Muay Thai continues to grow and expand its reach to an international market with the opening of gyms and schools across the globe.
One country with long-standing ties to Muay Thai is Russia, with many of the country's elite and aspiring Muay Thai athletes making a yearly visit to Thailand to train in the homeland of the sport where they learn the intricacies of the art of eight limbs and then take their knowledge back to Russia where there are hundreds of Muay Thai gyms across the nation.
Earlier this month, a team from the World Boxing Council Muay Thai headquarters in Bangkok hosted a virtual gathering with their counterparts in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, near Moscow.
The meeting, under the banner of the WBC Muay Thai Youth Cares programme, was billed as a workshop to promote youth empowerment by being active in both body and mind, encouraging self thought and improving on personal and interpersonal skills.
The participants in the activity via a video conference included Jade Bhakdibhumi, founder and chairwoman of the WBC Muay Thai Youth Cares; Matthew Deane, a WBC Muay Thai Youth Cares ambassador; Pholritti Phanphakdee, chair of the medical committee of the WBC Muay Thai; Alexey Fursov, representative of the WBC Muay Thai Youth Cares to Russia; Maxim Vinogradov, president of the Muay Thai Federation of Nizhny Novgorod; and Zhelezin Oleg Velerievich, professor of sports medicine of the Russian Union, who lectured the youth how to train Muay Thai safely by using protective equipment.
Yodwicha Kem Muay Thai Gym and Sittichai Sitsongpeenong, two of Thailand's top fighters, were on hand at the Bangkok end to teach the Russians via digital platforms.
The WBC Muay Thai Youth Cares was set up in 2018 to help educate young practitioners of the sport of the importance of using safety equipment when participating in Muay Thai.