Rambaa Somdet M16 and the Art of the Stinging Attack 2 (67 min)

Rambaa's mascot is a bee. Well, it's a flexing bee with its tongue out, to be more specific, but all of those things are completely in line with Rambaa's style. He's showy, he's a little crazy ("Rambaa" is a nickname, Somdet was his fight name. The alias literally means "lunatic" and was fitting for his persona when a stadium fighter in Bangkok in the 90s), and he absolutely stings, and stings and stings, like a bee. This session, more so than any of his previous entries in the Muay Thai Library, really lays out and illustrates his style. There are two other sessions in the Library with Rambaa, so if you enjoy his style there is even more to dig into, links below.

A note about this session is that Kevin and I are working with a new camera for the first time and sometimes this results in some technical errors. For some reason, the microphone failed and there is no natural audio on this session at all. I voiced a few hours after we shot it, recalling clearly what was being explained or discussed throughout and was able to relay that in the voiceover. But I have to say that it's an interesting way to view a session and I think it actually heightens attention to the movements themselves to have the ambient sound gone. In the way that losing one sense heightens another, to some extent. I've known Rambaa for many years now and I like seeing how he's evolved over that time. It was difficult for us to get a long-form session out of him before; he totally just leaned into this one and I love how he's settling into his "father of Baan Rambaa" persona. This is my favorite session with him yet. Of course if you are new to the Library, all our sessions regularly have natural audio, along with my voiceover, this is just a special case.

Some Things to Look Out For: 

1) Sting Like a Bee: Rambaa uses an inside, stinging leg kick as his jab. He also uses a jab as a jab, but that inside leg kick is far more pervasive in his rhythm. It sets everything up, it fills up all the gaps, and it keeps his opponent completely annoyed and preoccupied by that sting.

2) See Saw and Hop Over: Rambaa uses two movements to keep his head out of range of counter punches when he's tagging the legs. First, he rocks his upper body back, just a little bit, as he extends his foot out for that inside leg kick. When he's throwing a power kick to the thigh, he brings his head offline and hops over outside the opponent's stance just a little bit. He keeps his hand up in their face for either movement.

3) Timing: for his power shots to the legs, Rambaa waits for the opponent to throw first, then slams the hell out of their leg as it's returning to the ground after the opponent's own kick. This is a trick my own teacher uses as well. If someone blocks, you just kind of delay the kick until their leg comes back down, and then BAM! You can hit the standing leg, if you like, rather than the leg that's returning from the kick.

4) Sliding Teeps: Rambaa's teep is awesome. It's like an anime character sliding across the floor, hip dragging him along to just launch his opponent out and away. He only does this slide or jump when he's chasing the opponent, not when they're coming toward him. If your opponent is advancing, just juggle them. But if they're running away from you, like Rambaa's opponents (and my opponents) did, this sliding teep is perfect.

5) Who's Leading This Dance?: Rambaa takes a few opportunities to give examples of how to change up your movements, based on whether your opponent is advancing or retreating, resisting or defending, etc. He actually lays it out at one point, directly, but he gives many examples throughout this session of how to use an opponent's tactics against them. How to punish their pressure, how to punish their retreat, etc.

6) Annoy: this is one of my favorite points he makes, because it's so Ramabaa. It's the psychology of his style, basically. He nails that inside leg kick, not hard enough to damage but frequently enough to really piss off the opponent. They get annoyed, then they get mad. Once they're mad, they throw with more power - a kick or a punch - and that's actually his opening to return with power. Punishing someone's retaliation just puts them back on the anger simmer. It's amazing.

7) The Training Wheels: there's a difference between how you kick someone in training versus how you do it in a fight. This is an important point for how you go about training these techniques. You want everything to be more "slappy" in training, so as not to actually hurt your partners. But in a fight you can go ahead and tear their legs up. Rambaa shows where to hit with the foot for training, versus where to hit with the shin for real fights. Think of it as like how you hit with the inside of your thigh to train clinch, but want to actually knee the hell out of someone in a fight.

Stills from the Session Edited by Kevin

If you enjoyed this session these are other sessions in the Library you may also like to study:

 #62 Rambaa Somdet M16 - The Stinging Attack 1 (83 min) watch it here 

Rambaa known for his stinging attack, teaches speed and precision in this more than hour long session. Thailand's first MMA world champion, Rambaa draws from various disciplines, fusing techniques together is still a very traditional, stadium-oriented Muay Thai. Here elbows from various angles, switching attacks, and balanced energy come together to produce high-tempo pressure on an opponent.

#21 Rambaa Somdet - Clinch Trips & Throws (34 min) watch it here 

Thailand's first MMA World Champion, and one of the most aggressive, stinging fighters to grace the ring shows his philosophy on how to handle the clinch, using quick attacks, lifts, body-weight shifts to upend an opponent often before they are set. Some of my favorite trips are in this.

#25 Luktum Sityodtong - Positioning and Trips (62 min) watch it here 

Tum is an active international Thai fighter raised out of the famed Sityodtong gym. He shows the importance of positioning and timing in this session with a fantastic lower body system of tripping attacks towards the end. His muay is both physically close, but also evasive and tactical.

#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.  

#41  Samson Isaan - The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here 

To "dern" in Thai is to "walk", which means basically to just come forward no matter what, to create a relentlessness. Voted Fighter of the Year in 1991, Samson Isaan was one of the great Dern Fighters of the Golden Age, and in this session he shows his forward pulsing techniques which are meant to just overwhelm his opponent. Also a great session for pressure Southpaw fighters. 

#39  Khorat Saknarin - Precise Tensions (97 min) watch it here 

The muay of Kru Khorat is kind of incredible. I've been in front of a lot of legends and krus but this hidden gem kru was just bristling with techniques and a dynamic, violent Muay Thai. And it felt like it could go on for hours. He's a kru who has thought a lot about his Muay Thai and probably sharpened it even after his retirement from fighting. This session is a treasure trove.

#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. 

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