This is a follow up post on the first post: Legends Tell Their All Time Greatest Muay Thai Fighters – Dieselnoi, Karuhat, Namkabuan. It all started out as an informal curiosity. Kevin and I had seen a few posts on a Thai Language Facebook pages, which share videos, photos, news, and informal “polls” about fighters from all eras of Muay Thai. Part of the importance – urgency, even – of the Preserve the Legacy Project and the Muay Thai Library, is that what we in the West know about Muay Thai and its history is just incredibly limited. Youtube plays a huge part in what fighters we even know about, at all, let alone who will be remembered. It’s a shame, because the greats don’t have footage, or only have very little. Who will be remembered? What will be remembered? This is series of Top 5 Greatest is an attempt to get all of us more grounded in who were the best fighters who ever fought.
So, this started with just asking Karuhat for his “Top 5” of all-time list. Just out of curiosity. We wanted to giveaway some of his shirts, and it seemed like a fun thing to do. Some of his answers were very expected, but some were unexpected, but it was his reasons that were wonderful. So we started asking more Legends, and their answers were also both expected and unexpected, but again their thoughts about each fighter were revealing. Their reasons express their own personalities and, more often than not, have a lot to do with what it felt like for them to watch somebody in the ring. These Legends suddenly become fans, in a really beautiful way, but like the most knowledgeable fans who ever were. These fighters lived the ring, and fought at the highest levels. They see things that probably even video tape misses. So we started a project out of it. The Preserve The Legacy efforts are all really about bringing knowledge and experience that is being eclipsed by history, back into history, and this series is a part of that. Listen to each legend talk about the fighters they think are the best who ever fought, and also discover something about each of them, and their relationship to Muay Thai. Where there are Muay Thai Library sessions filmed with anyone I ask, I’ll link those too, so you can see them teaching their muay.
Here are 3 more, you can see the answers from Karuhat, Dieselnoi, and Namkabuan in this post.
Chatchai Sasakul/Neungthoranee Petchyindee – WBC World Champion
- Wichannoi
- Dieselnoi
- Pudpadnoi
- Karuhat
- Hippy
#64 Chatchai Sasakul – Elements of Boxing (72 min) watch it here Chatchai is not only a former WBC world champion, he also is the recipient of Thailand’s Coach of the Year. He is one of the great striking coaches in the world, and in this session he breaks down all the basics from the footwork on up. Nobody has a more beautiful and potent hands foundation. Watch and learn from a master.
#14 Chatchai Sasakul – Perfecting Hands (106 min) watch it here Former WBC world boxing champion at Flyweight, and winner of Best Coach of the Year in Thailand, Chatchai in this nearly 2 hours of video makes micro adjustment after micro adjustment, honing in pristine technique in the basic strikes of boxing, for use in Muay Thai. It’s all about weight transfer.
If you would like to train with Chatchai, his is the best boxing private in all of Thailand. Head on over to his gym in Bangkok: Sasakul Boxing Gym
Hippy Singmanee “The Legend from the South”
- Pootlorlek
- Wichannoi
- Samart
- Kongtoranee
- Nokweed Davy
#5 Hippy Singmanee – Developing Power (69 min) – watch it here Two-time Lumpinee champion Golden Age legend Hippy Singmanee takes me though one of the most unique and valuable hours I’ve spent with a top trainer. He is building ground up how power and relaxation are related to each other. This session has been highly influential upon my own training. Learn how spacing+timing+relaxation produces dynamic power.
Bonus Session 4: Hippy Singmanee Ultra Violence | 30 min – watch it here Hippy is all about building power and aggression in strikes. In this session he really tries to create a conversation of violence in our padwork, and then in our light sparring he teaches elbows with incredible fluidity and invasive power.
You can train with Hippy at his Town In Town gym in Bangkok, there’s a map to the location at the bottom of this post.
Kaensak Sor Ploenjit “2x Fighter of the Year”
- Pootporlek
- Wichannoi
- Dieselnoi
- Samart
- Chamuakpet
#24 Kaensak Sor. Ploenjit – Explosive Defense (55 min) watch it here Kaensak, the 2 time Fighter of the Year, teaches the keys to his explosive, defensive first style, showing how training timing and open side tracking can produce powerful counters. This is blueprint to one of the most unique and admired fighters of the Golden Age.
If you would like to train with Kaensak where he teaches in New Jersey, USA: AMA Fight Club
If you missed the first post in this series check it out: Legends Tell Their All Time Greatest Muay Thai Fighters – Dieselnoi, Karuhat, Namkabuan.
Thank you to everyone who supports my documentation of these amazing me on Patreon. There is nearly 100 hours of video archived, and lots of documentary filmmaking.
