Ong-Bak

Ong-Bak (2003) starring Tony Jaa (born Panom Yeerum).

The story: the head of a Buddha, referred to as Ong-Bak, is stolen from a rural village. Tony Jaa, a country boy trained in the deadly arts of Muay Thai, goes to Bangkok to retrieve it from art smuggling gangsters. Incidentally these same people bet on illegal street fights and Tony gets into the thick of it.

Ong-Bak is for action buffs. Little dialogue. Long scenes of fighting, running, jumping off roofs, walls, and over cars. Tony Jaa is amazing. In one scene he faces a group of men. He jumps up and stepping quickly on their shoulders, he runs over them. This is a serious martial artist guy. I wish I could do that.

Since watching the movie, I started using "Ong-Bak" in reference toTony Jaa's fighting style which is characterized by jumping up and elbowing people in the head. I itch to Ong-Bak people in the head and sometimes I do, but I plan to stop. It doesn't seem right to use Buddha's name in that way.

What exactly does Ong-Bak mean? Here's a quote from a Thailand forum board:

"Ong" is a classifier used in Thai for Buddha images, statues etc (it's also the name for "body parts", there may be two meanings in the title).

"Bak" means to "etch" or to "score", for example, your name on a rock.

According this definition, it makes sense and isn't disrespectful to say I'll "Bak" you in the head.  It's just that I love saying "Ong." If you watch the movie, listen to the pronunciation. I suspect you'll want to say Ong-Bak and then your elbows will itch for contact with heads too.