Muay Chaiya Original Muaythai

[Chaiya wanarat]

Hi Sean. Thanks for the compliments, always nice to hear people appreciating my work it makes the pain worth it!

I'm heading up to Bangkok this Sunday to meet up with the Brooklyn Monk for another feature at Baan Chang Thai. I'll take some time to knock together a 4Bs vid to go up on youtube next week.

I'll let u know when it's up.

Nathan
P.S. You've seen my website www.mymuaychaiya.com already right?

no doubt bro! Everytime i google for chaiya, i usually come across your site looking for new stuffs! "the rising knee guard"& "10 basic exercises of chaiya" truly helped me great a lot!
Will wait for your reply!
Thanx for kind reply!

[natb19]

Plz reply for this

http://www.defend.net/deluxeforums/thaiboxing-kickboxing/20143-muay-chaiya-original-muaythai-2.html#post334955

and also i've seen you a lot of times in youtube especially what you featured in art of fighting was really AWESOME!

Hi Sean. Thanks for the compliments, always nice to hear people appreciating my work it makes the pain worth it!

I'm heading up to Bangkok this Sunday to meet up with the Brooklyn Monk for another feature at Baan Chang Thai. I'll take some time to knock together a 4Bs vid to go up on youtube next week.

I'll let u know when it's up.

Nathan
P.S. You've seen my website www.mymuaychaiya.com already right?

[Chaiya wanarat]

To be honest, I doubt it highly. You'll get people who've studied it for a while, and be able to give you the basics, but for the real insight you'd need to come to Thailand and find the authentic teachers as George says.

Be careful of people who have studied a little of a lot of styles (jack of all trades) and think they are authorised to teach it. At best you'll find someone who can teach the basics to give you a starting point, and then you'd have to come here. A good sign of a good instructor of Muay Chaiya is that he'll make you perfect the base techniques like the Yang Sam Khum (and all the variations), Phan Mut, Prik-Liam, Bong-Bat-Bit-Beurt and then the base set of A-wai A-wood moves before teaching the more 'flashy' look mai.

plz bro can you explain somewhat in detail abt that B~B~B~B defense movemets plz!
Plz can you just atleast send me an email when you're free out of your training sessions! I know its hard but plz help!

[natb19]

To be honest, I doubt it highly. You'll get people who've studied it for a while, and be able to give you the basics, but for the real insight you'd need to come to Thailand and find the authentic teachers as George says.

Be careful of people who have studied a little of a lot of styles (jack of all trades) and think they are authorised to teach it. At best you'll find someone who can teach the basics to give you a starting point, and then you'd have to come here. A good sign of a good instructor of Muay Chaiya is that he'll make you perfect the base techniques like the Yang Sam Khum (and all the variations), Phan Mut, Prik-Liam, Bong-Bat-Bit-Beurt and then the base set of A-wai A-wood moves before teaching the more 'flashy' look mai.

[george stando]

Most muay chaiya instructors are quiet and teach the way they were taught in small groups through out thailand. Because of all the tensions created by Kru Praeng and other instructors, many became disgusted and totally want to remain quiet and anonymous. But there are great instructors who have been doing it a long time including direct students of ajarn khetr who were kru tongs classmates who still teach so there are alot but you have to find them.

[Catman]

Hi guys,

Is there anyone in UK authorized to teach this style?

Cheers,

Cat

[Tee Sok]

Yes, although he teaches foreigners openly once he sees they are serious persons, he still is a traditional teacher and definitely follows the Thai tradition and doesn't want to get mixed up in politics like Kru Praeng students.

[natb19]

Thanks Tee Sok, I can understand him wanting to keep things quiet.

[Tee Sok]

Hey Nathan.

I will PM you the info as my teacher wants things to be quiet.

[natb19]

Thanks Tee Sok, I'm glad my posts are a good read

Where did you learn Chaiya? I'm trying to get an idea of how many teachers, where they're based etc.

[Tee Sok]

I agree with ya'll above (sorry for the southern drawl but I just moved down south to Phuket :P)

Most of the 'muay boran' taught these days is missing the depth and the real 'heart' of MT. I've only learnt Muay Chaiya, so my knowledge of the other styles, Lopburi, Korat etc is very limited, but I'm sure if the original masters are found, then the full knowledge and original heart of the systems will not be lost (time is running out). This is one of the reasons I'm proud to have learnt under Kruu Lek, as he has the same concerns about Muay Chiaya, he's afraid that the 'real' Chaiya will be lost to other thinned down versions. No names mentioned... but if you've seen most of the Chaiya on the web you'll know what I'm talking about.

I'm sure each of these styles look and feel very different when done properly, and this is the part that takes a long time to acquire and hence is very rarely passed on these days. Most students don't have the time/discipline to learn to this level, or just don't have access to the right teachers. I'm very lucky to

a) be living in Thailand
b) found Ajarn Lek
c) have had the time to learn
d) speak and read thai. without which I wouldn't be were I am now

I've been going for five years, and I've still got a lot to learn about the details of alot of the advanced Muay Chaiya, but I believe I have a good feel for the style... it pains me to see the watered down version paraded around

If you guys can find the original masters and can find sufficient time to learn, the go for it! Help us keep these arts from disappearing into a whirlpool of fancy looking papp...

Asking people who have traveled and met these masters would be a good start for anyone interested. I personally recommend Kruu Pedro (Muay Thai sangka - Thai Boxing School based in Chiang Mai, Thailand) and you guys already know of Vincent Giordano. If you're serious, try sending these guys an email, they may be able to recommend some of the masters they've met.

Hi Nathan, I agree with what you say. You are lucky to be able to speak and write Thai. I've studied Lanna sword and Chaiya, and my teacher told me that I will have to know how to write Thai and better my speaking since it will be important for understanding the roots, the history and the differences among the systems. Knowing how to fight and using the systems won't be enough if a student wants to become a teacher and pass on the art in a right and decent way.

I have been lucky enough and have been sent to the right teacher, thanks to people who keep things as they should be, and I intend to learn as much as I can and help others if I can.

Good to read your posts Nathan.

[natb19]

I agree with ya'll above (sorry for the southern drawl but I just moved down south to Phuket :P)

Most of the 'muay boran' taught these days is missing the depth and the real 'heart' of MT. I've only learnt Muay Chaiya, so my knowledge of the other styles, Lopburi, Korat etc is very limited, but I'm sure if the original masters are found, then the full knowledge and original heart of the systems will not be lost (time is running out). This is one of the reasons I'm proud to have learnt under Kruu Lek, as he has the same concerns about Muay Chiaya, he's afraid that the 'real' Chaiya will be lost to other thinned down versions. No names mentioned... but if you've seen most of the Chaiya on the web you'll know what I'm talking about.

I'm sure each of these styles look and feel very different when done properly, and this is the part that takes a long time to acquire and hence is very rarely passed on these days. Most students don't have the time/discipline to learn to this level, or just don't have access to the right teachers. I'm very lucky to

a) be living in Thailand
b) found Ajarn Lek
c) have had the time to learn
d) speak and read thai. without which I wouldn't be were I am now

I've been going for five years, and I've still got a lot to learn about the details of alot of the advanced Muay Chaiya, but I believe I have a good feel for the style... it pains me to see the watered down version paraded around

If you guys can find the original masters and can find sufficient time to learn, the go for it! Help us keep these arts from disappearing into a whirlpool of fancy looking papp...

Asking people who have traveled and met these masters would be a good start for anyone interested. I personally recommend Kruu Pedro (Muay Thai sangka - Thai Boxing School based in Chiang Mai, Thailand) and you guys already know of Vincent Giordano. If you're serious, try sending these guys an email, they may be able to recommend some of the masters they've met.

[Khun Kao]

My extremely limited experience with Vincent is the same. His depth of MT knowledge far surpasses all but the actual Thai masters themselves. He helped introduce my coach to Colonel Amnat, and we're trying to bring him down to our gym for a seminar....

[george stando]

Its a double edge sword of both good and bad. Generally the writing on the topic by the foreingers is way off base and the techniques are not correct since they have no base or philosophy, they are just culled together without any glue or knowledge of how they really work.

Its most likely the mess will stick in the future and become the authentic muay boran and the others liek the muay chaiya guys above will mimic it by exploiting it and holding back the true knowledge. The other side is exposure for the old arts and the real masters who will slowly reveal themselves in time. A true mess for a foreigner like myself who just wants to learn and improve myself. I was lucky to meet and train wth Vincent in Thailand or I would have certainly been as lost as most of the foreingers trying to get into this stuff. His knowledge is beyond anyone I have ever met, even one of the thais teacher told me afterward that he has gone beyond even the thais at this point in preserving and training the old methods because he has been doing it for so long living in thailand and going back and forth every year.

[Khun Kao]

isnt muay boran another older style?

MuayBoran isn't really a style. Its a term that refers to the older, bareknuckle styles of Muay, but it isn't truly a style unto itself. Many of the older bareknuckle styles are being taught as MuayBoran, but that isn't these styles true names.

And this is where all the politics that George Stando and myself mentioned come into play. There are groups in Thailand who claim to be teaching "MuayBoran" but don't have the real bareknuckle training under a Thai master to back it up. I understand that though they are teaching authentic Thai technique, what they are doing is teaching it out of context. In other words, the moves are right, but the actual fighting style/strategy is all wrong.

Despite this, many people still feel its not such a bad idea because it is helping preserve Thailands martial fighting heritage. I fall in that group of people, though I believe that those who teach that "flavor" of MuayBoran should simply admit that they do not have a true bareknuckle lineage. It may hurt them at first, but I believe that after an initial backlash, it will come back strongly and be a popular martial art style. I mean, c'mon! Those old bareknuckle MuayThai techniques are COOL!!!!!