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60 free Muay Thai trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Muay Thai trivia quiz covers Thailand's national sport from the temple-fair legends to the modern stadium circuit. The easy questions are the ones any gym member knows: why it is called the Art of Eight Limbs, what the headband and armbands are called, which two Bangkok stadiums matter most, and which body part a Thai boxer kicks with. From there it moves into the pre-fight ritual, the rope-bound hands of muay boran, King Rama VII's rulebook, and the fighters of the 1980s Golden Age. The hard end covers the paperwork behind the sport: why the IOC insisted on the one-word spelling Muaythai, the year Lumpinee finally let women fight, which foreigners have won a Lumpinee belt, and what Buakaw, Samart, Saenchai and Rodtang each did outside the ring. There is also a short detour through Ong-Bak and Tony Jaa, since most people outside Thailand met the sport at the cinema. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the sport, its stadiums, its governing bodies and its fighters, and each question links to the page that establishes it. Fifty questions, free, with explanations after every answer.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Muay Thai is famously nicknamed the "Art of" how many "Limbs"?
Eight
The eight are the two fists, two elbows, two knees and two shins, all of which are legal striking weapons.
Q 02A Thai boxer is known in Thai by what two-word term?
Nak Muay
Foreigners training in Thailand are sometimes called Nak Muay Farang, literally "foreign boxer".
Q 03What is the name of the headband a Muay Thai fighter wears into the ring before a bout?
Mongkhon
It is traditionally presented by a trainer when the fighter is judged ready to represent the gym, and is removed and placed in the corner after the pre-fight ritual.
Q 04The armbands worn by Muay Thai fighters are called what?
Pra jiad
Their origin story: warriors tied strips of a mother's sarong around their arms for luck before going into battle.
Q 05Which two Bangkok venues are considered the two main stadiums of modern Muay Thai?
Lumpinee and Rajadamnern
Both run their own ranking systems and championship belts, and a Lumpinee or Rajadamnern title is still the most prestigious prize in the sport.
Q 06Which part of the leg are Thai boxers trained to always kick with?
The shin
The foot's many small bones make it a weak weapon; shins are hardened by repeatedly striking pads and heavy bags.
Q 07The pre-fight ritual dance performed in the ring to honour a fighter's teacher is called what?
Wai khru ram muay
Fighters circle the ring counter-clockwise and bow three times at each corner to Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha before the dance begins.
Q 08The movements of the ram muay dance are traditionally said to be based on which figure?
Hanuman
The dance is personal to each fighter and often contains clues about who trained them and where they are from.
Q 09What is the name of the umbrella term for the ancient, pre-1930s unarmed martial arts of Thailand?
Muay Boran
Its rope-bound techniques included grappling and ground fighting that vanished once gloves, rounds and referees arrived.
Q 10Which Thai king modernised Muay Thai in the 1920s-30s with referees, gloves, rounds and Western rings?
Rama VII
Many of the older techniques were banned or became impractical under the new rules, and the old art went into decline.
Q 11Which folk hero, said to have beaten ten Burmese fighters in 1767, is the 'father of Muay Thai'?
Nai Khanom Tom
Scholars now argue the tale is a 20th-century invented tradition built to serve Thai national identity.
Q 12On what date does Thailand stage its annual Muay Thai Day festival and wai khru ceremony?
March 17
The date commemorates a folk legend about a war captive beating ten Burmese fighters, rather than a documented event.
Q 13In 1788 King Rama I arranged a bout between a Siamese royal-guard boxer and men from where?
France
Two French brothers had come to Bangkok seeking a prize fight; the Siamese boxer Muean Phlan evaded the younger one until the elder brother jumped in.
Q 21In which year did Lumpinee Stadium open its doors?
1956
General Praphas Charusathien drove the project; it was the second national stadium after Rajadamnern.
Q 22In 2014 Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium moved to a new home on which thoroughfare?
Ram Inthra
The new venue holds up to 5,000 spectators; the old site is now part of the One Bangkok development.
Q 23Lumpinee Stadium, long closed to women, hosted its first female fight card in November of which year?
2021
The main event saw Sanaejan Sor.Jor.Tongprajin win the WBC Muaythai mini flyweight title by decision.
Who was the first non-Thai fighter to win a Lumpinee Stadium championship, in 1999?
Q 14Which French diplomat recorded in 1687 that fist-and-elbow fighting was an occupation of the Siamese?
Simon de la Loubère
His account appears in Du Royaume de Siam, written during the reign of King Narai.
Q 15Which Ayutthaya-era king reportedly entered a temple-fair boxing contest in disguise in 1702 and won twice?
Suriyenthrathibodi
His prize was one baht fifty satang, after which he got back on his boat and returned to Ayutthaya.
Q 16The traditional rope-binding of the hands used before gloves were adopted is known as what?
Khat chueak
Knots over the knuckles made strikes more abrasive; gloves and foot coverings were adopted after a death in the ring.
Q 17Where was Siam's first permanent boxing ring built in 1921?
Suan Kulap College
It was used for both muay and British boxing, both of which were on the school's curriculum.
Q 18Which prime minister ordered the construction of a national boxing stadium on Rajadamnern Avenue in 1941?
Plaek Phibunsongkhram
World War II shortages halted the work for years; once it resumed, the stadium was finished in only four months.
Q 19Rajadamnern Stadium held its first boxing match in December of which year?
1945
The original stadium was open-air and resembled a Roman amphitheatre; a concrete roof was added in 1951.
Q 20Lumpinee Boxing Stadium is run by which organisation?
The Royal Thai Army
All proceeds go to the Army Welfare Department, and the board is made up entirely of army officers.
Morad Sari
Ramon Dekkers, perhaps the most famous foreigner in Lumpinee history, never actually won the belt.
Q 25Which early-1980s Lumpinee lightweight champion reportedly retired because he ran out of opponents?
Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn
He held the belt undefeated for four years.
Q 26Which fighter, the "Muhammad Ali of Muay Thai", also won a WBC super bantamweight boxing title in 1986?
Samart Payakaroon
He knocked out Lupe Pintor for the belt, then between boxing stints released three pop albums with Grammy Entertainment.
Q 27The ring surname "Payakaroon", used by a 1980s Lumpinee great, translates as "Tiger of the" what?
Dawn
Combined with his good looks it earned him the nickname "Jade-faced Tiger".
Q 28Buakaw Banchamek's ring name means what in Thai?
White lotus
He was born Sombat Banchamek in Surin and had his first fight at the age of eight.
Q 29Buakaw became internationally famous by winning which Japanese kickboxing tournament in 2004 and 2006?
K-1 World MAX
His 2006 win over Andy Souwer made him the first man to take the title twice.
Q 30Buakaw's 2010 film was about which Japanese adventurer who became a governor in 17th-century Siam?
Yamada Nagamasa
Saenchai also appeared in Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya, making it a rare film with two Muay Thai greats.