Thai action star uses mind over muscles

September 9, 2006

BY ESTHER J. CEPEDA Staff Reporter

Like many martial arts, Muay Thai combines bone-crunching maneuvers with fluid, balletlike movement.

The national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai is a more versatile, and by some accounts more brutal, variation on martial arts such as tae kwon do, aikido or kung fu, which are better known to American audiences. It is sometimes called Thai boxing or "The Art of the Eight Limbs." Instead of employing just the fists and feet, a Muay Thai fighter also uses elbows, knees, shins and precise hip movements to land the maximum number of blows on his opponent.

Add that to gravity-defying flips and kicks, and what you have is nothing less than elegantly choreographed carnage. That kind of spectacle is what has made Muay Thai fighter Tony Jaa a huge star in Asia via his movies "Ong-bak" (2003) and "The Bodyguard" (2004).

In his three-star review of "Ong-bak," Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert called Jaa "an acrobat and stunt man in the league of Jackie Chan or Buster Keaton."

In his latest film, "The Protector," Jaa puts those acrobatic moves to good use as Kham, who is avenging the theft of his family's elephants by a notorious Asian gang. Meanwhile, on the trail of the elephants, Kham uncovers a government conspiracy.

Here to promote "The Protector," which opened Friday, Jaa and his manager and translator Gilbert Lim took a break from the action to talk to the Sun-Times about the star's aspirations and inspirations:

Q. How does Muay Thai differ from the martial arts we've seen before?

A. The form of Thai martial arts is a combination of both body and spirit. The spiritual part is the belief, collected from ancient times, that being a good Muay Thai fighter does not just mean being a good fighter -- it includes quality of life, fealty to teachers, mentors or parents, and living a good life.

Q. Why are elephants so revered in Thailand?

A. They are considered a very high-level being, respected almost to the point of being a god. In ancient times, the elephant was used as a warring element. In present times, they are used for special occasions; they're very, very important.

Q. Your family kept elephants for two generations. Do you have elephants now?

A. Yes, two elephants: Flower and Leaf. I've had them since I was young. They are treated as part of the family.

Q. So how do elephants translate into Muay Thai?

A. It's a move. In this film you'll see very obviously the elephant-inspired Muay Thai technique. My hands and legs are used as tusks and trunks.

Q. How do you do such amazing stunts without safety gear in relatively few takes?

A. It's a deliberate decision and takes a lot of time. The preparation took almost a whole month for the scene in "The Protector" where we fight from the ground to the fourth floor.

We set up safety nets for some scenes, some we do without, sometimes everything was going perfect, but the film ran out. It's extremely tiring, but there's no CGI [computer-generated images]. What you see is what you get.

Q. Your father, a Muay Thai boxer, gave you permission to train with your movie idol and eventual mentor Panna Rittikrai. Do you have a protege?

A. No, at the present moment, it's just my crazy self. I'm not too sure when that will happen ... someday. It'll have to depend on how disciplined and willing that person would be. It really takes a lot of effort to be a disciple.

Q. When you started out, you reportedly practiced so hard, you forgot to eat. How are you eating these days?

A. My favorite American food is hamburgers, so I've had a few of those, but whenever I'm really crazy about a certain action or scene I sometimes still do forget to eat.

Q. Since you were 11 years old, you dreamed of being Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee. Do you still have those dreams?

A. Yes. It's quite normal, since I am not as well known, but I'm getting there. Yesterday I was in San Francisco, going through security, and the guard said, "He's the next Bruce Lee."

I take it as a form of pride to imagine it, since they are two of my idols, but I want to establish myself as Tony Jaa. In time, it'll change, but I take it in stride. As long as I believe in what I do, it'll come.