In this session, among the things being instructed in is the importance of constantly closing distance. For Karuhat this is not a “dern” style (walking aggressively after an opponent) that’s you’ll see from Muay Khao fighters – Karuhat was though once a Muay Khao styled fighter – it’s that each and every step or strike in any direction can flow into a new movement forward. Anything can become something else. This is a very morphing, balanced kind of fighting that is being explored here. It’s part of the larger Continuity thinking that I’ve been talking about, and that my husband Kevin has written about too.
This is about being relaxed in a range, and moving smoothly through that range. This is really against my basic instinct which is to pop out of range, after a miss, or even a mistake. Karuhat is a pressure fighter, but the pressure isn’t aggression per se. It’s more constantly reading and scanning your opponent, closing the distance.
In the free excerpt above he starts talking about my elbows, wanting me to think about how arm-pressure creates openings for elbows. He is showing me his push-pull, the way he uses tension to flex or melt away. This is a larger principle for him, part of his Be Like Sand. For me a key in working his flex into my style I want to be on my front foot. For me rocking back onto my back foot stagnates me, making me less ready. On my front foot I’m much more ready to kick or check.
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Episode 17. At top is a free 4 minute extended clip, but you can watch the full 84 minute commentary video of this session on Vimeo On Demand. Purchase of the video or subscription lends support to legends of the ring as Karuhat gets 55% of the net proceeds from this series; patrons get a substantial discount (you can purchase Episode 17 individually after the trailer below, or look to Episode 17 in the full list). You can also subscribe to the entire series, there are now over 23 hours of commentary training footage published:
