“East is East and West is West” and “the twain” do actually meet in a recognition that there but for the grace of certain people in our lives go we. Thus do we dedicate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and even a Memorial Day to our war veterans. If we’re still on the same twain, someone also taught you how to read.
Wai Kru Day is an occasion for Thai students to show their respect for teachers (Krus) through participation in a formal ceremony. Under Muay Thai rules, all boxers must perform the Wai Kru before the bout begins.
Kru refers to any teacher who imparts knowledge and skills be it academic, artistic, musical, dancing or sport such as Muay Thai. So the Wai Kru is a gesture of respect to teachers and parents, extending also to people who have helped the boxer in his life. CLICK this pic:
The next time you hear rap music during a Wai Kru, thus, think of it as a gesture of disrespect not just to the entire teaching profession but also to yourself. Someone with all the cultural depth of a toilet bowl has decided that Western audiences are brain dead.
“Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!”
