Armed With More Than 8 Limbs

For decades, Thailand has been a training destination for the national sport of punches, kicks, knees and elbows.   More recently, world-class Mixed Martial Arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instruction has become available.  For the first week of this trip, I have open access to the many classes available at Tiger Muay Thai & MMA. 

I began with a private lesson in Muay Thai.  All of the Thai trainers at Tiger seemed to  be former champions of particular stadiums or parts of the country.  It's a brutal art of accelerated appendages aimed in the direction of damaging your opponent.  During my 1991 introduction, I remember being impressed by the tagline - "the art of eight limbs". 

Years passed before I began to see some shortcomings.  There are benefits to tradition, especially when passing on a skill-set to the masses across multiple generations.  But there are downsides too, as anything bounded by tradition secures its limitations.

My training here helped clarify the fundamentals I didn't agree with.  One private Muay Thai lesson began with around 40 minutes of padwork then chilled sparring.  I kept my game respectfully Thai-style.  As the pace increased and I realised there was no time clock on this long round, I started to dip into the bag of tricks.  Knowing "the proper way" to defend certain strikes, I'd just feint these then attack somewhere else.  No need for Kung Fu to use Sun Tzu.  It worked more consistently than expected.  This could either be a misrepresentation by my ego, or a weakness of my expectations. 

Muay Thai training applies a ton of pad and bag work to create cardio machines that can roundhouse kick in their sleep.  It is the charging up of a battery for bones of bludgeoning.  Instead of having an R&D branch, they instead stockpile standardised ammunition for a war of attrition.  This simplified approach isn't to be taken lightly.  To quote someone else's line, they're as tough as woodpecker lips.

Although I draw much from this combat sport, my preference is for a more innovative approach.  By definition, Mixed Martial Arts allows for this (with an instructor of a similar mindset).  The stand-up striking coach for MMA at Tiger very quickly addressed some of the points I'd been thinking about in his class.  James "Sledgehammer" McSweeney had a justifying resume.  He also asked questions while teaching, to allow mindful ownership of technique.

While Muay Thai boldly ticked the check-boxes for "What" and "How", it's the "When" and "Why" that allow better strategy to be employed.  Add takedowns and groundwork to the mix and the terrain significantly changes.  I'd heard it stated in a submission grappling context, but it applies here:

Lead your opponent down a narrowing selection of options until they are left with just two, and both lead to their demise.

Also, efficient strategies involve idleness, which I increasingly find appealing.