Staporn Tasiri
P. 5, Ban Mae Yang Yuang School
Rong Kwang District, Phrae

Thai boxing is a very demanding sport physically. It is also a very painful sport. Although the fists are gloved, bare feet, sharp elbows, and hard knees are also used to inflict injuries on opponents.

At the tender age of 13, Staporn Tasiri has launched himself on the path to professional Thai boxing, earning 200 baht per fight.

The money earned in the square ring is used to support his education.

Staporn is a student at the Ban Mae Yang Yuang School in the arid, impoverished district of Rong Kwang in Phrae. He is only one of many poor students attending the dusty school.

The age of 13, Staporn has already learned much from life's school of hard knocks. His parents are separated and he has not met either of them for quite some time. He had a brief and bad experience with drugs, but managed to pull himself back from the brink and now uses all his time and energy for sports.

Lucklily for Staporn, he had always been keen on sports - he is very fond of takraw and is a member of the school football team - and it is perhaps fitting that it was sports which saved him from drugs. After falling into a habit of drug abuse, he realised that it was having an adverse effect on his athletic performance.

He now lives with a married uncle who has two children of his own. The uncle runs a boxing camp and the young Staporn soon found himself first punching and kicking at the sand bags, then sparring with some of the boxing hopefuls. It was not long before he was lured into the ring for a 200 baht prize money which means a lot to him. Staporn gives all his prize money to his uncle who in turn looks after him and gives him training.

For the future, Staporn said he wanted to be a policeman - for the simple reason that it will provide him with a regular salary. He now gets 2-3 baht a day to take to school. He also wants to continue boxing - and perhaps one day become famous and successful.