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This is exactly how I see it (mainly based on yours and Sylvies explanations and take on what is happening right now). And it's sad and so hard to explain to people. "They've turned fighting into what they believe fighting should be." Tbh...breaks my heart. I hope it will evolve differently and Sia Boats perspective will gain traction. It's like travelling nowadays....you barely see a difference between countries, same franchised shops and restaurants everywhere. Making it easier for the visitor...sacrificing local culture and traditions that can be hard to understand.

This is a really interesting point. As Westerners (and other non-Thai cultures) import their values into fighting promotions, the kinds of things they want to see expressed and embodied by fighters, then I think it does also stand to reason that meaning of the training and fighting of children and young fighters also changes. The point of Muay Thai, traditionally, is not violence. It's not even aggression. It could be said to be about self-control, and the control over your opponent. If you change the point of fighting, then you have to ask whether this legit is something you would even want children to learn. You don't want to train children or even young fighters to be violent. Right? This is really the source of a lot of the Western misunderstanding of young fighting in Thailand. They've assumed that the purpose of fighting is what fighting is like in their culture. They miss the value-system of Thai fighting. In many ways its the opposite of what they assume. But, once they succeed in changing the Thai value system, so that fighters express different values...then their criticisms start to have more traction. They've turned fighting into what they believe fighting should be.