Jitti Jitti Gym - Close Range Dynamics (61 min)

There were two big reasons I wanted to get Jitti into the Muay Thai Library. Firstly, the Jitti Gym has been an established gym in Bangkok for decades, known for its good training and female inclusion. Secondly, Jitti himself holds a significant place in the history of western women fighting in Thailand. Some of the very first western women to travel to train and fight in Thailand came through Jitti, and he welcomed them straight away. Not a “they won me over,” but an immediate, “why not?” He is also the man who gave Iman “Pretty Killer” Barlow her moniker, when she was maybe 6 years old and her parents brought her to train in his gym. We were able to interview Jitti about the history of western women fighting in Thailand, the current state, and what he sees for the future. He is the first Thai person – male or female – to say without question that he believes women will be fighting in Lumpinee in the future. That’s important because he’s speaking from a place of cultural significance that very few others can.  

The techniques and style that Jitti brings to the Library are also quite special. He showed me techniques on staying close range and controlling the opponent’s movements until you can create a moment for something kind of flashy. I loved that it required steady, really dependable range and technique to get to the moment of a jumping knee or teep, rather than just flying around out of nowhere. At the start of this session we had an issue with the camera being set in slow-motion without realizing it, so the first part is slow-motion with just my voiceover. But it’s kind of an amazing accident because you can see what the corrections are that Jitti is aiming for. And his movements are just stunning. He has a little step and a lot of finesse on every move. The simultaneous strike and foot-to-the-floor movements are significant for power and accuracy, but hard to catch in real time. Happy accident.

What to look out for:

1. The Two-Joint Stabbing Knee: I’ve seen this knee before but not at the range that Jitti uses it. You lift the knee first (“yoke”) and then stab in with your hip (“see-up”), which in the clinch range allows your knee to kind of drag down the front of your opponent’s torso. It’s nasty. But Jitti stabs it as he’s moving forward, so it’s simultaneously a Yodkhunpon “don’t lean back” knee (see this video in the Library) and also a Karuhat long knee (covered at length in the On Demand Sylvie Study videos).  
    
2. Elbow Chains: Jitti shows some beautiful chained elbows, shorter, longer and reverse. They’re all slick on their own, but they chain together beautifully. It’s in slow-motion, so geek out over his legs and foot positions as you watch  him.  
    
3. Shoves: there are some great shoving techniques here. You can use the tops of your fists (I think he does this mainly to be polite, as with a glove on and a bare chest/vaseline there’d be a risk of slipping. Or you can use the heels of your hands (that part of a glove is very thin). But he times the shoves off of strikes, and the off-balancing sets up for a power move or a flashy move. It’s really nice. I’ve been on the receiving end of these shoves and they’re very good against folks who have high guards.
    
4. Spike Guard: I call it the “Spike Guard,” but nobody else does… unless they watch my videos. But it means blocking with your elbows, intending to let the opponent punch right into your spiky elbow and hurt themselves. Jitti elaborates that the elbow can be directed into the inside of the forearm as well, or the wrist… man, that hurts.
    
5. Knee to the Thigh Blocks: we’ve seen this in the Library before, kneeing into an opponent’s thigh on their wide knees. It’s similar to the elbow guard just above. What’s great about how Jitti works this in is that it’s in context of why defending straight down the middle has its perks: it’s very direct, short and fast.
    
6. A Moving Guard: kind of a combination of the Spike Guard and the Shoves, Jitti shows me how to move the guard around instead of staying in some kind of “Max Protect” position, which is actually quite easy to poke holes in or just use like handles.  
    
7. Clinch Landings: so, we kind of improvised with clinch in padwork and Jitti emphasized the importance of turning before and after knee strikes to increase the impact – an off-balance opponent is busy trying to stay upright, rather than busy defending or hitting you. But he also shows me this great yank down, which my trainer Kru Nu calls for by yelling “got,” (this literally means to embrace, or pull down) when I’ve got the neck. You’re locked around the neck and kneeing, but as you land off of a knee you yank down on the opponent to off-balance them so they can’t time your next knee. So simple. So good.

If you enjoyed this session and got a lot out of it, these are sessions in the Library that have similiar elements or fighting styles:

 #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.  

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

To "dern" in Thai is to "walk", which means basically to just come forward no matter what, to create a relentlessness. Voted Fighter of the Year in 1991, Samson Isaan was one of the great Dern Fighters of the Golden Age, and in this session he shows his forward pulsing techniques which are meant to just overwhelm his opponent. Also a great session for pressure Southpaw fighters. 

#9 Yodkhunpon "The Elbow Hunter" pt 1  - Slicing Elbow (37 min) watch it here 

Simultaneous Raja and Luminee title holder at 118 lbs, Yodkhunpon was one of the most feared elbow fighters in Thailand, and in this session he teaches the looseness and spacing that made his lead elbow such a viscious weapon. He also shuns the traditional rocking chair knee, and instead teaches a powerful stand-in crossing, open-hipped knee that compliments his elbows up top.

#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.

If you benefited from this Jitti session and you'd like to share your appreciation, you can send Jitti a thank you donation, I'll be glad to forward it to him. Just send $5 or more to PayPal address sylvie@8limbs.us and be sure to write in the note: "for Arjan Jitti". I'll forward it on and cover the extra fees.

Remember, there are almost 70 hours in the Muay Thai Library, you can browse the full contents of the library here. in being a part of this Patreon you are supporting the Library, and helping it grow:

Muay Thai Library - Preserve The Legacy table of contents