#162 Songkram Por. Paoin - Balanced Pressure Fighting in Sets as a Small Fighter (84 mins)

Songkram Por. Paoin is the "younger" brother among a pair of twins, with Chana, who was also a fighter. Songkram started first, at about the age of 13, and his brother took up fighting when Songkram was already about 10 fights in. He won the Northern Regional title at 95 lb, twice, before moving down to Bangkok and becoming Rajadamnern Stadium Champion at 105 lb, a title he defended every month for 7-8 months in a row. Ultimately, Songkram holds the highest number of titles and defenses among anyone else in Thailand. Later on, he and his brother transitioned to Boxing, more or less with the goal of becoming the second pair of twins to hold World Titles simultaneously (the first were Khaosai and Khaokor Galaxy), which they achieved as WBA champions.

We actually discovered Songkram while researching who it was who had not only won the most Rajadamnern and Lumpinee titles (Chamuakpet), but who defended them, in a grand total. Kevin and come up with many of the big names but Lev who does a lot of wikipedia research pointed out that Songkram may very well hold the title for the most, and he was right. So here is the list Kevin found, with Songkram at the top.

So we went through some digging and found him at Pom Gym in Bangkok. We were excited to document his Muay as a somewhat forgotten (in English language) low-weight legend of the Golden Age. Because Songchai had such a impact on English language history often very good fighters have been left out, especially some from the Rajadamnern line of the championship legacy. It's also a bit of a bonus that he happened to also be a World Champion boxer, as we've been researching and documenting the ways in which Golden Age Muay Thai was related to and crossed over to Western Boxing.

What to Look Out For:

1) Balance, Ruup: in Old School scoring and aesthetic, balance is a primary element in Muay Thai. If you break your opponent's ruup, you are dominating. If your ruup is broken, you stumble, your posture is interrupted, then you are being dominated. You can really see in this session how Songkram maintains his balance, posture, and ability to have continuity in his strikes and defenses, by the way he stacks his body and his foot positions.

2) Rotation: there are a few different ways of rotating the torso; every style does it, it's how you generate power, but some have a wide, kind of coin-toss manner, and others have a nearly imperceptible, rotating cylindar manner, while yet others have a kind of pendulum quality. Songkram is the cylindar and pushes ever forward in his kind of gliding, floating weight transfer for his strikes.

3) Chop Kick: this is a lazy naming for this kind of kick, but it's kind of a half-kick/half-knee where you land the length of your shin against the opponent's trunk. It's great for styles that like to stay close, as it's a fast and hard to read, close-range kick.

4) Combo = Pattern =/= "Sets": Songkram tells me he likes to strike in sets; in Thai this is เป็นชุด bpen chuut. I've struggled for a long time in being able to refine and describe how this isn't the same thing as what we call and refer to as "combos" in the West. The word and concept of combos doesn't really exist in Thai and when I've tried to describe it, I've often used the phrase bpen chuut in its stead, but then the trainers I'm talking to don't understand why I'm saying it as a negative. Finally, from my weightlifting coach, who isn't in the Muay Thai world, I got him to understand and he gave me the loan word "pattern." And that's just it. Combos, as we think of them, are patterns of strikes, memorized and "recited," whereas a "set" or bpen chuut is a continuation of strikes, depending on how the opponent responds. What Songkram is teaching is in opposition to single strike styles, which work well for evasive fighters.

Other Sessions Referenced:

#119 Burklerk Pinsinchai 2 - Mastering Space with a Legend (106 mins) watch it here

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

#160 SiKing "Don King" Giatpayatai - The S. Ploenjit Chop Kick, with rhythm & distance control (1hr, 20min) watch it here

#104 Yodkhunpon Sittraipum 4 - The Art of Shadowboxing (64 min) watch it here

#72  YodPitak Cho. Nateetong 1 - Art of Femeu Interruptions and Balance (73 min) watch it here

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

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

Songkram's Fights

There aren't a lot of Songkram's fights preserved in the video record, but below are some good ones. You'll definitely see his style.

The fight we watched with Songkram after filming where I found a lot of what he was teaching was this fight vs Cheta Majestic.

In this fight vs Sakdin Yutakit (red), it was a revenge fight as Sakdin had knocked him out previously. Songkram lays the hammer down early.

In this video you first have Songkram fighting, following a fight of his twin brother's.

A few photos from his career:

Chana and Songkram

Songkram with his 105 lb Rajadamnern title

Winning the 105 lb Rajadamnern title for the first time

Some of Kevin's Photographs from the Session:

If you enjoyed this session you may like these on a similar theme. Small, tough pressure fighters with beautiful technique:

#145 Thongchai Tor Silachai - Muay Maat & Low Kick Legend (96 min) watch it here

Rare and hard to find we finally get to film this incredible session with one of the very best who ever fight, the 2001 FOTY legend Thongchai. His is a prime example of extremely high level fighting out of a pressure low kick and heavy hands, clinch style. Just some of the most beautiful pressure muay ever. Study to see how this incredible fighter fought way up in such a victorious manner.

#143 Takrowlek Dejrat - Master of the Low Kick (90 min) watch it here 

One of the great low kicking fighters of the Golden Age teaches his squared up, pressuring, Muay Beuk fight philosophy which uses an extremely fast, vertical low kicking technique that keeps the opponent exactly where you want them. This punishing style, built on defense and ring control is extremely effective, using techniques that are not often taught. Study the low kick in a way you haven't seen before.

Samson (FOTY 1991):  

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

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

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

#123 Samson Isaan 4 - Secrets Of His Pressure Fighting (122 min) watch it here

#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.

#112 Chatchainoi Chaoraioi - The Best Padman in Thailand (64 min) watch it here

Called The Man of Stone when he was a Golden Age fighter at the Derjat Gym, today he is the best padman in Thailand, as far as we have experienced. Learn what makes his padwork so effective, and the forward, hardnosed Muay Thai style that he teaches.