krabi-krabong part 1: the knife

[chalambok]

Sorry Ghostwolfe (I think I know who you are) for taking so long to expand lol

Well, Krabi-Krabong begins with footwork, and the arms come after. The first drill to practice with your partner involves the two of you standing about 6 feet apart, each of you holding a pair of staffs in your hand, but sharing the other end with your partner. I mean there are only 2 staffs for the two of you, each holding the end of each staff. (Sorry everyone, I am very tired tonight because I have been working on getting my new school in POrtland OR together) One initiates with a long, long step; pushing the staff on the stepping side forward while the partner steps way, way back and pulls. Left arm goes with left leg, right arm with right leg. As you will find, a long step requires your body to sink; try to get your thigh parallel with the ground. Do this back and forth until you cannot take it then keep going. Step long, then become tall as your feet pass each other on the way to sink your body again. Down up down up will go your heads. Do not lean the upper body or turn it just now. How this applies to the mai son (knife) is that we feel it is silly to be within 6 to 8 feet of a knife. Just like empty-hand, we want to be in our comfort zone and not allow the opponent to be within his. If you get good at this you will find you can stand outside most people's range during stick drills (or especially training knife freestyle) and thrust at will into their lower abdomen. Septic poison was historically almost always fatal, so that is the target zone or, sometimes if you are fakey, the upper thigh. Well, there is about 500 hours worth of training secrets I have given you for free. Have fun

[chalambok]

Use of the Knife

Ideally, this is the way the mai son (knife) should be used, sneakily. In the first picture my training partner and senior student, Khru Bruce Raymer, tries to round kick my left thigh. I block with my right shin and immediately turn his energy upwards and across. In the second picture I am applying a leg lock and forcing him to the ground. In reality I am trying to dislocate or break the hip, and would pull him down instead of push him down. In the third picture you can see I pull out my mai son and slice his foot or achilles tendon. From this position I can easily choke or slice his throat, but I prefer to stay away and ran off afterwards. I hope this confuses you and opens your eyes a bit also.

[chalambok]

My Apologies

Sorry, it is very confusing now...lol
It is obvious I do not know how to post pictures to this forum. But, my forte is not computer-literacy but krabi-krabong, and I know this is not a valid excuse.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Email them to me or Kaptain Kabong and we'll post em for you.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Mai Son

Chalambok has graciously compiled a short photo progression series, posted here.

Enjoy!

Spanky

[Tom Yum]

Nice.

[terry]

Hey, the red guy is Bruce Raymer.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Of course!

Notice he's the one getting killed by the 'hidden' knife.

Spanky

[chalambok]

On behalf of the Buddhai Swan, myself and Khru Bruce Raymer I would like to say thanks to Szczepankiewicz for posting this series. Traditionally we do not like to show knife techniques in open forum, but I have carte blanche from Master Chai, Ajarn Dan Inosanto and the Royal Kingdom of Thailand to promote and teach Krabi-Krabong however I see fit, and received special permission to show this series. The leg break can be considered one of the Master Tricks, but please be careful when practicing it. Thanks again for your continued interest in the Thai National Martial Arts - Stephen M Wilson

[haumana2000]

Muai Boran

Hey guys, since Some of ya here in the forum have done the older versions of the Thai arts, lerd rit, muai boran, ling lom, I have a historical/training question. Within the context of the older "Bare fist or bound fist" style of boxing how was it, if at all sparring conducted? If we are talking in more of a modern Muai Thai sense, most fighters spar very hard, for fear of an injury and understandibly so. Within the realm of non-sport muai thai, where much more techniques were encouraged, holds releases, headbutts, etc.. How is this trained? Is there an acceptable level of damage? through drills? light contact? Thanks!

[Khun Kru Mike]

Krabi Krabong

Hi. This is Khun Kru Mike Walrath; I teach Muay Thai in Eugene, Oregon (for about 20 years; I am Director State of Oregon for the TBA, full instructor under Ajarn Chai; I am certified in Krabi Krabong under Ajarn Samai from Buddhai Swan Sword Fighting Institute in Thailand...). I teach Muay Thai and Krabi Krabong. Our next Muay Thai fights are scheduled for June 10 in Van Couver Canada.
We recently had a Krabi Krabong workshop taught by Ajarn Stephen Wilson. It was awesome-- His knowledge of Krabi Krabong is very thorough and authentic, not polluted by any other weapons influences: it's the real deal. I want take this opportunity, in this forum, to personally thank Steve for selling his house to move his whole life to Buddhai Swan so he could complete the entirety of the courses offered, and bring it back to the U.S. for the rest of us ferongs (foreigners). We all have a rare opportunity in Ajarn Stephen Wilson to get pure Krabi Krabong training.
I was very surprised to not see Ajarn Stephen Wilson's name anywhere in Terry Tippie's article on Krabi Krabong

http://www.thaiboxing.com/krabi-article.php

Note: Ajarn Stephen Wilson is the same rank as Tony Moore, highest ranking Krabi Krabong practitioner outside of Thailand.

I had the opportunity to train with Steve at Buddhai Swan along with Greg Nelson (Muay Thai , Minnesota), we had a ball-- between the three of us, we developed a deeper appreciation for peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches.

To visit Ajarn Stephen Wilson's website go to:

http://chalambok.com/

Sawat dee kop,

Khun Kru Mike Walrath

[GonzoStyles]

Kop Kun Krup! interesting article Kru Mike, I believe Jason Webster of Dallas, Texas Is the only Krabi-Krabong teacher in Texas (my state) but he only takes selected students. I own a Krabi and a Dagger both are beautiful and as described to me by the seller were made in the traditional manner, and are blessed and inscribed with prayers. I will try and borrow a camera better than mine and post some pics this week. oh and btw does any one know the name for the dagger in Thai, and has anyone seen a complete weapons listing for Krabi-Krabong? everytime I think I have seen all the weapons I stumble upon a pic with a new one!

[chalambok]

There is no 'weapons list' because krabi-krabong is a principle-based art; the name itself means short-long. And thanks, Mike. Funny that to find out anything about krabi-krabong, or even the members of the TBA who are accredited to teach it, you have to go to the websites of other organizations.

[GonzoStyles]

thanks Chalambok! I would like to ask a few more questions while I have your ear. do the weapons vary from school to school? for instance I have seen 2 diffferent style sheilds, I am guessing that there may be several more.
Interesting that the name translates to "Long-Short" Now I really understand what you mean by "principal based art" even the name reflects this!
I realize there are several sword lengths and perhaps even styles of swords, is the proper term for a sword "Dharb"? are sticks frequently used in Krabi-Krabong as well? Thanks again for the replys, I just wanted to get a little more info on a rarely seen art.

[chalambok]

There are many shields, from the small, barely covering the fist, to the large type used by police for riot control. And, dha can be the term for sword, also krabi...lol A good website is the dha research index, with many pictures and facts about weapons of SE Asia. Usually, sticks are used until confidence builds (both in oneself and in one's training partner) when it is possible to move to metal or sharpened wood weapons. Traditionally, the schools teach all weapons with senior instructors being specialists. Ajarn Samai Masamarn considered himself an expert with the spear (ngao) although few foreign students ever saw him work with it, westerners having a seeming fascination for two swords. Dhab sawng muay (fighting with two swords) is all anyone ever asks me to teach. And no one ever wants to learn what I consider the ultimate weapon, mai sok (arm protector) because it is such a thigh-killer.