#142 Arjan Metprik Silachai 2 - Relentless Pace & Low Kick Attack (69 min) (Patreon)

Kevin and I are so happy to get another session with Arjan Metprik into the Library, and this one is quite different. The first one shows his padwork and training style, this one because I was fighting the next day is him really breaking down his amazing Khorat style. it's like a time capsule traveling back to the Muay Thai of the 1960s & 70s. His style is both Old School, with recognizable Boran elements, and also incredibly effective and proven in the ring by his top student, Fighter of the Year 2001, Tongchai Tor. Silachai. Its of a family of side-to-side advancing, stiff-leg kicks styles that even Seksan is using to great success in ONE in Entertainment Muay Thai. It is designed to pressure attack & still protect. It is conducive to a Muay Maat (punching) style. Arjan was Bantamweight Lumpinee Champion in 1970, placing him solidly in the Silver Age, and at the time of this filming he is 73 years old. We really wanted to film with him again because he is part of the great legacy of fight knowledge that is particular to Thailand, and preserving this its a lot of what the Muay Thai is about. If you are really adventurous you can find the Tor Silachai gym in Khorat. Take a bus ride up from Bangkok and train with the master. 

What to Look Out For:

1) Leg Kick Annihilation: Arjan's low kicks are beautiful, economical and really devastating. He hits with the top part of his shin (between the knee and middle of the shin), pivots hard on the standing foot, and lands on the outer, IT Band, thigh. He gives many examples for how to set up and come off of these.

2) Proximity: this is a close-range style and most of the movements, footwork, defense and continuity are all toward maintaining that proximity.

3)  Pace and Continuity: I love his pace, it is steady and not rushed, but absolutely a challenge to interrupt. Every strike's momentum flows into the next strike, offense and defense braided into each other. He has no "air bubbles" and can regain control of the distance and pace any time you start to claw it away from him.

4) High and Low: the "high low" tactic is used in many styles and has a great effectiveness at all ranges. Many who teach this explain it the same and it makes sense, that you alternate high and low in order to distract and overwhelm your opponent, so you aren't predictable and they can't focus on their whole body at the same time. What feels unique about Arjan Metprik's use of it, is that he throws in the opposite level in order to get back to what he was already succeeding in.

5) Defense Should Hurt Your Opponent: this quality is something I associate with Boran, and Chaiya specifically.  Using elbows and knees to block, shins that are steel, all these ways in which the person striking hurts themselves on the hardness of the opponent's body. I love this.

6) No Train Tracks: for footwork and angling, the emphasis is on "shuffle" pivots, not moving out and in so much. Pushing an opponent back so that you can land strikes is an off-balancing technique, but going straight back for defense or straight in without leading with weapons for offense isn't on this ticket.

Our first session with Arjan Metprik contains slow motion capture of his signature low kick technique (at the end of the session). 

Other Sessions Referenced in my voiceover, if you want to do a deeper study of details mentioned: 

#119 Burklerk Pinsinchai 2 - Mastering Space with a Legend (106 mins) watch it here

#86 Rambaa Somdet M16 3  - The Art of the Stinging Attack (67 min) watch it here

#36 General Tunwakom 1 - Lertrit Military Muay (46 min) watch it here

#104 Yodkhunpon Sittraipum 4 - The Art of Shadowboxing (64 min) watch it here

#50 Karuhat Sor. Supawan 5 - Serpentine Knees & Flow  (62 min) watch it here

#38 Sagat Petchyindee 2 - Maximum Damage (61 min) watch it here

#46 Bluksek "Kru Noi" Sityodtong - Internal Knees & Elbows (59 min) watch it here

#6 Namkabuan Nongkipahuyut - Explosive Attack (28 min) watch it here

Further Notes on Arjan Metprik's Old School Style

Many (not all) contemporary Muay Thai styles have a fairly linear basis, forward and back, with a 3/4 or more squared stance, but Arjan Metprik's Muay Thai has a distinct rolling, side to side action, relatively ambidextrous in ways that invoke older, Boran principles. It's ambidextrous, rotating action is not far from even the great 1930s Muay Thai fighter Samarn Diklovas, who also was a professional boxer. Kevin put together this video study of existing 1936 footage:

you can watch the video study of Samarn here.

Kevin discusses this footage and how the side-to-side, Muay Boran like attacks are likely integrated with early modern Western Boxing influence here, as Boxing's rolls graft well on some Muay Boran ambidextrous footwork (read here): 

What Was Early Modern Muay Thai Like? New Film Evidence (1936): Samarn Dilokvilas vs Somphong Vejasidh 

There are many coaching and style trees in Thailand, and Arjan Metprik's 1960s style seems to have come from this old lineages. For the best modern expression of his style though definitely study the Muay Thai of Thongchai Tor. Silachai, the 2001 Fighter of the Year (& the only man to knock out Saenchai) A great, classic  fight to look up is Thongchai vs Namsaknoi.  We are looking to add Thongchai to the Muay Thai Library to help complete the picture. 

Photos from the Session

see all of Kevin's photograph from the shoot here 

If you enjoyed this session, these are others on a similar theme that you might enjoy in the Muay Thai Library:

#90 Arjan Surat 2 - His Old School Tough & Defensive Style (94 min) watch it here

A legend of Bangkok and coach of the Thai National Team, Arjan Surat has a toughened, defense oriented, forward style. In this session he builds it from the ground up, starting with his old school arm swing on the kick (no swing, instead using it to simultaneously block), emphasizing balance and solid framing. Watch and learn!

#112 Chatchainoi Chaoraioi - The Best Padman in Thailand (64 min) watch it here

Called The Man of Stone when he was a Golden Age fighter at the Derjat Gym, today he is the best padman in Thailand, as far as we have experienced. Learn what makes his padwork so effective, and the forward, hardnosed Muay Thai style that he teaches.

#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.

#103 Metprik Silachai - Lost Techniques of Old School Muay Maat Lowkick Pressure (81 min) watch it here

Wow what a session. Arjan Metprik was not only a great fighter of the Silver Age of Muay Thai, he created the relentless fighting style of 2001 Fighter of the Year Thongchai Tor. Silachai. It's just an amazing lowkick, knee and Muay Maat style full of pressure and toughness. See how he trains his fighters in this Old School Khorat gym.

#43 Kongsamut Sor. Thanikul - Muay Mat Style (74 min) watch it here

This Lumpinee champion is perhaps most notable for when he lost a fight for the 102 lb Lumpinee belt, against famed Samart. Samart winning his first belt of many. Kongsamut has a beautiful Muay Mat (punchers) style that he mixes with low kicks, very differently than the Pornsanae style. He fights in close, and is constantly twisting, hitting high and low. Any Muay Thai puncher would benefit from the principles in his style.

#88 Samransak Muangsurin - Muay Maat Legend Keys to Powerful Hands (61 min) watch it here

Samransak was nothing if not thunderous as a fighter in the Golden Age. He threw with serious, heavy hands and just brutalized his opponents. He teaches the basics of his Muay Maat style, how he brought boxing into the ring to massive effect. One of the all time legends of the sport.

#29 Pornsanae Sitmonchai - The Power of Hooks & Low Kicks (74 min) watch it here

A whole system of low kick and hook attacks is taught in this one session. Rajadamnren and 2x Lumpinee Champion Pornsanae is known for his brutal power fighting and this is how he gets it done. Cutting angles, lead arm control, invading space. Pornsanae teaches his philosophy.