Satanmuanglek Numpornthep - Beautiful Clinch Throws (65 min)

This session is focused on clinch throws. Satanmuanglek Numpornthep is an active fighter, both in Muay Thai and – in recent years – Western Boxing (he boxes under the name Satanmuanglek CP Freshmart, and already has a boxing title to his name - note, you can take privates with him at Chatchai's world famous Sasakul Boxing Gym). He’s incredibly adroit in the clinch and especially with turns and throws. There’s a wonderful video that surfaced years ago of him as “man in the middle” while a bunch of teammates come at him in the clinch, and he just twists and throws and spins everyone (see that linked below). In this session he works through a great number of different ways to knock someone off of their feet in the clinch, kind of variations on a single melody. But that’s the thing: the way you throw someone is all about timing and position, so once you find yourself with your arm here or there, the throw to get you out of it is like a memorized couple of notes. It’s wonderful.

I’d done a session with Tanadet not long before this (it’s in the library, focusing on his incredible and signature “Long Clinch”), who is a bit younger than Satanmuanglek, but they’ve fought each several times in the past and were a kind of nemesis to each other, having very different clinch approaches. Tanadet’s secret key is how he uses his head to lock into place. Satanmuanglek’s secret is his shoulders. When they fought, it was head vs shoulder, and that Tanadet works from a base stability, while Satanmuanglek is ever looking for the turn.  To have them both in the Library is huge. 

Satanmuanglek is Southpaw, and I also stand Southpaw, so when you’re watching just pay attention to where his arms and legs and head are when lining up with the opponent (me) for the throw. You don’t have to be Southpaw, your opponent doesn’t have to be Orthodox – just line the correct leg and the correct arm to create the angles. It’s a quick translation and any stance can throw from any side.

Some things to look out for:

1. His Giggle: this isn’t actually a technique, per se, but as a skill the sheer enjoyment he gets out of throwing someone, while using almost no power at all, is evident in his crazy giggle. Listen for it.  
    
2. The “Under” Position: finding your arm on the underside of someone’s shoulder isn’t a great position, usually. In wrestling/grappling I think they call it an “underhook,” and in Muay Thai you’ll see a lot of great body turns from that position, but it’s not a dominant position. Usually everyone is swimming for the neck, for the inside, because that’s the best position. But if you find yourself with your arm on the ribs or under the arm, almost all of Satanmuanglek’s throws are from there.  
    
3. Stepping into the Thigh: he uses this great scissoring of angles from his legs and arms. So he’ll step into the inside of the opponent’s thigh to kind of blow that leg’s balance out, then change direction with the same side arm to throw in the opposite direction. Or you can pull from the opposite side as that leg and achieve the same turn.
    
4. The Pop-Over: this one is taught by Yodkhunpon as well, but the important part of it isn’t even how you get the arm over, it’s how you hold the opponent in position afterward that really makes this move what it is. Never forget to keep the arm pinned and the head down for good measure.  
    
5. The Step Back: this cannot be over-emphasized. Every single turn, every single one, should involve a leg coming back so that it can land a powerful knee on the end of your turn. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
    
6. The Shoulders: Goddamn, guys…. The shoulders are no joke. The secret, which you can’t necessarily see but I try to talk about in the voiceover, is how Satanmuanglek slips his shoulders UNDER the tricep of the opponent before doing a slip around or even just to create pressure to break the opponent’s grip. It HURTS, and it’s very effective. It’s similar to how Karuhat slips with his shoulders, but Karuhat slips inside, Satanmuanglek slips under.
    
7. The Shoulders 2: he uses a pretty standard lock and crank, where one arm creates a bar across the back of the neck and the other arm acts as the crank, but his secret is how he presses his shoulder on the same side as the arm that creates the bar (the arm that essentially doesn’t do anything) into the jaw and up – UP – to force the opponent’s head up. It’s the same as Tanadet’s head under the chin on the Long Clinch, but in a locked position where you can crank. Oh man. It is incredible. It was hard for me to get, so you really just have to listen to my description, watch his shadow of it (which is very illustrative) and then grab a partner who is willing to be very uncomfortable to figure it out.
    
8. The Speedbike Fake Teep: weird name, but so accurate. Satanmuanglek does this fake teep where he lifts the leg, pulls it back, and then does a kind of slide as the heel lands back down so he can land a long jab. It’s crazy looking. When he slows it down, it looks like he’s pedaling backwards on a speedbike… hence the name. 

If you enjoyed this  you can check out the few minutes of a viral video of some really awesome Satanmuanglek clinching from a few years ago that I put up with some commentary:

watch and read about that here 

Also, if you liked this session there are other Muay Thai Library sessions you might enjoy:

#56 Tanadet Tor. Pran49 - Mastering Long Clinch (63 min) watch it here 

This is one of the most interesting and, if mastered, dominant clinch positions one can use, and the entire session is devoted to it. I filmed with young Long Clinch master Tanadet, and discover all the small refinements he created that turned what for many fighters is just a transitional position, into an entire system of attack. This is a rare session, capturing a little known and used clinch system.

#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.

#25 Luktum Sityodtong - Positioning and Trips (62 min) watch it here 

Tum is an active international Thai fighter raised out of the famed Sityodtong gym. He shows the importance of positioning and timing in this session with a fantastic lower body system of tripping attacks towards the end. His muay is both physically close, but also evasive and tactical.

#23 Boraphet Pinsinchai - Muay Khao Mastery (64 min) watch it here 

Kru Ten (Boraphet Pinsinchai) lives and breathes the Muay Khao fight style, and in this session just unfolds a treasure of interlocking techniques, all of which express what I would call his "sticky" style. Trips, counters, locks, elbows the list is extensive, almost too much to fit into an hour.

#21 Rambaa Somdet - Clinch Trips & Throws (34 min) watch it here 

Thailand's first MMA World Champion, and one of the most aggressive, stinging fighters to grace the ring shows his philosophy on how to handle the clinch, using quick attacks, lifts, body-weight shifts to upend an opponent often before they are set. Some of my favorite trips are in this.

#10 The Clinch Techniques of Yodwicha - Session 2 (34 min) watch it here 

This is my second session with Yodwicha, you can see the first further down below. This one really gets into the specifics of clinch technique and defense. One of the best clinch fighters in Thailand, co-Fighter of the Year, sharing his unique attack style.

#8 Sangtiennoi Sor Rungroj - Advanced Clinch (52 min) watch it here 

The Golden Age Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Champion, a legendary Muay Khao fighter who fought all the greats instructs on the finer points of clinch technique. Small differences that make big differences. Advanced tips on the swim-in and turn, and the importance of going from long distance techniques to short distance grab and lock.

#4 Yodwicha - Clinch and Muay Khao (Knee) Specialist (35 min) - watch it here 

Yodwich shared the Fighter of the Year award as only a 16 year old, and his success in the Lumpinee ring made him one of the most feared clinch fighters in Thailand. In this session he goes through his favorite Muay Khao techniques, shows why he prefers side-attack locks, and turns. 

TIP BOX: If you benefited from this session you can send a donation, tip or monetary thank you to Satanmuanglek who would sincerely appreciate it: Just message $5 or more via PayPal to the address sylvie@8limbs.us, please in the "add a note" section specify "for Satanmuanglek". I will transfer the funds.

KRU FUND: additionally, 5% of all Patreon pledges go into my Kru Fund, and is directed back to the Krus and ex-fighters who have helped make this documentary Library possible: http://8limbs.us/muay-thai-thailand/starting-the-kru-fund

Here are some older sessions from deep in the Library if you missed them or would like to look at them again:

#19 Attachai Fairtex - Timing and IQ (72 min) watch it here 

2x Lumpinee Champion Attachai Fairtex is one of the great femeu fighters of Thailand. Namsaknoi, himself an elite femeu fighter of legendary status called him his most difficult fight as he just was too hard to read. This is a window into that quality, and how to build it.

#18 Kru Wihok Skarbowsky Gym - Old School Flex (49 min) watch it here 

Kru Wihok is an old school femeu style trainer out of the Skarbowsky Gym in Bangkok (Jocky Gym). He's a former all-Asia boxing champion and teaches a brilliant flexing style that hearkens back to a Muay Thai before the Golden Age. 

#17 Burklerk PInsinchai - Dynamic Symmetry (82 min) watch it here 

Arjan Burklerk is a unique master of Muay Thai from the Golden Age, boasting one the highest win percentages in Thai history, and possessing a beautiful craft that harkens back to older styles of fighting with powerful, dynamic symmetry and control of space. 

#16 Thailand Pinsinchai - Attacking Shell (62 min) watch it here 

Former Lumpinee and Rajadamnern champion Thailand Pinsinchai teaches the beautiful framework for his attacking, elbowing style. Lots of minute corrections, small vital details that turn working techniques into dominance. You get the entire picture of a Muay Buek fighter out of the legendary Pinsinchai gym .

#15 Yodkhunpon "The Elbow Hunter" part 2 - Escapes  (48 min) watch it here 

Part 2 of my session with one of the most feared elbow fighters of the Golden Age, Yodkhunpon Sitraipom, The Elbow Hunter of 100 Stitches. Lots of fine details in this one, escapes from clinch locks, turns and catches. Best is his floating, gentle style that also holds such violence.

#14 Chatchai Sasakul - Perfecting Hands (106 min) watch it here 

Former WBC world boxing champion at Flyweight, and winner of Best Coach of the Year in Thailand, Chatchai in this nearly 2 hours of video makes micro adjustment after micro adjustment, honing in pristine technique in the basic strikes of boxing, for use in Muay Thai. It's all about weight transfer.

Remember, you can browse the Table of Contents of ALL the Muay Thai Library archive here.