2026 TBA-LA Youth & Adult Scrimmage

INTRODUCTION TO THE TBA-SA

Muay Thai has become the most popular and fastest growing martial arts sport in the world. It originated in ancient Siam at least eight hundred years ago and has become a significant part of combative sports today. Muay Thai is practiced in more than one hundred countries across the world.

Muay Thai is also known as the “Science of 8 Limbs” because the practitioner uses punches, kicks, elbows, and knees which is what distinguishes it from traditional ‘kickboxing’. Not only is Muay Thai an exciting combative sport but the sport requires competitors to be respectful and disciplined.

The TBA-SA (Thai Boxing Association-Sanctioning Authority) began its development in 2006 and is in the WTBA (formerly known as TBA-USA) family. While we are ‘family’ and support each other’s growth, the WTBA and the TBA-SA are legally two separate organizations with different agendas.

Grandmaster Chai established the TBA-USA in 1968 to teach the sport of Muay Thai and to train and certify instructors to further spread the art of his homeland. The TBA-USA legally changed its name to WTBA (World Thai Boxing Association) in 2016. The WTBA is the largest organization teaching Muay Thai worldwide. Currently there are branches in 18 countries with over 25,000 certified instructors. It has been estimated more than 250,000 people worldwide have trained under Grandmaster Chai and/or one of his instructors in the 50+ years he has been teaching the art in the United States.

The TBA-SA was formed to sanction amateur and professional Muay Thai (and “modified” Muay Thai) in the United States. The goals of the TBA-SA are to ensure events are promoted in a professional manner where fighters are treated with respect, ensured a fair and safe environment, and supplied with appropriate safety equipment.

Through an affordable group insurance policy supplied by the TBA-SA, promoters are able to supply reasonable medical coverage. The TBA-SA sanctions both one day events and multi-day tournaments.

The TBA-SA is ran as a Not for Profit organization. All board members are actively involved in training or instructing Muay Thai and/or operate Muay Thai facility. They understand, firsthand, the rules of Muay Thai. Each member has approved the rules and requirements of the TBA-SA and support the importance of positive supervision of amateur and professional Muay Thai events.