Eight-Year-Old Girl Muay Thai Boxers In Thailand Are A Thing

This is terrifying for so many reasons.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE UNDERGROUND CHILDREN MUAY THAI BOXING CIRCUITS IN THAILAND?! WHAT THE HELL?!

OK, sorry for screaming, but this is insane. A new documentary called Buffalo Girls goes inside the world of child blood sport by following two 8-year-old girls who compete in Muay Thai matches as a way of earning money for their families. This underground circuit apparently has upwards of 30,000 participants, many of whom (OBVIOUSLY!) endure serious injuries. Now Thailand is a poor country, and these families are struggling for money, but some things seem to cross the line of “Oh, it’s just a different culture” acceptability. Adults surrounding a ring, waving money as two children beat the shit out of each other is DEFINITELY one of those things.

3. This is Stam, one of the two 8-year-olds the movie follows.

4. And this is Pet. The other girl at the center of the film.

5. There’s nothing childlike about children’s Muay Thai, as evidenced by this shot of Pet in the ring.

6. Here’s Pet at the heavy bag.

7. Stam trains for long hours every day to earn her family money in these fights.

8. Watch the trailer here:

Video available at: http://vimeo.com/33502112.

Source: vimeo.com

Buffalo Girls opens next week in New York (Nov. 14 at the IFC Center), Dec. 1 in L.A., and then will tour around the country, so check BuffaloGirlsTheMovie.com for listings.