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MUAY: Submissions, Breaks & Locks of Muay Thai and Muay Boran
“Master” Lee
Current price: $20.79 plus shipping and tax
There are warnings all over this book. Examples like, Warning: contains deadly moves. Suitable for responsible adults only! A complete collection of submission, break and lock techniques from over 10 styles of Thai Martial Arts including unique and secret moves! Best line of all; “In keeping with the promise to my masters. I will not write down the fatal deadly ways and will keep them secret until someone is ready and asks!!!!(Did he read the opening to Panya Kraitus’ Red Muay Thai book and imagine himself into the text?) Either this mysterious author is delusional or totally out of touch with reality or he is serious and watches too many fantasy movies. But there is no warning how this book was intended for those who are gullible enough to buy into such nonsense. It was especially hard to see any of the “deadly” techniques because they are drawn from what looks like photographs, as if someone traced over each one, rendering them without detail. This leads to a serious problem right away and that’s the design and execution of the book. It’s a mess of ideas just thrown together into a jumble of incoherent themes and horrible line drawings. It’s funny because on the back of the book he states, “Quick and fun to learn with clear pictures and easy instructions”!!!!! Clarity is not the author’s strong point as I will amply demonstrate.
The idea here is that he keeps mentioning these “mysterious masters”. But no actual names come up at all. As a matter of fact, he goes by the name “Master” Lee, not using the Thai terms of respect Kru or Ajaan but MASTER to make his mark even more remarkable to the Western audience. Even worse, he does not use his own full name as the author, hiding it for unknown reasons. (His name for the record is Lee James Crawford of the UK as per the copyright). Are the use of these horrible drawings to obscure his face as well? I mean I would if I wrote a book like this. At every turn, warning bells are going off as I begin to read.
The author states that book includes over 10 styles of Thai martial arts, so in making such a bold statement, I would like to see at least a few of the authentic teachers names who taught him even one of these “10 styles” to some level of competence. The book pushes the Muay Thai Institute who gave “Master” Lee his “instructor certificate”. Muay Thai Institute who promotes programs by the Ministry of Education. So he is more like a gym teacher here in the United States.
Now to begin, the title states he is going to show submissions, breaks and locks of Muay Thai and Muay Boran. I assume Muay Thai is more his specialty with a secondary focus on Muay Boran. But the book is mostly Muay Boran. It seems at every turn there is a clever marketing ploy at work to use every sellable term he could use to sell this book…Muay Thai! Muay Boran! Deadly moves! 10 styles of Thai martial arts! Submissions! Breaks! Locks!
His idea of Muay or Muay Boran is that the physical education sort of way is the best possible path with all the styles united into one big mess. But without understanding of the basic principles that ground the full systems they become an endless jumble of techniques piled one on top of another. Just physical moves without any progressive engine and structure. Does the author understand that some of these arts are unique and complete like Chaiya, Korat and Lanna and they draw their power and speed from their unique structure and building blocks? In the new world Muay Boran it doesn’t matter. Does the author believe that this type of teaching is superior to the older systems and one should go pay their money for their certificate in places like the Muay Thai Institute instead of the real thing? There are others including several Thai masters doing this and some are better than others but most have the same problems of slamming techniques together without any thought.
On stance, he uses a generic triangle stance, but neglects the lower half of the body and how to use the legs and the actual triangle. Obviously, trying to bite on Chaiya, but again without the depth or training, he falls victim to poor understanding, which marks most of the generic muay Boran training. He uses the triangle guard then doesn’t use it to deploy any of the techniques in the book. So there is a massive disconnect between putting all of what he shows together.
The techniques themselves are not high percentage moves but again more of the flashier muay boran movements. There are not many submissions in the book and most will likely be avoided or never used by any competent MMA competitor, fighter or self-defense expert. We must remember the opponent is alive and always dangerous. He is not a puppet for two man forms and to dummy for you like the fancy muay boran demos you see. I would like to see him pull off in real time against a game opponent something like Elephant Fastens a Chain to the Log. He puts some wrist lock and joint locks in but doesn’t describe in detail how to use them. The many holes in his descriptions make you wonder why they are even in there because you need to know the details of how to use these type of techs and when. The term Show Me Don’t Tell me becomes the battle cry here because all the author does is tell you about deadly, about this and that but he can’t show you effectively the how and why along with proper execution. Obviously, the author as well has never been in a life threatening situation because you would understand the need for quick, functioning techs regardless if they were deadly or not.
The book in the end is really nothing more than a shameless promotional plug for “Master” Lee pushing himself and the Muay Thai Institute. Nothing wrong with that but with “20 years of training” and only this to show for it only displays a horrible mass of confusion and no cohesion or progression. There is no mastery here, displayed or described, and anyone who trained in martial arts for any number of years, no less Muay or Muay Thai, can clearly see that.
I believe a much better book would have been to stick to the topic throughout. Beginning with what is a submission, what is a lock and what is a break. Showing how they are used in the Muay arsenal then breaking them down in detail so people can learn from them with clear progression and clear photos. It seems the author just tried to use constant filler to make the book more “entertaining”. There was also nothing new or noteworthy shown in the book for those who have trained even for a short time in Muay.
This type of approach is popular now and we see it coming from the Ministry of Education from the Marco De Cesaris crowd and many others. Destroy the distinction of the original styles, lose the structure and progression, don’t spar and just slap techniques together one after the other in endless sets. Most of the people don’t even bother to investigate, research or train in the original methods despite having the opportunity to throughout Thailand. This in itself tells the story.
Hopefully, the author will issue his next book on a more focused topic and use his real name. Nothing undermines a genuine effort by hiding behind a term like “master” then not backing it up with mastery that can be seen and understood within the pages of the book.
I read this book twice then went back to the Amazon site and couldn’t believe some of the people who wrote reviews. They evidently didn’t read the same book as me or they are just his friends propping him up.
Finally, I sent the book off to George on the forum to read because I don’t want it. It’s not worth the money or even worthy of being on my bookshelf.
Rating: (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being superior) I give this book really a 0 but since 0 isn’t on the scale I am forced to give it a 1. It still takes time and effort to create any book and I acknowledge that with the 1 rating. Everyone starts out with the best intentions but when it’s done with such shameless promotion (along not putting your full name on the book and proclaiming yourself a “master”, you are setting yourself up for a deep fall if you don’t deliver to master status and the book does not deliver). Excessive claims of deadly secrets ultimately dismantle the author’s credibility to deliver such inside knowledge with detailed understanding and execution. Drawings and layout are juvenile and really badly done.
Cost: $20 plus postage and tax. I assume this book is privately published and offered through Amazon. Exterior is generic and poorly designed. Interior lacks professionalism and the drawings leave much to be desired. At best, a low cost download for those curious but not worth buying. A must to avoid.
5.9” x 8.9” Softbound
6 Chapters 178 pages
“Master” Lee
Current price: $20.79 plus shipping and tax
There are warnings all over this book. Examples like, Warning: contains deadly moves. Suitable for responsible adults only! A complete collection of submission, break and lock techniques from over 10 styles of Thai Martial Arts including unique and secret moves! Best line of all; “In keeping with the promise to my masters. I will not write down the fatal deadly ways and will keep them secret until someone is ready and asks!!!!(Did he read the opening to Panya Kraitus’ Red Muay Thai book and imagine himself into the text?) Either this mysterious author is delusional or totally out of touch with reality or he is serious and watches too many fantasy movies. But there is no warning how this book was intended for those who are gullible enough to buy into such nonsense. It was especially hard to see any of the “deadly” techniques because they are drawn from what looks like photographs, as if someone traced over each one, rendering them without detail. This leads to a serious problem right away and that’s the design and execution of the book. It’s a mess of ideas just thrown together into a jumble of incoherent themes and horrible line drawings. It’s funny because on the back of the book he states, “Quick and fun to learn with clear pictures and easy instructions”!!!!! Clarity is not the author’s strong point as I will amply demonstrate.
The idea here is that he keeps mentioning these “mysterious masters”. But no actual names come up at all. As a matter of fact, he goes by the name “Master” Lee, not using the Thai terms of respect Kru or Ajaan but MASTER to make his mark even more remarkable to the Western audience. Even worse, he does not use his own full name as the author, hiding it for unknown reasons. (His name for the record is Lee James Crawford of the UK as per the copyright). Are the use of these horrible drawings to obscure his face as well? I mean I would if I wrote a book like this. At every turn, warning bells are going off as I begin to read.
The author states that book includes over 10 styles of Thai martial arts, so in making such a bold statement, I would like to see at least a few of the authentic teachers names who taught him even one of these “10 styles” to some level of competence. The book pushes the Muay Thai Institute who gave “Master” Lee his “instructor certificate”. Muay Thai Institute who promotes programs by the Ministry of Education. So he is more like a gym teacher here in the United States.
Now to begin, the title states he is going to show submissions, breaks and locks of Muay Thai and Muay Boran. I assume Muay Thai is more his specialty with a secondary focus on Muay Boran. But the book is mostly Muay Boran. It seems at every turn there is a clever marketing ploy at work to use every sellable term he could use to sell this book…Muay Thai! Muay Boran! Deadly moves! 10 styles of Thai martial arts! Submissions! Breaks! Locks!
His idea of Muay or Muay Boran is that the physical education sort of way is the best possible path with all the styles united into one big mess. But without understanding of the basic principles that ground the full systems they become an endless jumble of techniques piled one on top of another. Just physical moves without any progressive engine and structure. Does the author understand that some of these arts are unique and complete like Chaiya, Korat and Lanna and they draw their power and speed from their unique structure and building blocks? In the new world Muay Boran it doesn’t matter. Does the author believe that this type of teaching is superior to the older systems and one should go pay their money for their certificate in places like the Muay Thai Institute instead of the real thing? There are others including several Thai masters doing this and some are better than others but most have the same problems of slamming techniques together without any thought.
On stance, he uses a generic triangle stance, but neglects the lower half of the body and how to use the legs and the actual triangle. Obviously, trying to bite on Chaiya, but again without the depth or training, he falls victim to poor understanding, which marks most of the generic muay Boran training. He uses the triangle guard then doesn’t use it to deploy any of the techniques in the book. So there is a massive disconnect between putting all of what he shows together.
The techniques themselves are not high percentage moves but again more of the flashier muay boran movements. There are not many submissions in the book and most will likely be avoided or never used by any competent MMA competitor, fighter or self-defense expert. We must remember the opponent is alive and always dangerous. He is not a puppet for two man forms and to dummy for you like the fancy muay boran demos you see. I would like to see him pull off in real time against a game opponent something like Elephant Fastens a Chain to the Log. He puts some wrist lock and joint locks in but doesn’t describe in detail how to use them. The many holes in his descriptions make you wonder why they are even in there because you need to know the details of how to use these type of techs and when. The term Show Me Don’t Tell me becomes the battle cry here because all the author does is tell you about deadly, about this and that but he can’t show you effectively the how and why along with proper execution. Obviously, the author as well has never been in a life threatening situation because you would understand the need for quick, functioning techs regardless if they were deadly or not.
The book in the end is really nothing more than a shameless promotional plug for “Master” Lee pushing himself and the Muay Thai Institute. Nothing wrong with that but with “20 years of training” and only this to show for it only displays a horrible mass of confusion and no cohesion or progression. There is no mastery here, displayed or described, and anyone who trained in martial arts for any number of years, no less Muay or Muay Thai, can clearly see that.
I believe a much better book would have been to stick to the topic throughout. Beginning with what is a submission, what is a lock and what is a break. Showing how they are used in the Muay arsenal then breaking them down in detail so people can learn from them with clear progression and clear photos. It seems the author just tried to use constant filler to make the book more “entertaining”. There was also nothing new or noteworthy shown in the book for those who have trained even for a short time in Muay.
This type of approach is popular now and we see it coming from the Ministry of Education from the Marco De Cesaris crowd and many others. Destroy the distinction of the original styles, lose the structure and progression, don’t spar and just slap techniques together one after the other in endless sets. Most of the people don’t even bother to investigate, research or train in the original methods despite having the opportunity to throughout Thailand. This in itself tells the story.
Hopefully, the author will issue his next book on a more focused topic and use his real name. Nothing undermines a genuine effort by hiding behind a term like “master” then not backing it up with mastery that can be seen and understood within the pages of the book.
I read this book twice then went back to the Amazon site and couldn’t believe some of the people who wrote reviews. They evidently didn’t read the same book as me or they are just his friends propping him up.
Finally, I sent the book off to George on the forum to read because I don’t want it. It’s not worth the money or even worthy of being on my bookshelf.
Rating: (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being superior) I give this book really a 0 but since 0 isn’t on the scale I am forced to give it a 1. It still takes time and effort to create any book and I acknowledge that with the 1 rating. Everyone starts out with the best intentions but when it’s done with such shameless promotion (along not putting your full name on the book and proclaiming yourself a “master”, you are setting yourself up for a deep fall if you don’t deliver to master status and the book does not deliver). Excessive claims of deadly secrets ultimately dismantle the author’s credibility to deliver such inside knowledge with detailed understanding and execution. Drawings and layout are juvenile and really badly done.
Cost: $20 plus postage and tax. I assume this book is privately published and offered through Amazon. Exterior is generic and poorly designed. Interior lacks professionalism and the drawings leave much to be desired. At best, a low cost download for those curious but not worth buying. A must to avoid.
5.9” x 8.9” Softbound
6 Chapters 178 pages
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