RSS Problems

Hey guys, just a quick note. If your subscribing to my blog through an RSS reader, I may have just fucked up your feed. I was playing around with some stuff this morning and I’m pretty sure I broke it. You can still use the RSS feature, you’ll just need to re-subscribe to it again. I promise I’m done mucking about with it.

Yaw-Yan “The Deadly Dance”

I was trolling around youtube the other day and came across this. To all my Pinoy peeps out there feel free to chime in anytime. Apparently there is a Filipino martial art called Yaw-Yan. When I think of Filipino art’s I think of Kali, Eskrima , Arnis etc. I’ve never seen Yaw-Yan. After watching some clips it seems a little similar to Muay Thai. They also seem to have adopted a lot of their strikes and kicks from kung fu. Â If you watch the vid of the guy working the bag, he throws some back hand’s and strikes with the inside of his forearms.

Watching the highlight vid, it seems all seems a little loose, especially the hands. I’m not sure if it’s the caliber of these fighters or if its indicative of the style.

Any of you guys know anything about Yaw-Yan?

Bag work

HL clip

Jet Li’s Fearless (Deleted Scene)

Any of you catch this yet? So apparently if you saw “Fearless” in the States, you didn’t see Jet li fight the Muay Boran guy… Once again Youtube to the rescue. Here is the scene, Oh and welcome to the wonderful world of Thai dubbing. Thai dubbing is the worst… I think there are 5 people in the entire country who dub movies. I’m so tired of them. Great scene though… the little kid is getting worked. That’s what we used to get at my house if you reached across the table.

Also did you guys recognize the English Boxer? Yup it’s non-other than Jean Claude Leuyer, ex Fairtex Heavyweight Champion. I’m glad he’s in another flick, I got tired of seeing him in the Peter Aerts KO highlight clips.

Yodsaenklai Fairtex Vs. Rafik Bakkouri

This fight took place on January 11th at the Fairtex stadium in Pattaya (aka the arm pit of Thailand). For those of you new to Muay Thai, Yodsaenklai is the current Lumpini Stadium and WBC Muay Thai 154 lbs. champion. I think he was acquired by Fairtex back in ‘05. He’s one of their marquee fighters, with an impressive 142 and 65 record he’s on a head on collision course with fellow country man and K-1 phenom, Buakaw. Lots of folks are speculating that he’ll soon be competing in the K-1 Max tournament. Yodsaenklai is known for his methodical stalking style of fighting. Rafik Bakkouri (26-2-1) is a French fighter who is on the rise. He’s been knocking out fools left and right in Europe.

I found this vid this morning. It’s clearly from Bakkouri’s Team. It’s surprising but it sounds like there is a fairly big French contingent at the stadium.

Obviously I wasn’t there, but I know Dii Mak was there for the action… Dii Mak any thoughts?

Sak Yant – Thai Temple Tatoos

I got my first tat back in ‘95 and since then I’ve always had an itch to get another. I’ve been playing around with the idea of getting a Sak Yant, or a Thai Temple Tattoo.

“Sak Yants the Thai name for the Tattooing of Sacred geometrical designs on the skin. Yant (or Yantra, as we call them in the west), are normally tattooed by Buddhist monks, or Brahmin Holy men . The Yant tattoos have developed over the centuries under the influence of several different things The Yantra designs that already existed in Hindu India were adapted by the Thais as Buddhism arrived from neighbouring India.”

I consider the Yantra sacred so my decision whether or not to get one will be weighed carefully. Last February I undertook and requested the Upasampada “Going Forth” or Buddhist Monk Ordination. It is tradition for males in Thai families to undertake ordination and become a monk for a temporary period, at least once in their life. I’ll be sure to blog about it later, as it deserves more then this short paragraph.

My Ordination

Anyway my initial point is that Read more

Wai – Bowing

So what is all this bowing (wai) about? If you haven’t noticed a common theme in Asian culture is bowing it’s a way of showing respect. In Thai culture you’re taught from an extremely early age the importance of respecting your elders. This respect, sometimes superficial permeates every aspect of your relationships.

Even Ronald knows how to Wai Properly

The basics

You would never ever touch the top of the head of someone older. It’s so ingrained in me that it makes me cringe to see it happen even here in the States. When elders are Read more

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