Sylvie's Technique Vlog - Closing the Door In Long Guard (11 min)

Kevin and I are calling this "closing the door," in the way that you might hear Kevin yelling at me in a fight to "pull her off the ropes!" It's a command, or a shorthand, a reminder. That phrase may sometimes be used to refer to a check hook in boxing, to nail your opponent as they're trying to come back after you, but we're using it to describe this technique of hitting the long guard hard after striking.

It's a way to feel protected, and actually be protected, so that I can stay in. I'm an inside fighter, so staying in is really important and bouncing out has been a considerable issue for me. This seeks to, and so far has succeeded in, solving some of that issue. The important things to consider are really tucking down under/behind the shoulder. I'm sparring with Yodkhunpon "Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches," every day right now and when he hooks me after one of my kicks, he's not fu**ing around. He hits hard, but this really protects me so that he can hit hard. And it lets me stay in so that I can then hit him right back. A gap between the shoulder and the chin usually is the result of a floppy arm, or even a bent arm, and that doesn't work. It doesn't matter if the forearm is outstretched or wrapped around your head, but the shoulder has to be tight.

Coming down off of a kick into guard was something Kru Cha in the Muay Thai Library emphasized (linked further down), and it was revelatory for me in that session. Even though it's taken me more than a year to really get serious about training it.  That's okay, that happens. But it also takes into play the "Pinsinchai Kick" and the Arjan Surat arm position of leaving your hand in your opponent's face on a kick, rather than throwing your arm down to your side. If you've followed me for any time at all, you have heard me say that there are no "incorrect" techniques. Throwing the arm down isn't wrong, neither is keeping it up. They serve different purposes and mold different Ruup shapes. I usually throw the arm and have for years, so this is new for me to adopt the version of keeping the guard up. It has helped me not lean back on my kicks, which is great. 

In the upcoming Arjan Surat session for the Muay Thai Library (in a couple of weeks) you'll see him teaching me this arm-up on the kick technique in detail, and he specifies that the arm is actually past your opponent's face, not right in the middle of it. This helps close the shoulder to the chin and you can leave it up for multiple kicks. That's keeping the door closed, rather than "closing the door" between strikes, which is what this Technique Vlog is about. But it's borrowing from that technique, so it's worth mentioning.

Kevin's photo of me in a solid "closed door" position, from my sparring with Yodkhunpon, more on that below.

Some things to work with: 

1) Even if you're a few beats late, even if it's not "natural," just close that door with the guard between combinations and strikes in order to train yourself to use it like punctuation. You'll start doing it faster and more automatically.

2) It can't be an oatmeal move. Even if it's slow, even if it's late, snap the guard closed hard and strong. It looks good, it protects you, it keeps you upright. It can't be loose and weak, it has to be strong, even if the timing isn't right yet.

3) Get used to feeling your shoulder and your chin making contact. Really tuck under the arm. Sometimes that means tucking your head loser, sometimes that means raising your arm higher. Sometimes both.

4) Work it and work it until you believe in it. I'm still working on this, it's not settled and it's not where it will ultimately end up. Be patient, but be persistent. The point is to believe in the protection so you can stay close and say a physical "f*** you" to your opponent hitting you back.

Note: here is the session with Kru Cha in the Library where I first learned about "closing the door". It's a big part of what he taught me, check it out:

#67  Kru Cha - Cohension, Guard and Strikes Together (62 min) watch it here 

As your Muay Thai progresses the more blurred the lines between offense and defense become. It is as if everything is one piece. Kru Chai teaches this easy flow between the two as essential to style, one of the lessor trained aspects of technique.

A Training Example

I'm sparring 10 rounds a day now, as part of my project Sylvie 3.0 this year, and a big piece of that is sparring 6 rounds a day with Yodkhunpon Sittraipum, The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches, likely the greatest elbow fighter in Thai history. He has an amazing pressure style, and I've gotten lots from him in my work with him over the years. His footwork, "the gallop", for instance has been a huge influence.  So I thought I'd include a few imperfect rounds I filmed around the time of filming my technique vlog to give you a sense of how I'm employing "closing the door", and a view into the many difficulties that you might run into. This is a work in progress, and sometimes its much better to see something shaping up, rather than just a perfect demo example:

Rounds with Yodkhunpon with some Audio Commentary

You can see in these example rounds that I'm only closing the door maybe about 20% of the time, but it is exactly under this kind of pressure that you have to build your belief. My intention is, coming into these rounds, to close the door after every combination or single strike. Everyday I'm doing it more frequently. 

watch these Patron Only rounds with Yodkhunpon with some commentary here.

I know many of my patrons are coaches, no need for coaching here.

If you are more interested in my work with Yodkhunpon, Kevin made a film short of what a round with him felt like, along which an accompanying vlog on the process of filming and editing it:

watch that public video here (30 min)

As a patron you can also study Yodkhunpon in the Muay Thai Library, he has several sessions documented:

#84 Yodkhunpon Special Intensive - 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. 

#15 Yodkhunpon "The Elbow Hunter" part 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.

#9 Yodkhunpon "The Elbow Hunter" pt 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.

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.

Bonus Session 6: Yodkhunpon Sittraipum Front Side Attack | 77 min - watch it here 

Yodkhunpon is the Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches and in this session he shows a front side attack system, especially effective in standard vs standard, southpaw vs southpaw matchups, drilling the open side until your power side can finish. Lots of little elbow techniques also shown. 

And if you are still thirsty for him, there are over 7 hours of 7 straight days of working with him in the Sylvie Intensive series:

That same intensive series has over 30 hours of straight days training with Karuhat, check out the Sylvie Intensive here. These videos are a separate, deep dive collection, including both Karuhat and Yodkhunpon. And 100% of the net profits made from the online sale of these on demand videos goes to these legends. They get cash every week, so it's a great way to support these legends. 

If you are new to my patron and you enjoyed this you may find other in-depth technique vlogs interesting. These are not demo videos. They are me working on and talking about techniques I've personally picked up as a fighter, that I like.  Take a look:

#17  Sylvie's Technique Vlog - Static Block for Balance (9 min) 

#16 Sylvie's Technique Vlog - The Diamond Guard (20 min) 

#15 Mental Gym, Beginning to Advanced Visualization (19 min) 

#14 Getting the Right Hand In (13 min) 

#13 Rising on Techniques (6 min) 

#12 Control of the Kick (6 min) 

#11 Body Position First (11 min) 

#10 All About How I Recover (12 min) 

#9 Creating Power and Distance At Close Range (9 min) 

#8 Where Are Your Feet? Foot Position (9 min) 

#7 Evolving in the Long Guard (10 min)  

#6 The Power of Eye Contact (10 min)  

#5 Dieselnoi's Lowkick in the Clinch (12 min)  

#4 Air Knees in the Corner (8 min)  

#3 Acceleration at the End of Strikes (10 min) 

#2 The Kem Pivot (12 min)  

#1 Dealing With Fear, How to Cut it Out (13 min) 

Be sure to check out all the exclusive content made for my patrons:Table of Contents 

And make sure you don't miss studying the Muay Thai Library itself, browse all of the videos in the archive here: Muay Thai Library. 

If you enjoy in-depth discussion of both technique and also Muay Thai Life consider subscribing to the Muay Thai Bones podcasts, as a pstron you get exclusive access to the audio version of this exciting new podcast style. 

Check out the Muay Thai Bones casts here.