#123 Samson Isaan 4 - Secrets to Pressure Fighting (122 min)

This is our 4th entry of Samson Isaan into the Muay Thai Library and it's the most elaborate and developed in terms of expressing his style. The thing with Samson is he's a taxi driver and when he retired he never became an instructor at a gym; it was actually us getting him to teach me for his first entry into the Library and then bringing him into the Muay Khao Summit seminars that got him interested in teaching. He's his best when he's just moving around though, just doing his own style in the context of pressure and movement and you just take notes and steal it from him as he goes; this session is entirely instructive sparring, with corrections and examples laid out and then built on. It takes time to watch but it is worth it. Be patient with it, it develops. You can really see how much Samson was just a relentless pressure, despite actually being most effective in his counters.  Be sure to watch the earlier sessions linked at bottom to get more explicit instruction in the basics of his pressure style including how he uses his guard and tempo. He was a small fighter who fought well above his weight and used relentless attack and heavy hands to become one of the best fighters Thailand has produced. 

A treat in this filming is that the legend Karuhat was there with us, and we even got some footage of Samson and Karuhat clinch/sparring together, showing their very contrasted styles, Muay Femeu vs Muay Khao. It's only a short minute or so, but its golden.

What to look out for:

1) Firm but Flexible Guard: Samson's guard is high, his fists are toward his own crown, and his forearms and elbows do all the work. It looks like a classic "11 Guard" of boxing, but the key to it is how flexible he is in it. He does have head movement in the sense of taking his head off-center when he's punching and leaning forward or back/away in a small slip, but generally his arms create a forcefield around his head and his power stays balanced and center.

2) Weight Transfer: Samson uses some really subtle weight transfer to create enough distance to generate power at very close range. He shuts your guard up with straight punches and then does a little weight transfer back before doing damage with a knee or looping punch or kick. He leans in to pressure, out to dodge or generate power, and slips side to side to cut angles. He never, ever gives up ground. If you need space, you gotta move yourself because Samson's not giving an inch.

3) The Calf Chop: I really love this. Some Femeu style slick-fellas like to kick the inside of the lead leg, down by the ankle, to kind of scoop the leg out from under an advancing puncher. It's a good move, pulls them off balance, takes power out of the strike, etc. Samson does the opposite of this. He hacks the outside of the lead leg, on the calf, while the weight is fully on it and it distorts the balance, takes away power, and hurts like hell.

4) Punching Behind the Ear: a few of Samson's deep angles involve stepping outside the opponent's stance and landing hooks behind the guard, essentially behind the ear which is absolutely a KO spot. It's scary and very effective when you have someone turtled up.

5) "Dit Talod" Constant Contact: We have a beautiful clip of Samson sparring with Karuhat and their two, opposite styles demonstrating both power and weakness against their opposites. Samson's relentless pressure is what he calls "dit talod" or constant contact, which is how he can wear a Femeu style down over time. Karuhat doesn't let him get that far, but you can project over the potential of a few rounds how that would go.

6) The Phantom Teep: Samson uses this delay on his teep that is very effective both when he's coming forward and when he's letting me come forward (although he's never really going backwards, I'm just getting bounced out and trying to come back in). He raises his knee first, which could be a block or turn into a kick, but then he has this short-range but "Go Go Gadget" kind of extension on it to knock me back. The key of it is that I don't know when the teep is coming.

7) Getting Heavy: Samson uses this in a few different contexts but when his arm is stuck in a bad position, he makes it crazy heavy and breaks my posture. When his kick is caught, he makes his leg heavy and drags me down with it. When he's clinching and has a disadvantageous position, he gets heavy and I can't turn him. Hips in, arms firmly postured and shoulders controlling me even from an outside grab.

8) Hips In: Notice, when I say in the commentary that Samson puts his hips in, he is usually not making a "C" with his hips bowing the body inward, as some fighters do. He is actually putting his knees "in" as the furthest point, which brings his hips in too. It's a small, but important difference. Jamming your hips in most can leave you vulnerable to throws. Below a couple of screenshot, but watch for it in the video.

9) How to Build Relentlessness: at the end I ask Samson about his training, because Golden Age conditioning was just something else. He takes me over to the bag and says that after everything - EVERYTHING - you finish up with 500 knees on the bag and 5 minutes of power punching. The point is to do this when you're already fatigued. The point is to train your arms to grip in a frame without using muscle to latch in the clinch or keep your shoulders up in punching. Punches come from the feet and knees are airborne.

Kevin's photos from the session, you can read and see all the photos in his series on the filming here: Strength of Samson 

Sessions Referenced:

#81  Chamuakpet Hapalang 2 - Muay Khao Internal Attacks (65 min) watch it here

#45 Langsuan Panyutapum - Monster Muay Khao Training (66 min) watch it here

Bonus Session 9: Yodkhupon Sittraipum - Lethal Smoothness (73 min) watch it here

#82 Chanchai Sor. Tummarungsri - The King of Teeps (54 min) watch it here

#34 Samart Payakaroon - Balance, Balance, Balance! (81 min) watch it here

#69 Sagat Petchyindee 4 - Muay Maat Tigers & Snakes (67 min) watch it here

#118 Phettho Sitjaopho - Muay Femeu Excellence (70 min) watch it here

#110 Samson, Namkabuan, Dieselnoi & Karuhat! Muay Khao Summit Session (2 hrs) watch it here

#117 Kru Kin Por Promin - Muay Boran Precision, Balance & Flow (93 min) watch it here

the other Samson sessions in the Library:

#41 Samson Isaan 1 - The Art of Dern Fighting (64 min) watch it here

To "dern" in Thai is to "walk", which means basically to just come forward no matter what, to create a relentlessness. Voted Fighter of the Year in 1991, Samson Isaan was one of the great Dern Fighters of the Golden Age, and in this session he shows his forward pulsing techniques which are meant to just overwhelm his opponent. Also a great session for pressure Southpaw fighters.

#74 Samson Isaan 2 - Muay Khao & Western Boxing Excellence (59 min) watch it here

In 1991 there was no fighter more of a force than Samson Isaan, who took Fighter of the Year then. His relentless style combining Muay Maat punching aggression with Knee Fighting pressure and clinch made him a wrecking ball. In this session discover what made this little fighter so impossible to handle.

#116 Samson Isaan 3 - Dern Pressure Fighting & Defense (44 min) watch it here

There was nobody tougher and more relentless than Samson Isaan in the Golden Age. Winner of the 1991 Muay Thai Fighter of the Year, undefeated as a World Champion boxer, he was famed for his pressure fighting. But beneath all that heart were the techniques that make it happen. Here he shows how he likes to pressure, his footwork, the keys to balance, and how hands and knees work together. This is his 3rd session in the Library.

Samson Fights to Watch

familiarize yourself with Muay Thai Scholar's highlight reel

The massive Muay Maat trilogy vs heavy handed Lakhin (who is also in the Muay Thai Library)

Samson vs Lakhin watch it here for the 115 lb Rajadamnern Belt, the 3rd fight, with both fighters taking one fight each previously. All 3 fights are on YouTube.

Above, against the bigger, stronger Jomhodlek watch it here 

Above, Samson vs Detduang (1993 Lumpine Fight of the Year) watch it here 

Muay Khao Triology vs the much larger Pepsi:

The epic 3rd fight after 2 draws (all 3 fights are on YouTube)

There are some great Muay Maat (heavy hands style) fighters documented in the Library. Here are a few to study:

#88 Samransak Muangsurin - Muay Maat Legend Keys to Powerful Hands (61 min) watch it here

Samransak was nothing if not thunderous as a fighter in the Golden Age. He threw with serious, heavy hands and just brutalized his opponents. He teaches the basics of his Muay Maat style, how he brought boxing into the ring to massive effect. One of the all time legends of the sport.

#69 Sagat Petchyindee 4 - Muay Maat Tigers & Snakes (67 min) watch it here

Sagat details his ferocious, hands-heavy style in this session, teaching perfect balance and very aggressive spacing. The secrets to his power, how everything flows out of his core and his organized stance are on full display. Nobody like him.

#43 Kongsamut Sor. Thanikul - Muay Mat Style (74 min) watch it here

This Lumpinee champion is perhaps most notable for when he lost a fight for the 102 lb Lumpinee belt, against famed Samart. Samart winning his first belt of many. Kongsamut has a beautiful Muay Mat (punchers) style that he mixes with low kicks, very differently than the Pornsanae style. He fights in close, and is constantly twisting, hitting high and low. Any Muay Thai puncher would benefit from the principles in his style.

#37 Kongtoranee Payakaroon - Power In The Hands (89 min) watch it here

5x Lumpinee Champion, 2x Fighter of the Year, Kongtoranee teaches the fundamental grounding of strikes that made him one of the most feared heavy-handed fighters in Thailand. Such economy of movement expresses the true beauty in his style, quite different than - but no less admirable - that of his young brother Samart.

#95 Wangchannoi Sor. Palangchai 2 - The Secret Powers of a Cool Heart (77 min) watch it here

The first session with one of the best fighters who ever lived was so good we went back right away and filmed a 2nd. This time his fighting style is put into more context, focus on angling off, the differences between boxing and Muay Thai & Wangchannoi's beautiful jumping knees.

#94 Wangchannoi Palangchai 1 - Deadly Step Counter Fighting (70 min) - watch it here

One of the all-time greats, 118 lb and 4x 122 lb Lumpinee Champion, 1993 Fighter of the Year Wangchannoi was one of the most feared fighters who ever fought, patrolling the Golden Age with fierce violence. In this session he teaches the keys to his aggressive, forward pressure counter fighting style.

#103 Metprik Silachai - Lost Techniques of Old School Muay Maat Lowkick Pressure (81 min) watch it here

Wow what a session. Arjan Metprik was not only a great fighter of the Silver Age of Muay Thai, he created the relentless fighting style of 2001 Fighter of the Year Thongchai Tor. Silachai. It's just an amazing lowkick, knee and Muay Maat style full of pressure and toughness. See how he trains his fighters in this Old School Khorat gym.