay Thai.
Acharn Panya will be opening a new camp in Thailand which will be open to foreigners to come and train as well as participate in fight events on a weekly schedule. "People wanting more information about his camp, etc., can contact me and I will get them in touch with Acharn through the appropriate channels," said Mike Miles.
Acharn Panya did numerous television interviews as well as being interviewed for many top Martial Arts magazines here and abroad. Some of the interviews will be available in Canada through Action Martial Arts magazine, Martial Arts Alberta magazine, Muay Thai Online website, and Mike Miles National Kickboxing & Muay Thai website.

Here are some of the questions and answers from an Acharn Panya Kraitus Interview:

Kru Mike Miles: Who is your favorite Muay Thai athlete of all time and why?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: Poot Lorlek, because when he fought he was smart and he fought to avoid getting hurt. He fought using his brain. He used smart tactics and not just his power. He used his eyes to watch his opponent and he used his ears to listen to his trainer all of the time. The first time he sparred with Pudparnoi Worawoot he lost. He could not beat Pudparnoi so he was upset and he sat down and he cried. But he trained hard and listened to his teacher and he developed so he could finally beat Pudparnoi in sparring. They never really fought each other because both athletes were from the same camp. Both were under the control of promoter Chana Chubkaew from Lumphini Stadium. I liked Poot Lorlek’s fighting style. When he fought he feared his body could get hurt so he hit first. With this thought in his mind he learned to move faster than his opponent.

Kru Mike Miles: You lineage is impeccable in Muay Thai. Can you tell us a little about your background in Muay Thai?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: In my lifetime I have had 3 important teachers in Muay Thai. My first teacher was Kru Thavorn Kiangkaew from Samanmith Camp. He taught me how to punch because his left punch was very heavy. When we sparred and he hit me it hurt, so I learned how to protect from his punch or any heavy punch. My second teacher was Kru Sudjai Jarunruth of the Kessongkram Camp. He taught me how to kick. My third teacher was Ajarn Kyet Sriyapai from the Chua Chaiya Camp. Acharn Kyet taught me the elbow and knee. His lineage was very respected as his teacher was Kru Kimseng Taveesithi. If you know Thai history, and more so of the Royal family, he was a very important and respected Muay Thai teacher. My teachers were all good teachers and they never taught bad people. Acharn Kyet taught me to make sure I also teach good people. I now check all of my students before I give them important knowledge.

Kru Mike Miles: Who do you think has the best fighters other than the Thai’s and why?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: In my opinion, no one right now. Now Muay Thai fighting looks like handicapped Muay Thai. I do not think who is the best Muay Thai boxers now. When I compare today to 10 or 20 years ago, the athletes of old are better then than now. Camp owners nowadays do not know as much about the tactics and techniques of Muay Thai like in the old days. The owners of camps now know more about business. When business and gambling came to the forefront, to me real Muay Thai was gone. I feel new promoters do not think about building new good names in Muay Thai or how to make the boxers better. I feel they only think about how to make more money. This is the reason some boxers who have been retired for several years are brought back to fight again because promoters can not find good fighters. I also think right now it is difficult to find good boxers (from Thailand) who weigh more than 60 kilograms (132 lbs.).

Kru Mike Miles: What has made you reconsider opening a camp after not having run one for so long?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: I receive letters from people in many countries, sometimes they are faxed to me, and sometimes people phone to my mobile talking about them wanting to come and learn Muay Thai from me. I have gone to other countries to teach seminars but they usually have small groups of participants. Some people want me to come but they can not pay the fees (airfare, hotel, food, etc.) for me to come because they can not find enough people to participate in my Muay Thai seminars. Some people who want to learn have no camps or not enough people, so they can not afford to have me come and do a seminar, so they continually ask me if they can come to Thailand and learn from me. Now my friend is the owner of a building and he wants me to join with him to open a school. Although in my heart I want to open a school in my home province (Phuket), I would have to pay a lot of money to build up a camp there right now. The economy in my country is not good right now so I do not think this will be a smart move at this time. It will be far too expensive for me. I think it is better that I want to worry about teaching students real Muay Thai and not worrying about how I will come up with the money to build the camp in Phuket.

Kru Mike Miles: Has anything else affected Muay Thai negatively in Thailand? Acharn Panya Kraitus: A problem is that there is now a new ‘Muay Thai Law’ in my country. The owners of camps now have rules and regulations as to what is needed in each camp. For example in the old days of the ‘real’ camps, a tree with a bag hanging on it was good enough. Nowadays, an owner of a new camp does not allow owners of the camp to teach the athletes. You now must have trainers who have ID cards from the government. Older established camps still have owners who still teach, but this is no longer allowed in new camps. Boxers now make more money but the camp does not make as money as before. For example, with Muay Thai Law, if boxers fight for less than 5,000 Baht, the camp gets nothing from the match. There is a limit that boxers must get paid before the purse is split 50/50. This is no longer fair for the camps.

Kru Mike Miles: How does the training in Thailand differ from that in North America?

Acharn Panya Kraitus: Boxers in Thailand do not work. They train and fight full time. Athletes train 2 times a day. But this is because of a different culture, and different influences. Boxers in this country have to worry about getting hurt when they train. If they get hurt they can not

Kru Mike Miles: Have you seen a loss of tradition in Muay Thai over the years? If so, how do you feel about this?

Acharn Panya Kraitus: I feel bad. I hope they will make it look like Muay Thai from 50 years ago. I want to look at real Muay Thai coming back again before I die.

Kru Mike Miles: How has this affected Muay Thai? Acharn Panya Kraitus: Now there are many older people (50 years old and up) who know real Muay Thai, but they do not want to join with the Muay Thai society because they think that this is not good. This is because gambling has come to the forefront of the sport and has affected the art. Gambling is controlled by other people (bad people) and this is not good for Muay Thai. I think it has turned many old masters away from the art and sport of Muay Thai.

Kru Mike Miles: Why are you not referred to as a Grand Master?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: I think my teacher was a lot better than I. I can not upgrade my name to look like my teacher. For me I think being a small teacher is better for me. I know how I can teach and change boxers styles for fighting successfully in Muay Thai. I know how to teach Muay Thai for self defense. Being a fighter is better for me. I prefer to keep a smaller or low profile. My teacher Acharn Kyet Sriyapai never said he was a Grand Master. After he died, then people called him a Supreme Master. Again, I have never thought that I am better than my teacher.

Kru Mike Miles: As Muay Thai has become more global, there has been an introduction of many new teacher titles. How do you feel about this?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: Normally to become a Grand Master, the title is given to you after you die. If you want to make money, all right, you can put yourself to be a Grand Master. If you think you will sell Muay Thai for a business, than you can call yourself a Grand Master. For me, no. Kru Mike Miles: Were you a boxer?

Kru Mike Miles: Were you a boxer?

Acharn Panya Kraitus: When I went to learn with my teacher Acharn Kyet, he told me to forget about my prior history because he wanted me to learn everything over again. He wanted me to think I was only a leaf on the tree, not knowing it was part of the tree. He told me after I learned with him and because I did not fight in his camp, it was a very difficult lesson from him to state to people I never fought (even though I had). My teacher taught me that silence is golden when you can not give a good answer.

Kru Mike Miles: Why did you not become a professional boxer in one of the main stadiums?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: My mother did not like me fighting so I did it privately. I kept it away from my parents and more-so, from my mother. If I would have went to Bangkok full time, my mother would have known and she would have been very angry. So I was happy to be able to fight secretly without having my mother angry or worrying.

Kru Mike Miles: What technique or weapon were you known for or what was your favorite technique
Acharn Panya Kraitus: I liked to use the elbow (which is indicative to southern Thailand boxers).

Kru Mike Miles: Where around the world have you taught Muay Thai?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, USA, France, Holland, England, Canada, and in a few other countries like Singapore. I have enjoyed teaching in Canada the most though England was also very enjoyable.

Kru Mike Miles: What do you hope for the future of Muay Thai?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: I'm not sure how many years it will take but I would like to see Muay Thai competition in the Olympic Games. But before that I would like to see outside countries both practising and understanding Muay Thai, as it was supposed to be practised and understood.

Kru Mike Miles: How do you feel about some promoters bringing back older boxers to fight?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: There are not enough good boxers who are heavier in weight. This is why I believe old boxers are brought back to fight again. I do not think this is a good idea because when these boxers lose, Thailand loses credit.

Kru Mike Miles: Muay Thai goes in cycles, up and down in popularity and skill; where do you think Muay Thai stands as of today in Thailand?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: Most of the good camps have closed now. Before Thailand had Charoenmuang, Ketsongkram, Chua Chaiya, Muangsurin, and Yontarakit Camps. They all had to close because they did not have money to run their camps. The problem is a lot of these camps knew how to teach and train Muay Thai but they did not know enough about business. If you do not have money now, you can not run your camp, only rich men and millionaires can. Many years before Muay Thai did not have as many camps. For example 30 years ago there were only about 30 camps in Bangkok. There were also not a lot of promoters. At that time promoters also had camps too and they promoted other camps too. Nowadays, we have lots of promoters but some only promotes camps under their control. If other camps do not have the back up of promoters, boxers can not go to the ring because nobody promotes them.

Kru Mike Miles: What do you think about all the different sanctioning bodies worldwide? Is there any sanctioning body you favor over the others? And if so, why?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: I do not want to talk about organizations. I think many have their own reasons for having their sanctioning bodies. Muay Thai is important for me and that is all.

Kru Mike Miles: Do you get lots of people wanting to learn the 7 deadly secret moves from you?
Acharn Panya Kraitus: Yes, from all over the world. I have had thousands of letters, faxes, and phone calls from people wanting to learn this from me. In some ways it makes me happy but I always must be careful who I teach. I must make sure they are a good person, because I do not want to give the knowledge to bad people. I have only taught a few people these tactics. I am not in a rush to teach a lot of other people them.

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