UFC fighters vs Marine Corps martial arts experts, guess how it plays out

You train how you fight and you fight how you train.

I ran across this video in an article on Business Insider's website today (which is a reprint of the original article on We Are the Mighty that shows 3 UFC fighters, and Dana White, spending a day at the Marine Corps Martial Arts Center of Excellence (MACE), in Quantico, VA. UFC veterans, Forrest Griffin, Marcus Davis, and Rashad Evans went through a training lane where they'd have to fight their way past marines in a 'no rules' scenario of combat survival. Watch the video to see how they pan out. Spoiler alert, not well for the UFC guys.

What can we take away from this video? Combat sports and military/high risk operator skill sets serve two very different purposes.
 
Military and high risk operators train to achieve a completely different goal from what MMA and tournament & civilian martial arts train for. And that becomes very apparent at the 5:18 mark of the video. UFC fighter, Gabriel Gonzaga approaches two enemy marines.  Right away, he makes two critical tactical mistakes: 1. he puts himself between both opponents, exposing his back to one of them, and 2. he focuses his attack on one opponent. And he immediately paid for it.

In fact, each of the MMA fighters made the same mistake when fighting multiple opponents. They all focused their fight on one enemy while ignoring the other active opponent, and that's why they were each killed in the exercise.

Fighting in the cage/ring/mat against a single opponent is very different from what happens in a combat situation. But what's more relevant to us civilians, is that what happens in a combat situation is more aligned to what happens on the street. Odds are that the guy you get in a fight with has friends, who are not going to wait their turn for you to beat them up.  Environmental conditions will not be ideal (see how everyone was slipping around in the snow on the video), weapons can be pulled and used, and there is no referee or coach to enforce rules or call the fight.

Training MMA is training for sport, against a single opponent in a fairly safe environment. If you do train MMA or any other combat sport (muay thai included), it's very important to remember that the objectives of your style aren't the same as the objectives of an armed assailant or a crew that picks fights for fun. The dynamics change outside of the gym.

Here are just a few tips to keep in mind:
1. If you do end up in a situation outside the gym, assume that there's more than one bad guy.
2. In the street, never, ever take the fight to the ground, that's the quickest way to get your head stomped.
3. If/when you find yourself going to the ground, get up, fight your way back to your feet.
4. Keep moving, don't focus on one single individual opponent. Tunnel vision kills.
5. If this is a real concern for you, seek out a local school that trains reality-based self defense where multiple/armed opponent tactics & group psychology principles are applied. Check out one of the following:

•  Krav Maga - not my first choice, but given the Krav franchise, its the most widely available option. 
• If you're near a Senshido school, go there. 
• Better yet, if you can train directly with Richard Dimitri, take advantage of that. 
• If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out the Muay Thai Academy International (shameless plug, it's where I teach, and this stuff is what we cover).

Either way, check out the video. It's entertaining, and the exercises the UFC fighters went through looks like a lot of fun.

This video was originally posted on You Tube in 2011. Video credit, HarryBank99

Oldest Muay Thai Gym in North America Celebrates 25 Years of Service

If you're in or near San Jose (the San Francisco Bay Area), you're more than welcome to join us. I don't think the press release mentions that we're bringing in a taco truck :)  Donnie-


Santa Clara, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/25/2014 -- – Muay Thai Academy International

WHAT: Muay Thai Academy International celebrates 25 years of service since first opening in 1990 with an open house and principal senior instructors’ recognition. The celebration is open to the general public. There is no cost for admission.

WHO: Dr. Nirmalya Bhowmick, Founder & Owner of Schola Training Group, Muay Thai Academy International

WHEN: 4:00- 8:00 p.m. PDT, Saturday, June 28, 2014

WHERE: Muay Thai Academy International, 320 Martin Avenue Suite D, Santa Clara, CA 95050

Since January 1990, Muay Thai Academy International has provided semi-private instruction of the older styles of Muay Thai and effective and applicable street centric self-defense to civilians, and close quarter combat tactics to law enforcement and members of the armed services. As fitness trends come and go, Muay Thai Academy International has been able to stay true to it’s own training platform while intentionally maintaining a small student base. The Academy operates with a non-profit mentality. Instructors donate their time and are not compensated. Dr. Nirmalya Bhowmick, founder stated, “We’ve been able to keep our curriculum undiluted in response to fads like Crossfit and MMA because we are not in this space for the money. Each of our instructors have careers, we keep the school open and teach because we love the combat martial arts.” Dr. Bhowmick continued, “What we teach is a matter of life or death for some of our students as we do train quite a few local and visiting students that are from various National Security programs. We cannot afford to dilute the quality of our close quarter combat platform.”

This relatively unknown school started out as a small “hole in the wall” Muay Thai gym in Palo Alto in January of 1990. Muay Thai Academy Int’l is recognized as an old style and military style Muay Thai school by a number of international bodies, including the United States Muay Thai Association, the World Muay Thai Council, and numerous professionals from various Dept of Defense and federal government agencies.

Click to Tweet:June 28: America's oldest muay thai gym celebrates 25 years.

The 25 year anniversary open house is open to current and former students, their families, member of the press, and anyone interested in attending. The event will also recognize five Principal instructors with a commendation diploma for their contributions to the Academy and to the muay thai community for the last two decades and will award an official instructors certification to two Senior Instructors.

For more information about the event, visit the Academy’s page on Facebook. If you’d like more information on the Muay Thai Academy, please visit our website at http://www.militarymuaythai.com.

SOURCE: SBWire news service, http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/oldest-muay-thai-gym-in-north-america-celebrates-25-years-of-service-522792.htm 

Muay Thai Legend, Ramon Dekkers Dead at 43

One of the greatest modern muay thai fighters died from a heart attack at age 43. According to Dutch news outlet, Bomroep Brabant, Dekkers collapsed earlier Wednesday while cycling in his home town of Breda. First responder attempts to resuscitate Dekkers were unsuccessful.

Here are but a few accomplishments in Ramon Dekkers' 20 year career, and a strong case that he was the best Western muay thai fighter to have ever stepped into the squared circle.

• Career  record of 186 wins (95 by way of KO), 33 losses, 2 draws
• Held 7 international muay thai championship titles
• First foreigner to win "Fighter of the Year" award in Thailand
• During his prime in Thailand, he would fight under Thai rules, often twice a week

  
 

2012 holiday gift giude for the muay thai entusiast

So, you want to get a gift for someone in your life who either trains muay thai, or perhaps MMA, but what the hell is muay thai, and where do you start looking? Perhaps you train, and you want to give your family some ideas of what you want for Christmas. 

Well, here's the top recommended gifts that will be sure to make the muay thai fan happy this holiday season.



Custom Muay Thai Art
 My school has commissioned this artist to do a number of works for us, and I have a print on my living room wall. Each piece is unique, and this is something that anyone who likes Muay Thai would love to own. Prints are available on eBay.

You can also find this art on T-shirts. It's definitely a unique gift that's one of a kind. Seriously, the stuff looks great on a wall or on a shirt. This one, on the shirt is the same one I have hanging on my wall.





 A Good Quality Gym Bag

Here's the skinny: Anyone who's serious about their training will never want to give up their gym bag regardless of how stinky, torn up and beat up it may be. There's an emotional connection between a fighter and his/her equipment. 

There are ton of different types of bag out there. I recommend either a compartmentalized bag, or a mesh gym bag -both found on Amazon.


The Raid: Redemption
In a nutshell, this film out of Southeast Asia is one continuous fight scene. As one Amazon review states, "...is a movie that pulls no punches. Or maybe that's all it pulls. It's been a long while since I've seen a film so relentless, so brutal, and so unapologetically violent." It's available on DVD or Blue Ray




 

Namman Thai Liniment - 120cc bottl

 Namman Thai Boxing Liniment

A tried and true stapleThai boxing liniment is a great stocking stuffer, and is the fastest way into a muay thai practitioner's heart.  Be careful from who you buy Thai liniment as it is largely overpriced, considering a 120cc bottle sells in Thailand for less than 2 dollars, however online merchants will mark up the price to as much as $15 for the same product that may be past it's expiration date. eBay and Amazon have some sellers that offer it at a fair price.

 Competitive Ace is the official North American dealer for Namman.  This liniment is about as fresh as you can get it, however, the prices are little higher than other resources, so you'll have to weigh the benefits for yourself.


Muay Thai: The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting

It was on last year's list, and will most likely be on next year's list. If you ever get one book on the subject of muay thai, this one is it. The hardcover book is viewed by many as the textbook on muay thai. Transcribed from the bedside of aging Master Ket Sriyapai in 1978, this book is humble in layout.  This book is filled with incredibly useful information, tips on training for a fight, techniques, and serves as an enlightening history of the transformation of the modern sport muay thai in the twentieth century.  You can find it on Amazon.com.






Boxing Bag Gloves
Last year, Twins Special 16oz gloves were on my list of recommended gifts.  This year, I resommend bag gloves. Great for training on heavy bags, focus mitts and thai pads. You can find a wide selection of brands at MuayThai-fighting.com, but I recommend Twins, or if you can find an older pair of Everlast bag gloves - those things last forever.


Thai Boxing Hand Wraps
The optimal length for a pair of hand wraps is 180 inches. The optimal price for a pair of hand wraps is NOT $39.00. You can find a pair of cotton hand wraps at the right leghth for about $10 at Amazon.


When in doubt, you can always default to MuayThaiStuff.com for any all things muay thai, but I highly recommend you spend time going though the sale section. It'll save you a lot of money. WARNING: All items from this site ship from Thailand, so expect a minimum 2 week delivery time.

Regardless of where you shop online, shop safe. Know the indicators that you're submitting your payment info over a secure connection (https, padlock in the browser bar, green bar). Learn more to stay safe online.


If you find something that should have been on this list, let me know. Make a post on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/oldstylemuaythai. 

Top 3 Muay Thai Shin Conditioning Myths Debunked

Man, there is so much outright false anecdotal information out there on Muay Thai. Where to begin?

I'm going to tackle shin conditioning, which is a topic that seems to be a source ripe with serious misinformation. Today, I'm going to debunk the top 3 shin conditioning myths on the Internet that are inaccurate at best, and hopefully help put things straight because shin conditioning is something you certainly don't want to get wrong... see image below.


Note the kicker's point of contact compared to the blocker's. This is why I promote striking with the upper part of the shin.

Myth # 1. Shin Conditioning Kills Nerves
No, no and no. This is not true no matter how bad ass we may imagine it would be to walk around with no active nerve endings, feeling no pain of any kind.

Reality check: The repetitive action of striking heavy bags and pads will, over time desensitize your shins to the impact of striking, but no nerve endings were killed in the making of your toughness. The truth is, you simply get used to it, you become accustomed to the force of the strike. On a physiological level, your legs are still sending pain signals to your brain, but your brain has become conditioned to ignore the signals (to a certain point).

Myth # 2. I Can condition My Shins Faster by Kicking Trees
The fastest way to break your tibia, or if you're lucky, to ensure you can't touch a heavy bag for 2 months is to go out and kick a tree. You also run the risk of looking like a douche. Yes, we've all seen the clip where Buakaw kicks down a banana tree. And yes, the history of Thai's kicking down trees is engrained into our collective Muay Thai conscious, but that was before Thai pads were invented.

Quick history lesson, Thai pads actually came about from downed banana trees. Banana trees are a very soft wood, thus the tree of choice for ancient Thai's to kick. Over time, the tree wood bend and fold over, collapsing very much like it did in Buakaw's video. Someone got the idea to take the remnants of a fallen tree, (the bark and pulpy trunk) and wrap it around their forearms, allowing the fighter to train kicking on moving target. The concept evolved and now we have the modern Thai pad.

Reality check: In order to condition your shins (cause micro-fractures and calcification of the tibia) you need to remember that it takes time: months and months and months of time. you have to strike something softer than you shin bone - something like a heavy bag stuffed with cloth remnants and Thai pads. If you do want to go the route of hitting your shins with a stick or a rolling pin, tap very lightly up and down the shin, and keep it to a max of about 30 taps at a time. This video is a key example of what NOT to do for shin conditioning. Pause the clip at 1:28. See the welts in the inside of his shin, that's not the key point of impact for a strike. Just promise me you won't try that at home.

Contrary to what I see in MMA threads and on Bullshido, small training bags filled with sand are good for conditioning, if you're smart about how to use them. Key tip: start VERY LIGHT, and aim towards the top of the bag (it's softer at the top due to gravity). We employ a strict regimen around supplementing shin conditioning with the sand bag where I teach - and consider sand bags purely as supplemental, not the core of your shin conditioning program.

Myth # 3. Thai Liniment Makes Your Bones Stronger
Nope. It's a topical product that works to increase blood flow, reduce local pain & inflammation where applied. That's it. However, it does smell quite awesome, and anyone who trains muay thai will swear by this stuff, myself included.

Reality Check: According to the U.S. National Institute of Health's, National Library of Medicine, the key active ingredients in Namman Muay is menthol and methyl salicylate, neither of which promote bone growth. Methyl salicylate blocks the production and release of chemicals that cause pain and inflammation, according to FoundHealth.com. Menthol, however, works in 3 ways:

1. it serves as an analgesic (pain relief), which explains the slight numbing sensation when applied.    
2. According to an article in MDJunction.com,  menthol aids sore muscles through a process called vasodilation in which blood vessels expand and increase blood flow to the effected area, bringing in nutrients and removing waste. 
3. This one is really cool (oh god, no pun intended). The MDJunction article explains that menthol causes "stimulating thermoreceptors in the skin cells which help your body recognize temperature changes. Your skin doesn’t actually change temperature. Instead, menthol causes a signal to be sent which your brain interprets as cold, relieving the uncomfortable heat of inflammation." 

None of the other ingredients in Namman Muay work to promote bone growth or repair either, sorry. The reason Namman Muay works so well as a topical rub before, during and after training is because - when compared to Western products like Ben-Gay and Icy Hot - Namman Muay contains an active 31% (331ml in 1mL) of methyl salicylate, whereas the other brands mentioned only contain menthol. Fun Fact: you can blame it's orange color on the beta carotene content. 

Namman is pretty pricy when you get it direct from distributors or at your local gym. I buy my liniment from vendors on Amazon. If you want to buy direct, I suggest Competitive Ace. They claim that it's fresher and more effective when you buy direct, and the stuff sold on eBay is God knows how old. I'm still on the fence with regards to that argument.

Repetitive impact on heavy bags and Thai pads will cause microscopic fractures at the surface of the tibia bone, similar to how lifting weights causes micro-tears to the muscle. As a part of your body's repair process, known to some as modeling, calcium deposits will be brought to the site of the micro fractures and will build up through a process called ossification, often confused with calcification (I am a culprit of this one).  Essentially, bone tissue is built up on top of the 'damaged' bone tissue, which results in a more dense bone (see Wolff's Law of Bone Adaptation).

When you see, hear, or read something about training for muay thai or products that make your bones harder, or a training program that will help you achieve a goal quickly, do some research first. Now let's get out there and plant some banana trees!

OSMT Update - Easier Access to Our Muay Thai Videos

Scroll up and you'll see a list of links directly below the Beyond the Ring header banner. That's a new feature on the blog - Page Navigation. Yeah, I'm about 15 years late to the HTML design party (I blame it on limitations in Blogger's template management console)

We've created new pages to house our old style muay thai  and bare knuckle boxing videos on the site (sort of). Now that the videos are sorted by category so you can find a video on the topic you're looking for faster without having to go to You Tube to search.

I'm always looking for constructive feedback, so feel free to let me know what you think - and share your ideas to make Beyond the Ring the best source for information on the older systems of muay thai.

Thanks for being a part of this tight knit community of muay thai enthusiasts!

Donnie-

Nepali man returns favor, bites cobra

Friday's lesson: Don't mess with Mohamed Salmo Miya. He has a temper. In fact, on Tuesday he bit a cobra to death in an act of revenge for it biting him. Which reminds me that biting is a very natural reaction, especially among humans in an adrenaline induced state. Children do it, victims of violent attacks do it, Tyson did it.

Don't rule out biting as an option if you're in a self defense situation that requires drastic measures. Studies have recently discovered that pound for pound,  human bite force is actually stronger than both gorillas and chimpanzees.

There are optimal targets for biting that include areas such as biceps and large nerve masses, such as the upper pectorals or the neck. Targets, of course, are only as available as the situation & attacker allow.  You do have to keep in mind that diseases can be transferred from biting, but short term vs. long term consequences of biting are for another post - probably by Daniel Sambrano since he loves this topic.

As for Mohamed Salmo Miya, my advice - just don't piss the guy off.

Here's the original story in the New York Daily News

Are we losing our Olympic talent to MMA?

The San Jose Mercury News posted a story this morning with an interesting take on the potential affects that MMA is having on America's ability to compete at the Olympic level in wrestling. Essentially, reporter Mark Emmons begs the question of whether MMA's powerful draw of money and fame is "siphoning away potential American medals."

I would ask the same question about boxing. Or is professional boxing broken to a point that we'd need another Mike Tyson to come out from nowhere and breathe new life into the sport? Or is it that potential boxers and wrestlers are being wooed by the popularity that MMA is enjoying?

In typical journalistic fashion, Emmons explores both sides of the issue - the ex-wrestling coach, Mark Munoz, who has discovered a new career in the UFC - no longer living paycheck to paycheck. And then there are the wrestling boosters who point out that the glory of fighting for something bigger than individual gain.

I think MMA has become the new gateway sport for for many kids who would have little or no opportunity to achieve financial success, let alone escape whatever socioeconomic condition they were born into. Kinda like how boxing used to be the way out for poor kids (muay thai still serves this purpose in Thailand).

Aside from my personal opinion on how MMA is decimating the already watered down ring-style of muay thai, and that muay thai should be stripped from all MMA vernacular and replaced with another term to describe the striking systems currently used in the cage, this article is worth the five minutes it takes to read. Makes you wonder whether MMA is an agent of evolution, devolution, or dilution.

Original Story can be viewed here.

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Muay thai, for king and country

The following editorial comes from Joel Huncar, an instructor in muay thai and Filipino styles out of British Columbia, Canada. His commentary on the importance of humility and respect resonated with me, especially the concept that while individualism is important, fighting for the benefit of the greater good is not virtue to let go of. 

Do you feel strongly about self defense, close quarter combat or the preservation of older muay thai systems? Write it  up and I may feature it on this blog. Submit your articles to donnie@oldstylemuaythai.com. That is all, Donnie-


Muay Thai is a combat sport that has been growing in popularity in the last two decades in North America. It is reputed to be one of the most important stand up styles for MMA and is highly regarded as one of the most effective striking systems in the world. It is quickly replacing styles like Tae Kwon Do and Karate in popularity across North America. This is of course partially due to the press it gets from MMA and shows like The Ultimate Fighter and Fight Girls. Unfortunately the MMA mainstream only sees the ring sport side of Muay Thai; they do not get to see the deeper value of Muay Thai.

The most important thing about Muay Thai is that at its roots it is martial art, not just a combat sport. Historically this art was practiced by Thai (Siamese) warriors and was used to protect king and country. This fighting style was held in such high regard that a boxing match was sometimes used to decide matters of state. This may seem a bit radical and strange when you read it but remember western Europeans regularly did the same thing in medieval times with trial by combat. Trial by combat is used in cultures that look at their martial arts as sacred skills. We have lost that in our culture but in Thailand and other Asian cultures they still view their martial arts as sacred cultural treasures.

Modern Thai fighters are expected to safeguard the sacredness of Muay Thai by exemplifying the virtues of the Thai warrior. They must be humble and fearless. They must show respect to their Kru, their king and their country. Our culture can learn a lot from the ideals of Muay Thai.

Most westerners scoff at virtues like honor and true nationalism but children taught true Muay Thai will be taught to embrace these ideals. This is perhaps the greatest gift a Kru can give his students and his community. Teaching Muay Thai without understanding these virtues is not teaching Muay Thai; it is simply teaching fighting. While learning fighting will help you to gain glory for yourself and your gym it will do nothing for your community, your youth and your country. Learning Muay Thai however will make you a better person and citizen and will help build a stronger community. After all in Thailand they teach Muay Thai not just to fight but also to honor their King and Country: That is the true fighting spirit of Muay Thai.

John Huncar
Rocky Mountain Academy of Martial Arts
http://www.rmama.ca

Hey ladies, check your privacy settings, hey stalkers, check out this app

Along the lines of women's self defense...

A key tactic taught in women's self defense classes / seminars is to harden the target e.g. look pissed, stay off the phone while walking to your car, shoulders back/head high. All good advice for both sexes. But in the age of location based social media apps where you can broadcast to the world where you;re eating lunch, or getting drunk, such as FourSquare, Facebook mobile, Twitter, Gowalla, Loopt, Yelp. I could keep going, but you get the point.

What I haven't seen of heard of being taught is the skill of remaining inconspicuous; unseen; hard to find. An article in the San Jose Mercury News brought to my attention a mobile app dubbed 'Girls Around Me'. This app works much like the AroundMe app that us iPhone users have come to love, but Girls Around Me serves a more nefarious purpose. Let's say I'm looking for a gas station nearby, AroundMe provides me with a list of gas stations based on proximity to my mobile device.

Girls Around Me works the same way. According to the Mercury News article, Girls Around Me mashes up data from a number of social networks (that is available to app developers) and uses the data to identify females near your location. This information that they gather, is information you are posting about yourself. So, the app can provide data such as your picture and profile information, oh, and your exact location. Do you know what a Cold War era OSINT analyst would give for this kind of real-time information?

The app requires you to be a FourSquare member to use their service, and apparently FourSquare has cut off openly available data to the Moscow based company, I-Free, and Apple has since removed the app from its app store.

But here's the deal. Your personal information is out there in the open. Your work history via LinkedIn. Your friends and family, who & where they are, what they look like are all available on (insert social network of your choice). A predator can use open source research, i.e. the Internet, to find out enough about you to put you in trouble. Location based social networks, like FourSquare are where I'm torn. On one hand, I get to share with my friends where I'm at, on the other, I provide strangers who follow me online, my exact location. So if some dude from Fairtex or TapOut has a beef with me, he could, in theory, find me.

See where I'm going with this?

Just because Girls Around Me was squashed, does not mean that this concept will go away. We'll see this app again, and again, and again, each time a little more sophisticated - harder to identify as a predatory tool. Guys will always find (and pay for) an easier way to identify where the women are, there is no doubt about that.

Given that I'm in the business of competitive intelligence, I use OSINT everyday to collect, process, and analyze what my competitors are doing. Yes, I have a day job. And I am uniquely qualified to understand the amount of information out there on you, and how simple it is for those who knowhow to use the tools, to find you. Yeah, I can find you, no problem.

So, please if you've read this far, take an additional 5-10 minutes and go through the privacy settings on the social media tools you use on a regular basis. If you have an account you don't regularly check, like a MySpace account, cancel it. Don't allow people outside your network of friends to see your status updates or photos. Set your LinkedIn profile as anonymous. Be very selective about where you check-in. I badges are rad, but, they aren't that rad.

Information is a powerful thing, and if you think your crazy ex-boyfriend (or girlfriend, or kinda weird, but sorta nice guy at the coffee shop) isn't keeping tabs on you, think again. Limit the amount of information you share and you'll make yourself safer. Basic OPSEC, folks. And while you're at it, change your passwords.

 Anonymity is a a good thing ladies, and gents. 

MMA events banned in Bangkok, YES!

I've taken a lot of heat for publicly expressing my position that MMA is damaging to muay thai's image. And don't get me started on my opinion on how the "use" of muay thai in MMA fights is a ridiculously poor representation of the Thai national sport.

Well this morning I received some great news. The Bangkok Post reported yesterday that the Sport Authority of Thailand (SAT), essentially the government agency that regulates sports in the country has banned any and all MMA events to take place in Bangkok. According to SAT deputy governor, Sakol Wannapong, "Organising a MMA event here would hurt the image of Muay Thai."

Sakol also claims that mixed martial arts would mislead the public to think that muay thai is brutal. I don't exactly buy that given that muay thai isn't exactly a kissing contest. I believe that the government agency saw that what are called muay thai strikes in MMA bouts doesn't resemble muay thai, thus watering down their national sport, and a major component of Thailand's heritage.

Read the entire Bangkok Post article

The way I see it, this is validation of my longstanding opinion.

So, to all of the MMA fanboys - sporting your RVCA hoodies, with your TapOut flat brimmed cap (tipped askew for additional douchy toughness) - this is difficult to say, but... I kinda told you so.

Women's self defense classes are essentially useless

Let me start with this: My entire world view on fighting is has always been, and continues to be based on one simple concept: I fight to ensure that I or that those close to me survive a known threat.

It was recently brought to my attention that I should read a recent column by Susan Schorn, an author and a black belt who has written extensively on women and fighting, and has instructed women's self defense programs. The article, appropriately titled Fuck the dude up, hits the nail on the head.

The majority of my experience as an instructor can be broken out into 3 types of students:
1. The civilian who has recently been victim of an attack or intimidation, or anticipates the like
2. Operators, who, for a living, must fight to survive at one time or another. Attackers are not people, they're simply targets, and multiple attackers equate to a target rich environment in which, if you're efficient & given favorable environmental factors, you have a tactical advantage. This group can separate the human element of fighting, in which they tuck away any trepidation with regard to causing irreparable harm to another person. They can switch seamlessly between states of calm and ultra-aggressive.
3. Law enforcement and protection professionals who, by law, are constrained to how much damage they can inflict upon an another person... This is where escalation of violence and suppression, containment & control are the key goals.

My Wake Up Call
But then I volunteered to host a woman's self defense seminar at a InnVision, a woman's shelter in the Bay Area..

The group of women I worked with at the women's shelter, were by definition, feral. Most of them had been attacked, not by some random stranger roaming a college campus, but by their husbands, boyfriends, even their own children. The stories and situations that these women laid out before me as we went through the class blew my mind. Here are but a few examples:

We're covering basics of the ' what if your attacker has a knife." After going through some basic concepts about covering major arteries, some poses this: "What if the knife is already stuck in your back? It was between my shoulder blades. What should I have done?" HOLY SHIT! Remember, this is not some guy whose spent his adult life in active duty. This is a twenty-something year old girl.

Alright, so ladies, suppose you're on the ground and your attacker is on top of you? Um, yeah.  A question I fielded was the following: "So, I was knocked down and on my back, and my boyfriend had his boot on my chest and was punching me in the face."

I, literally walked away from that class with the scars to prove how violence was a significant part of their lives.

Now, I have 2 sisters, no brothers. I grew up with women. I have an overdeveloped protective sense for the women in my life. For me that was it. Fuck the rules. Fuck the need to speak to an attorney after-the-fact. If met with force, you must react with equal force. That's it. It is so important that I stress to women that you must first give off the air of someone not to be trifled with, but if you are attacked, you have to respond with an overwhelming act of aggression.

The Cornered Cat
Have you ever had to deal with a cornered animal? Even if you're trying to help, it perceives you as a threat. For example, a cat will shred you up and down until you back off. The mentality is a healthy dose of fight instead of flight.

The thing about classic women's self defense training covers basic stuff like go for the groin - news flash, when a guy is adrenalized, a shot to the nuts may or may not do anything, other than piss him off. Good job, now he wants to rape you, and he's pissed. I agree completely with her observation that law enforcement will not pursue your claims unless a) an officer witnessed the assault, or b) you captured it on video. Do you have any idea how much paperwork goes into logging a complaint?

I strongly urge you away from my blog - read Susan's article, it's long, but if you trudge through my posts, you'll have no problem with her article. It's well written and takes you through her thought process to a final conclusion that fending off to escape is not realistic. Reading her article is like receiving validation for what we've been preaching. Fuck him up, cause noticeable damage to connect him to his crime. Don't let him walk away - instead of becoming a victim, let your reaction be that of the aggressor. A man who tries to rape or sexually assault a woman deserves to be given a severely strong message that his actions can bring about unanticipated, and possibly permanent consequences.

I'll leave you with an excerpt from Schorn's article. Now go read.

"I’ve written before about research showing that fighting back, hard and immediately, gives a woman her best chance of surviving an assault. My own limited experience with fighting has tended to agree with the research. Now I’m starting to believe that a fast, committed, devastating response might also give other women their best chance of avoiding future assaults from the same assailant.
I keep looking for a downside to this theory, and I don’t see it. If I fuck the dude up, I’m more likely to survive. If I fuck the dude up, other women are marginally less likely to be his victims in the future. It’s a win-win."

Muay Thai Academy open house on March 31st

Update - 3/28 - There will be a ton of Mexican food catered (for free).... please come hungry. Donnie-

If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend, feel free to stop by the Muay Thai Academy International in Santa Clara. We're having an open house Saturday March 31st from 1pm till, i don't know, around 4pm. We're celebrating the move into our new, much larger training facility, our 22nd year in operation ***BRAG STAT ALERT*** Muay Thai Academy International is the oldest, longest running muay thai school in North America. For those who have trained at MTAI can feel proud to be a part of that legacy. Alright, enough blah blah blah... here's the skinny:
RSVP on Facebook

Where:  
Muay Thai Academy International
320 Martin Avenue Suite D, Santa Clara, California 95050 
We're right behind the San Jose Airport. Very inconspicuous, no signage - on purpose - so trust your GPS

*Here's a little teaser of the new training facility*

When:
Saturday March 31, 2012 1pm-4pm
What & Why?
For MTAI students: This is your chance to show your friends & family what you mean when you try to explain what muay thai for the street means!

For the who are curious about what Daniel & I have been blogging about for years: Come meet us! This isn't a recruiting event, its more like an opportunity for knowledge sharing. 

We'll have the floor open for training, instructor demonstrations on open hand, weapon & multiple opponent tacticts with MTAI's owner, alonf with Daniel, and Donnie, as well as knowledge sharing with Mr. Gober, Sifu Le and Guro John Ward. So, we will have subject matter experts from other fighting systems present.

Oh yes. There will be food. But the real reason is to get together. As anyone who as ever trained with us knows, once a member of the MTAI, always a member.  Past, present, future, and never-plan-to-become students are welcome to attend. We would love to catch up with you!

And I know how much you miss throwing an up elbow/down elbow/switch knee combo... RSVP on Facebook

Bareknuckle boxing for the street

Daniel debuts his video on how to punch with real power. Having first hand experience on the receiving end of his strikes, I can attest that his techniques work. Even smaller people who use his street methods of punching are no fun to fight with. I equate to being hit by a polar bear.

In this video Daniel shows how to punch via the two knuckle or three knuckle landing. He explains how to punch bare-knuckle using the three knuckle landing and why. He also covers the difference between each type of fist position.

Each strike has it's advantages, that's why I don't tell anyone not to use the two knuckle landing, because it does work. Just keep an open mind and try using the three knuckle landing or as Jack Dempsey called it "The Power Line".

Daniel is a walking encyclopedia on street fighting with the bona fides to back it up. It's a long video, but well worth the time as I guarantee you will learn something new.



And see if it doesn't increase your punching power for boxing or for street-fighting.

Maize Bag Punching Drill

Here's a how-to drill using the Maize Bag that trains your timing, footwork, distance, and punching skills. Working with a partner, strike the bag and hit it towards your partner as he in turn does the same to you. Below  are a few pointers:

- You can move in any direction as you hit the bag, also you can hit the bag with any strike you choose.

- Just keep moving and striking the bag with one or both fists.

- You can do this drill for 1-3 minute rounds or for short bursts of 10-30 second rounds.

- The nice thing about this drill is that you can go as hard as you want without hurting each other and get a good workout in the process.

Another variation you can do is to have only one partner hit the bag while the other punch blocks or click blocks the strikes. And don't forget to hit the bag with proper fist placement or you'll pay the price instantly for not doing it right.

(Donnie's note) This drill works with elbow strikes as well, just keep in mind that you may find yourself chasing the bag around more than you will with punches. It's a great drill whether you box, train muay thai, or if you're into MMA.

So get yourself a Maize Bag and a willing partner and have at it, I promise you'll have an awesome time!

Take care

Daniel~

Practice makes perfect in muay thai

Just posted this on my Facebook page, but it's worth stating again...

Experts say that to become proficient at a technique, you have to do it 10,000 times. Try 400 round kicks twice a week over 3 months=9,600 kicks! Combine shadow and bag/pad drills. This helps develops muscle memory, but it takes time and repetition to make an kick, elbow, knee a subconscious movement. Do this for 1 year and you'll have done 38,400 kicks, or elbows, or knee strikes!

Americans demand instant gratification... that may be our greatest weakness as a society. 

Training martial arts, in our case - muay thai - is an discipline that that requires time and repetition in order to gain any proficiency. We live busy lives and it's easy to get wrapped up in the "instant expert concept" (I may have just coined a term here), but rushing through your training only defeats the original purpose you set ot to begin with. 


Take the the whole CrossFit craze for example. In the early days the daily exercises were nearly impossible for anyone to achieve, but as my friend James Merrick pointed out to me, as CrossFit became more popular and average Joe's and Jane's signed up the exercises became less straining. And today it's all about who can finish their circuits in the fastest time. It's about being on the top if the leader board. It does not help you in the long term if you can do 35 shitty pull ups faster than the other soccer moms and gym rats at the CrossFit center. Your body and technique benefits much more from doing less, but doing it with the proper technique, and eventually doing more over time. Need I mention the decreased risk of injury as well?


Same goes for your muay thai training. You can apply my concept of 10,000, but do it methodically. Don't rush through the 400 technique repetition just to get through it. You won't learn well that way. Practice the shadow of the strike, focusing on the technique and the bio mechanics that make that strike or body movement work. 


When you strike pads or bags don't think of it of an attempt to pull a Buakaw, pulling off 65 kicks in 60 seconds. Instead, I urge you to take on the mindset of making each kick, knee or elbow you throw the absolutely most powerful strike you can throw. If working on thai pads, if your kick didn't drive your partner back, then that should piss you off. Each strike that doesn't knock your partner back should strengthen your resolve to hit harder, spin faster turn your hip over earlier, all in an effort to knock the bastard down.  Then go back to the shadow technique and monitor any improvements, and keep an eye on bad habits.  


The shadow helps you perfect technique, the hard drills force you to throw under pressure and internalize the movements.  


Getting to the point where you are proficient in the key muay thai strikes and defensive movements takes time, a ridiculous amount of patience, and perpetual repetition. Yes, you can become proficient at muay thai much faster than other classic martial arts. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a program.  

It's not the size of the fighter or the size of the muscle that makes a strike powerful. It's recognizing the physics and bio mechanics behind the technique. It's remaining cognizant of those mechanics when practicing the technique, slowly, building speed as you become more comfortable. It's the unending repetition of said technique. It's the practice of the technique with the full intent of destroying your target (again, repetition). It's the continuous employment of the technique under simulated high stress situations. That combination of practices will work to make the movement, the mechanics, the intent of that technique a part of your subconscious. That's the ultimate goal: To throw a kick, or a combination of techniques rapidly, powerfully, and efficiently, without thinking at all about what your doing because it's become a  natural movement to you. You'll be busy processing other bits of information such as, identifying other threats, looking or escape routes, identifying witnesses, video surveillance systems, items to use as weapons if it gets heavy. 


In short: Think quality over quantity in terms of speed. But in the long run, large quantities of high quality will get you to where you really want to be. 


Donnie-

2011 Holiday gift guide for the muay thai enthusiast

It's been a couple years since I posted a muay thai holiday gift guide...whoops.  I'm back at it, and that's all that matters, right?

So, you want to get a gift for someone in your life who either trains muay thai, or is a fan of the combat sport, but what the hell is muay thai, and where do you start looking? Perhaps you train, and you want to give your girlfriend or grandma some ideas of what you want for Christmas. My grandma Baker would get me corduroy pants every year without fail. Let's avoid that happening to you.

Muay Thai Hoodie

Its hard to go wrong with this gift that can be worn year-round. Amazon.com carries a fairly good selection of muay thai logo hoodies and crew neck sweatshirts. This yellow hoodie is a little pricey at USD49.99. I found a version in black for USD21.90 and and I love it. You can find the yellow sucker here.

Twins Pro Boxing Gloves

I've been training and teaching muay thai for half my life. I've used pretty much every brand of boxing and muay thai  gear imaginable, and when it comes to boxing gloves nobody, and I mean nobody, beats Twins. The prices are fair, especially when you compare them to brands like Everlast. 

For North American shoppers I recommend going through TitleBoxing.com - you'll pay around USD60.00 for them. Twins can be found for about half the price on sites like MuayThaiStuff.com, but chances are slim you'll get them by  Christmas as all orders ship from Thailand and take minimum 3 weeks to get to the USA.

The Ong Bak  DVD Set (Kinda like the Stars Wars trilogy for muay thai fans)

If you're not sure exactly what to get the muay thai fan in your life, this is easily your safest bet. There is no way you can go wrong with the box set of all three Ong Bak films that delivers the best demonstration of the older muay thai systems (except for Ong Bak 2 where Tony Jaa tries to cover practically every martial art in existence). But seriously, you're guaranteed to make the recipient of this gift happy (I'll take a copy please).  This link is for my readers in the UK, I really appreciate your loyalty :)

 Namman Thai Boxing Liniment

Thai boxing liniment is a great stocking stuffer, and is the fastest way into a muay thai practitioner's heart. It's true value is known only to those who've been initiated, but once you understand it's benefits it becomes a general cure all for all aches and pains. You have to be careful from who you buy Thai liniment as it is largely overpriced, considering a 120cc bottle sells in Thailand for less than 2 dollars, however online merchants will mark up the price to as much as $15 for the same product that may be past it's expiration date. Here's a site that offers decent prices, and their online store is protected by Thawte SSL, so you can be sure your data is secure.

Competitive Ace is the official North American dealer for Namman.  This liniment is about as fresh as you can get it, however, the prices are little higher than other resources, so you'll have to weigh the benefits for yourself.

Thai Pads - A must for muay thai trainers

Alright now, among muay thai purists, there are really 3 camps of opinion as to which brand manufactures the best thai pads:  Twins, Windy and Fairtex. Pretty much everything Twins makes is of very good quality, their thai pads are no exception.

What makes a good thai pad a good thai pad? Density, thickness, material quality, and restraint assembly. I love Twins with exception of the thai pad line which uses Velcro strips, which eventually fray and can come undone during intense pad work sessions.

You want leather pads with a thickness of at least 4 inches of padding thickness with a buckle restraint system. In my experience, the most durable brand, the thai pads that last for 10+ years of extensive training has been Windy. Ladies, this is a sure bet way to make your man incredibly happy this holiday.

Muay Thai: The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting

If you ever get one book on the subject of muay thai, this one is it. The hardcover book is viewed by many as the textbook on muay thai. Transcribed from the bedside of aging Master Ket Sriyapai in 1978, this book is humble in layout. I swear most of the book was photocopied from notes, but don't let that fool you. This book is filled with incredibly usefull information, tips on training for a fight, techniques, and serves as an enlightening history of the transformation of the modern sport muay thai in the twentieth century.  Due to the dry reading, I suggest holding off on purchasing this for any muay thai student under the age of 18.  I'm generalizing here, but most teenagers won't want a book for Christmas. You can find it here.


This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I'm sure I missed a few other 'must haves'. There are a number of online resources for muay thai training gear and accessories across the Internet. The common brands for muay thai gear include Twins, Windy, Thaismai, Kombat Gear, and Fairtex.

 What do you think should be on this year's list? Add it in your comments!

Happy holidays!

Donnie Baker-

As muay thai gets more popular, what will happen to the older muay thai systems?

For me, it started with a bootleg VHS tape of fights at Lumpinee Stadium in 1992. Then, a couple weeks later I caught Paulo Tocha in Bloodsport on HBO, and in my teenage mind I was convinced. I didn't know what they called it, but whatever this fighting system was two things were certain: i. the style looked both brutal and at the same time elegant, and ii. those shorts with the writing on the front looked really, really comfortable.  Hence begun my search to learn what was to be introduced to me as muay thai.

For the better part of the 1990's (and even today to a large extent) I'd get blank stares if/when I tell people that I train muay thai. Top three typical responses are "What's that?", "Mai tai?", or "Is that like kickboxing?". The system has been on the outside of the stable of popular martial arts until MMA came along and has made the name muay thai more common (I would largely disagree with the application of muay thai being used in MMA as an accurate representation of muay thai). K-1 popularized muay thai in Europe and Asia in the early part of the twenty-first century, but the USA has football and the NBA, oh well, call us late adopters.

Outside of the occasional episode of Human Weapon on the History Channel, or the occasional documentary about the exploitation of children through muay thai in Thailand (which I agree and yet, disagree with), mainstream media never covers the Thai national sport, and its official martial art.

This is beginning to change, however. CNN  recently did a little spot on the growth in popularity of muay thai on the international stage. It's good to see this kind of exposure for the sport version of muay thai. Watch the short segment below.




The History Channel produced the series, Human Weapon where the two hosts traveled around the world receiving crash courses in martial arts from various masters or well known practitioners.What I did like about this episode is that they touched on a few of the various branches of muay thai. They trained for modern ring style muay thai, the covered lerd rit, the militarized application of muay thai, and they also went up north and got some exposure to one of the older system, Muay Chaiya.

Here's the full episode, but the commercials can get annoying.

 I'd still like to see more exposure of the older systems such as muay chao cherk, lerd rit, and chaiya  - which BTW, are lumped under the umbrella of muay boran. If someone opens up a muay boran school in your area and markets it as a single martial art, they're simply marketing it to you. Tony Jaa has done a great job of including the various subsets of muay thai in his Ong Bak and The Protector movies.

If you're lucky enough to find and train at a school that covers one of the older systems, be prepared to have others in the outside world (retail thai boxing gyms) say that your techniques are wrong. Not to worry, I've been training and teaching muay chao cherk, lerd rit and a subset of the Burmese system (boar bando) for 18 years (half my life, ugh I'm old). Just know that what's taught at the typical modern muay thai gym is a watered down version of what only scratches the surface of what a muay thai practitioner would have learned over a hundred years ago. You are among the lucky few burdened with the responsibility of continuing a dying tradition.

Hopefully the continued growth in muay thai's popularity will bring about a renaissance for the older systems used for the purposes of combat instead of sport.

Black Friday & holiday shopping safety tips with a tactical twist

So Black Friday has come and gone with some unsurprising violent outcomes across the United States. A woman in Southern California had the bright idea to discourage other shoppers from vying for an Xbox360 by using pepper spray, injuring 10 people in the process. I give her points for ingenuity, but she sort went against some social mores, such as that little known 'do unto others' rule that keeps us from eating each other. In San Leandro, CA (East Bay)  shoppers were robbed in a Walmart parking lot as they left a 1:30 am shopping spree, leaving one shopper critically injured by a bullet wound. And  this trend towards consumer-on consumer & opportunistic predatory behavior echoed across the country over the past 24 hours.

We still have a month of shopping and that means a month of somewhat higher risk for robbery or assault given the current economic state and the fact that we're all distracted with the obligatory holiday distractions.

Below is the standard list of basic safety tips issued every year for the clueless holiday shopper. I've added what I think have been missing from this list  as well. My tips are in italic.

• Park in well-lit areas, and always lock the car, close the  windows, and hide shopping bags and gifts in the trunk even if you only  plan to be gone for a few minutes. Do not leave valuables in plain view  inside your vehicle. Out of sight, out of mind!
• DB- If possible, back your car into the spot. Many attackers will approach victims from behind after they've they approached their car. If you pull head on into your spot,that open door funnels you into a corner With your car backed in, an open car door can serve as a barrier between you and your would be attacker.
• If possible, shop before dark. Coordinate shopping trips with a friend if you plan to be out late.
• Stay alert and be aware of what’s going on around you. If you see  people “hanging around” parking garages, parking lots, or the outside of  stores, avoid the area. Notify the police or security department.  
• DB - Situational awareness is huge! Keep an eye out for familiar faces, and ask yourself why you keep crossing paths that person or group of people. Are you being sized up for a potential robbery or worse?
• DB - consolidate your purchases into as few bags as possible, and make that bag the lowest end store in the mall. For example, if you buy your girlfriend a Coach purse, place it in a JC Penny shopping bag. Perception is key. If you try to appear wealthy, you're a prized pig.
• Avoid carrying large amount of cash; pay with check or credit card whenever possible.
• Limit the amount of jewelry you wear.
• Be extra careful with purses and wallets. Carry a purse close to  your body, not dangling by the straps. Don’t leave purses unattended in  shopping carts even for a moment.  
• DB- Keep your wallet in your front pants pocket.
• Deter pickpockets and purse-snatchers. Don’t overburden yourself  with packages. Have your purchases delivered whenever practical.
• DB - Thieves often work in teams: one with distract you while the other picks your pocket. If someone bumps into you in the mall, don't stop to turn around and pardon yourself or confront the individual, keep moving.
• Have your keys in hand when you return to your car. Always check the interior of your car before you unlock the door to get in.  
• DB- Don't be on your mobile phone while walking to your car, scan your sector (look around by visually sweeping the field in front of you and to your sides) keep your posture erect and look pissed off. Make yourself a hard target through your body language. 
• DB - I don't particularly condone carrying a blade if you aren't trained on basic weapon retention and use simply because introducing a weapon instantly escalates a situation in which a simple robbery turns potentially fatal. If  someone really wants you dead, they'll kill you. If they want your stuff, they'll threaten harm. Sometimes it's simply not worth the risk, and handing over your bags is the safest option. It sucks, it's better to spend the holidays with your family than in a  hospital bed.

Most importantly, if you find yourself in the midst of some crazed Walmart mob killing each other over a $2 waffle iron, maintain a wide, low stance, and remember that nice, clean, tight elbow points strategically used on soft mid sections can help move you through the crowd. Get yourself and your family/friend/partner away from the mob as quickly as possible. Look for ways out such as a nearby aisle or a gap in the crowd. That, and keep your hands on your pockets!



Happy hunting!

Muay thai front leg round kick round up

Front leg kicks are usually used as set up strikes, whether you're in the cage, in the ring, or in the street. The right use of body mechanics can make it powerful, but its rare that a front leg kick would drop a guy and keep him down.

There are a number of ways to throw it - with the reigning method has the fighter stepping out before throwing the kick. Technique aside, a key difference in how a front round kick is used in differing scenarios is the follow up. Do you follow up with a right cross? Do you shoot in on the guy? Do you throw elbows? Do you run cause he has 3 friends closing in?

The context in which I use a front leg round kick is for street or combat. If, in theory, its a set up strike and often offers the element of surprise, I don't want to be (or perhaps I can't be) in a fighting stance. If you're training in order to defend yourself in the street, or a club, or a parking lot, you really need to be able to execute all of your techniques from a neutral, casual stance. If you're military or law enforcement, your gear, weapon, or a number of other environmental factors may prevent you from getting into a proper conventional fighting stance.

Here are two examples of a similar technique modified for use in two completely different contexts.

The guy in the video below, obviously, is using the front leg round kick technique for MMA. The camouflage shorts gave him away. It's a rather long video, so if you want to see the technique thrown full speed scrub ahead to about 4:30 into the clip. I myself am also guilty of getting chatty from time to time in my videos.



What I see in this, and many other instructional videos on this topic is that the striker steps out with the rear leg in order to load his kick. It also gets him out of the way of a straight counter. I don't believe that you have to waste a step in order to throw a loaded front leg round kick. Exploding the kick out with an angled forward drive can do the trick, and it keeps you in your native stance. Although I cannot stress the importance of becoming ambidextrous when it comes to your training.




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