Originally Posted by chalambok

The wai kru before the ram muay is to honor your religion (whatever it is), your country, your family and your teacher(s) and/or someone who has passed away. It is designed to take any thought of yourself out of the equation. If a fighter or student is antsy doing this, he obviously is thinking of how uncomfortable he is, and thinking of himself. In other words, not really getting into it. The ram muay, or fight dance, is done to warm up and stretch all the muscles used in fighting, to check out the surface and the area boundaries, and to see where enemy and friend may be. Claims have been made that it is a form of movement meditation. Many camps have their traditional ram muay which may have been done for generations. Newer camps sometimes let their fighters do a personalized ram muay; and some fighters develop their own preferences. It is all personal choice, so whether or not you do the wai kru and ram muay is pretty much up to you. I have seen fights where one fighter's ram muay was so long the other fighter grew cold and angry, and consequently was mentally a loser before the fight even started. I think if you want to play the game, go whole hog and learn a ram muay.