Phraya Phichai

Phraya Pichai (th: พระยาพิชัย), or popularly known as Phraya Pichai Dap Hak (th: พระยาพิชัยดาบหัก; Phraya Pichai of the shattered sword) (born: 1741 at Ban Huai Kha, Phichai, Uttaradit Province; died: 1782) was a historic Thai nobleman in the Ayutthaya period who fought with a sword in each hand until one was broken.

Phraya Pichai was a Siamese general serving under King Taksin. After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, Phraya Pichai and Chao Phraya Chakri (who later become the first King of Chakri Dynasty) followed Phraya Taksin in repelling the Burmese and reuniting Siam. They were considered Phraya Taksin's left and right hands.

In 1782, King Taksin showed signs of mental illness. At that time, the nation still lacked stability and was in need of a strong ruler. King Taksin was deposed and later executed following a coup, after which Chao Phraya Chakri took the throne . Phraya Pichai, a devout follower of King Taksin, was not spared, and by most account, requested for his own execution to follow King Taksin to his death. He was executed soon after.

He gained the name Phraya Phichai Dabhak or Phraya Pichai Broken Sword in a battle in which he kept fighting (and won) even after one of his blades was broken in half.

Phraya Pichai was born in 1741 at Ban Huai Kha, Phichai district, Uttaradit, having four brothers and sisters but three of them died before Phichai”s birth. His parents were unknown. His birthname was Chai (th: จ้อย; means: the little one).

When Chai was a young boy, he loved to practice Thai boxing and would always be running away without his parents knowing, to train in the art. He trained with many teachers of that time.

One day, Chai left home northernwards and met with a boxing instructor named Thiang (th: เที่ยง) at Wat Ban Kaeng (th: วัดบ้านแก่ง). Chai then became a beloved student of Instructor Thiang and renamed as Thong Di (th: ทองดี), his instructor called him as Master Thong Di Fan Khao (th: ทองดีฟันขาว; means: Thong Di whose teeth are white) as he did not chew betel nut. The Thai people loved chewing betel nut, which made their teeth black, since the ancient time until the Government under the premiership of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram issued ban on chewing the nut in 1942.

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