#129 Cherry Sor. Wanich - Unbreakable Lock Muay Thai (50 min) (Patreon)

Cherry had the alias "Black Shark" and his Muay Khao style definitely doesn't go backwards. He's tall, rangy, and has the most beautiful lock that was unique in the Golden Age and doesn't really exist anymore. Cherry was 130 lb Lumpinee Champion and his fight against Jaroenthong Kiatbanchong was awarded "fight of the year," in 1989.

It was hard to get Cherry in the Library. He's very shy, and notoriously stays way under the radar keeping to him. Karuhat is pretty shy, introverted, likes to keep to himself too, but as we were driving to meet Cherry, Karuhat was talking about how "he's even more shy than I am!" So, we've taken to calling Cherry the "Snow Leopard," as his elusiveness was so hard to overcome. As it turned out, we were in Buriram trying to set up a session with Karuhat's former student Chaiyai on the fly just the day before, and he just happened to mention that he was with Cherry who was visiting him. So we filmed with Chaiyai and asked if Cherry would film with us too. We had no idea how any of it would work out because Cherry hadn't trained anyone in years, and his shyness was was well know, but it actually was amazing. One of the best documentations of forgotten techniques of the Golden Age, and the Muay Khao fighting style, things that are disappearing from stadium Muay Thai today. It was special to get to record both him and his muay, The Snow Leopard. We're so happy to add him to the Library and his personality and playfulness is quite wonderful to have experienced and captured for the archives. 

For those who haven't followed me regularly, the Muay Thai of Thailand has changed quite a bit since its Golden Age (about 1980-1997). Not only have their been a change in talent and development, there have been rule changes and aesthetic changes which have caused certain very advanced fighting techniques and styles to fall out of favor. Some of these fighting style become less sophisticated and complex, with less and less knowledge being passed down to new fighters. The Muay Khao fighting style in the Golden Age was fought quite differently than it is today. Locking was actually less a feature of it than it became in the 2000s and 2010s when more grounded, stagnant positions became popular, so Cherry's locking Muay Thai is best understood as a weapon he developed in the context of much more dynamic, swimming, angle changing styles of fighting. You'll see aspects that it shares with other fighters in the Library. You'll see these palm-to-palm squeezes, the drop downs with weight, the counters, but nobody has his exact language of techniques, small things that make huge differences. I hope you can see them! It's a beautiful, heavy, difficult to counter muay of Muay Khao. 

You can browse all the Muay Khao session in the Library here. Muay Khao 

What to Look Out For:

1) The Choke: part of Cherry's lock is getting the shoulder up under the chin and into the throat of the opponent. You can see in Ngao's face what this feels like every time Cherry gets that lock in. It's very uncomfortable, at times painful.

2) The Squeeze: I never quite got this during the session, but I totally had an epiphany about it while doing the voiceover. Cherry's lock gets so tight because he's pinching his shoulder, bicep and forearm together in this squeeze. But it's not using power so much as it is just a flex, like doing a bicep curl but with your elbow pointed out instead of down. When Kevin posted photos from the session a while ago a reader said he interpreted it at a reverse Guillotine choke. He brought it into his training and it made a huge difference for him. I don't know BJJ chokes to know if this is correct, but maybe that will help some of you think about it or design your own? In squeezes and locks everyone has a slightly different slot position. You have to find what works for you.

3) Lock the Top, Keep the Bottom Loose: this is really important for keeping the clinch "active" while in a lock. If your lower body is too close, you can trip, but if your bodies are touching on too many planes you'll be stagnant. Bend at the hip and keep the feet wide, so you can pivot and turn, pull and push.

4) Pulse: this is an excellent push-back. Cherry has one arm behind the neck and one in an arm-hook, using the fist of the arm that's hooking to push or pulse the opponent back, knee, then close that space again.

5) Knee Caps and Marching: Cherry wasn't a fan of jumping knees. He corrected my "clinch practice" thigh slaps (this is how you knee in training so you can not hurt your partners) and said that's fine, but he wanted me to land knee-cap strikes as well. He showed me how to stay grounded and control the power and accuracy with knee-cap strikes so I could get used to the feel of landing those. Accuracy, no power, stay grounded.

Other Sessions Referenced:

#10 The Clinch Techniques of Yodwicha - Session 2 (34 min) watch it here 

#4 Yodwicha - Clinch and Muay Khao (Knee) Specialist (35 min) - watch it here

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

#76 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn 4 - How to Fight Tall (69 min) watch it here

#121 Learning from Namkabuan (public) - Explosive Off-Beat Rhythms (70 min) watch it here

also, in the #59 Satanmuanglek Numpornthep - Beautiful Clinch Throws (65 min) watch it here session he too uses the shoulder in clinch locks and chokes, but in a way that is different than Cherry. When exploring these techniques it might be worthwhile to compare them

Photos from the Session

These are some of Kevin's photos from the session. They capture some of the atmosphere that the video camera may not, and some still moments in the techniques that may help you see what is happening. See the entire photo shoot from the filming here:  The Constrictor - Cherry Sor Wanich 

 The Constrictor - Cherry Sor Wanich

If you enjoyed this session, you may like these on similar themes:

#114 Kru Diesel 2 - The Beauty of Building a Muay Khao Fighter (1 hr, 16 min) watch it here

#79  "Kru Pot" Bunpot Sor. Boonyaa - Muay Khao Depth (63 min) watch it here

#23 Boraphet Pinsinchai 1 - Muay Khao Mastery (64 min) watch it here

#123 Samson Isaan 4 - Secrets Of His Pressure Fighting (122 min) watch it here

Cherry (red) vs Den Muangsurin

Paying respect and receiving a cup from a portrait of the Crown Prince (at that time, now HM the King)

130 lb Lumpinee Title belt. These magazine covers with a fighter and a model superimposed together were somewhat common... they always made the fighters small in scale.

Cherry (left) vs Wangchannoi

Cherry vs Superlek (inset: Jaroenthong vs Therdgiat)

Cherry (red) vs Jaroenthong (blue) in what was awarded Fight of the Year in 1989

Cherry (red) vs Orono

With his "Black Shark" nickname on his shorts, in pictograph.