Bat

Primarily, Bat is used as a parry against straight strikes to the face, and is easiest to use from the Open Guard as this allows the opponent access to your center line, and positions the hands ready to Bat.

Execution

Stand in square stance, with you feet shoulder width and parrallel, knees bent. Close your fingers together (tucking the thumbs in), and touch the tip of your middle finger to you temple. Elbows should be directly bellow your hands.

1. Drop your right hand forward (elbow stays still) so that the tips of your fingers are at eye level and approximately half a foot in front of you face.
2. Phlik Liam to the left.
3. Your right hand should now be along the line of the left side of your face.
4. Repeatswitching sides with smooth movement.

The none striking hand is always returned to touching the temple. This is the first step into teaching good habits whilst striking - using the none striking hand to guard the open side of you face. Whilst this sounds like common sense, it is very easy to start the bad habit of  dropping the hand when striking, leaving yourself open to an unexpected blow - for example an unseen hook, which could very easily knock you out. It is just a precaution, but an important one. Remember to Phlik Liam, as this will ensure that you get the full weight of you body behind the movement, and that the parry happens in a circular fashion around your body and knocks the oncoming blow from the side, slapping it off target. Remember that this is a slap, tapping the opponents arm (or leg) to the side, and so should not be executed as a push. If you push, you'll find that you hand will travel and 'stick' to the opponents weapon, taking longer and causing you to expose yourself. Keep it short, sharp, and trust in the weight of you body. Don't slap downwards, as if this is timed wrong, your parry can miss the attacking strike completely. Strike horizontally with your palm, forearm or elbow, depending on the height of the attack.

Inside and Outside Bat

There are two ways of executing Bat, Inside Bat and Outside Bat, and they refer to whether you parry the strike on the inside of the opponents arm or the outside. In most situations you can choose in advance which arm you will Bat with, and not worry about which side (inside or out) of the opponents arm you strike. Or, conversely, you could choose that you want to do either inside or outside Bat, because of the combination you want to employ, and adjust which hand you Bat with depending on which hand the attack strikes with. Both inside and outside Bats have advantages and disadvantages, which need to be explored to truly understand the movement, and uses of it.

From the Tha Kru

It is possible to execute Bat from the Tha Kru, but it is a little more tricky.Also, the Tha Kru covers the front of your face, and makes your face a less desirable target. This is why the Open Guard works so well with Bat, as it draws in the opponnents focus and line of attack down your center line, just where you are expecting it. It is more comfortable to execute Bat from the back hand, as this still rests on the center line, and requires little back tracking to execute. The front hand however, needs to be drawn back across the center line, before the Bat movement can be started. This causes the movement to be slower, especially if the attack is coming along the same side as the front arm/shoulder.

Against Hooks

Bat can also be used against hooks and other strikes coming around from the side. It is important to remember that this changes Bat from a parrying movement into a blocking movement. This is very important to remember when using Bat against hard hitters, or harder weapons, as you're hand/arm will be clashing directly with the strike. Against an arm, this can be and advantage (see below) but against a stick or something harder, it could prove disasterous. Be careful!

Aiming to hurt the oponnent

As with most defensive movements in Muay Chaiya, Bat can be used to hurt your attacker by clenching your fist and striking with your forearm bone (ulna) instead of your hand or soft underside of the arm. Adding a sharp twist to your forearm can increase the impact and damage done to the opponent. Also, think of your desired target. A great example of disabling an opponent (or causing a serious disadvantage) is to Outsid Bat to the elbow of their striking arm. If time correctly, then it is very easy to dislocate or snap the arm at the elbow joint. Falling this, it will hurt and cause the opponnent to be more cautious.