Like Oil on Water

4 minute preview here – A couple things that are present through out this Intensive session and are immediately apparent are 1) balance being the most important thing and 2) actively using that balance vs passively. In the very beginning there is a sequence where Yod is correcting Sylvie on blocking in vs back; meaning that when checking a kick to stand in a way that meets the kick vs leaning back which creates an imbalance from structure that is enhanced by the incoming force.

This is not only an example of balance being a structural component to fighting but also an example of active vs passive balance. Balancing as an action against a kick vs realizing balance was lost because it wasn’t considered a vital component to checking the kick. He uses the term “stand well” which we can take to mean, be cognizant of your stance, how you stand. All terms for how you balance from the ground up.

I’ll insert a coach’s perspective here too since it was almost at the same time, but the understanding of kicking off the check is I think more important than people realize. There are nuances here that aren’t really always covered at least in the West. Sylvie remarks about not pulling the foot too far back (again a nod to balance) but what goes slightly unnoticed by most, much of the time, is what one needs to sacrifice to achieve the goal. Or better yet, understand what the goal actually is. In repetition kicks on the Thai pad, the goal is to get as many off as you can in a row without loss of balance and usually as quick as you can. Similar to kicking off of the check, which I’d argue the goal is to get your counter off as quick as possible to enhance the chance of landing it cleanly on a target. Pulling the leg too far back, which in this case can be your normal stance width, not only pulls balance away from your target, it takes more time away from your speedy response. A trick few seem to know is understanding that the foot actually comes down and pushes off the ground close to the base leg. You sacrifice power from a deep pull for speed of reaction. You create a better chance to catch your opponent unaware.

And that brings in a point Yodkunpon talks about later in the vlog when they work on elbows and hand positioning for them. He explains that an unaware opponent can’t guard or prepare for whats coming. Its easier to do damage because there’s no resistance to what you are throwing, they cant brace for it. This becomes another huge coach’s perspective for me too because its common to see Western nak muay push down when hand trapping for elbows, to create an avenue for their elbow vs finding an avenue to flow through. Yodkhunpon talks of floating the hand above your opponent’s so when you throw your elbow they aren’t alerted to it right before you fire. It draws attention, at least for me, as to why nak muay are traditionally perceived with hands exaggerated in there positions above the face. Higher hands mean less chance of your opponent reading your movement and avoiding your elbows.

An additional coach’s perspective and one that as a martial arts nerd in general that I am I have to mention; is in when Sylvie talks about the snake head of her hand dictating the perfect position for the elbow, and how not only Yod, but Sagat both use it as a descriptor. Not only does it perfectly illustrate what is needed to be done, but it does it quickly and concisely. I thought of all the animal styles in kung fu and wondered if that’s part of why they existed. Teaching people you learn that the biggest threat to learning is communication. How do I teach something, someone is struggling with? Everyone is familiar with animals. We grew up with animals in some variation; from learning the alphabet to playing with our siblings and friends in the yard. Animals are familiar. Using animals, as illustrated by Yod and Sagat, is a brilliant way to convey information in a way that brings instant clarity.

Getting back to balance and the active vs passive perspective, one of the things that makes Yodkhunpon special is his relentless pressure. In my first write up I called him a relentless tide, a tidal wave if you will. He keeps coming whether a strike lands flush on on the guard, or it misses (in the rare instance that happens). I believe this goes right back to the beginning of the session where he speaks to the “stand well”. He always stand well, so he always has active balance, and so he always can return fire. In the game of kicks til one person stops, the only way to stop him in to catch a kick. Without actively disrupting his onslaught and effectively neutralizing it, you wont get a respite until YOU quit. And if at anytime he chooses to be done with the game, he will easily catch your kick at the perfect moment and forcefully remove your balance in a way that drops you and shows everyone exactly how dominant he really is.

Sylvie Study guest writer – James Poidog

You can find James on Facebook, at his gym Kaiju MMA & Fitness, or follow him on Instagram

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This is Sylvie Study Episode 26, you can see it On Demand here. At top is a free 4 minute extended clip from the session James is talking about in this post, but you can watch the full 56 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as the krus gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series, distributed; patrons get a substantial discount for these purchases so check that out (you can purchase Episode 26 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 26 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 36 hours of commentary training footage published, featuring in depth study of legends:

Read about and check out GIFs from Day 1 with Yodkhunpon here.

watch all the free videos in this Sylvie Study series

Clairvoyant:

having the power of seeing objects or actions beyond the range of natural vision.

There’s a theme that happens organically in everyone of Sylvie’s Intensives. These themes are brought about naturally by the golden age legends themselves. Each man has there own style and interpretation of what Muay Thai means to them and how to go about practicing and fighting with the art. In watching the whole of the session vlog, one can easily see the theme the legend has. With Karuhat, it’s almost immediately apparent that he is a mind reader. For a contrast, read my notes on Yodkhunpon. Before you begin to think I might have lost my mind, let me clarify. It’s not that Karuhat actually has a super power to read one’s thoughts, so much as as he can see actions one might take as one takes them. Clairvoyance would seem to accurately describe his abilities in the ring, but the reality is that what appears to be mind reading is in actuality a brilliant tactical understanding of the fight game.

An application that one can see almost immediately in the vlog, that show his “clairvoyant” tactics is his body posture, specifically his head and eyeline positioning. Karuhat almost never raises his head from the often yelled “chin down!” position; and so every punch thrown at him is dodged or slipped, every kick blocked. This position is widely understood to be the best as it provides at once protection for vulnerable areas of the body; but it also can allow a person the advantage of seeing the body begin an attack and so potentially provide a person with an early warning to imminent danger. Most coaches will tell you to focus your vision on the upper torso/shoulder region, avoiding the eyes and seeing the hip in periphery. Interestingly enough, Karuhat’s chin is so low he keeps constant vigilance of her navel and hips, keeping the torso and legs in periphery.  Interestingly enough however, many rarely seem to be able to manage this position for long. In watching the full session, you see that Sylvie raises her chin consistently. She’s no slouch in the fight game herself, yet as she engages in close, her chin begins to drift up and her eyes begin to seek the face of Karuhat.

Later in the session, Karuhat might give a clue as to why. He states through Sylvie that many can’t focus on both upper and lower body at the same time, it creates confusion; and so an opening to take advantage of. Right there is his next act of clairvoyance. He uses our common problems against us by exploiting them. If we struggle to activate multiple areas of the body then he’ll attack one to open another. At 11:45 in the session he shows the high low attacks in both strikes as well as clinch. In both he’s massively successful as is Sylvie herself following his instruction later in the vlog. In understanding how this might pertain to the often understood but rarely utilized chin down position; the root might be in what we do when we are confused. Think of the common response to a loud noise nearby. Imagine sitting at home watching the videos in this library. It is quiet except the talking on your computer. All of a sudden a loud bang from outside. What’s the natural response? To look. the head comes up and we look for the source to the sound that disturbed and confused us. It illustrates that clairvoyance, that tactical understanding of not just any opponent, but all opponents natural inclinations.

Consistently, through out the hour he applies this to his techniques. Everything designed to elicit a desired response from the person in front of him. A response he can then take advantage of. And if he doesn’t get it? Well, that’s’ where his other tactical skills come in. At 14:30 in the session we are first introduced to the idea of not being stuck. “You can’t wait for the right thing, the right thing will present itself as you move”. Its easily seen in how Karuhat applies the clinch. He treats the opponent as a washing machine does linens. First one way to achieve the result of opening or throwing, and then the other if the opening doesn’t happen; with the inevitable result that something does open and he is ready to take advantage of it.

A final (as far as this write up goes, he has so much more in this intensive to show than I can cover here) thing the clairvoyant does that I wish to tease out for the viewer, is his tactical mind reading doesn’t just apply to his attacks and defenses, but to his understanding of his own body. Alexander Palma, an excellent coach out’ve San Diego, CA instructs his students in what he’s termed zones. A common misconception of these zones is there spacing to an opponent, meaning by example zone 3 is so and so feet from the person you face. That’s not at all what he means. The zones are the ranges that one can use a specific weapon in. Karuhat also employs this tactic with his opponents. The space between my opponent and me is the space I use a kick in, a punch, a knee, an elbow. The space isn’t about safety, it’s about what I can use to finish my my opponent. And here’s where his clairvoyance becomes a study of beautiful tactics. Karuhat has such an understanding of not just his opponents, but of himself that he can not only take advantage, he creates advantage in a fight. He knows that you will raise you chin. He knows if he confuses you with high to low and back again attacks, your guard won’t keep up. He knows that if he keeps pressure both in striking attacks and in clinching, an opportunity will present itself to catch you with a punch to the gut, or a dump to the floor. Karuhat KNOWS.

Sylvie Study guest writer – James Poidog

You can find James on Facebook, at his gym Kaiju MMA & Fitness, or follow him on Instagram

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The Intensive Series

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Episode 24. At top is a free 6 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 57 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as the krus gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 24 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 24 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 32 hours of commentary training footage published:

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Even MORE Karuhat, beyond the Intensive Series

You can also watch these Karuhat Sessions as a patron, archived in the Muay Thai Library – Preserve The Legacy project:

#27 Karuhat Sor. Supawan – Tension & Kicking Dynamics (104 min) watch it here

#20 Karuhat Sor Supawan – Switching To Southpaw (144 min) watch it here

#11 Karuhat Sor. Supawan Session 2 – Float and Shock (82 min) watch it here

#7 Karuhat Sor. Supawan – Be Like Sand (62 min) watch it here 

Bonus Session 7: Karuhat Sor. Supawan – Forward Check | 39 min – watch it here 

Bonus Session 1:  Karuhat Sor. Supawan | Advanced Switching Footwork | 60 min  – watch it here

4 Legends Seminar – Bangkok April 2018 (1 hr 20 min)

Muay Thai Library legends Karuhat, Chatchai, Namkabuan and Dieselnoi were in seminar on two days instructing students from around the world. This is an hour and twenty minute video edit of a first-of-its-kind seminar in Bangkok. watch it here

Yodkhunpon: The Unrelenting Pressure of The Oceanic Tide of Thailand

Tidal Wave-: something overwhelming especially in quantity or volume-Merriam Webster dictionary definition

Yodkhunpon is know by his fight name The Elbow Hunter. An apt name for a man who finished countless nak muay (muay Thai fighters) by one of the signature weapons of a Thai boxer- the elbow. Watch two of his fights in the Day 1 article here. To say that this video only shows the elbows he’s famous for is misleading though. This hour long tutorial is filled with all of the ways this man created the opportunities to finish fights with that particular weapon and others. Almost from the beginning you notice that he’s trying to show that he, and Muay Thai as he sees it, is more than just a weapon or 8. Within the first minute he demonstrates probably one of the hardest things for fighters to learn: rhythm. Understandably, Sylvie struggles with it but not so much as she lacks rhythm in general, so much that what he does is unique to himself. His almost leg drag hop style of moving into position and immediate ability to subtly switch base stance from right side to left side dominance is a thing of beauty. I say subtle because even though the footwork itself is noticeable, the shift isn’t. In fact the gate of his footwork is almost hard to miss. However, arguably it is just as hard to emulate. It’s easy to miss his lateral shifts from right to left. Those who’ve explored switching stances can understand how easy in concept they are to understand, but how hard in application they are when training or sparring. showing a ease in this case is another example of this man’s abilities.

As a slight side note, and possibly only from a coaches perspective, in this part of the video Yodkhunpon begins to try and correct using a technique not a lot of people have mastered: humor. It can be frustrating when something that comes easy to you just doesn’t seem to gel with the person trying to learn. What’s wonderful about him is how quickly and effortlessly he uses humor to try and get his point across. Instantly diffusing the situation and steering it away from understandably frustration for both parties.

Another possible side note from a coach’s perspective is at 3:20 Sylvie speaking to another coach she’s had instructing to not move while punching, meaning move when you need but to “sit down” on your punches when you decide to use those weapons. Even though the point of footwork is to add to your overall game, when learning footwork maybe it’s best to focus entirely on just that. It seems to be such a problem for people who are possibly rhythmically challenged or are stuck in that ever present plodding stance, that bringing up the notion of just doing footwork for footwork’s sake in the beginning stages of learning it, is a welcome idea. Whether one focuses just on that or adds it into their punches, knees, kicks, and elbows routine, one thing Yodkhunpon says and Sylvie reiterates is the ‘must’ of doing at least a few rounds of footwork every training session. In western boxing it is understood that footwork is at least half of everything. Many of the greatest boxers of all time spent countless hours developing footwork, yet many have the mistaken assumption that nak muay don’t have footwork as a part of their resume. Part of understanding Muay Thai, not just as a new person just learning, but even as an advanced practitioner, is understanding that within the rule set there is indeed footwork. Granted it may be harder to see than what one is used to in boxing or even MMA, but it’s there and again I go back to Yodkhunpon’s subtle ability of right to left shifting. Footwork doesn’t need to be grand in design. In point of fact, to be able to use it in a fight (the whole idea of this training) it would be better if your opponent didn’t notice. How better to position oneself for the strike one thinks will win?

One aspect to his shift is how he hides it with the shoulders. At no time does his upper torso show what he’s doing downstairs. Very few nak muay or fighters in general have this understanding or even ability to implement in a fight. Seeing him do it reminds that some of the greatest techniques of the Golden Age haven’t even been discovered yet and make me glad once again for this forum.

Another coach’s aside comes to me at approximately 12 minutes in when Yodkhunpon tells Sylvie to ‘stand by’. As a coach, I understand the importance of mindset and code words designed to elicit a certain mindset from a student or fighter in the ring. Having a ready state that is neither completely relaxed (so as to be too slow to respond) or hyper-vigilant (so as to jump at every little thing, heart rate racing) is key to a lot of winning in competition and can be extremely hard to come by. Telling a person to relax doesn’t quite fit the bill. So to me, ‘stand by’ was a stroke of brilliance. It denotes neither ease nor rigidity, but conveys exactly what it needs without being so simple of an instruction one can dismiss it in their state of anxiety.

Throughout the video we are slowly being introduced to the reason I named the article the Oceanic Tide of Thailand. The Ocean is vast, endless, and unrelenting. The tides continue no matter what.  As each minute of the tutorial goes by we see more an more of a relentless pressure brought upon Sylvie by Yodkhunpon. It almost feels like we were introduced slowly on purpose. Almost like in a fight where slowly as we begin to tire and our reserves begin to deplete, we realize that the person standing before us isn’t getting weaker, but starting to feel stronger. “Something overwhelming, especially in quantity or volume”. In America where most don’t contend with the fear of something as overwhelming as a tidal wave, the term has become more synonymous with a non stop, overwhelming force, one with little in the way of defense against.  At approximately half way through the video we realize this is exactly what Yodkhunpon is. Way too late to escape, he begins to show exactly the root to his numerous wins. There are pressure fighters, and then there are fighters that are themselves like a force of nature. He brings the increase of pressure as if to say “I can do this all day…and better”. It’s there in his clinch, his kicks, his knees, but it’s when Sylvie and he begin to play with elbows that one can’t look away. Looking away means you’ll miss the inevitable. And with Yodkhunpon, the inevitable is elbow destruction. In Hawaii, it’s understood by the locals, taught at a very young age, to respect the ocean. The simplest lesson, but the single most important, is to NEVER turn your back to the sea. If you turn away, you are in danger. Watching Sylvie experience it, deal with it, and eventually give the master an elbow worthy of praise herself was the cherry on top of an enjoyable hour of intensive instruction from the man I’ve nicknamed in my hubris, the Oceanic Tide.

Sylvie Study guest writer – James Poidog

You can find James on Facebook, at his gym Kaiju MMA & Fitness, or follow him on Instagram

*******

This is Sylvie Study Episode 23, you can see it On Demand here. At top is a free 4 minute extended clip from the session James is talking about in this post, but you can watch the full 72 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as the krus gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series, distributed; patrons get a substantial discount for these purchases so check that out (you can purchase Episode 23 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 23 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 34 hours of commentary training footage published, featuring in depth study of legends:

Read about and check out GIFs from Day 1 with Yodkhunpon here.

watch all the free videos in this Sylvie Study series

This is Day 1 with Yodkhunpon Sittraipum. A little bit of introduction, Yodkhunpon was perhaps the most feared elbow fighter of the Golden Age. His nickname was “The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches.” He had the rare distinction of holding both the Lumpinee and Rajadamnern 118 lb titles in the same year (1991), and had a fighting style nobody wanted to face. That style comes through in this session and the 7 days with him are meant to show as much depth as possible into that style. It’s a constant pressure style, focused on hemming in the opponent until cornered, and then he unleashes his systematic attack of elbows and knees – like a game of Wack A Mole. Kevin and I recorded two “watch with me” fights from his glory years, you can see plainly just how amazing he is. You can get a sense of not only how he was as a fighter, but how I see him:

This first session was already chock full of so many details, I can’t even begin to share it all. He’s unlocking the keys to his style. You can rent or buy this single hour long session here patrons get a substantial discount (see below). Most of the session is him just getting me more comfortable in the pocket, where knees and elbows can work together. You can see a basic form of that attack from southpaw in the 4 minute clip I provided. A really interesting elbows in the pocket teaching tool he uses can be seen in the GIF below. It’s just a constant trading of elbows into the forearms of a partner. Any Muay Thai gym could benefit from this and it teaches several important things. The first is: stay in the pocket. It forces you to just remain where you are under attack, building confidence in your ability to block elbows in a basic guard. The second is to counter attack immediately, learning to strike back. As soon as you feel the elbow on your forearm, you throw back. Third, and maybe most important for his style, is that this is a game of rhythm. If you watch how he does it in the full video, and in sessions that will be published soon, it’s a game of “You quit first.” Yodkhunpon, in his fights, was able to escalate the tempo of his elbow attacks, and basically overwhelm his opponents. In this drill he does the same thing. You can see this progression in the free video clip.

In the GIF below you can see a super important part of his style, his footwork. The Gallop. He’s a dern fighter, which means he is constantly coming forward, often chasing kickers across the ring. (He made a joke today about how if a Roi Et – where he’s from – dern fighter is going backwards, it’s because he’s stumbling. Don’t back up.) His footwork involves these deep steps as he gallops forward to cut off the ring. In the GIF you can see the small nuances of his rhythm, the way he drags his foot a little, the bit of bounce. This lightness of movement compliments, and contrasts with his crashing attacks.

It’s very interesting to pair Yodkhunpon with Karuhat because each of them were famed for their elbows. They threw them in very different stylistic ways. Karuhat would time his for dramatic cuts that would win rounds and ultimately fights, Yodkhunpon would overwhelm his opponents with them, paired with knees. Karuhat was a pressure fighter, but he has a kind of wave-like back and forth movement that made him both very difficult to attack, and unpredictable. Yodkhunpon on the other hand has very little backward sway. Everything is right in front of him, in a smothering fashion. The fighter Yodkhunpon might the most be like is Dieselnoi, in that he shares the same stalking, hemming tactics, and then the very violent, escalating tempo attack (with knees, instead of elbows).

This is Sylvie Study Episode 22, you can see it On Demand here. At top is a free 4 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 64 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as the krus gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series, distributed; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 22 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 22 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 28 hours of commentary training footage published:

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Two GIFS

In this session you find lots of additional techniques shown, and below are two that stand out for me. The first is Karuhat teaching proper stepback on the caught kick. This is part of a larger technique designed to protect a Southpaw’s fighter against an Orthodox kick to the open side. In Karuhat’s approach, you catch the kick while stepping back, switching stance. This effectively turns your open side into your closed side, demoting the point your opponent might be scoring. You then have an open shot for your own open side kick. In this scenario if you exchange kicks, you out-point your opponent even though two kicks have landed. It’s kick for kick, so the open side vs closed side is what determines who dominated the exchange. This little bit of the GIF though deals with the finesse with which you step back once you have switched stances on the catch. I have a tendency to pull my ass back at this point (that’s bad), whereas Karuhat is telling me to stand upright and relaxed, and to draw back, and even slightly over, to expose your opponent to a big scoring kick. You can see how slack and relaxed he is, and pulling me into his strike to boot.

closing the openside from Southpay, landing a higher scoring kick

The second technique which stands out is in the GIF below. It’s not uncommon that you’ll be locked up, with your opponent having something of an overturn in position (me below, you can see how slanted I am, “overturned” with my left arm too far around on my grip so I’m almost sideways into Karuhat’s stance). He’s showing how you don’t want to really struggle against this, so much as follow your outside arm under. The pull away can set this up (hips in), reversing direction. Note how closely he adheres to my body after he passes the arm, able to lock me up at any moment in the turn.

clipping under the overturned lead arm

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Episode 21. At top is the free 4 minute selected clip, but you can watch the full 63 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 15 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 21 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 27 hours of commentary training footage published:

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Clinch Throw GIFs

Below are two nice clinch throw attacks (on the outside leg) that Karuhat covers in this episode. The first GIF below is a variation of an unusual throw he’s been teaching me throughout this Intensive, mostly for use on the ropes when your opponent’s hip is pushed in toward you (which is a good defense against knees). Here he’s showing how to set it up in the middle of the ring with left knees, and then a dramatic gallop across their body and outside theleg. Ideally, they are leaning forward or putting their hips in expecting another knee. This throw I’ve called the Pickpocket, when it’s on the ropes, because it is done by walking past the opponent and kind of clipping them, sometimes in a casual in manner.

The other clinch throw to the outside comes off of an exaggerated knee, so you score this point and use the landing as a kind of fake, that then becomes a step beyond and behind their leg (below). Both of these throws come from being off-line from your opponent, here favoring your right side, which happens to be where I find myself a lot. These kinds of positions are dangerous for both of you, like you’re both in a pretty symmetrical position so nobody is “dominant.” You can be thrown and so can they, so the first one to commit with the right set up will be the one who grabs the advantage.

Learn both of these throws by watching the entire sessions, just as Karuhat was teaching them to me.

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Episode 20. At top is a free 3 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 56 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 20 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 20 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 25 hours of commentary training footage published:

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GIF – The Clinch

A great little moment in the episode, around the 17 minute mark, is when Karuhat corrects my clinch attack. The GIF below shows it. He starts by taking my (improper) upright, far off stance, and then shows me how he wants my head on his shoulder. If you watch it a few times you notice some very important elements he throws in to keep himself from being thrown from this slightly forward lean. First of all his posture is counterbalanced with the curve of his body. Secondly, he is peppering with light knees to distract, and then does a slight drag back to rock me forward, resumes the knees, and then reverses and steps through to the right. The action and feel is like a boat that is being jostled by waves. Look at my body, how it is constantly pushed off center, sloshing back and forth. I’m relaxed so this is emphasized, it allows you to see the small shifts. This makes his step through extra effective. In this instance he uses the step through to land a big score on the ropes, but if my hips were in defending against his knees, he would turn this into a throw over his left thigh, a throw I’ve been calling the Pickpocket Throw because of how you step “by” someone.

above, quick GIF showing clinch distance, head position, and shifting direction, from the episode

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Episode 19. At top is a free 3 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 64 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 19 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 19 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 25 hours of commentary training footage published:

watch all the free videos in this series

click to watch the full On Demand series

Episode 18. At top is a free 3 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 80 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 18 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 18 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 20 hours of commentary training footage published:

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This is about being relaxed in a range, and moving smoothly through that range. This is really against my basic instinct which is to pop out of range, after a miss, or even a mistake. Karuhat is a pressure fighter, but the pressure isn’t aggression per se. It’s more constantly reading and scanning your opponent, closing the distance.

In the free excerpt above he starts talking about my elbows, wanting me to think about how arm-pressure creates openings for elbows. He is showing me his push-pull, the way he uses tension to flex or melt away. This is a larger principle for him, part of his Be Like Sand. For me a key in working his flex into my style I want to be on my front foot. For me rocking back onto my back foot stagnates me, making me less ready. On my front foot I’m much more ready to kick or check.

click to watch the full On Demand series

Episode 17. At top is a free 4 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 84 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 17 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 17 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 23 hours of commentary training footage published:

watch all the free videos in this series

click to watch the full On Demand series

Episode 16. At top is a free 5 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 68 minute commentary analysis video of this session on Vimeo On Demand (below). Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 16 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 16 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 21 hours of commentary training footage published:

watch all the free videos in this series