Muay thai fighters are still better than those in Laos," says Vientiane-based kickboxing coach Kampanad Xunlavong. "Until recently there was nobody supporting the sport here, no television deals, no sponsorship at all. Competition prize money is still not enough for a Laotian kickboxer to live on, especially if they stay in Laos. All of the boxers I know have other jobs, and they come to me in the evening to train."
Still, regular professional fights do take place now in Vientiane, and numerous amateur matches are held during countryside festivals. It’s common to see Laotian pugilists come together on the banks and sand flats of the Mekong to compete in impromptu bouts whenever there's money to be made.
Indeed, with Laos now developing rapidly, so the standard of muay lao is improving too. One only has to look at the number of shiny new SUVs on the streets of Vientiane to see how the local economy is taking off. A growing number of well-trained Laotian boxers routinely make the journey across the Mekong to compete against their Thai counterparts, inspiring more youngsters to take up the sport.
"You know, it's a bit of a stereotype that the Lao people are a gentle, lackadaisical race," says Stephen Parker, a Vientiane-based Australian expat working for the Asian Development Bank. "Put a Laotian boxer in the ring and he wants to win. The passion, the pride, the naked aggression is all there. After seeing my first competitive muay lao fight here I realized these guys don't hold back."
- See more at: http://www.beijing-visitor.com/laos/muay-lao-kick-boxing-laos#sthash.p38sHr43.dpuf