Sylvie's Technique Vlog - The Diamond Guard (Patreon)

This particular vlog is a two-for-one, in a way. I'm focusing on the Diamond Guard, which is a block/guard that came out of a number of influences (Kaensak, Archie Moore, Frazier, Muay Boran, Somrak... the list goes on) and that's the "technique" I'm playing with, but the second element is HOW I'm working on that technique, which is more or less taking something that I am interested in and making a whole "test kitchen" out of my experimentation with it.

To be clear: the "Diamond Guard" related in past boxing antecedents and versions (Cross-Armed guard, Armadillo Guard, Mummy Guard, Log Cabin Defense, etc), and it is like all those other blocks and guards, which it resembles in ways, but it is also like none of them. It doesn't have defined lines yet. It's sketchy, shifty, in a really good way. So yes, it looks like the guard so-and-so uses in such-and-such art. I know. But "looks like" doesn't mean "is." It's moving. It's shifting. It's shaping. And part of the technique vlog is about taking this time when we're all away from our gyms due to Social Distancing and using that opportunity to experiment and develop a technique we are interested in - anything at all. 

What I like about this guard, for myself, is that it "feels" like a maximum protection, but it's not stagnant the way most "max protect" guards feel and are.  I'm feeling how to strike out of this, how to stay in it instead of flashing in and out of it (ultimately I have no idea whether I'll use it as a helmet or flash in and out of it), where the holes appear and disappear. It's a flexible guard; it's also spiky, offering elbows as targets to fists. I'm a close-range fighter, and this guard feels like it can be used at most, if not all ranges - again, feeling out where all those lines and limits are. Taking this opportunity to reshape them. That's the point. It's a work in progress, it's unfinished, and not even I know what it will look like when it makes its way to my regular gym training. It remains to be seen. That's very exciting.

Kevin's photo study of the guard capturing elements of it's aesthetics. He writes about these photos here: 

The Study of a Muay Thai Guard Through Aesthetics | Diamond Guard 

Sessions in the Muay Thai Library Related in Theme

These are some of the sessions in the Library that are currently contributing to the Diamond Guard for me. 

Kaensak brief teaches me the original position of the guard, as a flash guard that is boxing oriented. General Tunwakom teaches Muay Lertrit's principle of defending with the hardest parts of your body and connecting defense to offense. And Tanadet shows how you can turn a transitional piece of technique, in his case the long clinch, into an entire system of positional advantage. Watch Samson Isaan for how one can use a continously pressuring "max protect" style in high level Muay Khao fighting. He was both an elite pro boxer and one of the best Muay Thai fighters of the Golden Age. And Yodkhunpon's footwork for me is central in what I'm trying to do with the Diamond Guard. I want to be mobile, forward pressuring and for the guard to move with flexibility. Nobody was more like this than Yodkhunpon in his elbow attack. Bringing his gallop to the Diamond Guard changes it, making it much harder to read.

#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.

#36 General Tunwakom - Lertrit Military Muay (46 min) watch it here 

General Tunwakom is the last living direct student of the grandmaster who developed this Lertrit/Muay Khorat military style of fighting, designed to end exchanges quickly. Much can be learned from the foundations of these techniques, and these are definitely techniques that could be effective in the ring with proper timing.

#41  Samson Isaan - The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here 

To "dern" in Thai is to "walk", which means basically to just come forward no matter what, to create a relentlessness. Voted Fighter of the Year in 1991, Samson Isaan was one of the great Dern Fighters of the Golden Age, and in this session he shows his forward pulsing techniques which are meant to just overwhelm his opponent. Also a great session for pressure Southpaw fighters. 

#74 Samson Isaan 2 - Muay Khao & Western Boxing Excellence (59 min) watch it here 

In 1991 there was no fighter more of a force than Samson Isaan, who took Fighter of the Year then. His relentless style combining Muay Maat punching aggression with Knee Fighting pressure and clinch made him a wrecking ball. In this session discover what made this little fighter so impossible to handle.

#56 Tanadet Tor. Pran49 - Mastering Long Clinch (63 min) watch it here 

This is one of the most interesting and, if mastered, dominant clinch positions one can use, and the entire session is devoted to it. I filmed with young Long Clinch master Tanadet, and discover all the small refinements he created that turned what for many fighters is just a transitional position, into an entire system of attack. This is a rare session, capturing a little known and used clinch system.

Bonus Session 9: Yodkhupon Sittraipum - Lethal Smoothness (73 min) watch it here 

In this session Yodkhunpon really delves down into the smoothness of his style, with great emphasis on his galloping footwork towards the end. It's all about building a pressure style that does not strain, but rather exerts a constant music of forward attack.

#9 Yodkhunpon "The Elbow Hunter" pt 1  - Slicing Elbow (37 min) watch it here 

Simultaneous Raja and Luminee title holder at 118 lbs, Yodkhunpon was one of the most feared elbow fighters in Thailand, and in this session he teaches the looseness and spacing that made his lead elbow such a viscious weapon. He also shuns the traditional rocking chair knee, and instead teaches a powerful stand-in crossing, open-hipped knee that compliments his elbows up top.

Deeper Influences and Inspirations

The Cross-Armed Boxing Guard

Norton, Moore, Fullmer, Forman - watch this edit here 

Archie Moore 

He was legendary for his use of the cross-armed guard, a defense thought to have originated in bare knuckle fighting back in the day. His use of the guard had two primary ways of confronting the centerline:

watch this study here 

Joe Frazier and His Left Hook

watch this study here  - the deep crouch of boxing is not as available in Muay Thai because of knees and elbows, but the spring-loading cross-armed block is something that one can tap. 

Watch the Ali vs Frazier I fight to see the way Frazier uses swaying movement with cross-armed defense with continual hooks:

watch the full fight here 

Somrak Sor Kamsing

While Somrak often would fight hands down, he employed lots of boxing's slips and rolls, flowing into elbows that are hand in glove with the Diamond Guard. You can see his use of boxing movements and elbows in parts of this highlight:

watch it here 

Yodkhupon Sittraipum The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches - The Gallop

watch Yodkhupon teach me how to pressure and gallop 

If you enjoyed this Technique Vlog You Might Enjoy the Others

#15 Mental Gym, Beginning to Advanced Visualization (19 min) 

#14 Getting the Right Hand In (13 min) 

#13 Rising on Techniques (6 min) 

#12 Control of the Kick (6 min) 

#11 Body Position First (11 min) 

#10 All About How I Recover (12 min) 

#9 Creating Power and Distance At Close Range (9 min) 

#8 Where Are Your Feet? Foot Position (9 min) 

#7 Evolving in the Long Guard (10 min) 

 #6 The Power of Eye Contact (10 min)  

#5 Dieselnoi's Lowkick in the Clinch (12 min)  

#4 Air Knees in the Corner (8 min)  

#3 Acceleration at the End of Strikes (10 min) 

#2 The Kem Pivot (12 min)  

#1 Dealing With Fear, How to Cut it Out (13 min) 

Be sure to check out all the exclusive content made for my patrons:

Table of Contents 

And make sure you don't miss studying the Muay Thai Library itself, browse all of the videos in the archive here: Muay Thai Library. 

If you enjoy in-depth discussion of both technique and also Muay Thai Life consider subscribing to the Muay Thai Bones podcasts, as a pstron you get exclusive access to the audio version of this exciting new podcast style. Check out the Muay Thai Bones casts here.