Showcase: MUAY THAI !!!! (LARGE set)

[msoo]

Thai Boxing or Art of the Eight Limbs.

Full Gallery here:
http://www.soocool.com/gallery/list.php?exhibition=151&u=37120|2

Traditional Muay Thai has a long history in Thailand. Martial arts have
been used by the military since ancient times. The military style of Muay
Thai is known as Lerdrit, while today's "Sport Muay Thai" varies slightly
from the original art and uses kicks and punches in a ring with gloves
similar to those used in Western boxing. Muay Thai is referred to as "The
Science of Eight Limbs", as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all
used extensively in this art. A master practitioner of Muay Thai thus has
the ability to execute strikes using eight "points of contact," as opposed
to "two points" (fists) in Western boxing and "four points" (fists, feet) used
in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts. Muay Thai is an
especially versatile, brutal, straightforward martial art.

In short, Muay Thai makes western boxing looks like child's play.

#1. Bets




#2. Entering the Ring




#3. Prayer of the Warriors




#4. Pitting




#5. Front Kick




#6. Kidney Jab




#7. Explosion of Power




#8. Focus




#9. Defense




#10. Poster Boy




#11. Give and Take - notice that the guy took a blow to get a blow into his opponent's undefended head




#12. Winnings




#13. Vertical Exposure




#14. High Side Kick




#15. Dragon Tail




#16. Lashing Out




#17. Stepping Stone




#18. Phoenix Flick




#19. Knock Out




#20. Final Blow




#21. Role Reversal




#22. Rapid Kick




#23. Broken Shin




#24. Victory!




- MS
[/list]
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Capturing Art with Heart.

[cwarchiba]

Awesome set. I like the up close view of it that you got. I've witnessed Muay Thai myself in Bangkok. The whole experience is a sensory overload from the betting, serving drinks in plastic bags, and the ritual movements and music before the fights. I think you captured that well.
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Chad

http://www.archibaldimages.com
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[allanl]

Very nice set especially the ones at the end.

Did you get a photographer's pass for this fight??hehe

[msoo]

[msoo]

[Adam73]

Very Awesome series Mike. My background is thai, and I have always been Intrigued by thai fighters. I was watching mixed martial arts where an american kickboxer fought a small thai kickboxer and the americas outweighd the thai by 120lbs. The thai guy was so quick and his shin kicks so powerful that the thai just kicked the americans outer and inner thighs that he had to stop. Its crazy to see how powerful these little guys kicks can be.

I love your captures with the sweat bouncing off the bodies at the moment of impact, the closeness and the colors and Hight ISO plays a great part in showing the tense fight. Great job.

[jsganti]

Ya, awesome series....difficult to pick a fav
_________________
Jags

[SlavkaG]

Geez. I feel sweat splashes on my face. My thought was the same: "no photo pass needed" Very cool.
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http://www.stevegphoto.com

[alain]

Wow! Great captures and processing. No. 23 makes me wince

[bobbyz]

Very nice series indeed. Any info about camera settings/special techniques used would be great for someone like me.

[jorj7]

Very good series. I think the combination and compostion of the photos tells
the story very well. Brutal...
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George
Canon 1Dmk2, 1D, 20D, 350D
http://jorj7.com

[msoo]

Thanks all. Bobby, it's really about using a fast lens and pushing ISO.
Nothing much to it.

- MS
_________________
http://www.soocool.com
http://www.soophotography.com

Capturing Art with Heart.

[spodila]

Amazing capture. One can almost feel the power of their kicks from the photos. Yikes. Brutal.
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Sharma
Full Gallery | Blog

[blackscorpion47]

An excellent showcase of the essence of Muay Thai and Muay Boran (Traditional bareknuckle Thai boxing). I think you should let the viewers know that the bareknuckle (no boxing gloves) shots were of a demonstration of traditional Muay Boran rather than the sport Muay Thai as pictured in the other shots, and as practiced in the Thai boxing stadium rings today (which is not to say that there is no "bareknuckle Muay Thai" going on in Thailand...there is, and it is even more brutal than the "sport" Muay Thai...check out a particularly brutal of how brutal is on YOUTUBE.COM...search for it because I prefer not to give the squemish amongst you cause to become really upset...the two matches shown on YOUTUBE.COM show a "beatdown" that isn't pretty to see).

Ah, but back to the showcase...visually exquisite and insightful...it shows exactly how Muay Thai can enthrall one entirely until one realizes that someone is being carried out of the ring on a stretcher with what is more than likely permanant physical damage of some sort. Think Muhammad Ali; "float lie a butterfly, sting like a bee, but if you get swatted enough, you'll end up like me." Brutality as aphrodesiac!

Watching Muay Thai (in Thailand/Thai fighters) can become quite addictive after viewing only a few matches, but not so addictive as actually practicing the sport. The heightened state of "stayin' alive" one has to be in to deal with "eight limbs boxing" is like nothing else this side of perhaps world class motorcycle racing. It gives new meaning to "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!"

My kudos to the photographer! Next time you visit Thailand, could you consider doing something on perhaps a day in the life of a Buddhist monk from dawn to dusk as captured on camera?

Sawatdee

P.S. I forgot to mention the music that a small group of musicians plays while the boxers are in action. Wow! I am a conga and djembe drum player, and the Thai music played to complement the fighting is as capable of putting one in an altered state of consciousness as afro "raices" drumming. Add the crowd noises ( including the betters screaming ot their odds) and you have a scenario that is very old in thailand, but that would fit right in a scene in Blade Runner.

Muay Thai...nothing like it anywhere else on earth, and nobody does it better than the Thais' themselves!

[msoo]

Lumpini Stadium where I shot these:

http://www.mymuaythai.com/

- MS
_________________
http://www.soocool.com
http://www.soophotography.com

Capturing Art with Heart.