#150 Lamnammoon Sor Sumalee #2 - Muay Khao Timing (!), Space & Structure (1 hr, 42 min)

Lamnammoon is a young, late Golden Age Legend. He fought incredible battles with top names, the young dao rung "rising star" against established yodmuay. He is a true Muay Khao style and held Lumpinee titles at 115 lb, 126 lb, and 130 lb. As one of the most famous, most recognizable Muay Khao, he's an important part of the history of Muay Thai and this style, and I'm very excited to be adding more of him in to the Preserve the Legacy project. He was mentored by Panomtuanlek, one of the Three Kings of Muay Khao (Chamuakpet, Dieselnoi) and Lamnammoon stands not only as a remarkable fighter, but also a wonderful teacher. If you'd like to learn more about him and see more of his style, I recommend looking at his first entry into the Library.

What to Look Out For:

1) Dern Structure: dern in Thai literally means to walk, but it's used in Muay Thai to refer to the fighter who is coming forward, pressuring, driving the action. As a dern fighter, defense is the primary element that allows success in this style. Lamnammoon starts out by showing how to tuck the chin and raise the shoulder against it, in a relaxed but closed guard. It isn't tense, he's never tensed unless necessary, to avoid getting fatigued. It's just closed. A second part of the dern structure is organizing the spacing and pace; he's always blocking or striking on his way in, closing distance with strikes, blocks or fakes and stepping down to a balanced, ready position. The closer you are to the opponent, the more you step outside their stance, for balance, safety, and keeping your target at the center of your power.

2) Body Position: Lamnammoon stays in "clinch position" at all distances. What I mean is, nearly everyone (Burklerk excluded) squares up for clinch, with a wide base and narrow upper body; this is ideal for balance and being able to move freely. Lamnammoon doesn't stay square, but he says "arms inside, legs outside" for all distances.

3) Khao Yat: this is a very nasty, very beautiful and dramatic knee. It's like a chop, half-knee, half-shin that pins your opponent to the corner or clashes them as they bounce off the ropes. It's best used when you have them corralled into the ropes or corner, not in the center of the ring. I take a bit of time to figure out the right movement, which is great for viewers, because it's not two beats (not up, then in), but one movement (like a snapping open of the hips) and it's long and high.

4) Crow Bar and Elvis Hip: these are both clinch escapes and clinch moves, allowing you to off-balance your opponent, get out of bad positions, and land really good knees. One is high, one is low.

5) Accordian or "Whiplash" Knees: this is a push of the opponent's shoulders at the same time as stepping your leg back and then collapsing it all together in truly devastating knee. It's so shocking, so startling, that the opponent will likely not be able to defend at all. I hate it and love it at the same time.

6) Overall, How to train Muay Khao: one thing that really impacted me in this session with Lamnammoon is how much Muay Khao is 4 dimensional. There's always a side to side, front to back, up and down and most of all timing that plays into good Muay Khao fighting. Someone on Patreon messaged me about a seminar with Saenchai, where he said that training with Pipa was "collaborative." I would use the word "improvisational" like a jam session, as being how true Femeu is practiced. It's a lot of playing. Muay Khao is also a lot of playing, but it's based more of dominance, like the most fun pissing contest you've ever been in. When I spar with Karuhat, if I get anything in on him that he didn't consciously allow, I know he'll get me back... I just don't know when. I can't even celebrate, it's like, "oh damn, that's coming back at me, at some point, and he'll be patient about it so I'll have no idea." With Muay Khao, with Lamnammoon, that point is coming back immediately. Like, "oh sh*t, I just poked the bear." But in all styles, timing is so important. I feel like this session really gets at how timing is used in Muay Khao, which is brilliant because it's very hard to "instruct" on things like jangwa, ning, and mua, but all of that is in this session.

Other Sessions Referenced:

#72  YodPitak Cho. Nateetong 1 - Art of Femeu Interruptions and Balance (73 min) watch it here

#99 Yodwicha Por Boonsit 3 - Spearing the Middle, Fighting With Rhythm (66 min) watch it here

#81 Chamuakpet Hapalang 2 - Muay Khao Internal Attacks (65 min) watch it here

#131 Panomtuanlek Hapalang - The Secret of Tidal Knees (100 min) watch it here

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

#45 Langsuan Panyutapum - Monster Muay Khao Training (66 min) watch it here

#27 Karuhat Sor. Supawan 4 - Tension & Kicking Dynamics (104 min) watch it here

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

#59 Satanmuanglek Numpornthep - Beautiful Clinch Throws (65 min) watch it here

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

#145 Thongchai Tor Silachai - Muay Maat & Low Kick Legend (96 min) watch it here

#136 Lamnammoon Sor. Sumalee | Relentless, Spearing, Ripping Muay Khao (92 mins) watch it here or podcast here

 Lamnammoon (red) vs Matee at Rajadamnern.

 Lamnammoon Khao Yat on Samkor at Lumpinee.

 20 year old Lamnammoon.

Some photographs from the session, you can see the entire album on Kevin's Behance.

If you enjoyed this session these are others in the Muay Thai Library on similiar themes:

#136 Lamnammoon Sor. Sumalee | Relentless, Spearing, Ripping Muay Khao (92 mins) watch it here or podcast here

In this special sessions one of the great legends of Muay Khao, Mr. Vampire Knees, Lamanmmoon teaches his very particular spearing and attacking Knee Fighting style. He came out of the teaching tree of the famed Hapalang gym, and developed a relentless, quick burst, smothering style. A must watch for any knee fighting enthusiast.

#45 Langsuan Panyutapum - Monster Muay Khao Training (66 min) watch it here

One of the greatest knee fighters who ever fought, 1987 Fighter of the Year Langsuan shows how an elite Muay Khao fighter of his day trained. This session is powerful on the basics that elevate the body and mind, at high repetition, allowing the relentless, pressing style that made Langsuan the fighter nobody wanted to fight.

#131 Panomtuanlek Hapalang - The Secret of Tidal Knees (100 min) watch it here

Called Mr. Tidal Knees, Panomtuanlek completes the trinity of Muay Khao greatness documented from the famed Hapalang gym. This is such a rare and beautiful session, perhaps Top 10 in the entire Library. Panomtuanlek teaches his base of movement and postures which allowed him to become one of the most dominant Muay Khao fighters of the Golden Age.

#129 Cherry Sor Wanich - Unbreakable Lock Muay Thai (50 min) watch it here

This session captures the disappearing locking and Muay Khao techniques of the Golden Age legend Cherry Sor Wanich. As Muay Thai changes these beautiful, incredibly effective techniques do not get passed down to future generations, and we were incredibly lucky to film with Cherry. His constrictor-like lock and chokes are part of a heavy, draping style of Muay Thai from the greatest era.

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

Our most extensive documentation yet of one of the most relentless pressure fighters of the Golden Age of Muay Thai. 2 hours of work on all the small things, the weight transfers, angles, tempos and techniques that made the 1991 Fighter of the Year such a wrecking ball with heavy hands and endless clinch.

#99 Yodwicha Por Boonsit 3 - Spearing the Middle, Fighting With Rhythm (66 min) watch it here

Yodwicha won (co) Fighter of the year in 2012 as one of the most dominant Muay Khao fighters Thailand has seen, and then made the transition to K1 style kickboxing oriented promotions and became a powerful Muay Maat puncher. In fact he has all the tools, all the distances, and is currently the WBC World Champion at 154 lbs. He teaches how to put knees and hands together was well as some very important bagwork insights.

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

There several sessions with the King of Knees in the Muay Thai Library, this is the fourth, but this is the first one where he gets the chance to teach a tall, long fighter like he was. If you are a tall fighter this is the session you don't want to miss. He is arguably the GOAT, an in this session he unfolds his entire fighting system of knee fighting pressure and distance control.

#66 Kru Gai Petchrungruang - Proper Dern and the Impossible Trip (63 min) watch it here

One of the great Muay Khao padmen of Thailand, Kru Gai teaches the proper, unabated but unhurried Dern (walking) attack of Muay Khao, and don't miss his incredible trip that feels almost impossible to defend. Not easy to master, but if you do it could make you unstoppable.

#41 Samson Isaan 1 - The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here

To "dern" in Thai is to "walk", which means basically to just come forward no matter what, to create a relentlessness. Voted Fighter of the Year in 1991, Samson Isaan was one of the great Dern Fighters of the Golden Age, and in this session he shows his forward pulsing techniques which are meant to just overwhelm his opponent. Also a great session for pressure Southpaw fighters.