Sparring work Bareshin: Sylvie and Yodkhunpon Sittraipum (filmed at Mavinn Pattaya) - 8 mins

my present work with Yodkhunpon, sharing with everyone where we're at. Video above. This is part of my continued theme on gearless sparring and how it shaped the Golden Age of Muay Thai.

Yodkhunpon and I started sparring pretty much every day around when everything shut down during COVID; so, going on more than 6 years now. It hasn't ever looked like this before, but, honestly, it has always been at a "never like this" stage, at every stage, because we're always growing and evolving together.

The most recent development is taking off the shinguards (you can read more about that in another post below, I include a lot of resources on this), which was only possible at this stage because of our playfulness. I'll be very honest and state that it took me a LONG TIME to get here, even though I knew, intellectually, how important that lighthearted play is. I just couldn't achieve it even though I appreciated and respected it for a decade already. Kevin came by the gym to shoot a Sylvie's Technique Vlog for me (that's coming soon!), so it was just a, "hey, I'm gonna film this," moment to grab these rounds, so they're quite indicative of how we spar now; his camera work and edit importantly gets the "feel" much better than my static, tri-pod stories of our sparring ever do. And the feeling in this is a very big part of getting the right things out of it. It isn't "technical" work, it's about building feeling and timing, and most importantly expressiveness. You have to have fun, it isn't just "better that way," it is vital. You'll maybe see in the background a couple men come and watch us, independent of each other, because they can hear us (me, mainly... my cackle carries) and want to come see what is happening. The gym is empty at this hour as morning training at Mavinn is long since finished already. But you can see the beautiful space of the gym, the openness that makes our private work not feel sequestered. I think that's a good weather vain for how sparring should feel for everyone, like hearing a concert or a group of people laughing; it beckons.

*It's important to realize and respect that Yodkhunpon is a tremendously generous trainer, and our years of work together has allowed us to go beyond traditional heirarchy aspects that one might find in other kru/student contexts. This allows us to "play" in a back and forth of dominance, the your-advantage-my-advantage, essential to the form of Thailand's Muay Thai fighting, that with another trainer in other circumstances may be more difficult, but with peers, students, would be more expected. This is a gift I'm ever thankful for. He generously is pressuring and resisting in a developmental way, giving me real pressure and taking real dominant moments, but never "finishing" the conversation. In Thailand gyms you can find ways to play with most padmen and krus (in a respectful manner), if you tap into the spirit of their own years of training past, for all of them were fighters, all of them rejoice in the sanook (joy, play) of what Muay Thai is. This video captures some of that energy and work.

What you find here in this sparring between us is work on "doh" ต่อ (a Thai principle of "continue"), where you aren't really fighting in sets with rest, and definitely not "combos", but where everything leads to something else, in a non-rushed but still pressuring way. And you'll see some of the Yodkhunpon gallop footwork, which he taught me many years ago now, a relaxed way to cover distance and stalk opponents, with weapons or defense ever-ready to come out. As a Muay Khao fighter I want to always be moving through the pocket defensively, but with threats that move easily into and out of clinch, in a way that stresses the breath of my opponent.

if you're interested in my daily training now, I made this 49 minute video recently which details my regimine: read and watch it here

thank you to all my patrons and those that support me and the Library. My training and fighting is part of it all, and everything is made possible by you.

On Sparring Without Gear

read Kevin's thoughts on my bareshin sparring work with Yodkhunpon and watch some more early experimentation: here

Kicking Vertical: The Golden Kick

a vertical Golden Age kick is an important gearless sparring technique, change the dynamics of your kick:

read Sylvie's article on The Golden Kick, with lots of video study, explaining how one of the most common Golen Age Thai kicking forms is different than how a lot of people have been taught. This kicking action is very amenible to gearless sparring, and control. I suspect that one of the reasons why "the Thai Kick" has been somewhat incorrectly taught, or copied, has something to do with the pervasiveness of shinguards, but that's just my pet theory.

How to spar without gear, in the Takrowlek sessions:

#172 Takrowlek Dejrat 2 - Body-Breaking Timing and the Low Kick (1 hr, 30 min) watch it here

#143 Takrowlek Dejrat 1 - Master of the Low Kick (90 min) watch it here 

One of the great low kicking fighters of the Golden Age teaches his squared up, pressuring, Muay Beuk fight philosophy which uses an extremely fast, vertical low kicking technique that keeps the opponent exactly where you want them. This punishing style, built on defense and ring control is extremely effective, using techniques that are not often taught. Study the low kick in a way you haven't seen before.

Namsaknoi and Gearless Sparring

Here is a public article we did, plus video, on how the legend Naksaknoi uses gearless sparring to instruct and develop fighters:

Gloveless Sparring

If gearless sparring is too much of a change, Sylvie wrote about gloveless sparring with Yodkhunpon 8 months ago here:

Adding this in, Yodkhunpon talking about what he likes about sparring without shin guards, see it here.

You can study Yodkhunpon dern, Elbow-centric style in the Muay Thai Library:

aside from these sessions below, we are uploading the Sylvie intensive Yodkhunpon sessions (there are 7 of them) to the YouTube membership area of my YouTube, along with many other unique documentations, this is in addition to the vast Muay Thai Library itself. You can find my channel here. All proceeds from those membership videos go to the legends in those videos.

#9 Yodkhunpon Sittaipum "The Elbow Hunter" 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.

#15 Yodkhunpon Sittraipum "The Elbow Hunter" 2 - Escapes  (48 min) watch it here

Part 2 of my session with one of the most feared elbow fighters of the Golden Age, Yodkhunpon Sitraipom, The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches. Lots of fine details in this one, escapes from clinch locks, turns and catches. Best is his floating, gentle style that also holds such violence.

#84 Yodkhunpon Special Intensive 3 - The Whole Elbow Style (70 min) watch it here

No other fighter in all of Thailand has developed so complete and pressuring a style based on the weapon of elbows. In this session the Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches presents his whole galloping style, revealing how he opens up windows for his elbows, and uses those windows to then open up attack with other weapons.

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

Some have said this is one of the favorite sessions in all the Library. It's very rare to get detailed instruction and advice on How to Shadowboxing, let alone from a great fighter fo the past. This is a FULL hour of how to shadowbox, learn with me as I learn from The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches Yodkhunpon, the greatest Elbow Fighter in Thai history.

#156 Yodkhunpon "The Elbow Hunter" Sittraipum - 5 | offensive teeping, clinch reversals, elbow defense (1 hr, 28 min) watch it here

Our 5th session with Yodkhunpon The Elbow Hunter in the Muay Thai Library and probably the best! So much wonderful stuff that you won't find anywhere else. A spectacular clinch reversal from outside (weak) position, how to stalk and dern using a powerful, short teep (not just the technique, but the footwork to connect it altogether, and how to train elbow defense.

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.

Bareshin Sparring work Sylvie and Yodkhunpon Sittraipum (filmed at Mavinn Pattaya) (YouTube)