SPARKS FLY AS SWORDS CLASH

VIDEO: The awesome ancient weapon style from Thailand Krabi Krabong.

3, Mae sauk (Made of wood or bone). Worn on the forearm for attack and defence.

4, LOH (Round Shield) Used for defence and also attack.

5, Kaen (Medium Shield) Rectangular shield for the arm.

6, Plong (staff) Blocking, striking and stabbing.
Principle Strikes for fighting

Group 1 Sida Off with the Head

Group 2 Yorkow Stop the Mountain

Group 3 Cheng Elephant Attack

Group 4 Pikard Pailee The Killer
The main weapons of the system are the double swords. Grant Guirey above demonstrating the double sword dance, the skill in the technique shown is to have the swords exactly parallel.

Krabi Krabong is something that most Thai kids will be familiar with as they will usually learn this in school but Muay Thai is the combat system that most people associate with Thailand. This other Thai martial art is a fighting style that uses weapons and body strikes to defeat an opponent. It is used by the Thai military and the Royal bodyguards of the King are trained in this system.

The term Krabi Krabong refers to two of the weapons that are used in this marital art. The Krabi is a type of single edged sword while the Krabong is a type of long pole. There are also other weapons used in this fighting system including:

– A slashing sword called the daab. It is common to use two daab at the same time for increased effectiveness– one in each hand.

– There are also a number of different types of shield that can be used to defend against attack including the loh, khehn, and dahng.

The weapons of krabi-krabong include the following:

กระบี่ Krabi: sabre/single-edge sword
กระบอง Krabong: staff/pole
ดาบสองมือ Daab song mue: double swords, one in each hand
โล่ Lo: shield/buckler made from wood or buffalo hide
พลอง Phlong: stick/ cudgel, usually either paired or used with a shield
ง้าว Ngao or Ngau: bladed staff
ไม้ศอก Mai sok san: a pair of clubs worn on the forearms

The Fighting System

This thai martial art is famous for involving weapons, but it also makes uses of open hand strikes, elbows, knees, punches, wrestling, and kicks – it is a complete fighting system. Practitioners in this art move like acrobats, and this is why demonstrations of this martial art are fascinating to watch. While these shows are usually choreographed it is worth keeping in mind that all the techniques used are effective and can be deadly.