Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu

Here's a photo of the said punch, the moment just before the General rolls the hand, arm and shoulder over. A kind of Rolling Back Fist:

Just adjust and use his elbow strikes to the thigh to interrupt, right? hahaha. Yes, if you just take kicks to the arms all day, you lose. But that isn't really the Muay Lertrit style, it's invading of space more. Kickers will be okay for the first 2 rounds, but by round 3 and 4 their kicks will start to fall, pretty soon they'll all be below the waist and hesitant, leading to great narrative for you. Powerful weapons that degrade over time in a fight are a big negative. At least this is what Sylvie's encountered with her own pressuring style versus kickers. She blocks a few head kicks early (which score), but by the end of the fight the kicks are dead. Yeah, it's just fighting with the Muay Khao ethic (minus the clinch). There is a recipe for Muay Khao fighting vs Muay Femeu. Every judge knows it. You have to just follow that recipe I think, for Muay Lertrit inspired action. What is really interesting about Muay Lertrit, as far as I've been able to witness, is that the entire fighting style is organized around invading the no-mans-land between fighters, and fighting there. Even Muay Khao fighters sometimes ignore this zone, rushing in for the clinch. This is, in some Muay Thai, a neglected area of attack and defense, and for that reason your opponent is probably uncomfortable in this zone. We don't have the time, but I really would love for Sylvie to develop these twisting, intercepting no-mans-land habits and techniques. As a clinch fighter, if one became fluent in them, it would make you kind of undefeatable.

Tim's Vlog from Day 10

Day 9: Returning to Work with the General

Day 8: Capturing the Community Class The General was traveling, Tim recorded the community class

Day 7: Working Without the General

Why would you think that his Muay Lertrit would score lightly in Thailand's sport Muay Thai? It seems the opposite. It seems like fighting in the pocket with a very strong defensive core would ensure not only entertaining (action-oriented) fighting, but due to it's strong defensive principles would shut out the opponent's scoring opportunities. I think the bread and butter of Thailand's Muay Thai, the mid-kick, would not last very long vs the General (ideally speaking). It really reads like Muay Khao fighting, but without knees, like as you say, maybe how Yodkhunpon or maybe Samson Isaan fought in terms of temp and spacing. Just with interceptive defensive pressure. It seems like it would score well vs contemporary Muay Thai.

Yet, in the play, is also the countervailing imagery of being willing to be split right down the middle of your dichotomies. In the German the word used, here translated as "head", is more precisely akin to "part". Present the part in your hair, or the place you are split in two, to the heavens. Standing firm, by allowing oneself to be split asunder. This is the exposure that the female fighter ventures, I believe, exposing within themselves the halves of humanity.

This was Sylvie's article on her experiences: Cauliflower Ear – How I Dealt With It

An interesting reading of the essential tension between masculine and feminine in the figure of the Amazon (argued in the context that the Amazon Queen, and all Amazon's after her) tore her right breast off in order to be able to militarily fire bow which a man's efficiency: from: "Suddenness and Suspended Moment: Falling in Heinrich von Kleist’s Penthesilea" What is fascinating is how the contemporary female fighter can be positioned between culturally feminine and culturally masculine qualities. Instead of having to resolve which one she is, proposed is a kind of aesthetic solution, putting them in productive tension with each other, making the weapon and the art. Here the artist, the fighter, the Amazonian, sacrifices part of themselves to enter the order of the art, and then puts the parts of themselves in energetic tension. In the Penthesilea text she herself in turned into a projectile composed of receptacle and hurling elements, a machine of propulsion, as she chases down Achilles - the economy of words in building this combustion picture is really incredible: Look! With what eagerness She hugs her thighs around her charger’s body! How, parched with thirst, bent low into the mane, She sucks into herself the hindering air! She’s flying as if shot straight from an iron bow! Numidian arrows don’t fly half as swiftly!

Hahaha. That is what I was thinking as well. If so, good luck!

A bit from the Science Fiction: Odysseus Well, then. Achilles goes with me to greet The Scythian heroine where she sits mounted In martial panoply before her maids, Plumes flowing from her helmet, skirt tucked high, Her palfrey tossing gold and purple tassels, Hooves stamping on the muddy ground beneath. For one long moment, with a pensive gaze She stares into our ranks, void of expression, As if we stood before her carved in stone; This bare flat palm has more expressive features Than were displayed upon that woman's face: Until her glance meets that of Peleus' son: A deepening flush spreads down unto her neck, Blood sets her face aglow as if the world Surrounding her were leaping into flames. Then, with a sudden jolt, she swings herself Casting a somber scowl upon Achilles Down from her horse, and, stepping toward us, leaves The reins with an attendant, and inquires What brings us to her in such pageantry. We Argives, I reply, are highly pleased To come upon an enemy of Troy; Long has a hatred for the sons of Priam Consumed our hearts, I say; great benefit Would be our Joint reward if we were friends; And other suchlike bounties of the moment. But then I notice in the flow of talking: She doesn't hear a word. Instead, she turns And with a look of utter wonderment, Suddenly like a girl, a sixteen-year-old On her way back from the Olympic Games, Addresses a companion by her side: Oh Prothoë, I do not think my mother, Otrerë, ever laid eyes on such a man! The friend, embarrassed at these words, stays silent, Achilles smiles at me, and I at him, While she herself stands gazing, as if drunk With admiration, at that glittering figure: Until her friend reminds her timidly That she still owes an answer to my words. Whether from rage or shame, another blush Staining her harness crimson to the waist, She turns to me, confusion, wildness, pride Commingling in her face, and speaks: I am Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, And you shall have my arrows for reply! It is a martial love story, with the ideal male form (Achilles). The above is the first outline of the impossibility of alliance, which proposes a fundamental, but perhaps still productive antinomy between the sexes.

To Limn The Soul The infinitesimal countless compiling graphemes of the fighter's art, that defy the written limits of language: von Kleist's letter to his half-sister after a performance of the play

In some narrative frame it could be argued that German playwright and novelist Heinrich von Kleist is who made Sylvie a fighter, or in the sense of how Einstein theorizes about gravity, provided the enormously dense mass that distorted the fabric of space and time (the bowling ball on the blanket analogy), to make all things swing and sway "downhill" until it's a careening masterpiece of unparalleled fighting, alone in the sport. If you haven't read it, it's incredible. It's basically Sci-Fi written in the dawn of the19th century, a Science Fiction on Gender. You can find it in German here (Penthesilea, free download), and in English in a beautiful hardcover here (Penthesilea, Amazon). It really is High Art meets Marvel superhero. Nothing like it. It would be a pretty long and convoluted story to lay out the personal history between the play and Sylvie, and myself, diving down into German Literature (Sylvie studied German, and studied in Berlin), but it's enough to say that I do believe that the play positioned ourselves. It lay the course for this mad, incredibly romantic adventure. Silver Surfer, Wolverine. These fantasy images definitely set the course for the affective potentials of a human, but Penthesilea does incredibly more than that. It outlines a problematic between gender relations, and it does so as an accelerant. above, a Maurice Sendak illustration from the hardcover translation - ascending a chasm descending from space - Silver Surfer I'm really creating this post as a place holder for a potential conversation about the figure of Penthesilea, and how she relates to the frame of the contemporary female fighter ambition. There is so much to discuss here it is my hope that piecemeal elements of the puzzle can be jigsawed together. If you are interested in the subject I highly recommend you read the play - it's not easy to get in English, if anyone with a superior Google finger can find a PDF English translation link, that would be awesome. This was a really formitive play that as I look back on it now maybe 10 years after it's initial influence or so, it seems more true, or compass setting than ever. above, the Death of Achilles in the play It's hard to overstate the reach of this kind of examination. The myth of the Amazons - a parallel culture where women rule instead of men, bonded by a warrior code - has populated western consciousness for over 2000 years. Presently figures of martial power like Wonder Woman, drawn directly from that storytelling, symbolize real female power changes in the culture: growing voice, increased economic autonomies, self-determinations. Female fighters in the present day act out, in some sense, in the context of these images and storylines, and Penthesilea presents perhaps the acme of this kind of contestation, as female power to self-direct, take pride, self-own, wrestles against the idealized masculine form which symbolizes all of these things. The play traces the outline of the injunction which supposedly keeps the feminine from occupying the position of the masculine.

Is the backwards fighting fighter Thai?

Are working on it, but understand not all fighters lead positive, stable lives after their fighting days. I don't know the exact situation, but I get the feeling it isn't awesome. As a note, in his fighting days his nickname was "Chivas".

The General demonstrating an elbow to the kidney, or such:

A little out of order in terms of date, but Tim's documentary footage from Day 5, shot July 4th. You can see Day 6's footage here earlier in this thread. It's not easy to film everything and upload it all, a huge thank you to Tim for carrying out the invaluable process of archiving this. Day 5:

Tim's Vlog #3 - July 7th, 2019 - on the community class

His privates are 1,000 baht an hour, and he is a really cool instructor. What he really wants to do is just move with you, get relaxation going. We are going to try and film another session with him this week and put it up in the Library.

9 Fighters of the Year With the addition of Namsaknoi to the Library we now have an incredible 9 Fighters of the Year documented in the Muay Thai Library. reaching all the way back to 1972 (RIP Sirimongkol who was precious to capture), covering over 25 years of elite greatness. It's one thing to look at a list (below), but such another thing to actually look at their muay, and the men themselves, their personalities, their rhythm and movement. It's kind of incredible that this has been assembled, and we definitely have plans to look document as many of these yodmuay as we can. This is over 12 hours of archival footage. Thank you patrons for making this all possible. It is literally preserving the legacy. There are 4 Muay Khao fighters (Dieselnoi, Langsuan, Chamuakphet, Samson - he considers himself a Muay Khao fighter) which is awesome because this was a rather undocumented, under celebrated style of Muay Thai until only a few years ago. It's recent appreciation has in some part come through Sylvie's revival and archiving of it. You could add Naksaknoi, who was a pressuring fighter who would finish opponents off in the clinch, that would make 5 Muay Khao fighters. You have two Muay Maat punchers in Samson and Kongtoranee. Kaensak was also adept with his hands, and Samart and Sirimongkol as well. And maybe 4 Muay Femeu fighters in Namsaknoi (he fought both ways), Samart, Sirimongkol and Kaensak. A very nice cross section of absolutely elite fighting styles. Naksaknoi (1996): #65 Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn - Sharking The Angles (67 min) watch it here Samson (1991): #41 Samson Isaan - The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here Kaensak (1989, 1990): #24 Kaensak Sor. Ploenjit - Explosive Defense (55 min) watch it here Samart (1981, 1983, 1988): #34 Samart Payakaroon - Balance, Balance, Balance! (81 min) watch it here Langsuan (1987): #45 Langsuan Panyutapum - Monster Muay Khao Training (66 min) watch it here Chamuakphet (1985): #49 Chamuakpet Hapalang - Devastating Knee in Combination (66 min) watch it here Kongtoranee (1978, 1984): #37 Kongtoranee Payakaroon - Power In The Hands (89 min) watch it here Dieselnoi (1982): #48 Dieselnoi Chor. Thanasukarn - Jam Session (80 min) watch it here AND #30 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn 2 - Muay Khao Craft (42 min) watch it here AND #3 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn - The King of Knees (54 min) - watch it here Sirimongkol (1972): #54 The Late Sirimongkol and Lertrit Master General Tunwakom (81 min) watch it here A list of the older Fighters of the Year winners: 1999 – Saenchai Sor Kingstar (Highlight Video Here) 1998 – Kaolan Kaowichit (Highlight Video Here) 1997 – Anantasak Panyuthapoom 1996 – Namsaknoi Yuthkarnkamthon (Highlight Video Here) 1995 – Kaoponglek Luksuratham (Highlight Video Here) 1994 – Orono Por Muangubon (Highlight Video Here) 1993 – Wangchannoi Sor Palangchai (Highlight Video Here) 1992 – Jaroensap Kiatbanchong 1991 – Saenmuangnoi Lukjaophomehesak (Samson Isarn) (Highlight Video Here) 1990 – Kaensak Sor Ploenchit (Highlight Video Here) 1989 – Kaensak Sor Ploenchit 1988 – Samart Payakaroon (Highlight Video Here) 1987 – Langsuan Panyuthapoom 1986 – Panomthuanlek 5 Palang 1985 – Chamuekpetch 5 Palang 1984 – Kongthoranee Payakarun 1983 – Samart Payakarun 1982 – Dieselnoi C. Thanasukarn (Highlight Video Here) 1981 – Samart Payakarun 1980 – Nongkhai S. Prapassorn 1979 – Phadetsuek Pitsarnurachan 1978 – Kongthoranee Payakarun 1977 – Vicharnoi Porntawee (Old Footage Here) 1976 – Porsai Sittbunlert 1975 – Pud Pad Noi Vorawud (Highlight Video Here) 1974 – Puth Lawlek 1973 – Sansak Muangsurin (Classic Fight Here) 1972 – Sirimongkol Luksiripat 1971 – Seechang Sakornpitak (Classic Fight Here) 1970 – Fasai Taweechai taken from this website source, which is posting from a book

This is one of the great challenges of combat sport arts, especially in western teaching. Everything becomes broken into modular moves, that can be taught in short time increments, or to large groups of people (in assisted practice). And then the modular moves or strikes are thought to be combined in various orders. It's a very fragmented knowledge and relationship. Very fight steeped cultures like the Muay Thai of Thailand (in real kaimuay that raise Thais) or some boxing traditions avoid this problem through developmental play and experimentation, but it is very cool that you are discovering this as a deep piece between your Kung Fu and Muay Lertrit.