The 2009 1ST Asian Martial Arts Games

If you are a martial arts aficionado, then perhaps you already know about the latest competition on the international circuit amongst Asian countries. From August 1, 2009 to August 9, 2009 over 44 nations will come together in Bangkok to compete for the 2009 Asian Martial Arts games at a number of indoor stadiums in and near Bangkok.

During the contest, nine martial arts events will be held including Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, Kurash, Muay Thai, Pencak Silat, Taekwondo and Wushu / Kungfu.

With over 112 medals to hand out, it is expected that the top six countries in the Asian games will be China, South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan and Thailand. These look set to be the main nations in the event, with other countries following behind.

Originally planned to be held from April 25 to May 3, the events were postponed thanks to the political crisis at the time, and also the swine flu epidemic. However, thanks to rapid action by the Thai government in containing and handling swine flu, contest organizers, have decided to proceed with the event.

Surprisingly, this year however, Iran pulled out of the contest after fears of catching swine flu forced the Iranian National Olympic Committee to advise the country pull out of the contest. Iran was previously a favourite for a spot at the top of the leader board and this last-minute cancellation comes as somewhat of a disappointment to many fans.

Having already started, the first few days of the event went off to a flying start with Thailand winning 2 gold medals in the Taekwondo events. Thailand is currently in fourth position, with South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan currently in the top three.

The 2009 Asian Martial Arts Games presents a real opportunity for sports tourists to come and see some of the many different forms of martial arts such as Pencak Silat from Indonesia and also Kurash wrestling from Uzbekistan.

With over 1500 athletes competing, this has to be one of the largest martial arts tournaments in the world, if not, Asia.

The events will be held at a number of venues throughout Bangkok, starting at the Sports Authority of Thailand's Indoor Stadium complex, as well as the Silpa – Archa building in Suphanburi province and also the Chaofah Mahachakree Srinthorn Sports School also located in Suphanburi province.

Did You Know: Muay Thai is not the only Thai martial art? Whilst it is the most well known, its ancestor Muay Boran is still practices, as is Krabi Krabong which is a martial art which also focuses on the use of weapons.