Samransak Muangsurin - Muay Maat Legend Keys to Powerful Hands (61 min)

The whole Muangsurin Gym was well-known for their heavy handed fighters, just hard as sh*t, tough, aggressive, Muay Maat experts. Some went on to have successful careers in Western Boxing as well. Samransak was a star of the gym. He's not very big and, in fact, in many of the photos of him during his heyday he's much smaller than his opponents, but the width of his back is just something that gives him an imposing quality that can't be ignored. At times in his fights he turns his back to the camera and it's like Bane just eclipsed the shot. He was so powerful, so menacing, so relentless. If you like Muay Maat, start here.

Samransak is in his early 60s. When I called him on the phone to try to set up this session, I was astonished by how much he sounds like Dieselnoi. It's only on the phone, alas, in person he doesn't sound like Dieselnoi at all. But on the phone he sounded like somebody's sweet and tech-illiterate grandfather. In person, he's quiet but starkly dignified. Sweet, but again, imposing. 

This is a really brilliant session in terms of 1) teaching basics and enforcing the most foundational elements that make any style work, and be beautiful; and 2) you can really see how to use padwork to iron out your rhythm and timing. It's not about pounding, high repetition, or lightening speed, it's about rhythm and cohesion between everything.

These are just the kinds of sessions the Muay Thai Library documentary project is about, capturing the elements of style of fighters who are leaving behind training, preserving the core of who they are, both in terms of technique and as men.

Some Things to Look Out For: 

1) Relax: he tells me this a lot of times. Relax doesn't mean floppy, it means designating tension to the right areas of your body so that strikes are not restricted, tight, slow, or requiring too much effort.

2) Twist on the Hook: while throwing a lead hook, the whole front side of the body becomes one piece, with the arm as a kind of appendage doing the damage. But the pivot on the ball of the foot, the knee, the hip, the shoulder and the twist of the torso are all one piece driving the power.

3) Extending the Cross: Samransak's cross is so long. He's not a long person, but his extension is  beautiful. It comes from the position of his back foot and the way his right shoulder (the side punching) rolls forward to get a full extension with power on the end o fit.

4) Don't Rush: everything has a rhythm. There's a difference between a hesitation, which is like a gap in the music or a stutter, and a delay is a big difference. My whole rhythm and transfer of weight is interrupted - that's a hesitation. He has a kind of slight delay, allowing the opponent to move into a particular position before his strike actually lands, but it's within his overall rhythm, like a ritardo in music.

5) The Back Foot and the Front Foot: he wanted my front foot pointed dead forward and my back foot angled just about 45 degrees. Kongthoranee's session in the Muay Thai Library also corrects this weird angle of my foot. The problem with it is that it makes me even shorter than I already am with my strikes. The angles of Samransak's feet are what allow him to have go-go-gadget reach on his strikes.

6) "Goom" on the Kick: this is one of those corrections that depends on what your body is already doing. But  because Samransak is a puncher, he keeps his chin tucked and his head somewhat forward on his kicks, which allows the power to drive forward.

7) Stepping Back off of Kicks and Knees: the point here is to get back to a "neutral" position to be able to guard, protect, or fire again. After throwing your lead side on a knee or a kick, bring your foot back behind you again, as you would on the back side strike, and then take another step back into your stance. If you land with your foot straight down you aren't on balance to throw again or protect.

Stills from the Session:

If you want to see what Samransak is about, check out his fight versus Chanchai, one of the great teepers of his generation:

watch it here 

Watch This Muay Thai Scholar Highlight

watch the 5 minute highlight here 

Samransak being carried by other legends, after winning his final fight at the age of 33.  You can read more about him here in this SiamFightMag article .

If you enjoyed this session you might really like these related ones as well:

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Chatchai is not only a former WBC world champion, he also is the recipient of Thailand's Coach of the Year. He is one of the great striking coaches in the world, and in this session he breaks down all the basics from the footwork on up. Nobody has a more beautiful and potent hands foundation. Watch and learn from a master. 

#14 Chatchai Sasakul - Perfecting Hands (106 min) watch it here 

Former WBC world boxing champion at Flyweight, and winner of Best Coach of the Year in Thailand, Chatchai in this nearly 2 hours of video makes micro adjustment after micro adjustment, honing in pristine technique in the basic strikes of boxing, for use in Muay Thai. It's all about weight transfer.

#37 Kongtoranee Payakaroon - Power In The Hands (89 min) watch it here 

5x Lumpinee Champion, 2x Fighter of the Year, Kongtoranee teaches the fundamental grounding of strikes that made him one of the most feared heavy-handed fighters in Thailand. Such economy of movement expresses the true beauty in his style, quite different than - but no less admirable - that of his young brother Samart. 

#43  Kongsamut Sor. Thanikul - Muay Mat Style (74 min) watch it here

This Lumpinee champion is perhaps most notable for when he lost a fight for the 102 lb Lumpinee belt, against famed Samart. Samart winning his first belt of many. Kongsamut has a beautiful Muay Mat (punchers) style that he mixes with low kicks, very differently than the Pornsanae style. He fights in close, and is constantly twisting, hitting high and low. Any Muay Thai puncher would benefit from the principles in his style.  

#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. 

#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. 

#69 Sagat Petchyindee 3 - Muay Maat Tigers & Snakes (67 min) watch it here 

Sagat details his ferocious, hands-heavy style in this session, teaching perfect balance and very aggressive spacing. The secrets to his power, how everything flows out of his core and his organized stance are on full display. Nobody like him.

#60 Sagat Petchindee Session 2 - All the Strikes Tuned and Dangerous (101 min) watch it here 

One of the great, legendary names of Thailand, Sagat Petchyindee the inspiration for the Street Fighter character, goes through his entire striking philosophy with lots of technical correction and fine tuning. See the secret to his creation of smooth, efficient, explosive power, and witness the amazing man himself.

#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.