Getting the Legend Karuhat Reconstructive ACL Surgery - taking care

Perhaps there is nothing more significant than the care for legends themselves, in the hope of preserving the legacy of the Muay Thai they created, out of the glory of their bodies, their training and fighting. A fighter such as Karuhat Sor Supawan moved like no other fighter in history, and in his body is all the the art and grace of his beautiful fighting style. He suffered a fairly robust knee injury a few years ago sparring/holding for a large Westerner, and toughed his way through it. Eventually we were able to get him PRP treatment that really improved his knee, but this past December - on seminar tour - he suffered a complete ACL tear, and greater damage to his meniscuses; faced with long term knee function degradation if surgery wasn't done, he was at first adamantly opposed to the idea of surgery. After nearly 6 months of trying to make do on the damage, he finally accepted the offer from us to cover his surgery and rehabilitation. This is only made possible - in fact it would be impossible without - this Patreon. So really this offer comes through you.

This is a big deal, because Karuhat is turning 57 at the end of this month and there is only a window in which he can keep sharing his beautiful Muay with the world, and we want that window to be panoramic, if you know what I mean. Already he had lost the ability to throw his incredible right kick due to instability in the knee (which you can see here):

We want that kick back, and the full range of his beautiful Muay, full of glorious timing and art, but much more so the man needs his freedom of movement, of teaching, of sharing, well into the coming years. Karuhat is a unique and wonderful man, and a lot of his charisma and attitudes are expressed through how he moves, how he fights, how he melts and wizards around. Any limitation feels like an injustice, but great limitation is just obscene.

So, Sylvie spent a great deal of effort creating a plan for the surgery and rehabilitation, enlisting his PRP doctor (with whom we had success before, and who we consulted prior to learning he needed the surgery), along with extensive rehab (because rehab really makes the difference), with Dr. Felix, who works with many of the top fighters at all the Pattaya gyms. At first, Karuhat was astounded at our estimated recovery schedule. But at last, he came to our house in Pattaya and hung out for a day, playing with our cat Love Witch, femeu vs femeu, and bonding with the rabbit, Somchai, whom Karuhat named. (I swear, if I stood on one end of the room and Karuhat at the other, and Somchai was let into the room to pick a person, he'd run to Karuhat 100% of the time, every time.)

Two days before the operation, we spent half a day in the hospital running tests, making sure he's fit for the surgery. Back in January we'd had an MRI done with this surgeon, so we felt confident in entrusting this same doctor with Karuhat's care.

Monday, May 5th, we went to Bangkok hospital in Pattaya to check Karuhat into his room and prepare for the surgery.

He had quite a view up on the 11th floor.

He was very quiet and internal, waiting for the surgery. He is generally ning, gentle, keeps within himself behind a soft smile.

We were very nervous. There was just a very strong sense of our responsibility to and for Karuhat, but also he's a dear friend and mentor, so we wanted everything to turn out right. We waited with him for the surgery last afternoon.

Wheeling his whole bed down to the operating theater.

Sylvie posted this update yesterday after he got out of surgery and a thank you to patrons:

It was an anxious afternoon, waiting for the hospital to update us when Karuhat was out of surgery and back in his room. It was a great relief when we knew he was safe, resting. But we didn't hear from him until the following morning. General anesthesia can be very rough to come out of.

When I finally heard from Karuhat the following morning, I told him I'd come by after training and bring him anything he wanted. His only request was mango ice cream. (This is not an impossible ask, but it's a little rare; I laughed because it reminded me of one of my favorite silent films, where there is a request for a "blue rose," an impossible item.) Honestly, though... isn't ice cream the only answer for how to reward after a doctor's visit?

So he'll come home with us tomorrow, and then the hard part starts. We hope to have him with us for four months, at least so Sylvie can work with him on his rehab movements and treatment daily, and make sure he's keeping up on it. We have a great physical therapist in Pattaya lined up, and we also have our PRP doctor set up to faciitate the healing, because he responded so well to that treatment in the past.

It's not easy to be incapacitated for someone so free and strong in their movement, as surely a lot of our patrons have experienced injury and recovery, so we really hope to be there for him in all the ways that matter. Sylvie, as a fighter, worries about the mental load of the physical recovery. Going from being in pain, but able to walk, to being in pain and unable to walk doesn't seem like a positive... but it's where one starts. We also hope to be semi-hiring him as a mentor during these months, to just overview Sylvie's training once he can move around a little, just so he can maintain some income during his rehab time but also because: who wouldn't benefit from Karuhat's keen eye? Teaching and training is how legends support themselves, and losing any kind of ability to do so can destablize their lives. So we have to cushion that. Hopefullly all of this comes together and we get a Karuhat who feels supported and heals up strong, probably stronger in some ways than before,.

We'll try to keep you updated on his progress in rehab on this Patreon.

this is back in January with Dr. Mai who has successfully treated Karuhat with PRP and stemcell before. He'll be helping Karuhat heal faster and better, starting at the 6 week post-operation point.

Helping Karuhat

You can help a little bit, aside from just being patrons. We have a Sylvie Intensive 30 hour collection of training with Karuhat that you can purchase, 100% of the profits go to him (and some to Yodkhunpon). It's all for them. There are patron discount codes you can find here or you can pay full price, which again goes directly to the legends.

You can also just offer your prayers and wishes, and maybe start up a Karuhat study in the MTL out of sympathetic support. He really is an incredible fighter. Study him as he gets stronger.

here is a list of resources:

#7 Karuhat Sor. Supawan - Be Like Sand (62 min) watch it here 

2x Golden Age Lumpinee Champion (112 lb and 122 lbs), Karuhat is considered elite among the elites. Mixing an explosive style with constant off-balances, angling, and melting aways, he was nicknamed the Ultimate Wizard. I can only describe the things he's teaching here as: Be like sand. This is very subtle, advanced stuff, far above combo techniques or specific defenses. It may take a few viewings to absorb what he is teaching. Everytime I watch this I learn something new.

#11 Karuhat Sor. Supawan Session 2 - Float and Shock (82 min) watch it here 

In this session one of the greatest fighters who ever lived really digs into what must lie beneath techniques, a general state of relaxation and rhythm, the thing that made him one of the most dynamic fighters Lumpinee has ever seen.

#20 Karuhat Sor Supawan - Switching To Southpaw (144 min) watch it here 

2x Lumpinee Champion Karuhat Sor. Supawan in this epic video posts installs a limited Southpaw core which leads to developing high level ideas found in his switching style: tracking and attacking the open side, watching for and dictating weight transfer. This is the blueprint of a legend's acclaimed fighting style. 

#27 Karuhat Sor. Supawan - Tension & Kicking Dynamics (104 min) watch it here 

Karuhat, a fighter with perhaps the slickest style of any Golden Age great, shows the importance of tension, and patiently goes through correcting the kick, making it quicker and much harder to read.

#50 Karuhat Sor. Supawan - Serpentine Knees & Flow  (62 min) watch it here 

The legendary Karuhat teaches his winding, advancing style, a culmination of many, many hours of our training together. You get a glimpse into his advanced movements, and his philosophy on reading opponents.

#109 The Karuhat Rosetta Stone - The Secrets of the Matador (83 min)

This session is somethign of a rosetta stone for all the other sessions. A few years past since we filmed with him, Sylvie still training with him periodically, so we took this session as an opportunity to cover the past techniques, using Sylvie's years long study of them as a way to open them up, and make them more undestandable.

Bonus Session 7: Karuhat Sor. Supawan - Forward Check | 39 min - watch it here  

In this session Karuhat teaches his beautiful and unique Forward Check, and the system of attacks that flow out of it in his fighting style.  You can read my detailed post in the Forward Check here. This check, aggressively from Southpaw, versus Orthodox fighters eats up space closes distance, effectively deal with one of the primary weaknesses of Southpaw attack.

That makes 40 hours of Karuhat instruction available between both the Muay Thai Library and the Sylvie Study project. Insane. You can find the promocodes for the Karuhat Intensive down below:

Patreon Promocodes:

As a patron, depending on your tier you can be eligible for discounts on the separate Vimeo purchases. $5 patrons get 15% (link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/17837199 ) of these purchases, and $15 patrons get 50% (link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/17837342 ) of of these purchases. The intensive series is supported by patrons.

Watch Karuhat's fights

Karuhat is actually one of the most documented fighters in the Golden Age, I put together a spreadsheet of all of his fights that have been preserved on video here.

Helping Legends is part of our larger statment of values, if you missed that post it is here:

Our Manifesto of Values

We've already been able to get Dieselnoi cataract surgery. This Patreon is doing more than just supporting Sylvie's reachto incredible fight records and performance in Thailand, more than building the greatest documentation of any fighting art in the Muay Thai Library. It's also proactively reaching out to the legends that we know closely, in the personal bonds we've made over these years, as they need help, to make their lives better as they age, and so that the world can have the their best versions as they share their art. Read how we helped Dieselnoi here. We watched a OneSongchai video where he was introducing Samransak, and said something like, "I fear he is not as comfortable now as he should be, given all he's given to Muay Thai." This, but doing something about it. We took Dieselnoi to the doctor to look at his psoriosis once and he responded like we'd rescued him from a fire. It wasn't about th psoriosis. It was about feeling cared for. With the cateract surgery, it's about the cateract, but it's also about keeping Dieselnoi feeling good, healthy, not unnecessarily diminished. With Karuhat, it's about restoring him to himself.

We've expanded our mission, not only seeking to aid legends, but also to report on the values of Muay Thai we've come to love and believe in, and the people that have carried that flame forward. Thank you everyone who has been a part of this Patreon - past, present and future. This really is a community effort.