Old School Matriculation In Muay Thai

“Many MMA type instructors have put most of their focus on the external, and they have lost the internal.”

Snake Bloker on the Left

Q: You have trained in Muay Thai for several years. Did you train in Thailand?
A: My Thai Boxing training primarily comes from various instructors, some of whom have trained and fought in Thailand. I’ve been able to see many live Muay Thai fights. I’ve watched many Thai Boxing training videos and studied old Thai Boxing books from Thailand. I’ve been invited to Thailand 5 times, but I’ve only been able to do two trips to Thailand thus far, due to my military obligations. During my last trip to Thailand, I was invited to do demos and teach some Thai Boxing classes at the Thai public schools (high school and college level). I also had the privilege to teach at a Thai Orphanage.

Thailand is a beautiful country. I spent some time in Bangkok and Yala (southern Thailand) both times. The highlights of Thailand for me are visiting the Emerald Buda museum and several other sacred museums; going to the Snake/Alligator Farm show in Bangkok; riding an elephant in the jungles of Yala; visiting the Queen of Thailand’s summer home, seeing bats flying around at night and monkeys waking me up in the morning; swimming and riding a Sea-Doo in the Gulf of Thailand; meeting the locals and helping the children.
Thai fighters are great to train with, because of their pain tolerance and their speed. They are natural fighters, and I love their attitude. They have “heart.” The big difference between Thai Boxing in Thailand and Western style is the use of elbows and knees to the face.
In 1993, I met up with Rod Kei (a Native American), who had won a victory in Thailand. The audience was so outraged that they began to throw their folding chairs into the ring. He had to be escorted out by the Thai Police. Thai people hate it when their locals lose on home ground. Rod Kei was the first American to win the French World Cup for Savate/Boxe Francaise (French Kickboxing) in France. His other two titles were from W.K.A. and K.I.C.K. Association. Kru Rod Kei was my roommate when I lived in Rowland Heights, California. He and I opened up the Academy of Martial Arts in Palos Verdes, California in 1996. We also both worked as personal trainers at Bally’s Total Fitness in Torrance, California, where I was the Service Supervisor in 1993. Upon Rod Kei’s retirement, he was rated 4th in the World in Muay Thai by the Muay Thai Kickboxing Association. His 1st Muay Thai Instructor was Kru Victor Vachai and his corner-man was Master Toddy. Rod’s training partners were Multi-World Muay Thai Champion Maurice Smith, Featherweight World Champion Victor Solier, and Multi Arts-Multi-World Champion Peter “Sugarfoot” Cunningham. Rod fought professionally in Thailand, Mexico, Canada, Korea, France, and the U.S.A.

COMBAT AT CLOSE QUARTERS

Q: What can you tell us about your military service?
A: I joined the U.S. Navy in June 2001 and was authorized to teach Military Close Quarters Combat (MCQC) with a focus on Muay Thai and knife combat techniques. I remember one of my old Senior Chiefs telling me a story of his tour in Thailand. He was under Military Orders to do Joint Operations with the Thai Navy. Late one night, the main Thai officer took my Senior Chief out on a walk to inspect his vessel and crew. As they turned a corner on the ship, the Thai officer spotted one of the sailors asleep on his post. The Thai officer pulled out his pistol, pointed it at this sailor’s head and blew his brains out. My Senior Chief was in shock. The officer got out his cell phone and began to yell in Thai. Afterwards, my Senior Chief asked what that was all about. The officer replied “You do not fall asleep in the Thai Navy.”