Train Like a Legend – For The Love of Muay Khao
I’ve vlogged about how when I trained and filmed with legendary Golden Age knee fighter, and Fighter of the Year Langsuan he told me that to properly train as a Muay Khao fighter I should be doing 1,000 knees and a 1,000 teeps per session. Which was frightening. But as usual, I just dove right in. Dieselnoi, the King of Knees, had also told me something similar, that Muay Khao fighters have to train like nobody else, heaping loads of work after everyone has quit in the gym. I was on a mission to take my cardio attack, and my technique to the next level. You can see my vlog here below:
above, my vlog on 1,000 knees & teeps
The response from everyone was huge, with people right away posting videos of their own workouts, trying to build up their numbers too. So I decided to start a #Langsuan1000 Challenge (thank you to the follower on Instagram who came up with this hashtag!). The idea of the challenge is that all of us can build our workout numbers, even to levels that seem crazy at first, and also to raise awareness about Langsuan himself, one of the great fighters of his era. Both Golden Age legends Karuhat and Kaensak have said he was a nightmare to fight. Langsuan even beat Karuhat 6 out of 8 times (falling to Karuhat’s infamous cuts twice). Muay Khao fighting is considered 2nd tier to more artful styles, but Muay Khao fighters have a league and respect among themselves, wrinkling their nose at the more fancy-boy fighters of their day. I’m a Muay Khao fighters. I love Muay Khao fighters of that era like Dieselnoi, Sangtiennoi, Samson and Langsuan (who are all in the Muay Thai Library):
#41 Samson Isaan – The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here
#30 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn 2 – Muay Khao Craft (42 min) watch it here
#3 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn – The King of Knees (54 min) – watch it here
#8 Sangtiennoi Sor Rungroj – Advanced Clinch (52 min) watch it here
Watch Langsuan’s full session on Patreon here.
So this challenge is big chance to celebrate Muay Khao history, and to see how far you can dive into the kinds of regular training numbers these remarkable men trained at for years. For me, I’ve already been at it – 1,000 knees, 1,000 teeps per session – for more than a week, and will probably be doing this for at least 6 months just to see where it takes my technique and cardio, and this is your chance to do it along with me!
How to Enter the #Longsuan1000 30 Day Challenge
To enter the challenge you just have to commit to building up your knees and teeps way beyond what you think is reasonable, for 30 days (ending September 16th). You can enter at any time up to September 16, posting to symbolize your 30 day commitment. Just film yourself – I know, I’m shy, but it’s part of the entry to film yourself – and post a video of you working on your knee numbers (the challenge includes teeps, but we’ll focus on knees for videos, because Langsuan is a knee fighter), and post it to Facebook publicly, and tag my Sylvie Muay Thai Facebook Page. You can also do the same on Instagram, tagging my Instagram. In your post use the hashtag #Langsuan1000. As soon as you get an acknowledging comment on your post from me, you are entered. And we’ll do a big giveaway at the end of the 30 days. We are doing this on the honor system, your one video represents your 30 day commitment, but of course you can post as many videos as you like!
- A public video of your knees (part of a commitment to grow your numbers)
- hashtag #Langsuan1000
- tag my FB or IG page
- receive a confirming comment from me (just to be sure)
The Giveaway
I’ll do a random drawing, and first prize will be a pair of Woody 12 oz gloves, signed by Langsuan himself. He’s agreed to sign them, but I may have drive all the way up to Phayao to get them signed. It would be cool though to be able to show him video from all over the world, of people trying to do his 1,000 knees and teeps. These are forgotten training methods, often passed up for more “hack” oriented improvements, losing some of the benefits that come from pushing high numbers. Even top Thais don’t really train like this anymore. But, when I do my knees and teeps in gyms I get heads turning from Thais, they remember when gyms were filled with this kind of work.
The Woody shop in Pattaya is here, you can follow them on Instagram.
I’m also going to try to add some Petchrungruang t-shirts that I either sign, or sew a Sylvie patch onto, for 2nd or 3rd place prizes. And maybe get creative with more prizes. Post on my Facebook ideas for what would make nice prizes, and I’ll see what I can do.
The Old School Petchrungruang t-shirt which I might sew a Sylvie Muay Khao patch on or something, above
Preserve The Legacy – The Mission
This is just another dimension of the Preserve The Legacy mission that is expressed by the Muay Thai Library archive project. You can see the enormous archive (already over 50 hours documented) here, and study all that film as a patron. It’s easy to join, a suggested pledge of $5. You don’t have to be a patron to be part of this challenge, but the challenge is a part of the work I’m doing through patrons. So thank you everyone supporting me over there, including the official sponsors of the Library SMAC, Chikara Martial Arts, and J Su & Family. This celebration of Langsuan is in the spirit of the Library, and you can watch the entire Langsuan session there, which has just been posted.
How Should You Be Kneeing & Teeping?
I’m glad you asked! Below is a public segment from the full Langsuan Library session where Langsuan shows me what he wants from me in these 1,000 knees and teeps. It’s pretty self explanatory. Yes, this is a technique drill, but it is much, much more about relaxation. The relaxation is forced upon you by the high numbers. Do not fret if your technique isn’t awesome. Give it time. Let the technique evolve. In the west we are giving big fears about doing the wrong technique. This isn’t really the case in Thailand. Build your numbers, find the way the body moves naturally, and keep an eye toward great technique examples.
above, Langsuan teaching the technique necessary for these drills, you can watch the full session here
I’ve been doing these 1,000 knees & teeps for a little bit now, and there are a few things I have learned in the attempt. Watch the vlog below and check out some of my tips. Be prepared, this is very, very hard. You don’t want to injure yourself, so just like any kind of marathon attempt, build up. But, I don’t want you to discourage yourself from imagining and shooting for huge, crazy numbers. You can do 1,000 knees & teeps after 30 days, you really can.
If you are going to join the challenge, take a look at my vlog on things to look out for and how to make adjustments:
click to watch, or easily become a patron
So, the best to you all! Encourage others to join the challenge so all over the planet we can all be celebrating the career of Langsuan, and of the Muay Khao heritage of fighting.
Check out my playlist of Langsuan’s fights, and see just what kind of fighting style was produced by this kind of training method:
above, click to see my playlist of Langsuan’s fights
