Documenting my journey as a female Muay Thai fighter in Thailand, sharing techniques, culture and personal perspective - over 250 fights fought

watch the full Kru Pot Library session here Kru Pot is relaxed, confident in himself, but I wouldn’t describe him as “laid back.” He has an energy just under the surface, which sparks through in the way he moves and the expression he holds on his face most of the time, which is a little bit like he’s continually amused or surprised by what he’s looking at. But relaxed about it. This energy, this just-under-the-surface wiring, sparks and erupts with complete power and economy when he demonstrates a knee,...

This post is to mark the release of the full interview with the late, dear Sirimongkol Luksiripat. Previously the full interview was only available to patrons, but realizing what is best it has been made public now, in its entirety. This is history. It was a blessing to talk to him, and to get to know him the little I did. If you haven’t listen to it previously, hear how he rose up from the tragedy of an early opponent of his dying in the ring, only his second...

I’m not a Kru. I’m not a teacher. I’m still a full time fighter, I’m still a student, I’m still nowhere near the Legends and Krus and fighters who have taught and guided me. But, that said, I’ve put in the work for nearly 8 years in Thailand, and I’ve given my love for clinch a lot of thought – and I really do love it a lot – so I’m more than happy to share what I know with anyone else who wants to learn. Everything I know...

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...

Guest Post Sylvie wrote about what she felt is probably the best Muay Thai private session in all of Thailand, here. This guest post is about why you should, generally, plan and budget private sessions on your trips to train in Thailand. Either long or short term. It now has become a really important part of the tool box of experiences that Thailand offers to serious students of the art and sport. Things have really changed, and indeed changed rapidly, in Thailand. It was not long ago, maybe even...

Below is a collection of videos I’ve started as part of my Preserve The Legacy efforts. So far 3 legends – Dieselnoi, Karuhat and Namkabuan – speak to who they believe are the five best fighters of all time. Much of this article is on Dieselnoi, as he was the first I focused on for this particular project. More to come, this is history. You can follow my YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss new videos in this series. After this post, you can read part 2...

The work we are doing with the Preserve The Legacy project not only includes the building of the immense Muay Thai Library, archiving the techniques, and documenting the men who embody them, it also includes interviews with legends, in Thai, letting them tell their own story. We’ve interviewed Fighters of the Year Dieselnoi, Namsaknoi and the late Sirimongkol. Going further, we’ve started through Patreon the Legends Speak series, which will largely be composed of living legends watching a fight video of theirs in real time, reliving their moment of...

Most every All Time Greatest list of Muay Thai fighters we read is made by people who hadn’t even seen most of the greats fight in person, or lived through the eras that produced them. It’s good to hear from someone who was there. When we drive across Thailand with Karuhat, for a fight usually, he sits shotgun and I act as an interpreter between him and Kevin as we all three chat about the Golden Age, the problems with modern Muay Thai, and what fighters were the best....

One of the great instructors of the Muay Khao and clinch style of Muay Thai is Kru Diesel of FA Group, having trained some of the very best of modern Muay Thai clinch monsters, from Yodwicha to Petchboonchu. as a patron you can also listen to this session as a podcast  Our Library Coffee Diesel Discussion In addition to the extended clips above, you can check out our Library Coffee session discussing the bigger ideas we took from Kru Diesel’s instruction. You can listen to this Library Coffee as...

This man has been inspiring me for more than a decade. He gave me the spark of a fire that is roaring. Many know my story: When I first saw Muay Thai in a movie, I loved it. It just… entered me in some way. But when Kevin and I tried the closest “Muay Thai Gym,” to our cabin in the woods, it was a huge disappointment. It wasn’t Muay Thai. So we kept looking and the moment I met Master K, at the time about to turn 70...

Here is Episode 14 of Muay Thai Bones, a little bit of a mini one. Usually we are pushing 3 hours or more on the Bones, but the drive was shorter this time, coming home from Hua Hin.  I hope you enjoy all the things we are discussing in what we are calling the most in-depth Muay Thai podcast in the world, discussing all the ways that Muay Thai touches life. Apple & Android: Read my quick article to see how to add Muay Thai Bones podcast to Apple...

My commentary videos are getting great feedback, so we are making a focused effort to make them more special. This is my 260th fight up at Loi Kroh ring in Chiang Mai, accompanied with my thoughts about the fight. In my commentaries I want to help people see the things I was thinking, but also the challenges and aims of my technical choices. I fight a lot of very large opponents, all part of my plan to develop my muay, and Namtip is about 8 or 9 kilos larger...

With the growing popularity and serious study of the Muay Thai Library project which documents the men and techniques of Thailand, taking a private session with a great kru or legend of the sport is fast becoming a “must do” when coming to train in the country. There’s no better way to get a concentrated burst of knowledge, in kaimuay world of long-term training camp grinding, famous for producing great talents, but not always teaching technique directly. I get the question all the time: Who should I take a...

I get a lot of messages, asking what gloves to buy. What shinpads I use. What kinds of pads are “the best.” I know people are just looking for some guidance in a sea of options, but for the the most part these questions are not answerable with any kind of honest authority. It depends. And it depends on lots of factors. I’m 100 lbs and petite, so what I like or works well for me might not be ideal for a 180 lbs guy. I don’t hold pads,...

#Diary last night Arjan Gimyu was driving his motorbike back to Pattaya from Bangkok (this is insane, for those of you who don’t know the distance or context of the motorway) and fell off his bike. He’s 78 years old and already physically compromised from an accident many years ago. He called Kru Nu, who took him to the hospital and had him checked out. He’s not badly hurt but couldn’t walk, scraped up a bit but a stubborn man who wanted to sleep in his own bed and...

Chamuakpet is one of the greatest fighters of all time. He was dubbed “Mr. Computer Knee,” a fighter out of the famed Hapalang Gym which produced Knee-fighting champions and included Dieselnoi in its stable, but Chamuakpet is considered one of the most well-rounded fighters of the Golden Age. He’s lived in Japan, teaching in Tokyo, for more than 20 years now. When he comes back to Thailand he complains that it’s too hot. He’s quiet, soft spoken, and comes off a little sad until his face erupts into a...

A Husband’s Point of View is a series of my thoughts on watching Sylvie, as her husband, throughout the years. You can click on that link and see the collection of philosophical thoughts, technical thoughts, but mostly my awe and inspiration of my wife, who is doing things never been done before in the history of fighting, man or woman. That’s fair enough. I’m her husband, I loved her instantly and powerfully enough to promise my life to her, and it’s a beautiful privilege and pleasure to do so,...

Yeah, It Hurts Thailand, Pattaya – My trainer, Kru Nu, is 5’10 and a solid 25 kg heavier than I am. He’s not small. He’s also long, rangy, and doesn’t throw full power when he spars with me but he doesn’t lightly tap me… ever. A few years ago we were doing padwork in the ring and I went for a kick. Kru Nu went for a knee at the same time and ended up landing it flush into my groin; hard. The pain felt like I’d been split...

My arms are burning and I’m thirsty. The soft, pudgy flesh of my clinching partner pillows under my forearms as I snake and move and turn him, the insides of my legs slapping the sides of his body and occasionally his elbows, where he drops his arms down to try to protect his body. I feel his resistance, which is manifold: he’s resisting my movements, but he’s also pouting. He’s expressing his dislike of this experience with every cell in his body, but he cycles through going limp to...

Kru Tak is very charming. He’s quiet, confident, boyish in both demeanor and physical appearance. The first time I ever walked into his gym, 5 years ago, I thought he was a teenager and asked where the boss was. He was 43 at the time. But his youthfulness is part of his Muay Thai style as well. He knows he’s faster than you are. He knows he’s more clever and able to punish you on whichever move you’re sure is going to land on him. That’s the one that...

I’ve recently reached the landmark achievement of 250 fights, which is incredible to even write. It’s a monumental achievement and one I want to celebrate, but to put it in context it’s about the halfway mark to my ultimate goal of 471 fights (a number arrived at because the highest number of recorded fights is Len Wickwar, a British Boxer in the 30s-40s). Both are insane, both are/were going to happen. But the 250 has happened and these gloves are a celebration of that – see my complete fight...