No Mercy, No Escape!

[William]

Greetings,

I am in the middle of prepping for a cross-country move and I just came across an old BB magazine that one of my students gave me a year or two ago. It's dated November 1986 and has Master Chai on the cover and an article inside called; Thai Boxing: NO MERCY, NO ESCAPE! If anyone is interested, and it's ok with Terry, I'll post it her for some of the younger crowd.
I usually have a little time to kill in the A.M., after my work out, and before the kids wake up. Let me know.


William

[terry]

Well, if BB complains then I'll pull it. Otherwise, my attention is on other matters at the moment...

T

[William]

Terry wrote:

>>Well, if BB complains then I'll pull it. Otherwise, my attention is on other matters at the moment... >>


Fair enough. I had figured I'd drop it because no one else indicated they would be interested in seeing it. I may still do it if I get a good chunk of time free.


William

[Guest]

What are you after? Dozens of people begging!

POST THE BLOODY THING!!!

[yungsmoke]

yea man post it already

[William]

First and foremost, I sincerely apologize for not posting the article yet. I am in the middle of packing for a move (this Sunday actually). Secondly, I had set the magazine aside so it wouldn't get packed yet and my wife came around after me and packed it up. Even though I have grilled her profusely (to her all my martial arts stuff looks the same), and cut open and looked in many boxes, I have been unable to relocate yet. With the truck arriving on Sunday, and many things still to pack, it's unlikely I'll find it before the computer gets shut down and packed away. With that being said, I SWEAR that when we unpack on the other side of the country and I find it, I will post it immediately. That's a promise.

FYI
For anyone in the Portland/Beaverton Area, I found the best new Thai restaurant called RAMA Thai at 12874 SW Canyon (across from the Straight Blast Gym). All I can say is excellent,excellent food. On the other side of the building in front of that is a little Thai market where I have rented Muay Thai videos for $1.00 a week. All recent bouts (taped) live from Thailand. Usually about 5 bouts on a tape.

Anyway, sorry. You'll hear from on the other side in a few weeks.

Sincerely,
William

[William]

Greetings folks,

We made it across and in one piece. Getting unpacked and settled in. I already have a number of contacts who want to train so it's time to get things rolling.

Enjoy,
William

As promised, from Black Belt magazine - 1986 (part one):


Thai Boxing No Mercy, No Escape!
By James William Holzer

“I never, never wear short pants in public,” admits Surachai “Chai” Sirisute, a leading exponent of muay Thai (Thai boxing) in the United States. “Getting into short pants reminds me of putting on my boxing trunks just before a bout. It puts me in a fighting frame of mind.”

When renowned kali/jeet kune do instructor Dan Inosanto spotted Sirisute approaching recently in his red satin gangkeng muay (Thai boxing shorts), he warned a throng of seminar students, “Watch out! You’re going to work today – he means business!”

And it’s serious business for the former muay Thai champion, who is considered an ajarn (master teacher) by his Thai boxing peers. Muay Thai (pronounced moo-ee-tie) is Thailand’s national obsession, blood-and-guts combat that is raw in purpose yet beautiful to behold. It remains basically an enigma to Eastern and Western martial artists, whose primary exposure to the art has been to observe an occasional bout at Bangkok’s “Big Two” – Rajadamnern and Lumpini stadiums. Those among them who may have sought out kun kroo (trainers) to learn the staggering Thai round kick found a closed door, partly due to the opinion that it would be improper to force Buddhist traditions and rituals so critical to the study of the art upon outsiders. Attitudes softened in the mid-70’s, when Dale Kvalheim, an American serviceman, became the first Westerner accepted for training by the muay Thai establishment and allowed to compete at the “Big Two”.

In 1982, Sirisuite took a team of American Thai boxers to what is probably the meanest, no-holds-barred tournament in the Far East, the World Free-style Fighting Championships, held that year in Bangkok. The Americans took an unheard-of third place in the team championships that saw the Thais take first, the Japanese second, and the Koreans fourth. What’s more amazing is that each American fighter averaged less than two years of study in the art!

“The Thais saw us perform the ram muay (prefight ceremonial dance) and adhere to traditions they thought were of no interest to the West,” Sirisute says of the breakthrough. “In doing so well, they realized the Americans have the potential to become the best Thai boxers in the world.”

At present, Sirisute finds himself in a position dictated by the laws of supply and demand: increased interest in muay Thai and an acute shortage of qualified teachers. “The best Thai boxers in America are young, and are too busy training for ring careers. They don’t have the time to teach,” he explains.

Bouts held in the early days of Thai boxing had more in common with the kill-or-be-killed games of Roman gladiators. Skin-ripping horsehide thongs were wrapped around the fists and forearms, and a vee of tree bark held in place by a loincloth protected the groin. Fights went on for hours with no rest periods, the loser either dead or horribly maimed. This unrestrained mayhem went on until the late 1930s, when the government intervened and forced the adoption of international boxing rules, weight divisions, and the use of gloves.

An estimated 125,000 Thais train regularly in the art while 12,000 fight on the amateur and professional levels. Bouts run for five three-minute rounds, with two-minute rest periods in between. Professionals use six- or eight-ounce gloves, amateurs four. A steel cup provides groin protection, while aenken (elastic anklets) preserve the instep. Any part of the body can be attacked by the fist, foot, elbow, and knee. Head butts, leg sweeps, hip and shoulder throws, arm locks and hitting an opponent who is down are all forbidden. Corner coaching is also prohibited.

Before any muay Thai bout, Buddhist and Thai Animist rituals take precedence. At ringside, a cloth-covered, finger-diameter headpiece called a mongkon (crown) is placed on the fighter’s head before he goes to the center of the ring to perform the wai kruh (honor bow) and the ram muay, a series of shadowboxing moves, foot stomps and arm gyrations said to keep evil spirits at bay. The fighter will strive to fill the ring with his “aura” in order to spiritually dominate his foe. Fighters only wear the mongkon during the prefight rituals, the trainer removing it before the start of round one and blowing in the boxer’s hair for good luck.

Sirisute adheres to muay Thai traditions, but does not let them dictate his every action. His signature ram muay is one minute long and can be learned in a month, yet only a handful of his many students have been taught it. Always the pragmatic ring survivor, he remarks “If you give students tradition and you don’t give them stamina, power and ring savvy, what good is teaching a martial art?”

The Thai boxer will start the first round slowly, feeling his opponent out with low, rapid round kicks steadily quickening his pace and progressing up the body with strikes as the rounds advance. He will rain blows from every angle, never tensing his muscles until the moment of impact, focusing all of his might and intent into the area of his shin and instep and powering that point of concentrated energy through the target just as a woodsman’s axe embeds itself in a tree. The goal in muay Thai is to disrupt the opponent’s offense, and that means keeping him on the defensive by mounting a continuous offense.

A banana tree was once used by Thai boxers to condition and desensitize the striking surfaces of the shin, instep, knee and elbow. Today, the main pieces of training equipment are the Thai pads – foot-long leather bags that range in weight from seven-to-ten pounds. Strapped to the forearms of a partner, full-power strikes are driven into the pads to accomplish this conditioning. Kun kroo well into their 70s have been known to wear two, ten-pound pads for an hour and absorb hundreds of bone-jarring round kicks from young fighters without effect.

Muay Thai remains consistent in its techniques, the dominance of the legs over the arms varying from trainer to trainer. Sirisute concentrates on six kicks, five elbow strikes, four knee strikes and four hand maneuvers, preferring the use of the leg over the fist and elbow as the chief ring weapon

The idea of a “snap kick” is unknown in Thai boxing; legs either thrust or swing. In Sirisute’s view, “You’ll never develop the maximum power potential of your legs with snap kicks. Snap kicks have power only to stun, so the leg is easier to block or grab. In contrast, the heavy Thai round kick leaves your opponent with no choice but to keep his guard up close to the body to protect his midsection. He won’t risk extending his arms to block with them alone – that’s a good way to get them broken.”

The Thai boxer works to build equal hitting power on both sides of his body. Hard blocks are avoided; if you can’t slip, dodge or throw a strike of your own to stop the offense, you absorb the blows on the arms or upper body. The muay Thai credo is “Let it all hang out and let conditioning, skill and fighting spirit win the bout.”

END OF PART ONE

[William]

Part Two:

Keeping to a philosophy of directness and economy of motion, one stance forms the basis to launch both arm and leg techniques. The boxing stance sets the feet in direct alignment behind one another, the front foot pointed at the opponent, the rear foot cocked, heel raised, to quicken footwork and allow the twist of the foot to add force to blows. Gloves are held in front of the face in a peek-a-boo style, the chin and neck tucked into the shoulders. Punches, elbows and the occasional knee strike are all launched from the boxing stance.

Before the adoption of the international boxing rules in the late 1930s, muay Thai footwork formed a triangle, the front foot sliding forward to advance, the rear lifting off and stepping back to retreat. Thai boxing evolved in parallel to the “sweet science,” the circular dancing, lateral movements refined by Western boxers becoming the norm. Thai boxers used exposed fingers to poke and gouge prior to the use of gloves, and hand techniques were more on the order of swinging chops, inner knife hands, and hammerfist strikes. These techniques remain today, although the art has become more ring effective by the use of the boxing jab, uppercut, hook and rear cross.

In spite of the obvious power of kicks, the elbow accounts for the highest number of knockouts in strict muay Thai bouts. Elbows are thrown in relaxed, rapid up-and-down combinations slightly off the vertical line, as the Thais have found horizontal strikes easier to block and the angular trajectories better to bypass the guard.

The “down elbow” is considered the deadly counterpart to the devastating round kick, a finishing strike that has ended many a fight early. Requiring quite a bit of flexibility to deliver, the initial movement is a winding motion of the shoulder that rotates the point of the elbow past ear level, the hand pointing down, loose and open, so as not to constrict the range and follow-through of the blow. It is basically a forearm smash, for it will go up and over any guard in the manner of a karate backfist to strike the head, neck, or collarbone.

When a Thai boxer intends to kick, he will move from the boxing stance to the Thai kicking stance, sliding his rear foot forward and out to a sixty-degree angle to the font foot. This maneuver cuts off up to two feet from the trajectory the kick must travel, hastening the delivery and making the kick harder to block. Always up on his toes, the Thai boxer eliminates the extra telegraphing move of lifting the rear heel to unleash a kick.

The round kick is muay Thai’s ultimate weapon. It starts with the slide into the kicking stance. The rear leg is launched while simultaneously pivoting on the ball of the lead foot, which turns 90 degrees past the centerline to accommodate the added torque of the hips and waist as the shin and instep drive through the target.

One misconception about the round kick is that it is thrown stiff-legged to the point of impact. In actuality, the leg is slightly bent as it hurtles in a downward arc with the entire weight of the body behind it, the knee locked upon contact. A sharp exhalation aids in striking. The left arm makes a small circle while the right shoots forward, then reverses, to maintain balance and complement the force of the kick.

Because the Thai boxer commits to throwing his entire body behind the round kick, he cannot retract it if he misses. He must merge with the energy and spin completely around, covering his head, neck and spine – made vulnerable for a split second – with his arms and gloves.

Round kicks are designed to root and jolt the opponent’s body, rather than push or lift him off his feet in eye-popping fashion. Shock waves flow throughout the opponent’s body, causing pain and hesitation that puts the receiver of this punishment in a hopeless defensive situation. After a few round kicks square on the forearm guard, the tendency is to drop the arms, creating the perfect opening for a knockout blow to the head.

Except for a few jamming kicks thrown by the lead leg, the majority of the kicks are launched from the rear power leg. This does not make the Thai boxer a one-dimensional fighter. If he happens to find an opening on the side opposite his kicking side, he will make a shoulder-width shuffle of the feet so he can bring the lead foot into a rear position to kick with maximum power. He will never flick out a weak kick with the lead foot then plant it, for he needs the momentum of the retraction to keep his leg out of range of counter round kicks. This stance change is rapid and is used as a feint to prevent telegraphing of kicks.

Three short-range round kicks that demand this stance change are the “down round”, “upper round” and “cut kick”. The down-round kick is thrown in a slashing, downward trajectory to the calf, thigh and lower abdomen to paralyze the nerves of the opponent’s lead foundation leg; without it he cannot launch powerful round kicks of his own. The upper-round kick is thrown at an upward angle, smashing the shin against the guard to create a gap so that the midsection can be pummeled. The cut kick is a low round kick to the opponent’s supporting leg (at the thigh and calf) as he throws a kick. One application of this technique is to sidestep an incoming round kick and drive the instep of the cut kick into the back of the knee. This will cause the opponent to turn, momentarily off balance. The Thai boxer will then charge and clinch to knee him in the back, pushing him down as he continues to knee and throw upper-round kicks to the ribs and back.

Foot and knee strikes can be classified as offensive blocking instruments in muay Thai. The “foot jab” is one strong example. The leg is raised in a stepping motion, knee slightly bent, hips thrusting forward and leg stiffening at the point of impact. The ball of the foot is used to strike vital points on the legs, groin, and solar plexus. It’s common to strike with the heel against the thigh of the kicking leg, causing pain and stopping the kick.

Points are awarded per round in strict muay Thai bouts. The fighter who can harass his foe’s offense and make him look sloppy has a better chance of winning a decision should the fight go the distance. One of the highest insults you can give a Thai boxer is a steady stream of foot jabs to his face – kicking high is considered a show of disdain for his fighting ability.

Because of the power of Thai kicks, the knee is used to block. The Thai boxer will raise his knee to protect his midsection, point the toes down as added insurance against low cut kicks to the supporting leg. He will try to avoid blocking the opponent’s boney shin and instep with his knee head-on, opting to jam the knee into the soft, inner portion of the thigh. The upper body leans away at the completion of each knee technique in order to keep the head out of range of elbows and counter-punches, and to allow the thrusting forward of the hips that adds power to each strike.

When delivering the knee, it pays to have good control of your opponent by grabbing or clinching. One popular tactic is to parry a straight-lead boxing jab, chopping down on the inside of the punching arm to hit the side of the neck and grab it. The fighter will then jerk the head and chest down into an uprising upper-knee strike.

One of the stereotypes Sirisute wants to explode about muay Thai is that the Thai boxer will automatically attack the knees of his ring opponent with intent to maim. Unless his own knees are in jeopardy, the Thai boxer is content to throw low round kicks to the thigh, calf, and back of the knee to disrupt balance, viewing it as un-sportsmanlike to break a knee. Another myth is that muay Thai demands hard sparring in training. Some kun kroo believe otherwise, yet it is against Thai boxing tradition to pit members of one’s boxing family against each other in all-out combat. Sirisute’s students occasionally engage in a hard punching workout wearing gloves, sparring lightly with the legs, knees and elbows, more for form, speed and timing.

Fighters are made accustomed to hard contact by holding the Thai pads for a partner on a daily basis and learning to cope with the force of full-power kicks and knee strikes. Taking these punishing blows on the arms and upper body safely is enough to toughen the mind and body for the ring.

When reminded of the inherent dangers of muay Thai, Sirisute poses this question in response: What is the difference between a full-contact fighter who kicks an opponent in the head, or the Thai boxer who centers his attack to the body? His body supple and face unmarked, this fighting master remarks, “Injuries occur when a Thai boxer is matched in a strict muay Thai bout with a fighter who cannot defend against a knee or elbow attack. Any of my fighters can, and will, fight by Professional Karate Association, World Kickboxing Association, and International Kick Boxing Association rules. No problem.”

Having suffered indifference and prejudice in the U.S. and the Far East in regard to muay Thai, Sirisute makes certain his students never make derogatory statements about fighters and styles, and encourages them to study martial arts that interest them. "It’s the spirit of the martial artist that counts, not his style,” he says, always impressing upon his fighters that they are not an elite bunch, that future opponents cannot be taken for granted. To these who criticize muay Thai as being inferior, Sirisute throws down this gauntlet: “Show me a better way to toughen the body and build stamina. Teach me a better, faster way to kick consistently with power and I’ll use it.”

And to those who may feel that more than a scornful remark is in order, be forewarned: Make sure that Chai Sirisute has his long pants on that day!

[mike]

William,

Thanks for taking the time to type all of that article, I really enjoyed reading it.


Mike

[William]

Mike wrote:

"Thanks for taking the time to type all of that article, I really enjoyed reading it."

Thanks, my pleasure.

William

[Guest]

BUT IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!

[William]

Well, I could have done it sooner if you had shown up to help me move. Where were you?

William

[yungsmoke]

man....thanks dude thats some real educational stuff

[William]

Traditional Thai Martial Arts



Muay Thai (Thai Boxing)
Almost anything goes in this martial sport, both in the ring and in the stands. If you can cope with the violence, a Thai boxing match is worth attending for the pure spectacle – the wild musical accompaniment, the ceremonial opening of each match and the frenzied betting around the stadium.

History Most of what is known about the early history of Thai boxing comes from the Burmese accounts of warfare between Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand during the 15th and 16th centuries. The earliest reference (1411 AD) mentions a ferocious style of unarmed combat that decided the fate of Thai kings. A later description tells how Nai Khanom Tom, Thailand’s first famous boxer and a prisoner of war in Myanmar, gained his freedom by roundly defeating a dozen Burmese warriors before the Burmese court.

King Naresuan the great (1555 – 1605) was said to have been a skilled boxer, and he made Muay Thai a required part of military training for all Thai soldiers. Later, another Thai king, Phra Chao Seua (the Tiger king) further promoted Thai boxing as a national sport by encouraging prize fights and the development of training camps in the early 18th century. There are accounts of massive wagers and bouts to the death during this time. Phra Chao Seua, himself, is said to have been an incognito participant in many matches during the early part of his reign. Combatants’ fists were wrapped in thick horsehide for maximum impact with minimum knuckle damage. They also used cotton soaked in glue and ground glass, and later hemp. Tree bark and seashells were used to protect the groin.

No one trained in any other martial art has been able to defeat a ranking Thai nak muay (fighter trained in Muay Thai) and many martial art aficionados consider the Thai style the ultimate in hand to hand fighting. (Muay Thai techniques are currently incorporated into contemporary Thai military training.) On one famous occasion, Hong Kong’s top five Kung Fu masters were dispatched in less than 6 ½ minutes cumulative total, all knock – outs. Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the USA, the Netherlands, Germany and France have all sent their best, and none of the challengers has yet beaten a top ranked boxer from Ratchadamnoen or Lumphini boxing stadium (except in non-stadium-sponsored bouts). American, Dale Kvalheim, trained in Muay Thai and won a North-Eastern championship around 25 years ago, becoming the first non-Thai to seize a regional title – but Isaan stadiums are a far cry from Bangkok’s two Muay Thai crucibles, Ratchadamnoen and Lumphini


To be continued...

[crazyjoe380]

Originally posted by William
Mike wrote:

"Thanks for taking the time to type all of that article, I really enjoyed reading it."

Thanks, my pleasure.

William

if you hit quote and then high light the writing.. right click .. select copy.. then hit back..

right click and hit paste.. you dont have to write: mike wrote: i wrote: lol.. unless you are just lazy as i am .. just letting you know cause it looks funny

that's what the quote is there for!!!!!

lol. j/p

good artical..