Jaroensap Kiatbanchong - Silky Power (63 min) (Patreon)

Finding Jaroensap was almost as wonderful an adventure as it was to be so surprised by his sweetness when we finally met face-to-face. His gym is tucked way in the back of a small community. The guards at the front entrance were sure there was a gym if I followed this road, and a lady running a small restaurant remembered there was a gym over there (pointing generally) but couldn't remember what street number. We had Jaroensap on the phone, but I couldn't tell him where I was and he couldn't explain where he was. Finally, I got out of the car and took a photo of a shrine in the middle of a small sport field, sent it to him, and he came and got us to follow him in his car to the gym. He was so soft-spoken, smiling, very calm and curious about what I wanted to learn. You can see him becoming more engaged and excited as we go, which for me personally are the best sessions.
Jaroensap is from the South of Thailand, just like his two famous gymmates Jaroenthong and Oley (Kiatoneway). He was Fighter of the Year in 1992, held stadium titles, fought many of the top names of the Golden Age, and has raised his own son to be a champion as well. His "chaiya" or alias was Jai Phet, which means Diamond Heart. His highlight reels are beautiful, but for me his trips and teeps are the most breath-catching of all his dynamic moves.
What to look out for: 
1) Walk: Jaroensap's style is Femeu for sure, but he's not one who dances away all the time, he's actually a very close fighter. When he's coming after someone, he's literally just walking, one foot in front of the other. It's a kind of sneaky ambidextrousness in his style, allowing him to fire with power from either side. 
2) Re-Directing: there are parries, and then there's just redirection. Jaroensap actually does both, but I was way more amazed by his redirection, which he does by pushing a strike or even a block slightly off its track and then punishing with a counter. He even just kind of fades or drifts outside the opponent's frame, rather than pivoting out to the side in a strong step, as part of his arsenal. It's beautiful and hard to clock unless you're paying really close attention.
3) Parrying the Cross: Jaroensap parries a cross to the body almost exactly the way he would parry a teep, except with a little more downward pressure instead of pulling it out to the side. But it leaves the attacker so open. 
4) The One, One-Two: this is maybe only worth mentioning because I found it so personally revealing, because it's a difference in rhythm. "Jang Wah" is a word you have to learn if you're going to learn Muay Thai from Thais, it means both rhythm and timing. I went to college with a guy who spent half a year in Japan to learn Break Dancing on a Fullbright Scholarship. I went to hear his presentation when he'd returned and his most profound discovery was that western dance hit on the 2 and 4 of rhythms, whereas in the eastern exposure he'd had the hits were on the 1 and the 3. I thought this was so lame at the time, but now I'm totally geeking out on you guys about pretty much the same tiny thing that's profound nonetheless. I was trying to throw a 1-1... 2 and couldn't get my feet under me. He was calling for a 1... 1-2 and when I finally figured it out I was strolling on through.
5) Switching Stance on Elbows: this was so cool. Jaroensap uses a strong, long arm to pin the opponent in place and fires the back elbow. He switches his stance to be able to do this from each side, back and forth.
6) Tamachaat: this means "natural" and you'll hear it a lot in Thailand. It means not rushing. It means not straining. It means not being too tight. It also pretty much means having proper "jang wah" as well. Let the weapons flow; let blocks and counters flow.
7) Diagonal Arm Check: when Jaroensap corrected my block, lead side leg, he let my lead side arm stay kind of long and relaxed, rather than having it tucked against my head at a vertical position like I"m used to. It was very... tamachaat.
8) Clinch Tips: hooking the inside of the elbow or the wrist, as well as wrapping around to the back of the arm (the tricep). He likes to push in the clinch more than he likes to pull, which is something Karuhat also prefers, and I suspect this is a key to really good and effective anti-lock clinching. 
If you don't know Jaroensap, check out Muay Thai Scholar's Highlight of his career:

watch it here 

Stills from the Session, edited by Kevin





























If you enjoyed this session, you may also like these Library sessions on related themes:
#28 Jaroenthong Kiatbanchong - Femeu Muay Thai Hands (50 min) watch it here 
Super slick, 3x Lumpinee Champion Jaroenthong is considered one of the Yodmuay of the Golden Age, often pictured with Samart and Somrak as killers from that day. In this session he teaches how he marries great boxing hands with femeu footwork. 
#47 Silapathai Jockygym - Master of Teep Distance (64 min) watch it here
One of the great femeu fighters of the Golden Age unlocks the secret of his teep oriented dominance which made him one of the most difficult fighters to face in his day. The lessons here are precious as he unfolds the details of how to use the teep and tempo to always put the fight where you want it.
#16 Thailand Pinsinchai - Attacking Shell (62 min) watch it here 
Former Lumpinee and Rajadamnern champion Thailand Pinsinchai teaches the beautiful framework for his attacking, elbowing style. Lots of minute corrections, small vital details that turn working techniques into dominance. You get the entire picture of a Muay Buek fighter out of the legendary Pinsinchai gym .
#40  Gen Hongthonglek - Muay Femeu Tactics & Mindset (70 min) watch it here 
The Muay Femeu (artful fighting) style is more than just a set of techniques, it's also a mindset and strategy of how to score, and how to score big. The warfare is not just in terms of damage, but of psychology, displaying dominance through skill and timing. Gen in this hour outlines how he likes to fight, and how he pulls off the biggest scores at the right time.
#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.

Visiting and Training With Jaroensap

It was quite hard to find Jaroensap's gym which is buried in a culdesac neighborhood of Rangsit, in Northern Bangkok. It's not too far from Samart's gym and Chatchai Sasakul's gym if you want to spend some time up there. When we finally found it we pinned it on Google Maps to make it easy for you by taxi. Here was my vlog from the gym after filming:

watch it here 
The Google Map link to Jaroensap's gym is here 



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