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Research proves Thai youth shows more interest in Western culture than Thai culture
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28.07.2011
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 On 7 July at Bangkok Chada Hotel, Mr. Somchai Sianglai, the Deputy Governor of Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, said in the first national meeting organized by the Department of Cultural Promotion that his department had worked together with researchers to conduct a study aimed at preserving and developing Thai culture which is now being abandoned.
The intention of the study is to make Thai culture become more important to Thai citizens again. The interesting research includes the possibility of building and improving the media that will expose more Thais to muaythai.
This idea has been proposed by the director of Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University, Mr. Chanchai Yomdit, who surveyed a large group of Thais and discovered that the majority of the 1,200 young Thais in his study are obsessed with Western culture, such as the way they greet, dress and speak and even their lifestyle. This is causing Thai culture to dissolve and some people even think that maintaining Thai lifestyle is old-fashioned. This perception also includes Muaythai boxing which is an integral part of Thailand’s cultural heritage.
The Deputy Governor then stated further that the image of muaythai is seen as an act of violence by Thai people. Moreover, they also regard muaythai as a sport for gambling. As a result, they do not support their children learning muaythai but will send their children to practice other kinds of martial arts instead.
On the other hand, muaythai from the viewpoint of many foreigners is regarded as a unique sport and is practiced in many countries outside of Thailand. What is of concern is that the Westerners have adapted the muaythai martial art for self-defense and copyrighted that adapted muaythai martial art as their own to prevent any duplication. This is quite a serious issue because if it keeps going this way, soon the uniqueness of muaythai will be lost as it is adapted into other countrys’ own traditional sport.
Source: Elite Boxing
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