Tyler Byers

Intradasting.... I didn't know that was an accepted technique. Seems super handy for elbows!

Hahaha this is another thing that the General is teaching us that seems to have an overlap with Kali. He has us using the cross block and either hitting their shin, knee, or inner thigh.

Ooooh I may have actually seen it in one of the Namsaknoi videos from when he was at the gym in Koh Samui. It's a fairly common technique though, shouldn't be too difficult to find an example.

I agree with Kevin on all of this, especially teeping and checking the low kicks early. Edit: Something else I thought about today after watching our training videos with General Tunwakom is using the shove to the neck/upper chest when you opponent goes to knee or kick. @Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu can probably find the video of this (I'm not sure where to look), but I could swear that Sylvie did a video on this specific technique.

You see this with a lot of people in Asia as well (especially those from China). I think you are 100% right, its just cultural differences for the most part. It definitely took me a long time to get used to the trains in BKK! I think for fighters this is totally fine. This is probably something that is cultural as well. Similar to how Europeans spar notoriously hard vs gyms in other places. Hahaha my old Thai trainer used to just randomly teep me around the house (I lived with him and his family), gotta have your defense up at all times! It actually became a fun game between us. There is definitely some good that can come from this kind of pressured training, but for people who only train casually or for fitness it's too much imo. Fighters gotta get used to it though!

Obvious to you perhaps, but I can assure you that not everyone who has been through traumatic situations is in control of their bodies at all times. For guys just coming out of war zones or people who were abused badly as children, women who have been raped, etc. they still see danger everywhere. It's more about never letting something like that happen to you again and you remain on high alert no matter how safe a situation seems. I've nearly hit several people with elbows simply for walking up behind me when not expecting it. It's not something I have control of, my body moves and reacts on its own. I know what you are saying about over thinking things, but imo simply asking is the respectful thing to do. A yoga teacher will likely announce it at the beginning of class, and then again just before they adjust you. It's not about the act of touching per se, but about the consent to do so. As for a trainer in a gym, I personally would be pretty shocked if a trainer hit a student hard without any warning. Usually you give the student several verbal warnings, then maybe a quick swat or tap but even that is at a speed that is slow enough so they understand what is happening. In Thailand things are a little different due to the language and cultural barriers, but that is also something you accept as you come into that environment. I think a lot of times people just assume guys are alright with it. This might be a personal thing, but I'd rather get hit hard with a pad then have someone place their hands on me to turn my shoulders/hips more. While placing your hands on someone may seem like a "softer" touch, it makes me deeply uncomfortable. Due to some childhood stuff, being hit is normal and being touched/hugged took me about 20 years to get used to. In my experience a lot of the guys who end up at combat sports gyms are products of abuse or guys with PTSD of some sort (whether from childhood or military service). Not all of them obviously, especially as combat sports are becoming more main stream, but you just don't know people's background. Plus it sets a good example for the younger kids (male and female) and teaches them appropriate behavior for their future so they know what is ok or not ok in case their parents aren't teaching them at home.

I'm not familiar with yoga, but that's actually a perfect example of why it is better to ask. For example, if I went into a yoga studio for the first time I wouldn't realize that to be a normal thing. And if someone I didn't know just started touching me they might lose a hand lol. They may have had only good intentions (I legitimately believe that most people do), but me being very protective about my body due to some traumatic events is going to cause me to react in a way that will likely be violent in some form. It's simply a trigger that I struggle to control. The entire situation can be avoided by simply asking "Do you mind if I touch you to adjust your form/technique?". Edit: Also Oliver, it is a good idea to ask like this if you are a trainer/gym owner for your own legal reasons. Sexual assault claims (whether true or not) will usually destroy a business. By asking first you decrease liability as well as establish a healthy relationship with your students.

That 3rd round was fire. Straight gun slingin'.

Bro. *dramatic pause* My brain is currently made of french toast and soup. What did he do to us tonight lol? I want to play with that spinning elbow more, I felt like I was starting to get the weight transfer of that one towards the end. Once I have that down I want to try and start mixing in other elbows. I actually like that step in elbow to the floating rib too. I didn't get a chance to try that one, but I think I understand how it works. On an unrelated note, that ninja jump foot work is going to be the death of me. I am terrible jumping off my left side. Those jumping kicks made me feel like I need to go do single leg squats for the next 3 months to get more than a 2 inch vertical. Good stuff, but I'm brain dead.

I try not to give unsolicited advice, but I am certain I have been guilty of it at some point. I usually only suggest things or mention things if I am drilling or sparring with someone. For me this is an appropriate setting because we are supposed to be helping each other to get better. Just walking up to someone you don't know and spot correcting them is weird lol. Also, never under any circumstances should they touch your body to make a correction without asking first. I don't care if you are male, female, or whatever, don't touch people without asking first. I personally don't like people touching me even if I do know them, and if you do it without knowing me you are likely to get a bad reaction out of me. I think most people have good intentions with all this, but you never know how the other person is going to take it or what kind of past personal issues they may have.

I like to stop at certain places to check my form. The main place I stop and look while doing hooks is as my body is torqued to one side just prior to throwing the hook. This allows me to make sure my weight is centered and balanced, my shoulder is over my opposite knee (if throwing a right hook, the left shoulder should be directly over and inline with the right knee). I do this both facing the mirror and from a side perspective to make sure I'm not leaning backwards or forwards. I also check my guard to make sure that my defense is solid (shoulder blocking my chin on one side, glove on the other) as many people get caught as they are beginning to throw the hook. I do the whole sequence very slowly and progressively move quicker to generate more power. I also stop at the end of the hook to again recheck balance and make sure I haven't over-extended (right shoulder should not be past the left knee at this point). There should be a ton of boxing videos that will break this down for you. I'm sure they can add more than what I can. Edit: Something I forgot to add is that it is really important to use your waist/hips to create power. I see a lot of people trying to "push" their hooks using hip on the same side (if throwing a right hook as described above, they will drive that right hip forward). I don't know that this is "wrong" but I've found it really helpful to instead "pull" using my opposite (left hip in this scenario). Makes my hooks much more snappy and keeps me balanced. Just something to try and see if it works for you. Would you mind posting some video of this? It sounds like you are simply off balance, but I'd like to see it before I put my foot in my mouth with ill-advice lol.

This is actually one of the few things I have done that does really help. I do it every time I go to Virgin Active for as long as my grip strength allows it. I try to do it at home too in kind of a modified position (I'll use the sides of a door frame and kind of sit my hips down). The decompression in general really helps. I'd like to get something for my neck too, but this definitely helps both my shoulders and mid back a lot. Great resource! Edit: Forgot to add something else that I have found really helps is using a pole or broom stick to do rotations around my torso and also from back to front. This guys has a pretty good video here:

We haven't been shown any feints yet but I think we aren't even near that point. We are still working on the basic techniques and not even really drilling or sparring yet. I think when you are that close, it is mostly slight/nuanced movement based feinting (acting like are going to pivot one direction, then going another), or feinting when you are an outside in attempt to keep them guessing so you can get back into that mid-range. I'm having a hard time putting into words what I am thinking, hahaha very likely I am still figuring it out myself. I'm kind of getting a double dose of learning/re-learning as I realize how many of the ideals behind Muay Lertit are similar to things I was taught at Toddy's. I'm guessing these similarities are all in the Muay Korat base, but I'm not certain exactly what techniques are classified in that style other than the use of a lot of elbows and knees. The Muay Korat terminology is pretty recent for me so I'm still connecting things if that makes sense? I have the feeling a lot of this stuff will begin to click a lot more if I can start sparring and trying to work it in more of a live setting, that's just kind of how my brain works. I've definitely had the most trouble with the "traditional" martial arts movements, though that makes sense considering I have never done anything other than Thai boxing (General Tunwakom is pretty insistent that Thai boxing is very different than Muay Thai). We've just had a ton of information thrown at us very quickly on top of trying to change existing styles and movements. Realistically it's only been a couple of weeks so there is a LOOOOONNNGG way to go still Hahaha honestly I feel like Tim is getting it worse than I am, I at least get told not to worry about stuff since I have a bunch of time to learn.

This is actually what I like best about it so far, and is yet another comparison to my old style. I used to live in that mid-range because I found it makes people really uncomfortable and leaves them trying to choose between moving or attacking. As the pressuring fighter (or at least the one trying to eat/maintain that space) you can still see quite well and therefore counter really well since you aren't actually leading the dance. Feinting/hiding your strikes is really important here I think, it increases the sense of panic in your opponent and makes them open up even more.

Mostly worried about how mid-kicks will be viewed. I'm worried that judges won't see the block for what it is and instead look at it as taking the kick on the forearms as opposed to being blocked by the elbow. Also the style isn't the prettiest thing in the world (compared to femeur), but hopefully the sheer dominance of it will shine through. I think if I can get some real sparring time in that will give me a better picture of everything.

Interesting. I wonder if I'll be one of the first Western's to take this style into the ring then. My plan is to try and use parts of Muay Lertit (the footwork, waist rotation, and some of the defense) and put it together with the bit of Thai boxing I have learned. I want to keep it mostly defensive as that is the base of the style and try to counter attack instead of being offensive. I probably won't kick hardly at all unless it is one of these short front kicks the General has taught us, or the heel thrust. Hahaha should be interesting as I am pretty much guaranteed to lose on points if I can't get a stoppage. Maybe I'll see what they think about doing a Kard Cheuk fight instead of a Thai boxing match. That might allows me to represent the style a bit better (hahaha they are worried how it will look if I lose and since I'm 35 there is already a lot of pushback).

I actually think this is kind of my main issue as well. I've got all sort of stuff wrong with two different sections of my back and then also my neck. Staying in shape definitely helps though. If I haven't worked out in a while (which is where I am at right now), it seems to be worse and harder to sleep for any real length of time.

He showed me this the first weekend I went up there and I only today felt like I was kind of getting it. I'm still a little bit uncertain if there should be a bit of a whip motion/feeling to it or not. While I was playing around on the bag I was really trying to focus on the tension in my shoulder (he has mentioned a few times that it is easy to hurt your shoulder doing that punch). I seemed to get the most power and least amount of tension when the punch was a little whippy, but I'm just not sure if that's what he wants from it or not. I still feel strange in general about striking with the back of my hand instead of my knuckles. It might be necessary though to maintain speed/power if you aren't shifting weight the way we would traditionally with Western boxing or Muay Thai. I dunno, it's just a weird one to me lol. That other downward strike had me totally lost. Not only have I never done anything like that before, but it also feels very against my natural style. I'm curious if as he shows more there will be a bit of lightbulb that goes off similar to when we were confused about the heel kick today.

I have the feeling we'll get to drills at some point. It kind of seems like they are still trying to figure out how to teach this on an individual level as well as being under a bit of a time crunch to show Tim as much as possible before he leaves. I'm curious, as someone who has studied both Kali and Muay Thai, do you feel that the non-weapon portions of Kali are indeed practical? Also would you consider it be practical in a ring setting?