TRAINING IN THAILAND
MUAY THAI SANGHA
Fighting Arts
STRIKING
Strikes are executed with every limb of the body. In every attack, fake, counter-attack, or evasion, the Muay Thai Sangha fighter emphasizes good balance and footwork with the center of gravity set firmly in the middle of the body. Muay Thai Sangha doesn’t promote muscular power, instead, the fighting style favors tendon flexibility, the proper use of body weight in each movement and timing.
The Muay Thai Sangha system contains a number of offensive moves for each body weapon and a number of footwork exercises to develop good mobility. Offensive skills are taught only once a student can properly defend themselves.
The Muay Thai Sangha striking system not only incorporates Ancient Muay Thai and Muay Chaiya from Thailand but also blends elements from other fighting arts, including South-East Asian styles – Bokator from Cambodia and Silat from Indonesia – as a way of canceling out the weaknesses of any single style.
GRAPPLING
Grappling is another important component in the Muay Thai Sangha fighting arts arsenal. The techniques that we use in our training are based on principles found in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Silat. In certain grappling exercises, we also included short-range weapons.
GRAPPLING TRAINING COVERS THREE DIFFERENT AREAS
STAND UP
GRAPPLING
Stand up grappling, also called clinching, deals with the issue of close-range combat. This training emphasizes defensive and offensive techniques which disrupt the opponents balance and develop the student’s ability to capitalize on and create striking opportunities.
Our grappling curriculum doesn’t focus on techniques that rely heavily on physical strength, rather we train to use our opponent’s energy against them through proper technique, body rotation and timing.
The training covers how to throw an opponent or to escape from any lock or dangerous position. Our stand-up training makes up about 80% of our training, and ground combat the remaining 20%.
HALF
STANDING/GROUND
Our fighting method also trains for situations in which we find ourselves on the ground whilst our opponent is still standing. This kind of training develops skills related to defending ourselves from a standing attack while kneeling or sitting on the ground.
Takedowns and counter attacks from the ground are developed in training to afford us the option of standing back up or attacking the opponent from the ground.
Ground Fighting techniques relate to situations in which we find ourselves fighting at close range with an opponent whilst on the ground. Students train the basic ground positions, submission holds and defenses while rolling on the ground.
The Muay Thai sangha fighting system reinforces the concept that when we fight on the ground our vision is impaired and this leaves us vulnerable to attack from unseen opponents. To reduce this risk, we focus on fast submissions and our main objective in a combat situation is always to return to a standing position as quickly as possible.
Krabi Krabong
Practicing Krabi Krabong weapons system teaches the value of our environment and the tools that surround us. When we adopt something from beyond the body and apply it as a weapon, it becomes an extension of our being. The Muay Thai Sangha school trains with weapons for the purpose of understanding this energetic connection.
The main weapons that are practiced at the school are single and double swords, wooden staff, knives, and sometimes a spear with a shield.
By training with different weapons, we become sensitive to the varied nature and abilities of our extended bodies. Developing our relationship with each weapon, we work to improve our coordination, sharpen our vision, accelerate our footwork, and gain a better understanding of distance and timing.
Daab
Originally our double swords program was a mixture of two different styles from the city of Sri Ayutthaya. But after many years of training, the double sword fighting style has evolved into a unique way of fighting called Sri Agastya Double Swords.
Our thai sword fighting curriculum accentuates three main aspects or fields of knowledge in fighting: the defensive, the offensive, and the energetic fields. The defensive and offensive aspects are separated in different training segments, each having a concrete set of techniques and footwork. And the energetic aspects are divided between the five elements.
The way we teach at the school is truly simple. It consists of practicing first the basic modules alone after the student will practice with a partner the basic attacks and defenses until he is ready to spar with other students. Once a student is efficiently able to defend themselves, they are considered ready to progress to the next module.
Every time the student learns a new module their sparring skills improve. It’s awesome to see how dramatically fighting abilities develop week by week.
The double sword fighting curriculum contains 12 modules that must be completed in order to master the daab double swords. The longer you train at the school the deeper your skills will grow. We spar every day, at the end of each class. As the double sword fighting skills improve, the students begin to train with metal swords. The most important objective is to train until we become efficient in protecting ourselves against any incoming attack from all wooden or metal weapons.
KRABONG
STAFF
The wooden Staff or Krabong is the longest weapon in the Muay Thai Sangha’s arsenal. The greatest advantage of the weapon is its length and the biggest disadvantage is that it can be easily grabbed.
The krabong syllabus is strongly connected to the Double Swords curriculum. The students first study the basic modules under the teacher’s supervision, and later on, they practice with the other students.The syllabus must be trained until attacking and defending oneself becomes natural under pressure, only then will the student will progress to the next module.
The curriculum in the Muay Thai Sangha school is made up of 12 modules that must be completed in order to master the krabong. The longer you train at the gym the deeper your skills will grow. We spar every day, at the end of each class. The most important objective is to train until we become efficient in protecting ourselves against any incoming attack from all wooden or metal weapons.
MID
Today the knife is perhaps the king of the streets. Knife attacks are difficult to anticipate due to their easy concealment and the sneakiness of the people who use them. Its small size, and ability to cause serious injuries without effort, make it public enemy number one. When it comes to dealing with the knife, different schools follow different approaches, and of course some styles are more realistic than others.
Our training contains different cooperative and non-cooperative partnered exercises, to sharpen our reflexes under differing degrees of pressure. The ultimate objective in these drills is to survive any knife attack, while taking as little damage as possible.
The first area is related to long range knife fighting. In the Muay Thai Sangha school this is referred to as: Knife Boxing.
The second area is related to cutting or defending oneself from a bladed opponent at short range. We call this: Close Quarter Cutting.
The third and final area is focused on incapacitating and disarming our opponent. This part of the curriculum is known as: Disarms and Takedowns.