Boonlai Sor. Thanikul - Kicking Legend (66 min)

Finding Boonlai was a challenge in and to itself. We really wanted to film with him, and patrons again and again asked, but he was not easy to find and arrange with. 

He’s a brilliant figure of the Golden Age, fought against all the top names in his weight division – the best of the best of the Golden Age – and, indeed, his two belts at Lumpinee at 115 lbs and 122 lbs were victories against Langsuan Panyutapum and Wangchannoi Sor. Palangchai, respectively. The victory he’s most proud of, he says, was against Namkabuan Nongkeepahuyut, who was significantly bigger than Boonlai and the best fighter at the time that Boonlai beat him. His pantomime to recreate the fight in this video is wonderful. 

All of this accomplishment and yet, where the hell was Boonlai? Ultimately, we met him at a military base north of Bangkok, where he is training and coaching soldiers. Totally hidden. It’s sessions like this, the effort and the persistence, that make the Muay Thai Library so special. After we’d climbed down from the ring and I’d showered and changed into my normal clothes, I came back to where Boonlai was beckoning me over to watch the fight he’d pulled up on his cell phone, between him and Karuhat. 

above, Boonlai pulling up his Karuhat fight and then gleefully showing me - photo: Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu (Instagram) 

I’ve seen it a million times, it’s one of my favorites to watch and get amped before my own fights. Watching shoulder to shoulder with Boonlai was awesome, the smile on his face as he peered into his screen at his younger self. Also awesome, his cell phone is completely covered by a pink Hello Kitty case. As you do.Boonlai has been a trainer at a few gyms since he retired, but he had no idea what to do with me. He worked through a few very beautiful techniques, but it wasn’t until we just started moving around together that he really came alive. His footwork, the way he pulls you toward him so he can clash back with amazingly long and arced kicks… his head kicks especially. Man, you never see those. People will just tell you why you were unconscious later. We include a couple of slow-motion segments in this entry, showing his picture-perfect “Golden Kick” trajectory, his shadow and his headkick on pads, where you can see the acceleration of impact.What to look out for:

1. Watch his standing foot on all his kicks. All of them. Whether kicking the legs or the head, he barely steps forward but the twist is profound. He turns on a dime and twists his body so that his kick lands through the target.
2. Leg kicks: Boonlai loves kicking the legs, because it interrupts a forward moving opponent. You can distort a punch, after it’s already been fired, by collapsing the leg beneath it. And they set up really nicely for his head kick.
3. Head kicks: they go up high, almost straight up, and then kind of alight onto the neck of the opponent, wrapping around the back of the head. He shows where to make contact at the base of the shin and very top of the foot (the foot touches the head, not the neck). But the timing and set up, while moving backwards, are really beautiful.
4. Parrying punches for elbows: Boonlai shows this early, then returns to it later when he’s really in his groove. You parry the opponent’s punch or outstretched arm in guard, then let their weight coming forward off of the parry double-up on the lean in and through that you come with as you throw the elbow.
5. Flow. Boonlai tells me a few times about flow in this session. He’s making a point about how techniques, strength and experience being equal between opponents, it’s the timing and flow that decides the winner. You can see his flow all the time. You can see how he slows down and accelerates movements right at the exact moment he wants to, to feel it and to increase power, to hide his timing on strikes. He even gallops a little bit, which I’ve only ever seen Yodkhunpon Sitraipum do. You have to relax and cut out the middle-man of “thought” when you’re in the ring. Just flow.

Beautiful photos from the day:

And this is a beautiful portrait of the fist of Boonlai done by Kevin, part of his coming Gallery Quality print series Fists of Legends aimed at eventually raising some support for those he photographs:

You can watch his Karuhat fight here:

watch it here 

If you enjoyed this session you might also enjoy these:

#47 Silapathai Jockygym - Master of Teep Distance (64 min) watch it here

One of the great femeu fighters of the Golden Age unlocks the secret of his teep oriented dominance which made him one of the most difficult fighters to face in his day. The lessons here are precious as he unfolds the details of how to use the teep and tempo to always put the fight where you want it.

#28 Jaroenthong Kiatbanchong - Femeu Muay Thai Hands (50 min) watch it here 

Super slick, 3x Lumpinee Champion Jaroenthong is considered one of the Yodmuay of the Golden Age, often pictured with Samart and Somrak as killers from that day. In this session he teaches how he marries great boxing hands with femeu footwork. 

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

Karuhat, a fighter with perhaps the slickest style of any Golden Age great, shows the importance of tension, and patiently goes through correcting the kick, making it quicker and much harder to read.

#34 Samart Payakaroon - Balance, Balance, Balance! (81 min) watch it here 

Atop the tower of Muay Thai legends probably stands Samart. 3x Fighter of the Year, 4x Lumpinee Champion and WBC World Boxing Champion, no fighter more brilliantly showed what femeu fighting could do. In this session he shows the foundations of how to build true balance, the ultimate key to his fighting style. 

Here is a reminder, there are nearly 70 hours of documentary video in the Library that you are supporting, added to every month. Browse the contents of the entire Library here. 

TIP BOX: if you are inspired by what you see and want to show added appreciation you can send gratuity directly to Boonlai. Every time I send 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 Boonlai". I will transfer the funds. Boonlai has been moving around some in his life, I'm sure he would really appreciate extra support, or even the thought or the gesture.

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