Happy 60th Birthday Arjarn Arlan Sanford!!

Source Photo: Arlan Sanford / Facebook

In honor of Arjarn Arlan Sanford's 60th milestone today, I'm posting 2 videos as tribute to Arjarn in addition to 3 GIFs! Please join me in wishing him a Happy Birthday!


สุขสันต์วันเกิด 
(sùk san wan gèrt)
Happy 60th Birthday Arjarn Salty Dog!

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Salty Dog vs Rene "Growling Dog" Cocolo
Beat The Crap Out Of Cancer V
DSvDS Krabi Krabong

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Arjarn Salty Dog teaching a Krabi Krabong Disarm

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I took the liberty to make 3 GIFs from the above video, regular speed, slomo, and 1 of both speeds.

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Please check out these related Arjarn Salty entries/links:

• Happy 58th Birthday Arjarn Arlan "Salty Dog" Sanford!!
• Krabi Krabong's Mae Sawks - Arjarn Salty learning Krabi Krabong in Thailand as well as teaching the basics
• VIDCLIP:  Dog Brothers in Action
• FMATalk Live with Arjarn Salty Dog - Interview
• www.combatsticks.com
• Arjarn Arlan Sanford teaching Krabi Krabong DVD

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EDIT: *EMVARASSED* my sincerest apologies, I'm not good at Math, it's Arjarn's 61st B'day and not 60th. Also my sincerest apologies to Rene Cocolo. I knew Rene is Growling Dog, but for some reason typed up Howling Dog (who is Tom Guthrie).

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Happy 58th Birthday Arjarn Arlan "Salty Dog" Sanford!!

Source Photo: Arlan Sanford / Facebook

Today is the 58th Birthday Arjarn Arlan "Salty Dog" Sanford!! Arjarn Salty is one of the 12 Original Dog Brothers as well on the DB Council of Elders. He is also known as The Silent Force of the Dog Brothers.

สุขสันต์วันเกิด 

(sùk san wan gèrt) 
Happy 58th Birthday!

Please check out these links:

• Krabi Krabong's Mae Sawks - Arjarn Salty learning Krabi Krabong in Thailand as well as teaching the basics
• VIDCLIP:  Dog Brothers in Action
• FMATalk Live with Arjarn Salty Dog - Interview
• www.combatsticks.com
• Arjarn Arlan Sanford teaching Krabi Krabong DVD

Happy 58th Arjarn Salty!!

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Krabi Krabong's Mae Sawks

Yesterday, I got a pair of Thai Mae Sawks from Overpressure Combat Stick Fighting

I bought a pair of Mae Sawks and received them in the mail yesterday. They are used in the Thai weapons style Krabi Krabong. It was handcrafted by a master craftsman, Arlan Sanford. In the martial arts circles, he is better known as "Salty Dog", one of the founding members of the Dog Brothers.


The story goes that during the early days of the Dog Brothers and their Real Contact Stick Fighting (minimal armor/protection) bouts, some of the fighters resorted to Brazilian Jiujitsu. Having no BJJ instruction at the time of where Arjarn Sanford lived (New Mexico), he explored Krabi Krabong, the Thai weapons art, looking to counter the BJJ that his opponents were using against him. Over the years of traveling to Thailand to the Buddhai Sawan school, he received instruction in KK and was certified to teach it.


I have no real knowledge/experience in Krabi Krabong, let alone Muay Thai, but after receiving my Mae Sawks, I will be training the basics. Here are 2 video clips with Arjarn Sanford learning/teaching the Mae Sawks:

Buddhaisawan Mae Sawks Instruction

Arlan Sanford at the Buddhai Sawan in Thailand learning the usage of Mae Sawks.

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Mae Sawks Overview and Combat

After a brief overview by Arjarn Sanford, a fight between Michael Johnson with a pair of Mae Sawks going up against Eric "Top Dog" Knaus using a single knife.

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You can contact Arjan Arlan Sanford via CombatSticks.com. To order a pair of Mae Sawks for yourself, check out ShockwaveDefense.com, specifically here for the Mae Sawks. Also on that page is a DVD with Arjarn Jason Webster teaching Krabi Krabong. I also bought the DVD and my review is forthcoming.


If you are interested in Krabi Krabong or the Buddhai Sawan, please check out my friend's, Hugo, review of Krabi Krabong: The Buddhai Sawan Path Deluxe 2 DVD set.

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The Vanishing Flame: Burma - Saturday, October 1, 2011

Been jammed at home, been wanting to put this up earlier...

Copied from Real Art's The Vanishing Flame: Burma Facebook page:

One Night only, Saturday, October 1, 2011

RAW Teaser from Vanishing Flame on Vimeo.

... The Vanishing Flame series by filmmaker Vincent Giordano is a twenty-year investigative journey into the hidden martial traditions of Southeast Asia and India. This special presentation focuses on the martial traditions of Burma exploring the rich ethnic diversity and cultural heritage woven within the ancient martial traditions.

The evening will include a series of short films, followed by a live discussion with a panel of experts highlighting not only the physical techniques but also the deeply spiritual roots of the traditional martial arts.

Special Guests:
Burmese Grandmaster Maung Gyi, Ph.D.
Master Zulfi Ahmed
Master Mary Mester
Camus Celli

"Perhaps most interesting was his piece on the rare Tiger Spirit Dancers Of Myanmar (formerly Burma) engaging in a ritual that supposedly infuses them with the spirit of the beast. The practice is becoming increasingly rare because it's frowned on by the country's authoritarian rulers…the footage made for a unique, colorful look into a nearly extinct cultural tradition."- Mark Jacobs, Black Belt Magazine

(2011, Burma/USA, 70 mins)

Please visit Real Art's The Vanishing Flame: Burma Facebook page or http://www.realartways.org/ for directions or more info.

The special guests should make this night an especially memorable event... a Who's Who of Bando and the Martial Arts in general. Couldn't make the previous event, trying to make it to his one. Enjoy!

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The Vanishing Flame: A Filmmaker’s Journey to Document the Endangered Martial Arts of Asia

Screening and Live Event hosted by The Museum of the Moving Image

Sunday, March 20, 1:00 p.m.

35 Avenue at 37 Street
Astoria, NY 11106

Over the past two decades, New York filmmaker Vincent Giordano has traveled throughout Southeast Asia documenting martial arts masters whose unique styles and practices are on the verge of extinction. This journey has taken him to India, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Giordano will talk about his journey and mission with Warrington Hudlin, Museum trustee and Fist and Sword series curator. The program will include rare public appearances by some very special surprise guests, and the talk will be highlighted by the screening of Giordano’s footage of endangered Asian martial arts and their last master practitioners.

Following the screening, Vincent Giordano will participate in a DVD-signing in the Museum Store.

Free with Museum admission.

This is an exciting opportunity to meet Vincent Giordano and learn more about his research projects into the dying Southeast Asian martial arts. If you are a member of the Vanishing Flame emailing list, you know about the upcoming book, The Vanishing Flame. For those that don't, the book will be about the dying bareknuckle arts of Southeast Asia. Vincent Giordano has shared some of his research via his detailed email accounts of his trips as well as footage of various styles/arts/fights on dvd to list members only. The Village of the Keris dvd which I reviewed here was a commercial dvd. The members only dvd's are not sold as commercial dvd's, therefore, it's usually no-frills but each dvd are nominally priced compared to commercial dvd's.

Wonder who the surprise guests will be? This may be a veritable Who's Who in attendance. I am so psyched! Anyone going?





Copied from http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2011/03/20/detail/the-vanishing-flame-a-filmmakers-journey-to-document-the-endangered-martial-arts-of-asia

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REVIEW: Krabi Krabong: The Buddhai Sawan Path Deluxe 2 DVD set

"The sword was the principle weapon during the turbulent history of Siam but the art of fighting was taken a step further in skill by warriors who fought with blades in both hands."

- Por Kru Samai Mesamarn

Product Description

Krabi Krabong: The Buddhai Sawan Path is the first groundbreaking series to accurately document the ancient system of Thai weaponry. The art of Krabi Krabong as it was taught at the original Buddhai Sawan was a highly refined fighting system whose effectiveness was linked to an individual warrior's agility, strength and speed of attack. A thorough knowledge of body mechanics enabled those skilled in its use to engage in combat with a wide variety of weapons, delivering devastating blows with an elegant simplicity of movement.

Krabi Krabong translates into the study of the short and long traditional Thai weapons and mastery of the art was the product of a strict program of weapons training and discipline taught for more than 425 years to the most promising young Thai military men and nobles by the monks and teachers of the original Wat Phuttisawan school in Ayutthaya.

This unique two disc DVD set shot entirely on location in Thailand from 1993 through 1998 focuses on the life and work of the late Por Kru Samai Mesamarn and the unique system he crafted to survive the ancient Thai fighting traditions.

Disc 1 - Thai Warrior Heritage

A powerful and moving look at the life of the late Por Kru Samai Mesamarn (1914-1998) and his attempts to keep the art of Krabi Krabong alive. This detailed documentary uses archived photos and footage shot throughout his life to give a rare glimpse into how the training was developed and done on a daily basis.

Running time: 67 minutes plus Bonus Footage

Disc 2 - The Primary Weapons

This DVD focuses on the use of the primary weapons: the single sword, double sword and staff with direct instruction from the late Por Kru Samai Mesamarn on how to properly develop these devastating weapons. Though based on only a few tenets - such as power, speed and simplicity - the art utilizes these techniques in combinations and variations of which there are endless permutations. The goal being the immediate response to an attack with quick, decisive strikes to incapacitate with sudden and unexpected force.

Running time: 85 minutes plus Bonus Footage

Reviewed by my friend Hugo:

There are two comprehensive disks in this incredible documentary, so I will review each one separately.



"Disk 1 - Thai Warrior Heritage," pays tribute to renowned weapons instructor Por Kru and a system of combat "born from the ashes of warfare". Background information is given on the environment the arts were developed in. Prominent historical figures like King U Thong and Phraya Pichai are covered, as well places and events, like Wat Pu Thai Sawan, the royal swordsmanship school that inspired the Buddhai Sawan.



One of the most interesting segments shows children learning basic Muay Boran training sets. Muay Boran, the bare-knuckle predecessor to Muay Thai, gives students a solid foundation "that integrates seamlessly into weapons work". The training sets are an efficient way to learn basic punches, kicks, knees and elbows. These techniques are eventually practiced in set sparring, and later in a light, strategic, freestyle manner. The ancient method of hand wrapping with ropes, inherited from the Muay Korat system of bare-knuckle boxing, is also shown.



Children practice Wei Kru, a dance-like set of movements that is part warm-up and part meditation, similar to what is seen before a Muay Thai match. The students' level of technique is impressive to say the least.



There are brief but captivating demonstrations of other forms of Krabi Krabong, like Lana, which is found in Northern Thailand, and the Muslim arts of the south. There are also a few examples of weapon arts from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos.



Three categories of weapons are covered (attack, protective, and projectile), as well as two single sword types, the staff, the shield, and other weapons. The names and numbering system behind the Standard Eight Drill are also introduced. Students practice two man drills and are taught the principles behind each weapon. First they learn how to battle against matched weapons and then move on unmatched weapons.



The disk is packed with ceremonial coverage, demonstration clips, and training footage. There is nothing on the market that covers the history and background of Krabi Krabong as well as "Disk 1 - Thai Warrior Heritage" does. This is essential information for anyone interested in Thai martial arts and traditional weapons in general.



"Disk 2 - The Primary Weapons", is an instructional that covers the basics of Por Kru's teaching methods. The Primary Weapons consist of the Daab Son Mue, or double swords, the Daab, or single sword, and the Krabong, or staff. The Standard Eight targets and the four series of cuts are drilled for each of the weapons. Nothing is added to the original teachings; they are presented in the order Por Kru taught them.



Although Disk 2 has very little narration, Vincent Giordano's experience as a cinematographer shines through. Footwork, body alignment, proper stance structure, and weight distribution are all clearly filmed under the watchful eye of Por Kru. Virtually every relevant angle is shown - no words necessary, although students do call out the names of the Standard Eight targets.



Anyone interested in traditional weaponry can benefit from this video. There is a strong emphasis on the basics. Students practice techniques in a slow, controlled manner, which makes it easy for viewers to grasp of the principals behind Krabi Krabong. Although the movements can be done solo, it is best to work in tandem with a partner.



The order in which the weapons and drills are taught show common threads that flow from one weapon to another. Por Kru was one of the first graduates of Thailand's physical education program; his ability to integrate new ways of teaching the ancient warrior arts was a stroke of genius. Disk 2 gives a taste of what it was like to train under such an accomplished master.



"Krabi Krabong: The Buddhai Sawan Path" contains is a true treasure for both academics and martial artists. Those familiar with Vincent Giordano's work, which documents the traditional arts of Southeast Asia, will appreciate the wealth of information contained in this set. Vincent also has an informative newsletter called The Vanishing Flame, as well as other DVDs that cover various arts.

Ordering Info

http://www.buddhaisawanpath.com/

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REQUEST: Black Belt magazine's 1971 Krabi Krabong article by Hardy Stockman

Before Black Belt magazine revamped their site, they used to have an extensive archives section. Some of the articles I was interested in I saved for offline reading. One article, which either I have burnt to a disc and misplaced or I never saved it in the first place. I tried the Internet Wayback Machine site and Google's cache to no avail.

Just a shot in the dark, I am making a request...anyone who had saved this webpage and the pictures associated with it, please email me. Or if you have access to a scanner and the original magazine and can scan it in for me, that would be awesome too!

DETAILS:

URL: http://www.blackbeltmag.com/searchdb/bbm/1971/46.html
TITLE: A Two-Bladed Battle of Endurance: Thailand's sword-and-staff fighting art, Krabi Krabong
AUTHOR: Hardy Stockman
MAGAZINE: Black Belt
YEAR: 1971

A big thank you in advance.

*crosses fingers*

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