Sagat Petchyindee - All the Strikes Tuned and Dangerous (101 min)

Before Sagat became a Street Fighter character he was known as the "Knockout King," terrorizing the national stadia of Thailand.  When you see the way he moves, with such power and efficiency, it's not hard to understand how he got that name. He's also just an amazing man to be around. His personal combination of scary-as-hell in how he moves and the power you can feel just in his presence, contrasted with a somewhat jolly old man feeling... there's not a whole lot of people in the world quite like that. He's very keen on detail and bringing out the most power with the most efficiency in every single move, which is only one of many reasons he's probably the best private in all of Thailand.  The phrases he returns to over and over again are: "how feel?" - you must feel the movement and power in order to self-correct and know the impact yourself; "more hip," because you have to twist; and "same line," because you should return to your starting position with the exact same finesse you threw the shot with. 

In this session, Sagat walks me through each set of weapons, somewhat individually. We focus on punches and elbows, mostly, finishing with knees and kicks. The rotation of his shoulders and hips is the secret to everything - EVERYTHING - and it's not hard to do but it's hard to carve out all the extra tension and movements you might already have. Repetition will help smooth that out.

The first 10 minutes or so of this video include Sagat showing me how to train important technical elements while doing something as mindless as skipping rope. How to land on your feet (lighter) and how to bob the head a bit to strengthen the neck. And he shows me some exercises in another room, including an add on to his previous "Sagat Situps" from the other Muay Thai Library sessions. If you're only keen on learning techniques for strikes, just skip ahead. But part of the mission of the Preserve the Legacy project is not only archiving the techniques of these Golden Age Legends, but also documenting and preserving the men themselves. You get to see what kind of man Sagat is in these moments, and to me they're awesome. So they are included in the session.

What to look out for:

1.  Snake-Strike Speed: Sagat focuses on the popping strike and return of the jab. Watch his feet and legs, how he pins his back leg where it is and just pops forward for the super fast, super neck-snapping jab and returns right back to his starting position.

2. Rotating Shoulders: I emphasize this all throughout the session, but all of his punches and strikes involve this deep rotation of the shoulders in order to make the strikes really straight, really efficient, REALLY POWERFUL, and repeatable.

3. Tiger Uppercut: this involves a few levels. There's the one to the body, which is like stabbing someone in the stomach and you really have to feel the "pop back," which he says is how you use a pool stick and I say is like cocking a shotgun. My favorite example is when he shows how not to drop your hand down from your guard but your elbow comes back for an uppercut or hook from the rotation. You can feel it.

4. Tat-Mala Elbow: this is a crazy, upward but diagonal elbow that you can do inside someone else's guard. So, you block them as they're coming to grab you and then smear this elbow from their jaw to their opposite eyebrow. Man... it's awesome.

5. Dracula Guard on Knees: near the end he's showing how to block while kneeing. It's important to build your defense INTO your offence, it's part of the technique and movement. He said he's been yelling at one of their stadium fighters about this and shows me how to wrap the elbow in front of my nose in a kind of cross-stitch with the knee across my body. So, left knee comes up and over, right elbow guards and comes across the opposite direction.

6. Threading the Needle Hooks: Sagat breaks down the angle of the fists and the degree of lift in the elbow on a hook, so you literally just go around your opponent's guard and "thread the needle" of your fist right into their jaw.  The fist SLIGHTLY drops in, rather than being totally horizontal.

7.  Parrying and Countering: his little pop down and strike defenses are incredible. Like a skipping stone on water. He snuffs the opponent's strikes really close to their starting points, near the opponent's face and shoulders, rather than close to their target (his face or body). It's a long, staggered guard. It's beautiful.

A bit of trivia. Sagat's grandfather was Suk, one of the most feared fighters of Thailand right around when Rajadamnern opened in 1947. He, I believe, was a convicted murderer who served time in prison, and ended up fighting into his 50s. At that time Suk was a People's Champion, rough-edged and in contrast to many of the more polished, royal-aura, Muay Thai champions of the past. He was covered in sakyant, and called "The Giant Ghost" as a fight name. In Thailand ghosts are deeply believed in and feared. You can see the resemblance:

Sagat's is one of the best, if not the very best private in Thailand. You can train with him one on one at the TBM/Boost Gym in Bangkok. It's an amazing experience.

Some screenshots from the session:

Thank you to everyone who is helping preserve this legacy, the legacy of Sagat. He has decades and decades of knowledge, has worked to refine his philosophy of strikes and fighting. Not only was he an all time legend as a fighter, but he's been a training others for probably 35 years. It's important for not only his technique, but also his person, the man he is, to reach those who will love Muay Thai in the future. 

If you've learned from this session and you have appreciation for Sagat you can send him a thank you donation.  Every time I pass these extra donations and thank yous the Krus are really touched. Just message $5 or more via PayPal to the address sylvie@8limbs.us, please in the "add a note" section specify "for Kru Sagat". I will transfer the funds, and cover the fees myself.

KRU FUND: additionally, 5% of all Patreon pledges go into my Kru Fund, and is directed back to the Krus and ex-fighters who have helped make this documentary Library possible: http://8limbs.us/muay-thai-thailand/starting-the-kru-fund

If you got a lot out of this session these are others on similar themes in the Muay Thai Library you might enjoy:

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

Such an anticipated session, part 2 of Sagat Petchyindee, the inspiration of the Sagat Street Fighter character. It's hard to believe, but he's even better in real life. In this session his continues to teach his "stay in your frame" method of bringing maximum efficiency and damage to striking. 

#26 Sagat Petchyindee - Explosive Power (57 min) watch it here 

One of the great fighters in the history of Thailand, and the inspiration of the "Street Fighter" video game character, Sagat is like no other. Here he teaches how power has to come out of the ribs, and your frame, taking the shortest distance to your target, making sure your feet are constantly "organized".

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

General Tunwakom is the last living direct student of the grandmaster who developed this Lertrit/Muay Khorat military style of fighting, designed to end exchanges quickly. Much can be learned from the foundations of these techniques, and these are definitely techniques that could be effective in the ring with proper timing.

#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. 

#22 Singdam Kiatmoo9 - Making the Basics Beautiful (71 min) watch it here 

Singdam provides perhaps the best progression through the basics I've yet filmed, the blueprint of his beautiful, effective style. This instruction is bottomless. Even after 5 years in Thailand there is a ton for me in this very close examination of powerful technique essentials.  

#17 Burklerk PInsinchai - Dynamic Symmetry (82 min) watch it here 

Arjan Burklerk is a unique master of Muay Thai from the Golden Age, boasting one the highest win percentages in Thai history, and possessing a beautiful craft that harkens back to older styles of fighting with powerful, dynamic symmetry and control of space.  

#17 Burklerk PInsinchai - Dynamic Symmetry (82 min) watch it here 

Arjan Burklerk is a unique master of Muay Thai from the Golden Age, boasting one the highest win percentages in Thai history, and possessing a beautiful craft that harkens back to older styles of fighting with powerful, dynamic symmetry and control of space. 

Remember, there are almost 70 hours in the Muay Thai Library, you can browse the full contents of the library here. in being a part of this Patreon you are supporting the Library, and helping it grow:

Muay Thai Library - Preserve The Legacy table of contents