School
Muay Thai Sangha
The Ancestral Teachings of Muay Thai Sangha
Muay Thai Sangha is a system of Muay Thai that unites the concepts and techniques of the ancient styles of Muay Chaiya with some styles of Muay Paak Klang, Bokator, Silat, Letwee, Krabi-Krabong (Thai Weapons, Buddhai Swan style and Ariyamettha style) and Muay Pam (Grappling techniques from Asian styles) combined with the essence of the teachings of the Buddha.
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The information that you will receive while learning Muay Sangha is unique and comes from authentic ancient styles and sources. Our school is not an entertainment, it is a way of life.
An essential part of Muay Thai Sangha is meditation ("Samathi"). We meditate to stop our mind and to develop better concentration skills. Muay Thai Sangha believes in Merit (the accumulation of good actions), and in doing meditation we can gain a good amount of Merit. Meditation is an activity that balances our training. If we only train physically our training will become more rough, but if we practice mediation our training will become smarter.
The 9 Bow's of Respect
Muay Thai Sangha follows the philosophy of Buddhism. Here are the 9 Bow's that of respect that we practice:
1. Phra Tam
Bow your head to respect the Teachings of the Buddha: the right code to improve each of our lives, because those teachings are the ones that will lead us to the state of enlightenment.
2. Phra Vinae
Bow your head to respect the practice of the Buddha's teachings, because this practice will help us to improve our skills in each of our lives.
3. Phra Borisutikun
Bow your head to respect the purity of the mind, heart, body and spirit, because purity will help us to cleanse our thoughts, feelings, actions and speech.
4. Phra Kharunatikun
Bow your head to respect the compassion of the ones that want to improve their spirit regardless of age, race, status, rank or religion. Compassion will help us to understand how to make 'collective merit' (good actions by a group).
5. Phra Panyatikun
Bow your head to respect wisdom, because wisdom will help us to see the truth more clearly and choose a better path in every moment of our lives.
6. Khun Po
Bow your head to worship each of our fathers from each of our lives, because our fathers will help us to remember our past lives as well as where we come from.
7. Khun Mae
Bow your head to worship each of our mothers from each of our lives, because our mothers will help us to remember our past lives as well as where we come from.
8. Kruu Ba Ajarn
Bow your head to worship each of our Teachers from each of our lives, because our Teachers will help us to remember what we learned and how we practiced.
9. Pu Mi Upakala Khun
Bow your head to worship relatives and friends that came to help us, because relatives and friends that came to help us will make our path easier, so we can become better people.
The Core of Muay Sangha
Muay Thai Sangha is divided into four parts. In each part the stances and footwork are the same. All the Mae Mai training methods (literally translated as "Mother Tricks", meaning fundamental techniques and skills) are connected to each other to assure that when we learn one of the elements at the same time we will be practicing all four. The Luuk Mai methods (translated as "Child’s Tricks, but meaning special techniques and skills) are unique to each element.
The stance in the Muay Thai Sangha style is low, with the knees bent and the center of gravity between the legs. Two lines are used to have the maximum balance while attacking or defending; either with weapons or without them. The hands are placed one in front of the other, again, in two lines and aligned with the feet with a wide triangle at the elbows area and a narrow triangle at the fist section. The Muay Thai Sanka stand keeps the right side in front for a period of six month time, this happens when the North hemisphere is closest to the sun (Spring and Summer time). The left side is in front when the North hemisphere is further from the sun (Autumn and Winter time).
Muay Thai Sangha is considered a vicious damaging style. The most dangerous weapons are the counter techniques, blocks with knees and elbows and fast footwork to evade an attack which mirrors the philosophy of self defense behind the style. All our training is done without any pad protections including the sparring. The Muay Thai Sangha style uses tricks from all the Ancient Muay Thai styles. For example, "Viang Kwai" (Swing of the Buffalo) from the Muay Korat style or "Suer Lang Hang" (pulling the Tigers Tail) from the Muay Chaiya style.
Muay Thai Sangha specializes in saving energy through the correct alignment of the body while attacking or defending. Muay Thai Sangha boxers are well know for their incredible endurance, because they know how to position their bodies and conserve energy while attacking or defending.
The style of Muay Thai Sangha was created under the concept of conservation and correct use of energy. Through this and careful positioning of the body energy flows into the opponents body creating a devastating result on each attack. The result when you drive the energy correctly is a soft blow with a devastating effect. Joints and soft parts of the body are the main targets of Muay Thai Sangha.
Muay Thai Sangha believes that timing is the key factor to mastering this unique style.
Parts of Muay Thai Sangha
Here is a quick description of each of the five elements of Muay Thai Sangha:
Ether - Ancestral spiritual teachings
Ether is the first element of the Muay Sangha System. It is based on working with the spirit through meditation and chanting. The student needs to keep the five precepts (not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, not to have sexual intercourse with someone that is not your partner and not to use drugs or any other form of intoxication).
After one year of practice, the student will start to learn the 8 diagram, ancient alphabets and the methods to open the chakras through breathing.
Fire - Muay Kaad Chuak (Striking Empty Hand Combat)
Fire is the second element and involves striking with all the limbs of the body. In every attack, fake, counter-attack, or evasion, the body should be in balance with the center of gravity firmly in the middle of the body. Muay Thai Sangha doesn't use muscular strength but body weight combined with a good control of the center line. )
Muay Thai Sangha uses a total of 108 basic counter attacks techniques.
Also Muay Thai Sangha contains a number of offensive moves for each weapon as well a number of footwork exercises to develop good mobility.
The sources of the Muay Sangha style include not only martial arts from Thailand but from all of South-East Asia - Bokator from Cambodia, Silat from Indonesia, Letwee from Burma. It is important to understand the relationship between Muay Thai and these other arts. All these different styles developed from one source, growing in differnent directions as time passed.
Wind - Weapons (Armed Combat)
The third element in the Muay Sangha system is wind. This element is represented by Krabi-Krabong. This involves agility, footwork, hand-eye co-ordination and includes a variety of different weapons, each with its particular range. )
The style of Krabi-Krabong that Muay Thai Sangha uses comes from the Buddhai Swan lineage which originates directly from Ayuthaya, the ancient capital of Siam. This style of Krabi-Krabong is more that 400 years old and we can guarantee that the techniques come from ancient masters of the art.
Krabi-Krabong is divided in two different weapons parts; main weapons and secondary weapons.
Main weapons
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- One sword (Daab)
- Two swords (Daab song muu)
- Staff (Krabong)
- Spear (Gnao)
- Sword and shield (Daab prom kup loo)
Secondary weapons
- Ax (Kwan)
- Mae song soaks (Forearm wood guard)
The fundamental ("Mae Mai") footwork in Krabi-Krabong is identical to the footwork in the other two elements.
Water - Internal Martial Arts (Fluid Combat)
Wing Chun represents the fluidity within the Muay Sangha style. It also works as a healing element in the body, helping with the flow of energy.
Earth - Muay Pam (Grappling Combat)
Muay Pam is the last element in the Muay Thai Sangha system. In this element we learn how to deal with close range (grappling) encounters.
The Muay Pam element is divided into two sections:
Stand Up Muay Pam
Stand Up Muay Pam addresses the issue of fighting at close range. The training is based in defensive and offensive situations whilst in the standing position.
Stand Up Muay Pam has different ways to take down and opponent by using momentum and body weight. Muay Pam doesn't emphasize techniques that only use strength, the correct use of technique and timing are considered most important. The student will learn how to submit a stand up opponent, how to get to his back, take him down and how to escape from any lock or dangerous position. We train in Stand Up Muay Pam about 80% of the time, and Down Muay Pam about 20%.
The Down Muay Pam
Down Muay Pam addresses the issue of fighting at close range on the ground. )
Students learn the basic positions on the ground, a few submission holds for each position and a few defenses against any attack from our opponent.
Muay Thai Sangha supports the idea that when we are on the ground fighting we are exposed and extremely vulnerable because of our lack of vision behind us. To minimize this risk we teach quick submissions and our main goal in a fight situation is to stand up as fast as we can. This is the reason why students only train around 20% of the time in Down Muay Pam.
The techniques used in Muay Pam are not only from Ancient Muay Thai but from Silat (native Indonesian martial arts), Bokator (ancient Cambodian martial arts) and Letwee (ancient martial art from Burma). Of course throws from Sport Muay Thai and other martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Shoot Wresting, Judo and American Wrestling are incorporated so our style continues to develop.
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