Photos: Narit W.
Same same but different. It applies to many things, especially martial arts.
Thailand is well-known as the home of Muay Thai or the art of eight limbs, but the country is also becoming a major player in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) or the art of submission grappling.
This past Saturday, I tested my newbie grappling skills in the White/Blue Belt Competition at EMAC Thailand, a mixed martial arts gym right off Suriwongse Road. The competition was a fundraiser for Operation Smile Thailand and it netted over THB15,000 for the charity. Although Bangkok only has three BJJ gyms (EMAC, BJJ BKK, and Q23), students from all over the country took part in the event, which takes place every two months.
This was the second time I have competed, and admittedly I was nervous. Things change when there are over 50 eyeballs on you, waiting to see if you get taken down, swept or even choked. Just before the event began, the gym’s head Muay Thai instructor, Kru Naad – a 26-year-old veteran with just under 100 fights to his name – stopped by to see what all the fuss was about. As I was stretching on the ground with my legs spread apart, he came by and kicked me – softly – which is his way of showing some love before the event.
He kicked once more, smiling as he swung his leg, but was caught off guard when I grabbed it and took him down. It’s another world when you get a Muay Thai fighter on the ground, it’s unfamiliar territory and his best bet is to get right back up, which he did in half a second. I told him he should stay and watch, maybe he’d like to get into it and become a grappler with fierce striking ability. Maybe he could do MMA one day since he’s young and fit enough that a career in the sport is not unrealistic. For Kru Naad, though, that’s not an option and he simply shook his head, gesturing that the ground for a Muay Thai fighter was silly.
The event got under way and since there were only three people in my weight class (heavyweight) we had a round-robin format where each of us fought the other person once. To my surprise, one of my training partners, Justin, was in my bracket. He defeated his opponent from BJJ BKK in the first match and we were up next.
Fighting a friend is never fun, but it’s an individual sport and you really have no choice. So we scrapped, I took him down, maintained my position, and defeated him by points. He was quite tired since it was his second match and, admittedly, I felt bad.
With this win in the bag, I just needed one more win to take home the gold. Whereas Justin is just about my height and weight, my next opponent was much taller and had legs that went for days. If it weren’t for the fact that he was barefoot, I could’ve sworn he was on stilts. But since he lost to Justin, who I just beat, I thought a win was all but assured.
I was wrong.
In BJJ, you start on your feet and you have to take your opponent to the ground, maintain a good position, and try to eventually submit them. With this opponent, I was far too relaxed and was taken down with him climbing right on top of me. There was nowhere to go.
His hips were tight, he wrapped his legs around mine making sure I couldn’t escape my hips, and used my arms against me by putting his chest down. He weighed less, but he felt like 100kg. A few times, I nearly escaped, only to have him adjust and improve his position even more. I lost by a score of 18 to 0, a heartbreaking loss in my mind but respect had to be given – he executed his game plan to perfection.
Moments later, as I changed my clothes, Kru Naad walked up again. He speaks limited English and, apart from the words “knee, kick, punch,” it’s a struggle to communicate in anything other than non-verbal gestures.
He congratulated me and told me how tough it looked out there, how tiring it seemed. I put his hand over my heart, and he felt pounding – as if I had run 18 flights of stairs while carrying a midget on my back. In his broken English, he told me how much he had to prepare for an upcoming Muay Thai tournament in Australia but he would “think about” joining a class on the ground upon his return.
I cannot put into words the excitement I felt when he said this. For a Muay Thai fighter, who since the age of 7 has been kicking and punching for money, this is a big turnaround. Someone with a realistic chance of becoming elite in a martial art that he knows nothing about – yet!
Muay Thai and BJJ both have the exact same goal: defeat your opponent by imposing your will. The only difference is one takes place standing up and the other is on the ground.
Same Same, but different.
[JUICEBOX_GALLERY]
