Thoughts of Muay Boran, Krabi-Krabong, and Kung Fu

So, I've been doing some more research on Muay Thai and other martial arts, primarily surfing on youtube for techniques and demos. In my searching I stumbled across Muay Boran/Muay Thai Boran, which is far more of a martial art than straight up Muay Thai. After looking at some videos I found it to be strangely pretty while also quite deadly, as most martial arts are. So I am thinking about training myself in a little bit of Muay Boran (I can only find Muay Thai schools in my area!)

What is of real interest to me from my youtube galavants is Krabi-Krabong, basically Thai swordfighting or Muay Boran with sharp pointy things ZOMG SO AWESOME. Alot of the technique I've seen in Krabi-Krabong is with single-hand swords (Daab) that are dual-wielded, and for some reason the videos make me want to shell out moneys for a set of Daab and lessons.

A set of Daab. What is interesting about Daab is that their handles should be long and used as counterbalances, since they are meant to be wielded in one hand.

preeetttyyyy Daabs.....

aaand a video I found on youtube, Krabi-Krabong sparring starts at 2:20

I really hope one day to learn Krabi-Krabong so I have absolutely no excuse anymore to not own swords, particularly an eastern ones (....unfortunately, I can't pull off swords in MMA, so there you go.)

Also, I am thinking about learning Kung Fu to round out my severely lacking defense. Having only two months of formal, rudimentary Muay Thai training, I can sorta punch, elbow, knee, and roundhouse my way through sparring, but defensively, I'm pretty lame. A lot of that probably stems from my brawler approach to fighting (see my Cyborg vs Yamanaka post,) but more of that is from slow reflexes and lackluster core strength. Kung Fu appears to be an incredibly effective defensive art, and if I want to avoid banging up my face I need to do something to round out my skill sets. Luckily, there is a Kung Fu place about 15-30 minutes walking distance from the Cabell Library bus stop in Richmond, so, if their rates aren't too bad, I may enroll in a few classes.

So, anyways happy New Year everybody!

photo creds: Macao Museum of Art website and this blog that gets awkward in 2011 so don't look at those posts.