The Impossible Trip taught by Kru Gai "Chicken Man" | Muay Thai Library
Like 4 Dislike 0 Published on 12 Aug 2019
You can watch the full hour with Kru Gai as a patron:
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From my post on Kru Gai on Patreon:
"I really, really like Kru Gai. He lives behind the gym I've trained at for the past 5 years in Pattaya, Petchrungruang. His house is so close to the big ring that when his young son, Pud, stands on the balcony right outside the bedroom door, he can hand things to people in the ring and vice versa. And we do that. Kru Gai trains his son, occasionally (he's 6 years old), which is one of the best parts of post-evening sessions, and he's a regular trainer to a few of our Lumpinee fighters. The lot behind his house is a chicken farm where he raises chickens for whatever reasons people raise chickens, but he also has fighting cocks. His name is Gai Chon, which is a fighting chicken (Gai "chicken", chon "clashing"), and Kru Nu likes to call him "Chicken Man," in English because of that name and his secondary trade. But what I love about Kru Gai is his incredible Muay Thai. He's one of these men in Thailand - and you'll come across more of them than you'd think - who you would never, ever suspect has unreal Muay Thai until he climbs into the ring and just starts moving. He's so smooth, so fearless, so steady. And he's nobody - like, he's not a champion, he's not a well-known fighter; I'm not even sure how many fights he's ever had in his life, but he does occasionally take them here and there for some extra money from a side bet. Man... I wouldn't want to be the guy who thinks he can beat Kru Gai.
What I love about his style is how steady it is. You can see that Kru Gai isn't in "fighting shape," but when I've managed to tire him out in padwork, he just goes to waiting for me with elbows and he manages to hit me with 5 of them before I even realize the second one landed. And then he's already thrown me on the floor, also. His style is close - he doesn't run backwards and he speaks very poorly of well-known fighters who do; it's just not in the masculine ethic of Muay Thai for him and he says gamblers won't bet on fighters like that, so promoters won't book them either - but he's also quite stylistic and Femeu. He's a fan of Muay Thai and watches it, gambles on it, all the time. So when Kru Nu has a few opponents in mind for one of our fighters, he'll have a chat with Kru Gai about what those fighters are like, because Kru Gai has seen everyone and his memory is like an encyclopedia of strengths, weaknesses and habits. As a fan of Muay Thai, he also borrows technique from others, which is one of the best reasons to train with a trainer like Kru Gai. In this session, he compares and contrasts Karuhat and Yodkhunpon (both of whom are in the Library) to show how techniques and strategies can vary.
Some of the most beautiful Muay Thai in Thailand is hidden in men like Kru Gai. Unassuming, dedicated, true "Muay Thai as a way of life" kinds of men who are more or less workers in a gym. Not superstars, not big gyms...."
Here are some things to look out for:
1) The Body Hook: Kru Gai loves the body hook. He loves it and tells me so many times as we work on it. He says it hurts everybody and can stop anybody. You get the opponent to cover up top with some punches, then just kill the body. His stance and twist on it is so smooth.
2) Covering Distance for Strikes: he loves to fake a teep and use that to march in for a stabbing knee. He works with our fighters on this all the time and a few of them are very good at it. He's amazing at it. He explains why he likes to walk/march instead of faking and kneeing on the same side.
3) Angled Knees: the sharp angle of his knee is remarkable. He really, really tucks his foot outside his hip to get that knee to drive through the target.
4) How to Dern: how Kru Gai sees a "dern" fighter is something I could write a whole article on. How you come forward, not simply that you come forward, is a big deal. He demonstrates how he does it, how Yodkhunpon does it, and how I do it (which is not right). It's one of my favorite things about his style, how he derns.
5) Long Guard: Kru Gai isn't tall. I'm not tall. He holds pads for a few of our fighters who are creeping up toward 6 feet, and yet he's able to use this long guard to keep them off of him. I always thought that the long guard was best for long fighters, but Kru Gai changed my understanding of that in just a few minutes. I'm very dedicated to working on it how he showed me now....
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