Kru Cha - Cohesion, Guard and Strikes Together (62 min) (Patreon)

One of the great things about the Muay Thai Library, for me, is that it's an endeavor to preserve and archive the Muay of Thailand in all its variety. Golden Age Legends and great fighters of now are obvious gems, but you can find some truly incredible Muay Thai among the trainers who work, day in and day out, shaping the fighters of the next generation. Kru Cha is such a gem. He reminded me a bit of Kru San (Sitmonchai) - who is in the Library, the session is linked below -, in that he's a brilliant teacher with a broad understanding of Muay Thai technique and strategy. There's something about his "pace," as I identify it, that really speaks to the overall balance and finesse of a fighter. Whether it's recognized or not, one's padholder shapes the rhythms and distances of a fighter, to a great degree. So having someone who understands how to shape that distance, pace, rhythm, overall form is invaluable. I loved what Kru Cha was teaching me in this session.
Some things to look out for: 
1) Never Submitting Space: any time Cha needs to take a small step back, in order to dodge or take the impact out of an opponent's strike, he does it with his back foot. His front foot remains steadfast, like a stake in the ground, so when he brings his weight back forward he hasn't lost any of his proximity. This seems like a small point, but it's not. Especially for advancing fighters.
2) Train Guard and Strikes Together: one of my favorite things he enforced, without ever stating it outright, is a cohesion of offense and defense. This is a quality that I see in the Golden Age, much more so than I do now, but what he's working on is 100% this same interweaving of attack and defense. The way he breaks it down is insisting on being in guard as you return off of strikes. The point is balance, but the reason balance is so important is that it keeps your strikes honest and makes your guard strong. If you don't have good defense, none of your offense will actually come out.
3) The Art of Distraction: Cha works on a number of ways to distract your opponent in order to land your higher-scoring shots. This is the same principle as jabbing before a cross, but people tend to think of these as "combinations" rather than as strategy. A leg kick before a body kick brings your opponent's attention down and you're more likely to land the better shot. As such, how you use your footwork to set up that leg kick is different from the leg kick being a damaging strike in and of itself.
4) Balance: this is everything. Balance is everything. Every piece that he works on and every explanation he gives is imparting the importance of balance. He's speaking to me as a Muay Khao fighter, and emphasizes how important balance is when you're coming forward, especially if your opponent is Femeu and running away from you all the time. Alternately, if you're Femeu and off balance, you won't come off as Femeu at all... you'll look drunk. 
5) Raise the Knee, Elbow or Punch: this is again getting your opponent's focus to come down, to the lower body, so that you can land a shot up top. I struggle a bit because I fail to understand the importance of proximity in the fake - I'm using it like a fake teep, which is a common set up for other strikes, but Cha is using the raised knee as a fake block or fake knee. So you're much closer, allowing your elbow or punch to land when you switch the strike.
6) Head and Shoulder Clinching: this is the best. Because I'm a clincher, so all these small things are really interesting to me. The way he explains making your lock water-tight, using your head and shoulders to lock and give your opponent only one option: use the lower body, and then exploit that. And his emphasis on dragging down is just awesome. All of these features are something that, when you are actually clinching, you can feel what a huge difference they make. Watching, maybe less so. So you have to try them. But there's a definite moment when someone locks you where there's a small gap, like a tiny air bubble, and you're kind of okay... then it gets squeezed shut and the panic starts. 
Some stills from the session, you can follow Kevin's photography on Instagram:











If you've gotten something extra and of value in this session and you would like to express a thank you of gratitude to Kru Cha you can send a donation/gift to him through my PalPay sylvie@8limbs.us - Just write in the note that it is for Kru Cha. I'll make sure he gets it and cover all processing fees myself. Every time someone sends an extra thank you the kru is more than thrilled. 

Further Study

If you enjoyed this session, these Muay Thai Library sessions are similarly themed, or have related skills. 
#33 Kru San Sitmonchai - Control of Pace & Distance when Advancing  (56 min) watch it here 
Kru San is a big man but has incredible muay, a lightness to his movement that he transforms into a jai yen advancing Muay Thai style. In this session it's all about. Creating pressure without rushing, using the teep to set up combinations to the body and head, raising ring awareness, and using weapons at the appropriate time in your opponent's fatigue.
#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.
#17 Burklerk PInsinchai - Dynamic Symmetry (82 min) watch it here 
Arjan Burklerk is a unique master of Muay Thai from the Golden Age, boasting one the highest win percentages in Thai history, and possessing a beautiful craft that harkens back to older styles of fighting with powerful, dynamic symmetry and control of space. 
#13 Kem Sitsongpeenong - Building a System (52 min) watch it here 
Kem, one of the best fighters of his generation, shows me building blocks of his system. He teaching a firm, defensive frame, and especially likes an upward elbow that explodes out of blocks, checks and fake teeps.
#51 Berneung Kem Muaythai Gym - Big Man Timing, Not Power (66 min) watch it here 
Berneung, despite being a power, Muay Khao fighter is a big advocate of timed pressure, and using timing to disrupt and ultimately dismantle your opponent. This session is full of teep tactics, switching into opposite stance, clinch trips and turns, and a thinking many's Muay Khao approach.

Remember, you can browse the whole Muay Thai Library here.