Krongsak Prakong-Boranrat - That Shoving Energy (56 min) (Patreon)

Krongsak is one of these fighters who faced everyone, beat top names, and yet never gained a title to hang on the wall. When I asked him about this, he explained that big name gyms get the big name titles and that, in terms of opportunity and financial reward for non-title fights, he was satisfied with his career. (Note: my reports on his record come from what he told me, and from what I've heard from others too. There is an online interview with him that differs from what I report.) Two of his most remarkable achievements in Thailand are defeating the formidable powerhouse Sagat Petchyindee 3 times, and facing Dieselnoi Chor Tanasukarn at the height of his fame and undefeated run with one draw and one loss. A notable achievement outside of Thailand is his 23 fights in Europe (that’s an incredible number for a Thai fighter from the Golden Age), including defeating Rob Kaman with a 10 kilo disadvantage (watch the fight). You can see their weight difference here:

In short, Krongsak is a fighter’s fighter.He has been a trainer in France for the past decade or more, including him in a lineage of absolutely incredible fighters who have made French Muay Thai a branch on the tree of Golden Age legends. Pudpadnoi and Netr Saknarong are two legends who spent decades in France, and are two fighters Krongsak names as his own personal heroes. (There's an upcoming, separate interview we shot with him, talking about Thai fighter history.) This could be thought of as a less eventful session in the sense that Krongsak is not consciously instilling a particular fighting style or set of techniques. Instead, this ends up being a wonderful session precisely because the disorder of it uncovers his style and technique through the improvisation and play of waking up his fighter heart. I ended up loving elements of his technical approach, defeating punchers by shoving their shoulders and essentially snuffing their power, while equally off-setting the lower-half of knee fighters with the same upper body disturbances. Krongsak must have been incredibly strong and this forward push reminded me of Samsan Isaan’s pulse – something those of you who have studied his session will be familiar with. But it also takes elements from Yodkhunpon Sitraipum’s cross-arm to grab for the knee, in that crossing your opponent’s body protects you from counters all in one shot. I loved Krongsak’s energy. I loved his “slow down and just make it powerful” methods of training and how you could see the effects of that in his steady pace.Some things to look out for:

1. He makes a big deal about breath and making noise while you’re shadowboxing. This isn’t a throwaway correction, as it indicates that even the movement of shadow is focused on bringing power to all your weapons.
2. The back-foot rudder: I borrow the example of the boat’s rudder from how Chatchai Sasakul explained the back foot on a pivot, saying it steers and balances like the rudder on a boat. Krongsak never actually explains or lays this out, but you can watch his feet and see the incredible example of how he does just this on his turns. By leading with the leg, rather than dragging it late, he gets a lot of leverage to pull his opponent with him on turns – rather than using power – and he seemingly disappears into the blind spot as an opponent comes forward and he “matadors” off to the side.
3. The shoulder shove: this is the foundation of how all Krongsak’s other weapons work together. In the same way Samson Isaan pulses so that his knees can submarine as attacks under the upper body interruptions, Krongsak does this with an extended front arm, crossing his opponent’s body to hit the opposite shoulder. It protects from the opponent’s power side and it disturbs all their set ups. He also uses it to set distance, the way many fighters will use a teep to juggle their opponent into proper kicking range.
4. “Look me in my eyes”: guys, I cannot… I have such a hard time with this. But Krongsak makes a repeated effort to get me to look into his eyes as a way to hide my intentions and not overly-focus on a target. He does say I can look at his nose, which helps a bit (I’m real shy when it comes to eye-contact in the ring), but this is again not a throwaway suggestion – it’s super important to linking his techniques and style together into a whole program.
5. Slow and Power: I love when teachers show you how to train on a bag. Krongsak wants slow pace, but all power. You don’t do single shots, it does all flow together, but it is beautifully un-rushed. It’s not about being busy, it’s about being deliberate. Both on his punching rounds and his knee/elbow rounds. With the knees/elbows, never let go of the bag with your forearm while the other is striking.

TIP BOX: if you are inspired by what you see and want to show added appreciation you can send gratuity directly to Kru Krongsak. Every time I send these extra donations and thank yous the Krus are really touched. Just message $5 or more via PayPal to the address sylvie@8limbs.us, please in the "add a note" section specify "for Kru Krongsak". I will transfer the funds.

KRU FUND: additionally, 5% of all Patreon pledges go into my Kru Fund, and is directed back to the Krus and ex-fighters who have helped make this documentary Library possible: http://8limbs.us/muay-thai-thailand/starting-the-kru-fund