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Jean-Luc Nancy (to turn to him again) gives what he claims to be an illustration of violence: the extraction of a screw with a pair of pliers rather than a screwdriver. How are we to understand violence from this example? Using pliers is not the proper way to extract a screw. It is the wrong way – the disorderly way – to do it. The screw is extracted, the goal is achieved, but the means are violent. - Violence, Image and Victim in Bataille, Agamben and Girard (16) On Muay Thai and Violence Lechte cites a very productive line of analysis of the ethical picture of Muay Thai, this is to say, a picture of Thailand's Muay Thai that assays its worth by what it says and does with violence. It's been my argument for some time that Thailand's Muay Thai has something to teach the Global West - perhaps the world - something significant about violence, and the agonistic affects of violence: anger, rage, pride, vengeance, frustration, etc, a large measure of this due to its cultural braiding with Buddhism. Here (Jean-Luc Nancy), such a picture. The use of the "wrong" tool produces violence in the (needless?) damage it does, its sheer ineffectiveness. It very well gets the job done, but brutishly. The screw itself suffers....and the pliers as well. We have a great deal of correspondence to this within the conceptual framework of Thailand's Muay Thai, at least in so far as it developed a femeu (artful) dimension. The femeu tool is the "right" tool, the tool for the moment. The technical elegance (and prowess) that articulates and imposes force or direction. We can see this. A femeu victory as such really in its acme ideal would do no damage. There would be pure submission (I've written about this), even without bending the will of the other. One thinks as well about the more brute versions of the sport that are rising up, many of them focused much more on "damage". Bonuses for damage, technique clusters meant only for damage. A thought process of damage. In this way we have left the land of the screw driver and its screw. At least in this sense, we have joined Thailand's Muay Thai to violence, rather than being an art of (about) violence. Violence, Image and Victim in Bataille, Agamben and Girard -- John Lechte.pdf

escriures - etchings, strokes, inscriptions, grooves & sweeps, impressions, trace, arcings, adumbration, articulation. Above is a photo of a fighter from Chatchai's shadowboxing with his hands on the hip bones, the most extensive writing strokes taken out. The body itself becomes a gesture of gestures, the feet and torso moves toward the visual language, developing the sense of the roots of writing.

This. Another form of writing.

Violence and Muay Thai "violence does not participate in any order of reasons, nor any set of forces oriented towards results. It denatures, wrecks, and massacres that which it assaults. Violence does not transform what it assaults; rather, it takes away its form and meaning’" Think about this in terms of Thailand's Muay Thai and fighting. The purpose of the rite and practice is not to denature the other.

Notes on a Theory of Writing A theory of writing. Writing composed of strokes, escriures, lines passing through space. escriures in expressive, non-representational clusters. Asemantic gestures, intentions. This would make shadowboxing, poetry (in brief), and drawing (in sketch) a comparable, single thing. The ontology of a mark, a signature, a sign. A differential, as a presence. It has been said that violence is a form of writing, as it leaves a mark. This note reflecting back upon the one above it. Reading as a form of writing, as its the eyes that also make strokes, escriures. .

Actually, I've just done a week at Lamai, and it's changed: pretty average training now. So I just recommend Wech Pinyo.

Consider not turnover over the kick, and instead working on the classic more upright Golden Kick: You can read more about it here: https://8limbsus.com/muay-thai-thailand/golden-kick-how-to-improve-your-thai-kick The turn over aspect of the kick is often over emphasized by non-Thai krus who don't really see all the connective tissue in the Thai Kick (generally). Most of the classic kicks turn very late in the arc, because they want to keep the opponent centered, and they don't want to be out of position for more continuous offensive flow. You can see more about Karuhat's kick here: #111 The Karuhat Rosetta Stone 7 - The Secrets of the Matador (83 min) watch it here Karuhat is the most documented Golden Age legend in history, thanks to the sum of all the filming and commentary we've been able to do with him. This session though provide the key to understanding all the other sessions. And there is a very special focus on his particular Golden Kick. An alternate kicking style: #143 Takrowlek Dejrat - Master of the Low Kick (90 min) watch it here One of the great low kicking fighters of the Golden Age teaches his squared up, pressuring, Muay Beuk fight philosophy which uses an extremely fast, vertical low kicking technique that keeps the opponent exactly where you want them. This punishing style, built on defense and ring control is extremely effective, using techniques that are not often taught. Study the low kick in a way you haven't seen before.

You may look into Takrowlek's close quarters kicking style. A lot of Japanese Kickboxing seems to have adopted this Thai style of fighting. Takrowlek was a very short fighter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/96897418?pr=true In the above link its is taught for an hour or so. In the video below you can see a segment of this:

Kem's Gym near Khorat is very close to nature and highly technical with clinch emphasis. FA Group is extremely popular among Westerners, that can be a bad or a good thing, depending on what you are looking for. No gym is going to perfectly suit your vision of what you want, its probably best to just focus on what feels like the MOST important for you, plan to spend a week or so with the intention of moving on unless it feels great and you just don't want to leave.

After a little bit of research, and contemplation, I figured the kyokushin close quarters kicking is the best approach to study.

Karuhat is not a tall fighter, and usually fought opponents much bigger, taller than him. He's a difficult fighter to emulate because his eyes were so good, and his timing impeccable, but his muay is full of great qualities.