Kru Ali Phet Kalim - Old School Forgotten Principles (64 min) (Patreon)

Kru Ali is a very particular kind of man. He reminds me of Master K, my first Thai teacher, who when I met him was on the edge of turning 70 years old and was teaching students 1-1 out of the basement of his home in New Jersey, which he'd converted into a gym. Kru Ali's "basement" is a small gym, perched on the edge of a cliff that overlooks one of the most beautiful vistas of the Phuket water that I can imagine. Kevin noted a stone staircase that led from the house (which is actually under the gym, so Kru Ali's "basement" is technically more like an attic) right down to the water's edge.

But the location of Kru Ali's gym is only part of it. Yes, it's off this winding road that traverses a mountainside, and most of what's on that mountain is incredibly fancy hotels. But the contrast of Kru Ali's little gym to what else is up there, as well as the minimalism of it all: just enough equipment to get the job done - really demonstrates what Kru Ali's heart is about in teaching Muay Thai. He's in his 60s and when I explained to him what the Preserve the Legacy Project is about - archiving and documenting the older ways of Muay Thai, as it is so quickly changing - he jumped on board immediately. There had just been a Thai Fight card in Phuket the night before, where belts were handed out like welcome drinks, and he returned to his disgust about this many times throughout our session. "People don't know anything, they have no technique; how can they be champion?!" His focus, his personal mission, is about carrying on the traditional techniques of real Muay Thai, and he does so one student at a time. 

part of the charm of this session is the location, check out my vlog from when I filmed.

What to Look Out For: 

1) Stance/Guard: one thing that was a bit difficult for me because of the years of training I have, was Kru Ali's insistence that you never, ever go out of your natural guard. So, if you're right handed and you want to throw a left kick, you do a galloping switch-step for the kick rather than walking into the left kick, as I have learned and done. The reason this is important to point out is that it's important to Kru Ali. He is super, super invested in never changing your stance because it allows for moments of weakness. He wants as little of that as possible, ever.

2) Guard on Kicks: Kru Ali agrees with Arjan Surat in the school of thought that when you throw a kick, you should push your hand into the face of your opponent and keep the guard up high, rather than throwing the arm down to your side for added torque. Because he likes to stay close and be strong in every position, defense is a part of every offensive strike.

3) Front Side Attack: because you stay in your stance all the time, your stance and your opponent's stance dictates what you do. So, for example, if both you and your opponent are right handed, it's your lead side (left hand, left leg) that can hit the "open side" of your opponent. Kru Ali complained that fighters nowdays just want to throw their power side all the time (right arm, right leg), which just hits the closed side of same-stance opponents. He talks like this is the dumbest thing, which is how Dieselnoi has talked about it also. If you're mixed-stance (one person Orthodox, one person Southpaw), then you can go to town with your power side.

4) The Folded Block: this was beautiful. It's similar enough to Sagat's long Sleeping Beauty Bramble Guard that I felt like I recognized it, but it's different enough also that it's unique to Kru Ali. He folds one arm across the other, in front of his face, in order to guard from elbows and punches while he's throwing knees. It's very cool.

5) Low Clinch: Kru Ali has some really beautiful body locks, and how he stays active to keep the referee from breaking you so that he can score before throwing the opponent down is something you don't see much anymore. Low Clinching is less common in contemporary Muay Thai than it was 25-40 years ago because of how Muay Thai is scored now, but the moves are so effective and wonderful. They really shouldn't be lost. It's a bit like this: fighters got less effective in the body lock, so it didn't work as well and scoring punished it. If you're really good at it, it will score really well. So don't half-learn it. Learn it and get really good at it.

Sessions I referenced in this voiceover: 

Samart Payakaroon 

Karuhat Sor Supawan Southpaw and Open Side 

Karuhat Sor Supawan Switching Footwork 

Burklerk Pinsinchai 

Stills from the Session

you can follow Kevin's photography on Instagram 

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#22 Singdam Kiatmoo9 - Making the Basics Beautiful (71 min) watch it here 

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