Documentary "Buffalo Girls" offers heartbreaking look at children's Muay Thai in Thailand

In America, as well as most civilized countries, children are generally taught not to fight or to only do so in instances where self-defense is required. The karate classes they’re enrolled in are about teaching discipline and respect, not as a means of utilization to injure another child. In Thailand it’s a different story.

A handful of images from an upcoming documentary titled Buffalo Girls do more to tell the story than any pen put to paper, yet in summary the film follows two eight-year old girls in Thailand who fight professionally in Muay Thai as a means to earn money for their families. In the end the two would-be second graders face off for a belt and life-altering cash prize. The movie is set to debut at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2012.

Watch the preview below and be warned as some images are disturbing as implied by the subject matter:

Buffalo Girls – Slamdance 2012 Official Selection – Trailer from Buffalogirlsthemovie on Vimeo.