Sylvie's Technique Vlog - Dieselnoi Air Knees in the Corner (8 min)

The “Sylvie’s Technique Vlog” series is intended to be a kind of rumination on some of the things that I learn from the legends and krus I film with for the Muay Thai Library, or things I pick up from my trainer Kru Nu, or even just things that I see and start playing with. The interesting thing about learning, is that you can pick something up and not really be ready for it until a long time later, after you’ve ruminated on it or played with it on your own. And the brilliant thing about technique is that there is never only 1 way of doing something, so finding out which one is right for you can be a process to itself.

In this episode, I’m looking at “air knees” in the ring. I learned these in the corner of the ring, initially from Dieselnoi, but then Yodkhunpon had a version and Langsuan had a version as well. And like learning a word that you’ve never heard before and then suddenly you hear it all the time, I noticed that little kids learn knees like this before they are big enough to knee the bag. And even our professional Lumpinee fighters do knees in the corner to stay warm before pads, or if there are no bags available, or because Kru Nu was reminded of his own upbringing when he saw me doing them and put his fighters back into it because it’s tradition. All those things are amazing to me. And I especially like that a practice that seems overly basic, maybe because kids do it, is actually something you can grow into as you become a master of the craft as well.

I break down the basic version that kids use, just holding the ropes and getting their knees up high to learn the forms before they do it in space or against an opponent. And then we look at the 3 versions, as taught by Yodkhunpon (close grip, head down, bent over and flying knees), Langsuan (head down, pendulous knee swing), and Dieselnoi (head up, back straight, wide grip, open stance and cross-hatch knees). Learn them all, do them all, find what you like. Because Dieslnoi is at my gym for this month, as an advisor in training, we were able to call him over to make small corrections and show the knee-thresher quality of his style. You can talk about it, but seeing Dieselnoi do ANYTHING is really its own thing.

 You can see my other Patreon Technique Vlogs here:

Sylvie's Technique Vlog - Acceleration at the End of Strikes (10 min) 

Sylvie's Technique Vlog - The Kem Pivot (12 min)  

Sylvie's Technique Vlog - Dealing With Fear, How to Cut it Out (13 min) 

You can see the things mentioned in this technique vlog in the longer form sessions in the Library:

#3 Dieselnoi  Chor Thanasukarn  - The King of Knees (54 min) - watch it here 

Dieselnoi is the greatest knee fighter who ever lived, and it just wasn't because of his height. Spending this hour with him lets you feel how much love and energy he pours into his Muay Thai, even at this age, the real secret to what make him dominant in the Golden Age of the sport. There is nobody like Dieselnoi. Nobody.

#30 Dieselnoi Chor Thanasukarn 2 - Muay Khao Craft  (42 min) watch it here 

The greatest knee fighter who ever lived not only shares his secrets in ring tactics - how to draw out your opponent and then ultimately hem them in - and various closing and tripping techniques, he also shows his amazing heart. He's a Legend among Legends, the fighter without equal in the history of the sport.

#48 Dieselnoi Chor. Thanasukarn - Jam Session  (80 min) watch it here 

Possibly the greatest fighter who ever lived, Dieselnoi, teaches his fighting tactics and strategy, keys to winning as a Muay Khao fighter. He is accompanied by Rajadamnern Featherweight champion Nopidej Sor. Reodi, so you get to see see the interaction between two related philosophies of the Muay Khao style. This session could be watched and studied over and over.

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

One of the greatest knee fighters who ever fought, 1987 Fighter of the Year Langsuan shows how an elite Muay Khao fighter of his day trained. This session is powerful on the basics that elevate the body and mind, at high repetition, allowing the relentless, pressing style that made Langsuan the fighter nobody wanted to fight.

click here to see the full contents of the Muay Thai Library