What are those muay thai ropes fighters use to wrap their hands and what is the purpose of the hand rope wraps in muay thai?
The distinct muay thai rope wraps made their debut in modern popular culture in the 1989 Van Damme movie – Kickboxer. In this iconic scene shorter hand ropes were used and they dipped into glue and broken glass for further cinematic effect.
More recently Tony Jaa in the movie Ong Bak and Matt Murdoch aka Daredevil Season 3 also made use of the muay thai hand ropes.
The practice of wrapping a boxers hands in rope comes from muay boran which is also known as ‘Ancient Boxing’ or the form from which muay thai later developed in the 1920’s.
The hand ropes used are known as kard cheuk.
Though they have their history in muay boran and thai boxing prior to the modernization of muay thai rules and regulations, fights still take place today utilizing the muay thai hand ropes or kard cheuk.
However kard cheuk fights are much less common in comparison to standard muay thai fights with boxing gloves.
Origins of Kard Cheuk – Muay Thai Hand Ropes
Prior to the introduction of standardized rule and regulations including the use of the boxing ring and protective gear such as gloves, muay Thai made use of the kard cheuk or hemp hand ropes.
In old Thailand styles of boxing or forms of muay boran were differentiated based on geographical area with the different regions of Thailand having distinct styles of boxing.
As such each region or style had different methods of wrapping the kard cheuk or muay thai hand ropes.
Different Muay Thai Ropes Hand Wrapping Styles in Thailand
The origins of muay thai are traced back to muay boran (ancient boxing).
Yet muay boran itself is an overarching term that covered many different style of boxing from different geographical regions in Thailand.
Each of the different styles of muay boran had different ways of utilizing the muay thai ropes or kard cheuk.
Muay TahSao from North Thailand was known for agile movements and fast kicks. Thus the muay thai ropes were longer to cover more of the forearms and thicker to be able to block kicks as well.
Muay Chaiya from Southern Thailand placed emphasis on low level kicks, with short, precise trajectories. In Chaiya the wrists needed to be well protected as well in order to absorb and deliver elbow attacks.
Muay Korat from North-East Thailand specialized in powerful punches and strong kicks and the kard cheuk was wrapped to also cover the forearms in order to block kicks.
Muay Lopburi from Central Thailand was known for aggressive punching and quick, evasive footwork. Due to the focus on punching and hand techniques only the hands were wrapped in the kard cheuk.
Purpose of Muay Thai Ropes – Kard Cheuk
Much like modern day boxing hand wraps and taping of the hands under boxing gloves or MMA gloves, the purpose of the muay thai hand ropes is to provide protection for the hands and support for the wrist.
Protection and support for the bones of the hand is particularly important for boxers who make a living with their hands and so need to keep them healthy.
However, unlike the modern day hand wraps which are mainly for protection of the wearers hands, the kard cheuk/muay thai hand ropes were also used to inflict damage on opponents.
The hand wraps were tied in a specific and strategic way with knots at the knuckles in order to cut and damage an opponent.
The practice of wrapping the boxers hands with the old hemp ropes is know as muay kard chuek.
Muay being the Thai word for boxing as in muay thai or muay boran. And kard cheuk is the traditional hemp rope that was used.
What are the muay thai hand ropes made from?
Originally the kard cheuk were composed of hemp rope or threaded pieces of hemp cloth.
Hemp rope was a favored material as it is more abrasive and could more easily cut an opponent as well as being tougher in order to provide better protection and blocking of an opponents strikes.
Following the binding the hands were dipped into water in order to harden and tighten the hand ropes.
Contrary to the movies and popular belief, the hands were not dipped into glass or broken shells.
Muay Thai Hand Ropes in Modern Boxing
In Lethwei or Burmese bare knuckle boxing hand wraps are still used instead of gloves.
Thai boxing promotions such as Thai Fight today also have events with boxers wearing the kard cheuk. The YouTube video above shows a Thai Fight promotion with the fighters using the traditional kard cheuk.
The traditional rope hand wraps are also used by Thai boxers today more in performance and for preserving tradition at festivals and holidays.
However today the material is more of a softer rope bind than the traditional abrasive hemp rope.
Fighting with Kard Cheuk Compared to Gloves
Female nak muay and very accomplished fighter, Sylvie Von Douglas-Ittu was only the second ever Western woman to fight muay thai using the traditional rope hand wraps in Thailand.
She shares her experiences fighting with the kard cheuk (she has over 300 fights to date in Thailand) and states:
“Getting hit by ropes definitely has a bit more sting to it than do gloves… But hitting someone with the rope wraps feels awesome, mostly because it feels so much like a bare fist. In a glove, the impact gets spread throughout the padding and then kind of into your hand and arm, so it feels like a general impact. In ropes it feels really accurate. Like touching your foot through a shoe versus touching your foot through just the sock. It’s more defined. “
She shares her full experience on her blog which you can read through the link here :
Old School Kard Cheuk Rules with Rope Wraps
Old school kard cheuk rules follow the same type of rule as in Lethwei aka Burmese bare knuckle boxing with a winner only declared after a KO.
If a fight goes the distance then it is declared a draw.
Sylvie explains in her post above that her kard cheuk fight was declared a draw after going the distance and she didn’t even know they were using these old school rules.
Apparently her opponent was aware of the rules and went for elbows to cut Sylvie and look for a Doctor stoppage or TKO due to bad cuts.
You will notice at the end of the fight (see video link below) that the referee raised both fighters arms in a draw soon after the final bell without looking at the judges as per old school kard cheuk rules.
However in promotions such as Thai Fight, regular muay thai rules, scoring and judging is used with only difference being the use of traditional hand ropes instead of gloves.
Why Dont We See Kard Cheuk Used Regularly Today?
The main reason for kard cheuk fights being less common these days is due to the higher possibility for potential injuries – both for the opponent and the puncher.
Muay thai fighters today fight so regularly as a form of income and so they need to keep their hands protected.
Cuts requiring stitches may take weeks to heal and thus will also keep a boxer out of the ring for an extended period which is not good for building up reputation and earning money.
However in Burmese bare knuckle boxing or Lethwei the hand wraps are still used in all fights. This is due to the tradition that is preserved in Burma or Myanmar today.
The rules are also different in Lethwei with the allowance of injury timeouts to allow a boxer to recover after a KO and continue to fight if they wish.
However in muay thai the standard boxing gloves are the norm and the kard cheuk or muay thai rope wraps are only used in special fights/occasions or by promotions such as Thai Fight.
Wow! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a completely different
subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Excellent choice of
colors!