Phan Mut

First it is important to learn the basic Muay Chaiya Tha Kru (teachers position/guard), as Phan Mut is used to switch between left and right guard.Once you understand the guard, it's time to Phan Mut. From left guard:

• Drop the left hand down in front of the right at the same time as raising the right fist at a 45 degree angle. You should now be right guard.

Simple huh? Well, there'sa few important things to remember...

• Don't just roll the hands over each other, the reason will become apparent shortly...
• Let your shoulders shift back and forth slightly in a natural manner, don't hold them stiffly in position. This is important when using Prik Liam with Phan Mut.

If practicing properly combine with the Prik Liam. This ensures that power and speed project out of the fists, elbows and arms without having to change  a thing (don't over punch) One of the reasons I love this simple move is that it is one of the few times that I have seen a style change from left to right (or vice versa) guard without exposing the protected area. This minimises the opportunity of your opponent gaining advantage if you change stance or guard. Once you've got the move down, it should flow smoothly, and if you can combine it with Prik Liam, then you should have both power and speed. An important point about Muay Chaiya's Tha Kru guard is the it covers the face extremely well from frontal attack. This is due to the fact the Muay Chaiya is a bare/bound fist style, and protecting the head is one of the main priorities. The only way of directly striking the face with a straight punch is a jab or cross over the top protecting arm.

Moving Backwards

When moving backwards, whether it's walking, stepping or hopping you will need to use the backwards variation of Phan Mut. From left guard:

• Drop the left hand down leading with the elbow at 45 degree angle, at the same time, roll the right hand up infront of the left.
• You should now be in the right guard.

Parrying with Phan Mut

Muay Chaiya has a number of base techniques for straight attacks to the face, but one which is commonly forgotten is the Phan Mut. I find this strange, because Phan Mut is practiced constantly in training, but very rarely used in sparring/fighting. With a little practice it can become an automatic parry that can then be followed by one of the many attacks from the standard guard, all flowing from a continued Prik Liam. The trick here is not to simply 'roll the hands'. The idea is to move the rising hand/forarm straigh in a 45 degree angle. It is this angle that you then 'punch' the attacking arm. No extra effort need be applied, as all the power and weight that you need should already be there IF you're doing the Prik Liam correctly, and the weight of you body is being transfered through your shoulders and arms.