A Fighting Legacy

The long-stretching heritage of Muay Thai is explored in great detail in Adam Wagner’s documentary A Fighting Legacy. Focused on the sport’s presence in the heartlands of America, fighters, trainers and fans all describe how ‘the art of eight limbs’ has come to shape combat sports all over the world.

The documentary centres around the TBA tournament – an annual Thai Boxing event that attracts worldwide competitors. Amidst live footage of fights, the history of how Muay Thai made its way to the US is storied, whilst its influence in shaping the all-conquering MMA craze that exploded in the 1990s is laid bare.

A Fighting Legacy is defined by both detail and decoration. Whilst it is structured around a wide-ranging history of Muay Thai, the film really isn’t one that is suited to newcomers. This is not for a lack of explanation. The interviewees – many of them fighters themselves – provide excellent analysis of what fights consist of as well as where the sport originates from. Their testimonies are inviting and viewers will be confident of their expertise. However the documentary itself meanders too often, featuring long stretches of uninterrupted interview footage overlayed with a forgettable generic backing track. After a while, the words themselves begin to lose meaning as audiences yearn for more visual stimulation. This isn’t the pace of the entire film, but the incidences where it is notable suggests that a harsher edit is needed.

Director Adam Wagner does an impressive job of establishing the context of Muay Thai in America, telling a coherent and relevant story of where it came from and how it has shaped sport – most notably MMA and its largest promotion, the UFC. However, Wagner goes to lengths to demonstrate that Muay Thai is its own art – and an independent sport from its superstar borrower. The TBA competition and its competitors are at pains to show the practices and traditions that surround Muay Thai that stretch back to its Thai origins – such as the presence of music during fights. It is a film that shows respect to its subject and the community immersed in it, and Wagner’s framing allows the viewer to understand why the largest Muay Thai competition in the western hemisphere is of both huge significance and the result of a decades long effort to spread the sport’s reach.

It is fair to say that those familiar with the feel of a stiff gym mat, bruised shins and a tight headband will get more from A Fighting Legacy than the average viewer. It is strong on the technical detail, and filled with informed analysis from fighters whose footage will engage those with an appreciation for combat. Others may find themselves zoning out amidst the intense focus, and might face a fight of their own to keep on track. But for a grassroots project set in an underreported sporting world that has influence stretching all the way to a million-dollar MMA industry, this is an admirable first foray into the ring.